Well, entry number two (departure day: September 3, 2010) of this fantastic trip! After a tearful goodbye from my Mom, Dad, and Sis, I finally made it through security and onto BA194 bound for London. I have to say, when your mom is holding up the 150-200 people waiting to go through security so they can get on their plane by crying and hugging and crying some more, then hugging some more… then giving her son a kiss, then asking the woman mediating the impatient line of traveling patrons if the deodorant she has is ok to pack in the carry-on bag because it’s 3.5 fluid ounces… not 4, has a unique way of making a son love the fact that his mom is so ridiculously off the wall and doesn’t care what anyone thinks! The woman working the line even wanted to give me a hug after the ordeal. I’m really excited about this phenomenal trip, but I am going to miss my family a whole lot!!!
I think in the airport I was being a little more paranoid than normal, I brought both my carry-ons (each weighing about 25 pounds) into the bathroom with me for fear of someone thinking it was an explosive device of some sort. Then, when a guy asked a woman to watch his stuff while he ran to the bathroom (which the airlines advise against doing) I was thinking, “EXCUSE ME!!! This guy is a terrorist!!!” , leaving an Xbox 360 box with an unmarked black bag next to a densely populated airplane terminal!? Are you kidding me?! So after he left, the plane started to board and the woman “watching his stuff” got in line to board the plane… so there was this luggage (bomb) sitting there by itself, when an airport worker noticed it and came and took it. I thought, “Well, if it’s not a threat, this dude, just got ripped off! His fault.” Turns out, he was on my plane, and he came back from the bathroom, the world is NOT actually out to get me. ;)
On the plane I got the best seat ever, back row (I can recline as much as I want without feeling bad about the person sitting behind me, and I don’t have to wait in a line to get in the bathroom, AND I can just turn sideways and kick my feet out and stretch out) when I started talking to this guy on the other side of the middle seat next to me (he also knows the back is the best for the above said reasons). He was a friendly, talkative guy, Mike, and we started talking. Well, we were in mid-conversation when the woman that was supposed to sit in the middle showed up and asked me if she could get by. I was confused at first since she asked me to move the items in the middle seat and never actually said she was sitting there. So I moved the stuff in the seat and she asked if I’d like to sit there so we could continue our conversation… well, I didn’t want to seem like a jerk and completely ignore the conversation I was having with Mike, but… my sweet awesome seats… turns out the middle of the row isn’t so bad. Mike and I continued to talk about our families, his job, traveling, sports, US, UK, etc… The woman was really nice about letting me by when I had to pee or just stretch my legs. When I get to London, Mike said there was a Museum just across the Thames from the Tower of London about the history of surgery, since I was interested in medicine, he thought I would enjoy checking it out, I think it sounds interesting… but after all, I do only have 10 hours in London… we’ll see. ;)
So today is going to be one LONG post because that’s all it seemed to be… a long day… after I got to London I tried to get out of the airport. There’s no easy way to just leave terminal 5 of the Heathrow international airport… You have to have an escort take you out of the building, and then you have to take a train (I’d recommend the Heathrow Express, if you’re willing to spend 23£) to actually get to London. Well… about 12pm I arrive to London… get to see Hyde Park, Covent Garden, and SoHo. Before I decide to leave at 3pm/1500 (all times will hence forth be 24H so I don’t get confused…) so I could make it back to Heathrow and get my carryon bags, which were too heavy to carry around so I had the airport babysit them for 16£, and go through security again, and make it to my plane before it left me, at 1800. Well, I got my bags and made it through security by 1715… the plane didn’t leave until 1930… oh well… ;)
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| My new room, small but perfect! |
Keep in mind, this is going on 24 hours with no sleep because I was talking with Mike, or watching movies the entire plane ride over… well on the plane ride to Rome, I was barely able to stay conscious long enough to get a sandwich down then fall back asleep… so I woke up and we were landing… 2 hours of sleep… then went to get my bags from the carousel and had to wait almost 30 minutes, then piled the almost 150 pounds of luggage up and headed for the exit. I had my fill of airports for the “day”. I left the airport at 2315, a taxi driver, Paulo, found me and asked if I needed a ride. WOW! Apparently taxi driver’s have a license that says ‘I can drive however I want’, because he was speeding, almost hitting pedestrians, and driving on the railroad tracks… but we got to the flat just around 0000 which was late, but I was just glad to be there. ;) Briefly met Giorgio and Raffaella (dad & mom), then headed to bed.
September 5, 2010
This morning I woke up at noon and we went to the park next door (Villa Ada, for those keeping track of my exact location at home ;) for lunch. After lunch we had some gelato and looked around the neighborhood. I met some more of the family that had just returned from the US that lives on the first floor of the same building, the two daughters are 9 and 6, and very sweet. The grandmother who lives nearby stopped by to meet me, as well as the landlady/housekeeper. All were very nice. The view out my window is amazing and full of Roman life! Giorgio, Raffaella, and I ended the day by watching a great American film about WWII with John Wayne and Sean Connery and some other people appropriately titled, “The Longest Day”. Tomorrow is Nicoló’s first day back at school, he gets very good marks and is very smart. I’m excited to get out of the flat and wander around Rome some, I probably won’t get very far from the flat, but I’m ok with that. ;) Ok, time to get to bed, I’m going to wake up early and see Nic off to school.
GOODNIGHT EVERYONE! (as said in an old school Walton family way; Old school tv, don’t worry if you don’t get it.)
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