Day 30 - Bon Voyage

Nicole and I woke up on time, obnoxiously early and quickly got ready for our trip. Nicole opted to dress up for her trip home with a skirt and tights. I on the other hand opted to dress in my most comfortable clothing because I knew the next 22 hours would be hell. I was able to pack everything I owned into my two bags, very carefully of course and with bursting zippers, but it all fit. I warmed up some chocolate croissants for Nicole and I's breakfast and made my way over to tackle the inflatable bed.

It was so much harder than I expected to deflate this enormous inflatable bed. I started by just opening the valve and air started rushing out, but as time went on the air stopped flowing. So I went through a series of rolling and hopping and folding the air bed to get all the air out. Nicole walked in the room to find me sprawled out with all my limbs on all corners trying my hardest to push all the air out. I'm sure it was a hilarious sight, and I am happy to leave you all with a visual. Finally we both worked together to roll up the inflatable bed and got it inside its original bag, with all the tools it came with. Whew, it was a lot of work so early in the morning!

Once everything was ready to go I shouted at Jim that we were ready to hit the road and he rushed up to say goodbye. We gave quick hugs and said our goodbyes and he walked us out the door. I carried my HEAVY backpack on my back and my vintage bag in my hand, both were heavy and extremely uncomfortable to carry. Nicole had two bags around her shoulders and her small wheeler suitcase. We were quite the team pushing our way through the metro stops during rush hour. It took some maneuvering and some serious energy to get all our belongings onto the train, and through the next station and onto our final train to the airport. It felt so good to finally set my bags down on our final train and sit down for a moment of rest.

We didn't quite know what stop we needed to get off on at the airport, but we took a guess with Terminal 1, the last stop. Once we departed the plane and saw the terminal we immediately regretted our decision and found an information desk for help. The women very coldly assured us that we were in the right place, we just needed to head 2 floors up to Terminal 2A. We found the American Airlines desks first, which was my stop. Continental was right around the corner and so we said our goodbyes and parted ways. It was sad to see my companion go, and it was very lonely standing in lines all by myself.

The line was not short in the slightest, in fact it was so very very long. I waiting in line for check-in for about an hour. First through a securtiy questioning person and next to the checkout counter person. I was very thankful to drop off my large backpack once I was up to the check in desk. After the hour I just spent waiting in line, they ushered me to the security checkpoint and I had to wait in line for another hour to get through. At first there was a line for French passports and then all other passports. But the French Border person left and left only one person to check everyone's passport. It was incredibly slow. Once I was FINALLY done going through all the lines I had to rush to my gate. My plane was already boarding and it was scheduled to take off in about 30 minutes.

I made it onto the plane, but not without injury. I tried to stuff my coat inside my vintage bag, I was rather rushed in doing so and the bag cut my hand open in two different spots. OUCH! To make matters worse I had to carry the large bag with the same hand making the blood gush out even faster. It was not a fun task juggling things so I didn't get blood everywhere. I found my seat and got everything situated. I even had time to throw off my walking shoes and put on my cozy purple boots. It was a very smart choice for the rest of my journey.

Our plane stood on the run way for a long time and once in the air it was announced that we were taking a detour to avoid weather over the Atlantic ocean. This meant we needed to fly very far north, over Greenland to avoid the storms and it would add 45 minutes if not more to our flight time. Wonderful. The flight was...terrible. It lasted over 11 hours and it was light the entire time leaving me awake for most of the trip. I tried to doze off every once and a while, but it just didn't work and instead it left me with a splitting headache. The food was less than impressive and I was practically teary eyed near the end of the flight. I was starting to feel sick and just needed off the plane as soon as I could. We did indeed fly over Greenland, and I must say it was gorgeous. Miles upon miles of snow/ice covered mountains, it was so untouched and therefore so beautiful.

I was so very happy to finally land in Dallas and get off the plane away from the smell that planes have and all the people around me. I rushed off the plane and through customs. Fortunate for me the US Citizen line was the shortest I have ever seen it and I breezed right threw. I went to baggage claim and waiting tirelessly for my baggage. We had arrived late and I needed to get to my connecting flight ASAP. Finally my bag showed up and I was able to recheck it and make my way to my gate. I arrived just in time for the last round of boarding and took my seat on the plane.

I was not happy of course to be back in a plane, but I knew this journey would be short. As I settled in my seat and took in my surrounds, I soon realized, I was in fact on my way back to Nebraska. I was no longer surrounded by international people who all spoke different languages around me, I was instead surrounded by people mostly with a southern draw all speaking very loudly so I had to hear every word they were saying. I was no longer surrounded by nicely dressed Europeans with unique styles and fun haircuts, I was instead surrounded by poorly dressed people with Nebraska football sweatshirts and torn jeans, or worse...Texas sweatshirts and hats. I longed for the comfort of Europe with constant chatter that was merely background noise since I didn't understand a word of it. I did not care to listen to the conversation taking place behind me about a specific Frat and a roommates wedding that turned into a Frat reunion and how totally awesome it was. To say the least my flight home did not give me the comfort I was looking for after leaving my hiatus from the real world. I kept my head in my Terry Pratchett novel to help the time move by faster.

And finally the wheels of the plane touched down in a snow covered Nebraska and we parked at the gate. I deboarded the plane and headed straight for the exit. And there they were, my family smiling brightly at me right outside the gate. It was great to see them and we all hugged and greeted each other. It is always nice to be greeted with a warm sense of home. Lucas helped me pick up my bag from the baggage claim and we headed to the car. We laughed and I told stories about everyone I saw during my trip. It was great to talk about things I missed and things they should have seen. Grace and Katie couldn't come to the airport because Grace was very upset and they decided it would have been a bad idea to bring her to the airport. So we stopped at their house to drop off Lucas and of course to see Katie and Grace.

Grace is so big! And so adorable! She has grown up so much since I last saw her and even though she wasn't in the best of spirits it was great to see her! We stayed at their house and chatted for a while. It was great to be surrounded my family again and talk about the things families do. Lucas and Katie's place looks great all decorated for Christmas and Lucas has made a lot of progress on staining their chairs, nice work! After a while Grace got pretty upset and we decided to step out. Lucas and Katie have been housing my car this whole time, warm and toasty in their garage. Mom and Dad drove home in their car and I was able to drive my car home.

Oh how I missed my car and driving, it felt great to be behind the wheel again, even though there was ice and snow covering the ground. I even found my cell phone in the car and was able to turn it on for the first time in a month and check my messages. As I headed to the Interstate my favorite song for the moment, came on the radio and it certainly put a smile on my face as I thought, Welcome Home. I very much enjoyed my drive home, it is one of the things I missed the most, driving that is.

Dad helped me park my car in the garage giving me directions so I didn't bump my stacked up furniture from my old apartment. Its a tight fit, but I was able to get the car inside. We settled upstairs for some cookies and milk and chatted for a bit. I pulled out some gifts to show Mom and finally it was time to retire to bed. So here I am, lying in my comfortable bed after a clean shower and ready to go to sleep.

I am happy and sad to be home all at once. There are so many things I missed from home, but there are so many things I will miss about Europe. My trip was the trip of a lifetime, it was wonderful and I owe a special thank you to everyone who housed me and fed me. Jim, thank you for all your hospitality, it was wonderful spending so much time with you and experiencing everything we did.

As it is the end of my trip, I will say goodbye. I do hope you enjoyed my stories, I was so pleased to share my experiences with you. Bon voyage Europe, I hope to see you again soon.