And...we are on our way!!!

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7:00 a.m.

So, the day has arrived!!! I still feel like it is not here yet!! I guess I may start getting excited at the airport? I know Kenya has had a permanent grin on her face since she has gotten up…lol…

I am without voice this morning too…I guess Eric is blessed with another day of quiet!!! <grin> Going through everything at the airport will be sooo much fun if I can’t talk!!

10:30 a.m.

The drop off…I have been kind of dreading this for a few days…how will Eric react to us really leaving and being gone for a whole month? I felt a little melancholy on the way to the airport…sure enough, as soon as we said our goodbye’s he started crying and could barely get out of the parking lane…even under the close eye of the local cop who was trying to get him out…I’m sure it was impossible seeing the road through all those tears! Poor thing…he’ll manage though…boy does he have quite the projects planned!! : ) So…we went through the security lanes with all our loot, but wouldn’t you know it, I was the “chosen” for a closer look <ugh> so, with Kenya trying to manage all of the said loot, I get closed into the clear walled security room with a frisky woman guard…<double ugh>. But, all went well, we got our shoes back on and went to buy our lunch and magazines (had the best tuna sandwich!)

12:30 p.m.

We boarded the plane happily passing through with our carry-ons <whew>! Kenya and I have lovely seats that sit right next to the window and no one else…boy, I already feel sorry for the single gal who is sitting behind us and is having to endure the most boring conversation with the guy next to her…an environmentalist it sounds like…he sounds exactly like that guy on Ferris Beuller’s day off…nasally and all….Beuller…Beuller?

Almost 2:00 p.m.

Still sitting at the gate an hour later…apparently the toilets don’t know that they are empty, so we can’t go until the sensors are hand cleaned by the engineers…the captain informed us that after draining the waste tanks they had to physically go into the tank and wipe the sensors by hand…really would not want that job!! Peeeewww!! What was that smell??!! Thank god we have a looong layover in Amsterdam!!! I’d hate to miss our flight to Rome!! At least the volcano has quieted down!! Signing off until Amsterdam…

Uh...maybe not! LOL Meanwhile…up in the air, we had the most awesome flight! Our seats each had movie screens, where we got to pick what we wanted to watch, and when! I watched Alvin and the Chimpmunks, the Squeaquel (Kenya’s choice for me to watch the same one she chose!!) I also watched Precious and Dear John…I did not particularly like either one…wish I would have chosen “It’s Complicated”. Oh well!



I was completely surprised that they did not charge us for anything…drinks, snacks, earphones, etc! I preordered Kenya a child’s meal, so she ate chicken nuggets, tater tots, salad, a roll, and a cookie. I declined my meal, and instead ate Kenya’s salad. Then they brought everyone sandwiches about midway through the flight…those were great! Then, right when we were flying over Iceland (they showed our flight’s progress on a screen the whole time…VERY cool!) they fed us breakfast of croissants and eggs…Kenya got cold cereal…yummo! So, all in all, the flight was long but great! The movies sure helped out! My eyes really started rolling about then, so I tried my hardest to go to sleep, but couldn’t…Kenya slept for a solid hour.

Amsterdam-Sadly, due to our flight’s start delay, we only had about 4 hours in Amsterdam, so we chose to stay at the airport. I did not mention it before, but I was sick…with a capital “S”. My throat hurt like the dickens, and my ears felt like they wanted to explode….and I hadn’t slept for 18 hours by then…so you probably got the picture. So we stowed our bags away in lockers and we took our time exploring the really cool airport, along with it’s museum, a casino, a really Dutch looking playground (think Ikea…even though Ikea is Swedish), and a really awesome food court! We had a dutch meal that had “Amsterdames Croquettes” in it…basically think of a meat stuffed pastry…it was kinda salty, but good! I was really surprised how many Africans and east Indians were at the airport. Amsterdam must be a big hub for those destinjations! We went souvenier shopping and Kenya was thrilled to find a skater t-shirt that says “Amsterdam” on it. I got a dutch clogs magnet!

When it came time to get our bags and go to the gate, again I was nervous about our carry-ons, AlItalia Airlines has a policy of one bag that does not weigh over 11 pounds…but I did not have to worry, we got on just fine!! Boy, were there a lot of beautiful people waiting to get on the plane! I love European people…they are so elegant when they dress!! And they smell good too!

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