Wednesday, February 18, 2009

We left the hostel at 6:30AM to take the Tube to Heathrow. We had explicit instructions from the person at the hostel desk to be quiet walking through the neighborhood. Apparently people are still asleep at that hour. Whoda thunk?

It was mostly dark!

One last time: Mind the gap

DD was so tired! And me before coffee. I'm surprised I was smiling.

Happy travelers heading home.

We left so early that there was no one at the desk at the tube station to get group tickets from. The attendant told GB to take care of it at the other end. When we got to the other end there was no one at the window. So GB told the attendant what happened at the first station... he wound up just waving us all through. Thank you Mr Tube attendant.

After checking in and going through security we ate breakfast at the airport, which was far better than breakfast we would have had at Globetrotter. The girls got juice and muffins. I had grapes, a yogurt parfait and a latte.

DD was definitely more awake after eating and I was sure glad to have that latte. It was delicious. It was in terminal 3 and from a place called EAT.

After we were through eating we were able to go to our gate and board our flight.

It was a super long walk to the gate and of course we were at #22! The kids played cards while they waited.

Our amazing leader. It was nice to see him really relax once we reached the gate and everyone was accounted for. He's such a great person, I know I've gushed about how incredible he is, but he is!

Farewell England, you've been good to us.

When I packed, I decided to bring along my cashmere pants. They're super comfy, more like pajama bottoms than anything. They took up so much space in my suitcase and I questioned myself several times why I brought them. All that aside, they were perfect for flying in! So comfortable. I'm really glad I packed them. Kicked off my shoes and enjoyed the ride as best I could. Flying isn't my favorite thing to do. And of course, my friends MB and TG were either behind or beside me. Good times.

The flight home had some turbulence and was more full than the earlier one. We weren't able to stretch out quite like we did on the way over. It arrived about 20 minutes ahead of schedule though!

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Going through customs and immigration was relatively painless for DD, LJ and I. We all had the same agent that just asked the usual questions and stamped us through. The 2 girls traveling without a parent had a jerk of an agent assisting them. He yelled at me when I was waiting for them at the end of their queue. I explained that I was with them and he told me that didn't matter to him and to go downstairs. I complied and thankfully the girls weren't held up. GB had to go through different immigration as he's a UK resident, but we met up after he was cleared. I get the immigration officer was doing his job, but don't be giving 11 and 13 year old girls a hard time!

GB was an amazing guide, we could have not had anyone better. His knowledge and enthusiasm was vast and he planned everything perfectly. Giving us a lot of substance without overwhelming us. I can't believe how nervous I was about going, it was truly the best week of my life. There's no way I would have ever done anything like this on my own. I'm so glad it worked out the way it did, and so, so pleased that LL1 and her kids went too. They're all awesome.

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And we got to sleep in a castle. How awesome is that? I'd go back to that place to stay in a heartbeat.

Our rides in the van provided some of the best laughs of the trip. MB, TG and I referred to ourselves as the Berumuda Triangle, we turned some really weird stuff into some big jokes. We shared many a laugh with some really bad cow jokes and what do you call a man with no arms no legs doing _____________ jokes (What do you call a man with no arms, no legs and hangs on a wall? Art.) And if anyone says “You wanna buy a chicken!?” around TG she will giggle for hours on end. I will look back on those rides with fond memories. We were a loud and happy bunch and I hope AW1 wasn't too overwhelmed with the noise, we made a lot of it.

I wish I'd thought to bring a pedometer with us. We covered miles and miles that week. I can't speak for everyone that wears them, but I want to be buried in my Danskos. They proved themselves to be a terrific walking and touring shoe.