I must say it's good to be back in the States, but now that I'm here I keep thinking of London! What's up with that?
I had a great flight from London. The plane was only about 50% full, so I had plenty of room to spread out. I think I even slept a little, which never happens since I usually can't get comfortable in such a confined space. When I wasn't dozing off or reading, I was peering out the window, intrigued by the landscape below me. I love window seats! Even though I've flown to and from Europe a few times, I never remember seeing what I saw this time--apparently on my other flights it was either dark or cloudy. Below were tons of ice burgs floating about and crazy tundra that must have been Iceland or Greenland or something. Amazing!
When I landed in Cincinnati, about half of my fellow travelers and I were involved in a major breach of security by no fault of our own. We were let off the plane into the regular terminal rather than being directed to Customs and Immigration. It took over an hour for the TSA to round up all the wayward passengers and herd us to the correct place which meant I missed my flight to GRR. As a consolation, I was given a meal voucher to keep me occupied and my stomach satisfied until the next connection. I wouldn't have minded a refund on the flight or some free SkyMiles or something, but whatever. Thankfully the surprise I planned for my parents was not effected by this change in schedule.
I was chatting with a few of my American friends in London and we all expressed concern that once we were back home, we'd start spending money like crazy since things would seem so cheap compared to London. It's a good thing I have some Christmas shopping to do to distract me from spending money on myself. I'm hoping to get downtown Chicago yet before Christmas to experience the bitter wind gusts and crowds which signify this festive time of year. Whether or not I spend money shopping there is not important--all I really need is a Chicago fix.
I'll be heading back to London on 8 January and I doubt I'll be adding to this blog while I'm home. So, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year everyone!