Staying with the relatives

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Geo: 45.4582, 11.4546

I didn't bother going to bed last night, instead I stayed up, packed, showered and browsed the Internet- checking the departures scheduled, as many flights in the last few days have been canceled due to some serious fog over the city. At 2am I left and went to catch a bus to Trafalgar Square and then I caught another bus to Victoria Station. Here I had to wait until 3.15, which is when they open the station. I then caught the Gatwick Express and arrived just after 4am. So far, my flight had not been canceled and I was hoping that it wasn't going to be. I really didn't want to spend Christmas in London.

Gatwick airport was chockers with people. Spent the next two hours in a queue to check-in and pass security checks. Had just enough time before boarding to grab some food for breakfast and then I found a window seat at the front of the plane. I fell asleep straight away. One hour later I woke up and we were still on the tarmac!! Due to the fog many planes had been delayed- fine by me, a chance to get some sleep.

We finally took off and I went back to sleep. Towards the end of the 2 hour flight I woke up, we were above the alps and the mountains looked beautiful, there did not seem to be much snow though. 20 minutes later we were above Venice. Unfortunately I sat on the wrong side of the plane- I had the view of the industrial part of the city, the people on the right hand side of the plane had the bird's eye view of the old city. D'oh! Next time I will remember to sit on the right hand side of the plane.

I got off the plane and collected my luggage. I was very excited about seeing dad and my relatives again. It had been 10 months since I had seen dad and 4 years since I had seen the relatives. I walked out through the gates and walked around. I was staying with my uncle Franco, aunt Maria and two cousins, Jenny and Manuel who live in the family home. They greeted me at the airport, except Jenny who was working, but her boyfriend Fabio was there instead. They had not changed much at all, still the same. Dad was due to arrive in three hours, so my aunt, Fabio and I went home for lunch instead of hanging around. After lunch I was feeling very tired, so I had a nap. I was woken up by dad! It was good to see him again. Then I went back to sleep until dinner time.

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