30-May 2013 to 7-June 2013: Once we got all settled on the plane, it turned out that I was sitting next to this rather tall, but older Italian guy who got the unfortunate window seat. It was unfortunate because the seat design was such that there was a box right where his foot was supposed to be so he really had no leg room. He had to pretty much go into my space as I sat in the middle next to him.

That made for a rather uncomfortable flight right off the bat (plus the headphone’s jack wasn’t mating well with the armrest) so I started to look around for empty seats when the plane started moving.

When I found one across the aisle from Julie next to this fairly heavy-set American lady where it appeared that her and her husband had the entire row to themselves, I figured I mind as well go there.

So I made my move as the plane started to taxi, and to the shock of the lady sitting next to me, she said, “Uh, we paid for that seat!”

I somehow couldn’t believe that two people bought four seats on an expensive international flight without going for first class or business class first, so I called her bluff. But I replied by saying that the headphone jack wasn’t working on my seat.

She grumbled and didn’t say anything afterwards (though she would ultimately stew and start getting racial by calling me banana as well as name-calling with “jerk off” and other things)…

• Day 15: DE-SCOPING
• Day 16: LIKE ANOTHER COUNTRY
• Day 17: FEELS LIKE ITALY AGAIN
• Day 18: LAKESIDE SURPRISES
• Day 19: THE FIRST SHORTS DAY OF THE TRIP
• Day 20: GETTING OUR STAR WARS ON
• Day 21: THE LAST SUPPER
• Day 22: ADVENTURES WITHOUT SEEKING THEM
• Day 23: IL SCIOPERO STRIKES AT LAST

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