As with most vacations, we were sad that it was coming to an end, but happy that we would soon be sleeping in our own beds! Today was a super long day. We were up at 6:00 am and I promptly blew the fuse in our hotel room when I tried to plug in my blowdryer! I looked like a real winner as we traveled that day. All of our flights were on time and uneventful as far as turbulence goes. But it was just a loooong day. We flew from Manchester into London Gatwick airport, collected our bags, took a 45 minute taxi ride ($200!!) to London Heathrow where we had a 5 hour layover before our next flight. Luckily, we found a cafe that had a play area that entertained the girls for a good while. Our 8 hour flight to Chicago was trying. Harper was having a hard time falling asleep because we were flying toward the West and into the sun. Our bodies told us it was 9 pm but our eyes told us that it was still daytime. A couple of hours and a dose of Benadryl later, we all finally got some rest. In Chicago, we had to collect our bags yet again, go through Customs, and catch our final flight to St. Louis. The girls and I slept the entire hour on that plane. Brian R. picked us up and delivered us safely home by 10:30 pm - 22 1/2 hours after our day started!! Delaney hugged her bed pillows as if they were long lost family :)
If you know anything about me, you know that I would not be able to go to sleep without unpacking our bags and starting a load of laundry. I had to be up at 5:30 am to get ready for work, but the extra half hour I spent getting our stuff sorted made me sleep well :)
I would say it took our family a good 5 days to recover from the trip because we didn't have any down time until Saturday when we finally got a chance to sleep in and relax.
Allan and I are SO proud of our girls. They were super travelers and never once complained that they didn't want to go somewhere or that they did want to go home - honestly! They were pros at flying and going through the security lines at the airport. Sure, we had normal sisterly fights and 3-year-old tantrums, but overall I would says that the trip was a big undertaking and a huge success! I can't wait to go again!
Our trans-Atlantic flight was on a double-decker plane! Too bad we were peons and not even allowed to take a peek at the second level :( I though it was very cool that we had a female pilot!
Still smiling after 10 hours of travel.
Because we had children and were early to our gate, we were the very first people allowed to board the plane. Thankfully, we were able to secure the first row of seats behind a partition which enabled us to have extra leg room and space for the girls to sit on the floor and play. It was a lifesaver for that long flight!
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