Our homeward bound flights took us from JFK to Cincinnati to Des Moines. Originally had a 3 hr layover in Cincinnati, but found out we were delayed - ended up delayed over 4+ hrs...ugh! And let me tell you, if you've never flown through Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky airport, you're not missing much. It's basically a hub for Delta and that's about it. Fun...
Apparently while we were gone, Des Moines got hit with more rain & flooding. Could sadly see the damage from the plane on our way in...
Have been home almost a week and am finally adjusting to the real world. I appreciate being in a country where they believe in toliet paper, toliet seats & soap in the bathrooms - something I won't miss from Tunisia. However, I will actually miss the dry, 100+ heat of Tunisia over the humidity of Iowa.
Sicily & Tunisia contrasted each other significantly. Sicily was so calm, serene & peaceful where as Tunisia was little more fast paced, crowded and a tad bit dirtier. It was good to see both cultures and it makes you appreciate what you have. It's always good to step out of your comfort zone...but good to know you can always go home! :)
Sadly, school starts (for me) on the 11th, so the traveling will have to subside for a while...sob sob sniff sniff... But, you know me, I won't be able to sit still for long...am hoping to do something for my birthday!! :)
I feel quite blessed for the amazing experiences I have had this summer. I have seen so many amazing things, have met some quite outstanding people, and made some friends this summer. I, of course, have oodles of pics...some that capture the moments and others that possibly could not capture the feeling. But, as CS Lewis said, "One who has journeyed in a foreign land cannot return unchanges."
Hope you've enjoyed reading this - Thanks to those who have read it!!
Check back - (I gotta figure out how to post pics)- you never know what I'll be up to next.... ;)
Con carino ~ steph :)
Sunday, August 3, 2008
Friday, August 1, 2008
Adios Africa - Hello America!! 7/28
Had a noon flight out of Tunisia. Their airport is definitely different than ours. You can only check in when they say you can (usually 2 hrs before hand) and it's usually a chaotic mess. Paris was like that as well.
Our flights are Tunis to Paris (2 hrs) and then Paris to NYC/JFK, all on Air France. The Paris to NYC flight was amazing. I got my seat assignment - row 69. I'm thinking, wow, this must be a huge plane for 69 rows...yep and I was UPSTAIRS!!! Yes, this is an old 747 that has an upper deck and I was seated up there!! It was kind of business-class-like. Extra leg room, TV screens in the backs of the seats. All my other planes this summer had the TV's in the seats, but on this one, downstairs, nope. Since it's an older plane, they haven't updated it yet, so those poor folks downstairs didn't have a choice of movies and just had screens up on the ceiling...oh, remember those days!?!? My, how times have changed. We've come to expect movies/TV on demand and when we don't get to choose, we pitch a fit.
Needless to say, everyone in our group kept wandering up to check on us and see what life was like upstairs. There were 5 of us there with LOADS of students. There were groups of Italians & Spaniards going to USA to study. They were scattered all over the plane, so they used our upstairs oasis as a lounge - good thing I didn't want to sleep.
NY wasn't bad, surprisingly, to get through Immigration. I expected it to be a zoo, but wasn't. Customs had a huge line since they only had 2 guys working...basically, they looked at your Customs Claim Form and let you go - no searching of luggage! WOO HOO!!
Had an overnight at the Hilton where we all basically checked in, ate dinner and went to bed. It was at dinner that someone pointed out that we had been on 3 continents today!! That floored me!! Wow!!!
Said good-byes to everyone at dinner since we're all on different flights in the morning. It's amazing...when you travel with people over an extended time period and talk to them every day and laugh with them every day, you grow attached. It's always hard going home since those people aren't around and they're the only ones who share those memories with you. It's always lonely when they aren't there in the morning at breakfast, or when you see something that reminds you of them - it makes you smile. Those are the best souveneirs to bring home - the memories & experiences with people, not necessarily the destinations.
