Day 1 - Traveling from Dammam to Milan

Dammam Airport

To get to Milan, we had a 1AM flight from Dammam to Amsterdam to Milam.

We succeeded in "packing light"... 2 suitcase and 2 small carry on's... Pretty good for a family of 5

We left the compound around 9:30 PM and getting through security was no problem at all. There were only a few people in the security line and we flew right through with time to kill waiting to board the plane.

The overnight flight to Amsterdam went well. Jaycie and Alexa both got some sleep. Hannah did not, but this was not surprising. Her behavior was good, so we'll call it a win. The 7 hour flight didn't seem too bad compared to the 14 hour marathon we took going from Houston to Doha in January. We took KLM and I was pleased with service and comfort in coach.

Amsterdam

We had a short layover in Amsterdam, and most of that time was chewed up clearing the customs security and finding the connecting gate. What time was left, we spent snacking and riding the moving sidewalks.

The flight from Amsterdam to Milan was short (<2 hours) and the view of the Swiss Alps was fantastic.

 

Milan

Once we got to Milan, we needed to get to the Centrale Station to pick up our keys and get cell phone SIM cards. We took a city bus we thought would get us there, but we only got 2/3 of the way there. In hindsight, should have spent a little more for one of the direct shuttles that clearly advertised they were going to Centrale. Luckily we were able to find a subway stop a block away. It got a little stressful since we were lugging around luggage ( along with the kids), were very hungry, and were operating on minimal sleep. Getting local SIM cards for our phones was a huge help because we could pull up the maps to navigate around this new place and as well call each other as needed.

And we got a concert on the subway too!

After a late lunch at a restraunt next to the centrale station, we took the subway to the apartment we rented. It was only a few minutes walk from the nearest subway stop (love when a plan comes together). Finally, After sandwiches for dinner, we all went to bed early. Hannah, who had been up for 36 hours, crashed immediately.

 

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