Wednesday August 15, 2012

Our plane was scheduled to leave at 9:40pm, lucky for us, we managed to board the plane going unnoticed with our oversized carry-on luggage. On the plane we were informed that there was a fog over Venice, too dense to take off in – so we sat waiting for it to clear. While waiting, the cheery captain with a British accent came over the loudspeaker and informed passengers because of our delay he was allowing any curious passengers to come on down to the cockpit for a tour! His ability to keep a light mood, the friendly stewardesses, and cheap fares has made EasyJet our favorite European airline. The flight to London was short, we arrived at Gatwick around 10:45 (gained an hour with the time change) overwhelmed, exhausted, and unfortunately we still had to find a bus to our hotel.

We didn’t appreciate how glad we were to be back in an English speaking country until we got off the plane, easily found a bus, and were able to ask for clear directions to our hotel! Strolling through the streets of Crawley with luggage was all too familiar – it seems like we’re constantly hauling luggage around the UK. The hotel was easy to find, located in the middle of downtown on a pedestrian only street. Walking up we were tempted to stop in next door at “OCOTPVS” for a pint, but after a 12-day cruise we agreed liquid calories were the last thing we needed. Megan had booked our room at the Ramada Crawley Gatwick hotel simply because it was the cheapest hotel close to the airport – but when we arrived we were in for a big surprise.

This particular hotel was part of the Ramada chain, but it was originally “The George Inn”, a historic inn, thought to be built around 1579! The best part – it’s a haunted hotel! Although we didn’t see any ghosts, we did get a good 4-hour night sleep, hot showers and free Internet. We woke early the next morning for our trek back to the airport to catch our flights home to the US. Of course as soon as we walked outside it started raining, but we were glad to have it, the Med was dry, and the temperature back home was projected to be around 110ºF. The journey home was relaxing, and the ten hours seemed to pass quickly. We had a layover in Las Vegas before finally touching down in Phoenix, ironically we are probably the only people we know NOT happy to fly into Vegas.

There's no place like home.
Nothing beats the blazing heat and really good Mexican food with family and friends on your first night back in town! …Although our 80-day adventure was an unforgettable one we don’t recommend doing everything we did in one shot, unless you’ve obtained the proper gear. Because we had originally planned on spending all our time abroad in London we loaded our luggage with jackets, boots and raincoats. Kyle had to pack “fashionable” for castings, go-sees and auditions. In the end we found we had hauled around way more junk than necessary, and found ourselves without essential items – like swimsuits for our month on Tenerife! Go light, nothing was worse then attempting to get around Europe lugging a hundred pounds of luggage. Of course we wouldn’t trade-in any of it; our new friends and experiences made the trip well worth the effort – but man was it was good to be home!

Xo,
M&K