Our flights are Tunis to Paris (2 hrs) and then Paris to NYC/JFK, all on Air France. The Paris to NYC flight was amazing. I got my seat assignment - row 69. I'm thinking, wow, this must be a huge plane for 69 rows...yep and I was UPSTAIRS!!! Yes, this is an old 747 that has an upper deck and I was seated up there!! It was kind of business-class-like. Extra leg room, TV screens in the backs of the seats. All my other planes this summer had the TV's in the seats, but on this one, downstairs, nope. Since it's an older plane, they haven't updated it yet, so those poor folks downstairs didn't have a choice of movies and just had screens up on the ceiling...oh, remember those days!?!? My, how times have changed. We've come to expect movies/TV on demand and when we don't get to choose, we pitch a fit.
Needless to say, everyone in our group kept wandering up to check on us and see what life was like upstairs. There were 5 of us there with LOADS of students. There were groups of Italians & Spaniards going to USA to study. They were scattered all over the plane, so they used our upstairs oasis as a lounge - good thing I didn't want to sleep.
NY wasn't bad, surprisingly, to get through Immigration. I expected it to be a zoo, but wasn't. Customs had a huge line since they only had 2 guys working...basically, they looked at your Customs Claim Form and let you go - no searching of luggage! WOO HOO!!
Had an overnight at the Hilton where we all basically checked in, ate dinner and went to bed. It was at dinner that someone pointed out that we had been on 3 continents today!! That floored me!! Wow!!!
Said good-byes to everyone at dinner since we're all on different flights in the morning. It's amazing...when you travel with people over an extended time period and talk to them every day and laugh with them every day, you grow attached. It's always hard going home since those people aren't around and they're the only ones who share those memories with you. It's always lonely when they aren't there in the morning at breakfast, or when you see something that reminds you of them - it makes you smile. Those are the best souveneirs to bring home - the memories & experiences with people, not necessarily the destinations.
Free Day 7/27/08
Was a rough day today...nothing scheduled until 3...meaning, I could sleep in!!! Woo hoo!! Had a nice, slow morning of breakfast and lounging by the pool. It was a rough day - not a cloud in the sky. Stayed inside our hotel compound and just chilled...rough....Not used to this - typically when I travel with kids, it's GO, GO and then GO some more. This chillin' stuff is sometimes hard to adjust to.
At 3, we headed to an amazing museum, El Bardo, with some of the most amazing Mosaics I have seen. Many still intact...and huge! Just made you wonder how they excavated them and moved them here. Many Roman statues as well...without their noses. By losing a bet, I found out that when the towns were invades, they would knock over the Roman statues (thus the noses breaking since they were the first things to hit) or they would break off the noses in a sign of disrespect.
Our farewell dinner was in the heart of the Medina. Is a different place without all the crazy hagglers trying to give you "good deal." The room was spectacular - decorated in bright colors & arabic style. Food was outstanding - had lamb. I got to be the "lucky" one to present our driver & guides their tip money and say a few words. We did lots of group pics and said some good-byes to those we wouldn't see in the morning. All of us are on the same flights except the couple that has to go to the Embassy.
Of course, I had to pay up on the bet that I lost. Had to buy drinks. But, since it's a Sunday, none of the bars in the "compound" were serving except the lower garden bar. It was a scavenger hunt trying to find it...and then, come to find out, they aren't serving wine. Oh, well, was a beautiful night for chillin' and reminiscin'...
At 3, we headed to an amazing museum, El Bardo, with some of the most amazing Mosaics I have seen. Many still intact...and huge! Just made you wonder how they excavated them and moved them here. Many Roman statues as well...without their noses. By losing a bet, I found out that when the towns were invades, they would knock over the Roman statues (thus the noses breaking since they were the first things to hit) or they would break off the noses in a sign of disrespect.
Our farewell dinner was in the heart of the Medina. Is a different place without all the crazy hagglers trying to give you "good deal." The room was spectacular - decorated in bright colors & arabic style. Food was outstanding - had lamb. I got to be the "lucky" one to present our driver & guides their tip money and say a few words. We did lots of group pics and said some good-byes to those we wouldn't see in the morning. All of us are on the same flights except the couple that has to go to the Embassy.
Of course, I had to pay up on the bet that I lost. Had to buy drinks. But, since it's a Sunday, none of the bars in the "compound" were serving except the lower garden bar. It was a scavenger hunt trying to find it...and then, come to find out, they aren't serving wine. Oh, well, was a beautiful night for chillin' and reminiscin'...
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