For the past few years we’ve been trying longer trips, first in the US with our summer trips to NY, then with Valencia and Southern Italy in 2024. For 2025 we wanted to return to Northern Italy and center ourselves in Bologna. With that as an anchor point we started planning a trip for Fall 2025.
Since Air France now flies direct from RDU, I started exploring cities they connect to that we haven’t visited yet. Ljubljana stood out – I’ve been interested in Slovenia for years, but it had proven difficult to access via OneWorld flights, so it was an obvious choice to start our trip. I didn’t know as much about Turin, but we were interested in its location in the northwestern corner of Italy, so it made a good ending point.
With flights booked we filled in our trip: a week driving around Slovenia, then a shuttle from Ljubljana to Treviso, Italy, for a weekend, followed by 4 weeks in Bologna (with weekend day trips) and a final week in Turin.
click to see map full size
Flights To Europe
On the day we left, we got an email that our flight was cancelled, then the Air France app showed us on a new flight number that was delayed four hours. Regardless, the four hour departure difference meant we missed our direct connection to Slovenia. Instead, Air France rebooked us from RDU > CDG > FRA > LJU. We had an extra stop and due to additional flights delays, ended up landing just before midnight in Ljubljana – nearly 12 hours later than planned.
Raleigh > Paris
Boarding process was okay, we only had one carry-on to get into the overhead bins, so we weren’t in a rush to board. Leandra had the window seat and I had a middle for this leg. The seat space was OK and there were large screens for each seat. The plane was fairly cool overnight so we were glad to have an extra layer. We skipped dinner to sleep; breakfast was yogurt, a dense roll, and orange juice.
Paris > Frankfurt
Our layover in Paris was long (4+ hours), but the terminal was nice with good seating options and power outlets. There was a surprising lack of priority pass lounges, with only one available in T2 that wasn’t airside, so we ended up getting sandwiches at one of the delis. The flight itself was short in a nice jet with good enough space. Small complementary snack sandwich served with bottled water.
Frankfurt > Ljubljana
Another long layover in Frankfurt (5 hours). We had to switch airlines which meant changing terminals via train and going through security again. Seating area at least had a nice view and tables. Leandra picked up two cheese pretzels and found a 2 x 6,90€ deal in duty free for 2 small wine bottles. Once again the only lounge option wasn’t airside.
While we were assured by Air France staff in Raleigh that our checked bag would go all the way through, the AirFrance app said our bag had ‘arrived’ at Frankfurt airport. So, Eric went back over to the other terminal to check on this, and thankfully found someone to look it up since we could no longer access baggage claim to see if our bag was there.
The final flight was a narrow body jet and everyone had to gate check their rollerboards (which we picked up planeside in LJU). Seats had decent cushion, but hard on our weary backs. Landed in Ljubljana right before midnight and our checked bag was there! Thankfully, the rental car pick up at Avis was easy and friendly, though we had to pay a 36€ “after hour” fee – worth it!
We had jut enough energy left to make the 2 hour drive through fog to arrive at our Maribor apartment around 2am!
Back to US
Alas, we also had some drama on the return flight as well.
Our return flight from Turin was at 6am, so Leandra pre-booked us a cab to the airport at 3am. Europe was scheduled to fall back overnight, but we were expecting that to happen at 2am (fall back to 1am) not what ACTUALLY happened, at 2:59am (wondering why our cab wasn’t there) the clocks changed back to 2am. So, we were up and ready to go an hour earlier than necessary. Ugh. Thankfully, the scheduled taxi worked out fine and on the way to the airport, we saw several restaurant/bars still going at 3am! The ride took less time than we thought too so we arrived to a locked airport. Boo. Thankfully someone unlocked doors at 3:30am.
Check in started a little after 4am and was quick for us with the two checked bags. Looks like we made weight! (It was close.) Leandra did some exploring and saw that the Piedmonte lounge opened at 4:30am (yay!) so we were able to get a light breakfast and charge our devices up. Unfortunately they didn’t have hot chocolate for me but the flat white Leandra got was good.
Flight to Paris left on time and was a fast hour, we dozed for most of it. Deplaned via stairs into the wet cold morning. Shuttle bus to a different terminal but at least we didn’t have to go through security again. Huge duty free area with couches and chairs with plugs. We wiled away our five hour layover and then boarded the flight home.
The plane was FREEZING, flight attendants were handing out extra blankets. Food was passable, we couldn’t abide plane pasta after spending the last 5+ weeks in Italy so chicken it was. Wine in coach was drinkable too. Arrived on time and with our checked bag.