I have been home from London for over a week now. The closing ceremony was this past Sunday. The results, USA kicked but leading in the medal count overall and in gold medals.
This experience has been one I will never forget; from watching the sunrise on the flight out, to walking into Olympic Park for the first time, to entering an official Olympic venue and witnessing the Olympics with all of my senses, in person and live, to the disaster that unfolded for my flight home.
I had the great opportunity to see several different sports, many events and even a medal ceremony. I also had time to see London and all of the history it has to offer. Well, not everything, there just isn't enough time in a week to really see all that London offers. I also was able to experience Paris for the first time, the beauty in the buildings and sites just walking down the street made me want to stay. Paris was more of a visual experience for me, and outside looking in experience. I went into few buildings, no museums but took in the magnificent views of the architecture that makes Paris what it is. I know there is still so much more to be seen and one day I hope to go back and really take it all in.
This trip was a lot of running around; running to catch a train, get to an event on time, meeting up with the group at a certain time, spending too much time on the phone with the credit card company and then finally trying to get cash. Then there was my flight home...that was a long day.
The night before the group was to leave London to return to the US, I checked my flight to make sure I was still flying out separate from the group at 3:15pm, and I was. I woke up with the group around 6am, when half of them were leaving for the airport. The other half, the group I came in with left at 7am. I was almost done packing and decided to get some breakfast downstairs in the hostel. I figured I would check my flight status one more time, knowing I was leaving at 10am to get there for a 3:15pm flight and would have plenty of time. Well...turns out I was back on the flight with my original group whose flight was leaving at 11am. It was already after 8am. So, after the panic, changing my cab time, having my driver sprint me to the airport, wait an hour in the queue to check in, have to rearrange the stuff in my luggage because of weight I finally made it to the gate with 15 minutes before boarding. Good thing the previous flight was delayed.
I did not have a direct flight back home and when I landed in Toronto, I had to go through US customs, including getting my checked luggage. I won't get into this process, but if it made it through security to my first destination why do I have to go through it again. I can't even imagine what I would do if I had 50 minutes between connecting flights. Anyway, I was sitting at the gate when I heard an announcement, my flight to Newark was cancelled. I spent the next hour on a customer service line that wasn't moving trying to get a flight home. They had booked me on a 6am flight the next morning and all of the other flights were booked for Newark and NY area airports. Luckily, I could fly into Philadelphia and my mother drove down to pick me up. I had a head cold from the change in weather when I was in London and the 3 dose of day quill was only a temporary relief during a 7 hour flight, several hour lay-over, 2 hour flight home and then an hour car ride. I just wanted to be home and in bed.
Things I learned from flying across the Atlantic. 1) Get an isle seat so you can get up and move without bothering anyone 2) First class would have been well worth the money for comfort and space alone 3) The high altitudes cause severe swelling in arthritic joints 4) Bring your own ice pack, because ice is hard to come by.
This experience has been one I will never forget; from watching the sunrise on the flight out, to walking into Olympic Park for the first time, to entering an official Olympic venue and witnessing the Olympics with all of my senses, in person and live, to the disaster that unfolded for my flight home.
I had the great opportunity to see several different sports, many events and even a medal ceremony. I also had time to see London and all of the history it has to offer. Well, not everything, there just isn't enough time in a week to really see all that London offers. I also was able to experience Paris for the first time, the beauty in the buildings and sites just walking down the street made me want to stay. Paris was more of a visual experience for me, and outside looking in experience. I went into few buildings, no museums but took in the magnificent views of the architecture that makes Paris what it is. I know there is still so much more to be seen and one day I hope to go back and really take it all in.
This trip was a lot of running around; running to catch a train, get to an event on time, meeting up with the group at a certain time, spending too much time on the phone with the credit card company and then finally trying to get cash. Then there was my flight home...that was a long day.
The night before the group was to leave London to return to the US, I checked my flight to make sure I was still flying out separate from the group at 3:15pm, and I was. I woke up with the group around 6am, when half of them were leaving for the airport. The other half, the group I came in with left at 7am. I was almost done packing and decided to get some breakfast downstairs in the hostel. I figured I would check my flight status one more time, knowing I was leaving at 10am to get there for a 3:15pm flight and would have plenty of time. Well...turns out I was back on the flight with my original group whose flight was leaving at 11am. It was already after 8am. So, after the panic, changing my cab time, having my driver sprint me to the airport, wait an hour in the queue to check in, have to rearrange the stuff in my luggage because of weight I finally made it to the gate with 15 minutes before boarding. Good thing the previous flight was delayed.
I did not have a direct flight back home and when I landed in Toronto, I had to go through US customs, including getting my checked luggage. I won't get into this process, but if it made it through security to my first destination why do I have to go through it again. I can't even imagine what I would do if I had 50 minutes between connecting flights. Anyway, I was sitting at the gate when I heard an announcement, my flight to Newark was cancelled. I spent the next hour on a customer service line that wasn't moving trying to get a flight home. They had booked me on a 6am flight the next morning and all of the other flights were booked for Newark and NY area airports. Luckily, I could fly into Philadelphia and my mother drove down to pick me up. I had a head cold from the change in weather when I was in London and the 3 dose of day quill was only a temporary relief during a 7 hour flight, several hour lay-over, 2 hour flight home and then an hour car ride. I just wanted to be home and in bed.
Things I learned from flying across the Atlantic. 1) Get an isle seat so you can get up and move without bothering anyone 2) First class would have been well worth the money for comfort and space alone 3) The high altitudes cause severe swelling in arthritic joints 4) Bring your own ice pack, because ice is hard to come by.