Several years ago, I had an opportunity to travel to Italy. I was travelling with a man and a woman from the company I work. We were on a business trip to visit a supplier for our company. When we arrived at the airport in Milan, we went to the baggage claim area. I quickly found my bag and so did the man. The woman did not see her bag. We waited until every other bag was claimed and cleared from the carousel. Still no bag for her. We went to the lost baggage area and made a claim before we left the airport. Fortunately for this lady, she had brought a few necessities with her in a small carry-on bag. We had a business meeting as soon as we arrived. We also had a drive that was at least an hour to get to the town where we were staying. The lady was able to shop for a few things after we had gotten to this town.
When we checked into the hotel, the owner told us that his daughter worked for the airport authority in Milan. He would contact her to see if she could help us get the luggage. She did eventually receive her luggage, but it was in the middle of our week-long stay. We also found out that her bag wasn’t lost but had been pulled aside because she had coffee in her bag. She had become friends with a young man who was an employee at the company we were visiting. She met this man when he had spent about a month at the facility where she works. She had been directed to be a mother hen for him while he was there. She had introduced him to Folgers coffee while he was in America and he had developed a taste for it. She had communicated with him before we traveled, and he asked her to bring some Folgers. It also turns out that people transporting drugs often hide them in coffee because it masks the odor. I don’t think she was transporting drugs, but they weren’t giving up her luggage that easily. When she did get back her bag, there was coffee scattered all over her clothes.
Because she had taken care of this young man during his month in the states, he wanted to show his appreciation to her by inviting all of us into their home for a meal. One of the appeals of international travel is the opportunity to try the local cuisine but this is the only time I’ve ever had a home cooked meal in another country. This man’s family had invited several friends so they could experience being around Americans. We sat around a huge table on their covered porch and ate course after course of excellent food. After the dessert, I didn’t think anything could be added to make the meal any better or memorable. Then they brought out glasses of Amaretto to top off the perfect meal.