Boston, day 1
The day began at 10 o’clock in Capodichino airport from which we would leave for Boston, with a stopover in Munich.
At the check-in there was a little difficulty over entrusting underage kids, but luckily the documents were in order and we could board with no problems.
It was Giuseppe’s first flight, so he was given the seat of honour next to the window. The kids were very excited and could hardly believe the experience waiting for them. The flight went very smoothly, time to eat a sandwich and have a soft drink and we landed in Munich. We passed the police checkpoint and then hurried to the next boarding gate, this time headed for Boston!
The plane was half an hour late taking off but all in all it was a very peaceful and comfortable flight. Every passenger had an interactive screen with multimedia content. The airline provided two meals so we could tackle the eight hours of flight on a full stomach.
At last we landed in Boston and went through passport control. A typical sheriff style American policeman had to hear again the story of the underage kids, but I understood that as in the best episodes of airport security he was interested in the reason for our trip. When he heard about the regattas he asked me if we would be returning to Italy by sea. If only… But for that we can wait a few years yet☺.
We waited a few minutes for the luggage, the kids began to realise what they were about to experience and in the arrivals hall we heard the very kind Mrs Maria Luisa Saraceno calling us, she had come with her husband Giovanni to welcome us to the USA and take us to Giovanni’s house in Winchester, a residential town very close to Boston where we were to spend the first night.
Giovanni, president of the PIB Association, is an extremely active professional and with his family gave us a very warm welcome. It was good to feel a bit at home even in Boston, we would never have expected it! After an American pizza, a chat on the veranda of Giovanni’s lovely house we all went to bed because tomorrow would be a busy day. I hope the kids get over the jetlag.
Day 2
The day started early. Wake up at 6.45, breakfast at Giovanni’s house with milk, cereals, waffles and maple syrup, a quick shower and after a warm goodbye to the family that had hosted us we piled our luggage in the car and set out with Giovanni for Boston after a quick tour round the town of Winchester. When we got to Boston we were greeted again by Giovanni Saraceno who, like a perfect guide, drove us round the streets of Boston for the whole day to give us an oversight of the city.
At lunchtime we stopped in an enormous Chinese restaurant where the cooking was decidedly good. The waitress advised the kids what to eat and looking at their plates I think she was right. After lunch, Giovanni took us to the company of an Italian friend of his, who had set up a big marble and granite works.
After lunch the kids were feeling the jetlag and slept for half an hour in the car, thanks also to the huge lunch offered by Giovanni.
At 3 o’clock we went to the summer camp where Giovanni’s wife Maria Luisa works as a volunteer. Together we had a last look round Cambridge to breathe some prestige University air and at last arrived at the MIT club where we could do a bit of sailing on the Charles River. We made ourselves known to the club coach who explained some safety rules and gave us some logistic information, the kids quickly rigged their Tech and got on the water to try out this new boat. Meanwhile I was keen to do some sailing to, so I quickly rigged a second Tech and after entering the two boats for a training race I set out on the water.
After a while the first races started. There was a lot of current, gusts of 15 kn but these boats are very safe and you can have fun in complete safety. The format of the races is simple and fun. Start, upwind, then to the downwind gate and the finish upwind. For the start they give three minutes and the I flag if needed.
During the races we showed the abilities of our sailing school, the kids soon got used to the boat, finishing all the races (and there were lots of them!) in the first five. Not bad considering the racecourse was decidedly unusual and the boat was completely new to them. I managed to do pretty well and finished all the races no worse than second. I had to practice my English with the rules because of a small misunderstanding with one of the competitors. Rule 11, rule 18, rule 15, proper course! But all in a calm spirit of fun. Sailing makes you lose track of time even on a river, in fact I heard completely forgotten we had an appointment with Frank and Antonella at 7.30. We said goodbye to the others and hurried on to dry land where our friends were waiting for us to go to dinner. Antonella and Frank were waiting for us on the jetty, after introducing ourselves we unrigged the boats, tidied up and loaded the luggage into Frank’s car.
When we got to his splendid house right in the centre of Boston we at an excellent pasta cooked by Frank, the kids at several slices of meat and ended with an excellent apple pie prepared by Antonella. We chatted with our new friends trying to practice our English and after looking out from Franks Terrace we decided it would be better to bring to an end this very full Boston day.