Europe 1 The Day I Spread My Wings

STL to ATL to BRU, 08/22/2017

I woke up the morning of departure feeling ready to go. My brain instantly started going through my mental checklist of all the last minute things to gather before I left for the airport. Glasses. Computer. Charger. Makeup. Check. 

I made some eggs because it's the food of champions. At least I think so. And then I sat waiting for Ansley and Mom to be ready to take me to the airport. I tried to analyze what I was feeling but it's hard to describe. Ready to be there but also not wanting to leave. Ready to be on the other side of the airport craziness but also slightly resisting the decision to get in the car and go. 

Calm but anxious. Again, that internal battle. It's good to have both though because it levels out in the end. On the way to the airport, I called Benjamin. One last normal FaceTime conversation about what we had been up to the day before. He wasn't the only friend I heard from though. Multiple of my dear sweet friends sent me messages wishing me luck and sending me their love and prayers. I definitely felt the love! Special shoutout to all of those who did think of me this morning or yesterday before I left! I may be biased, but I have the best friends a girl could ask for! 

We arrived to the airport and parked so Ansley and Mom could come in and see me off (how sweet are they?) After struggling with understanding very clear images on how to scan my passport, (??) I checked my bag and we took off to wait in a Starbucks.

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(to be continued)

My Euro Trip 8 Red Telephone Box

It's so much fun sitting here people watching - the Brits certainly make the most of blue sky. The park is filled with people young and old lying on the grass, sitting on park benches and strolling around the gated park area. There we even kids running in and out of the water feature, trying to see how close they could get to the changing water spurts coming up from the ground. And I'm feeling content. I might have only landed in London 3 hours ago but already I know this is going to be the trip of a lifetime.

 

I then walked back towards my hotel, taking the obigilatory photo next to a red telephone box. Trust me, I plan to take photos of all the stenotype ally tourist attractions on this trip. I had a quick rest in my room before going downstairs to have one of the worst dinners ever (note to self, if the hotel has a free meal included and it is at a buffet style restaurant don't do it - spend the money and go somewhere else).

I did manage to stay up until 8pm (only just) before crashing. Unfortunately I did wake up at 3am and haven't been able to sleep since (it is now 5.15am) so I think today will be a long one. 

My Euro Trip 7 Sitting On A Park Bench

I then headed to the 3 mobile store to get a SIM card for my phone - within 5 minutes of getting there I already had mobile phone connection with unlimited data for 30 days (yes I know it is a sad thing how excited I was). I then used my phone to see what was around the area that i could go to next and saw that there was a Public garden area just around the corner.

Before coming here I was reading my lonely planet book where it mentioned that as soon as there is a bit of sunshine, people flock to the many parks around London. Well it was certainly accurate as I

walked through the gates of Russell Square Park and saw all the people lying on the grass, sitting on park benches and just wandering along the paths. Whilst I was sitting there, I just started writing and this is what I wrote:

I'm writing this post sitting on a park bench in Russell Square Park enjoying the sun. It might only be 14 degrees and I'll admit I'm a little bit cold without my jacket on but I don't care. There is blue sky in London!

(to be continued)

My Euro Trip 6 Jet Lag

I can't believe that I'm finally in London! After catching the train from the airport and checking into my hotel I decided it was time to explore a bit. Even though I was exhausted I knew the best thing to help my jet lag was to stay up as late as possible so my aim was to at least stay up until 8pm London time (5am Melbourne time). This meant that I had 5 hours in which I needed to do things so as I wouldn't fall asleep.

I started with a walk to The Brunswick shopping ball just around the corner where my first priority was to get water as I was really dehydrated from the flight. I went to Waitrose which I'm guessing is a similar idea to our Woolies. It was quite interesting to have a look at the different brands around, seeing both familiar brands that we have back home as well as some new ones. I was very happy to see Cadbury and I also saw Galaxy (this is one that my UK friends back home keep on telling me about so it is on my list to try).

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My Euro Trip 5 Directly from Heathrow

Arriving at Heathrow I was expecting long lines to get through immigration and customs but within 45 minutes of the plane landing I was already on my way to the train station. Oh and on that note, getting to my hotel was so easy! Melbourne, pay attention - have a train that goes straight from the airport into the city - it is so convenient and easy! I was able to get the tube directly from Heathrow Airport to Russell Square station which is just around the corner from my hotel so that within 1 hour from clearing customs I was checking into my hotel.

Anyway I have now checked into my hotel and am about to go explore the streets near the hotel. My goal is to stay up as late as possible tonight so as to avoid jetlag - lets see how I go.

(to be continued)

My Euro Trip 4 Strong accent

On arrival at Dubai airport I was so glad to stretch my legs and it was a good thing that I wanted a walk as getting from the arrivals gate to my departure gate was a decent walk. The duty free shops and cafes just kept on going!! My stopover in Dubai was only 2 hours so by the time I stopped to have some breakfast/lunch (I cant decided what it was as my body clock was so confused) there wasn't long to wait until my flight. When it was time to board, it was quite funny as the Emirates staff member who was announcing which sections of the plane were to board had such as strong accent that no one knew if he was saying B, D or E. I could overhear people saying 'Did he say D or E?", "No he said B". I think the Emirates guy eventually gave up and just let everyone board the plane.

Given that the 14 hour flight from Melbourne to Dubai wasn't as bad as I thought, I was expecting the 7.5 hour flight from Dubai to London to be easy. Yeah, I was wrong. I think the combination of lack of sleep and having an unsettled stomach meant that the flight just dragged. I was definitely glad when we touched down.

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My Euro Trip 3 Melbourne to Dubai

My first leg of my trip was Melbourne to Dubai. Even though it was a 14 hour flight it went fairly quickly. I think that being an overnight flight certainly helped as I was able to sleep for a couple of hours. It was my first time flying with Emirates and I was very happy with the service. I got to fly on an A380 and it certainly is a massive plane. Unfortunately, my budget is quite tight so a first class ticket wasn't an option for me so I was stuck in economy. It was hard walking past the signs for first class where they get their own private compartment and business class where they have flat bed seats to the economy class. Saying that though, the seats in economy were fairly comfortable and I had plenty of legroom (that may also be because I'm not that tall).

During my flight to Dubai I had a lovely lady sitting next to me for the flight. She was in her 70s and was travelling to Western Europe for 6 weeks. She said that she spent her younger years raising a family and since her husband passed away that it was time to do things for herself and so every year during Melbourne winter she travels overseas for 6 weeks. What a great way to spend your retirement!

(to be continued)