Daniele Somenzi's 44 Flights in a Month

I organise a cruise tour in the Caribbean on the biggest cruise ship in the world at the time, 2200 passengers, Royal Caribbean (Majesty of the Seas).

We're 10 and set off at night with a hired minibus from Massa to Fiumicino; on the threshold of the airport while still dark, the minibus shows signs of failing at the front axle; we pray it takes us a few more km before it kicks the bucket; luckily so it was. For some of us it was the first flight, and for Nando and Dario even the first time they went abroad. The Iberia flight is at 7 in the morning to Madrid. In Madrid an ugly airport, ugly waiting room, we can't wait to set off for Miami with a DC10; the hostesses immediately strike me as unpleasant, they don't even let me film in flight; usually you can't during the first 20 and the last 20 minutes of flight. Iberia is already in my black book. We arrive in America, late afternoon, pick up a minivan and a car and head to the booked Ramada hotel on Miami Beach.

The next day, after breakfast at the buffet included in the price, a walk on the beach, not too beautiful, and then by car to Miami for shopping. Nicola drives a red automatic car with Paolo on board, while I drive the Chevrolet Lumina minivan with 8 seats. My mum nearly leaves 4 knuckles on the door when someone inadvertently closed it; luckily the rubber trim cushioned it. We then head to return the cars right in front of the ship; only Avis offers this service. So with all our suitcases from the car boot, straight on board. The vessel, as they call it in English, is majestic, super-luxury, 11 floors, panoramic internal lifts with cinema and giant dining rooms, hairdresser, gym and much more. The 7-day itinerary touches Mexico, the Cayman Islands, Jamaica, the Bahamas. For uncle Nando, who until then had never flown or travelled, all this is the maximum.

He, a farmer from Cappella di Casalmaggiore in the province of Cremona, caught up in one go on his honeymoon and all the other trips he'd never made.

In the evening at dinner, on the ship, it was too beautiful to see Dario and Nando at the gala evenings, dressed to the nines complete with jacket and tie, they looked like they were in a barrel; in fact shortly after both were loosening the noose at their neck, which was the tie.

The ship Majesty of the Seas of Royal Caribbean was the flagship of the fleet.

The cruise was magnificent for everyone; having arrived in Miami after 7 days, with car and minibus, a visit to Orlando of Epcot Centre and Dreamworld as well as SeaWorld with the orcas and dolphins.

On the day of departure from Miami only Nicola and I were left; the Iberia flight to Madrid had taken everyone home.

After sleeping, following 15 days of luxury ship, alone at the hostel where I had already spent quite a few days back when I worked in Miami, Nicola and I the next day set off by car towards Key West, where that evening our hotel was the car; in fact we slept little. Early in the morning the much-dreamed-of Delta Pass began (600 thousand lire); having returned the car, we took the first Delta flight to Orlando; it was a twin-engine propeller Brasilia with 25 seats, then a connection for Dallas, where as the last flight of the day we were supposed to go to Page from Phoenix, a flight then cancelled for unknown reasons. So, by taxi to a hotel where a real DeLorean was parked, the car from the film Back to the Future. Then all the flights:

63 Key West Orlando 92 Brasilia Delta 64 Orlando Dallas 92 B727 Delta 65 Dallas Phoenix 92 B727 Delta 66 Phoenix Page 92 Metro3 Comair 67 Page Phoenix 92 Metro3 Comair 68 Phoenix Salt Lake City 92 B737 Delta 69 Salt Lake City Seattle 92 B757 Delta 70 Seattle Atlanta 92 Looked 1011 Delta 71 Atlanta Los Angeles 92 Looked 1011 Delta 72 Los Angeles Las Vegas 92 B757 Delta 73 Las Vegas Phoenix 92 B757 Delta 74 Phoenix Dallas 92 B757 Delta 75 Dallas Albuquerque 92 MD80 Delta 76 Albuquerque Salt Lake City 92 B727 Delta 77 Salt Lake City Jackson Hole 92 B737 Delta 78 Jackson Hole Salt Lake City 92 B737 Delta 79 Salt Lake City Seattle 92 B767 Delta 80 Seattle Los Angeles 92 B737 Delta 81 Los Angeles Orlando 92 B757 Delta 82 Orlando New York 92 MD80 Delta 83 New York San Francisco 92 A300 Delta 84 San Francisco Cincinnati 92 B757 Delta 85 Cincinnati Milwaukee 92 Brasilia Delta 86 Milwaukee Atlanta

92 B737 Delta 87 Atlanta Phoenix 92 B757 Delta 88 Phoenix Los Angeles 92 B727 Delta 89 Los Angeles Atlanta 92 Looked 1011 Delta 90 Atlanta Miami 92 B757 Delta 91 Key West Miami 92 Metro3 Delta 92 Miami Chicago 92 B757 Delta 93 Chicago Dallas 92 B727 Delta 94 Dallas San Diego 92 B757 Delta 95 San Diego Los Angeles 92 Metro3 Delta 96 Los Angeles Honolulu 92 DC10 Continental 97 Honolulu Los Angeles 92 DC10 Continental 98 Los Angeles Orlando 92 B757 Delta 99 Orlando Washington 92 B727 Delta 100 Washington Orlando 92 MD80 Delta 101 Orlando Miami 92 Brasilia Comair