Usually our journeys start with a quick taxi ride to the airport, but not today. Today, we had our own chauffeur for our ride to Toronto. Ok, we were actually picked up by friends Jan and Dave, who are accompanying us to Piedmont before heading off to other exotic European locations.

With the luggage snug in the trunk and us people comfortably on the inside, it was time to go. Our friends were very kind to offer to drive, especially considering they will have to put up with us (or more correctly – me) for the next ten days. I’ve been practicing some of my best jokes in Italian – “Prendi mia moglie, per favore”.

The ride up went fairly quick, but there’s no avoiding the traffic on the QEW. Arriving in Toronto, we parked the car and then shuttled over to the terminal to check in for our flight. The kiosk line wasn’t too long, so after dropping off our luggage we headed to security. There was a separate business class line, which allowed us to zoom through security.

Rather than wait at the gate, we were able to relax in the Air Canada Signature Lounge until flight time. This was by far the best lounge we have made use of. Besides being a refuge from the masses and noise of the terminal, they offered a free buffet, free drinks and a free three course dinner.

We’re not talking Mac -n- cheese and a burger either. How about a duck confit salad, followed by a main entree of braised veal for three of us and ricotta cavatelli for me, finished off with chocolate hazelnut mousse, pistachio ice cream or goat cheese cheese cake. The meal was awesome, the wines were great pairings and the service was impeccable. Kudos to Air Canada and Pearson Airport.

This is our first flight on Air Canada and it was a fairly easy decision to make. Firstly, the flight is direct to Milan, Italy at times that work well in our itinerary. And secondly, it was a huge savings to fly business class, with lay flat seats. Between the price and the exchange on the dollar it was a no-brainer – and I’m good at those!

Unfortunately, our plane was delayed in arriving from Vancouver, which caused us to leave late. Instead of leaving at 10:25pm, we actually departed about 11:50pm. The flight itself went well, the meal was good, though since we had already had that scrumptious meal we just picked at the main parts – good chicken.

The seats were a delight, especially the part where they fold down into lay flat beds to snooze. The crew were all very professional, plus friendly and efficient.

Arriving at Milan Malpensa Airport, our first adventure would be passport control. They now use the automated machines to check passports, followed by an official who stamps your passport. The process took about five minutes – some adventure!

Beginning in 2021, you will also need to have a Visa to travel to Europe from the US, including travels to the EU countries. You can read about that here: Visas to Europe Might be time to plan a trip to Ohio or Iowa or some other non-touristy US locations.

Since we were feeling like Rockstars, we had a shuttle driver waiting for us at the airport. After collecting our bags, we walked out to find our driver Mauro holding a “Tom Herkey” sign. Cool! It was so much easier than having to take the train to Milan, then back to Turin and then another to Alba.

And away we go to Alba…