WOW. We got back from our cruise on July 4th, and I feel like I haven’t stopped moving since! Not even enough to sit down and chit chat about how AFREAKINGMAZING our trip was (yeah, that’s a word. promise).
I’m not quite sure how to break it down, but I know this is going to take a few posts because we did and saw a lot. It was overwhelming!
To begin with, my very worst fears came 100% true the day we set off on our adventure. Our flight wasn’t supposed to leave until 1:00pm, so I was scheduled to see a couple of clients in the morning before we left. I went into work, and saw one client, my second cancelled. THANK GOODNESS. Because my second client cancelled, I checked my phone and I had a message from the airline saying that our flight was cancelled. WHAT?! Can they even DO THAT?! (uhm yes, yes they can. Airlines have too much power). They had an earlier flight available, so I drove like a bat out of hell to drop off some paperwork and get to Standish to meet up with Casey. My in-laws were able to bring us to the airport early and dropped us off. We made it with about 20 minutes to spare.
Is that the last of the travel troubles? OH DON’T I WISH.
Once we made it to Newark, NJ (fondly now nicknamed, “Hell on Earth”) we ate lunch. We noticed our gate wasn’t posted for our flight out of the country. We figure, well, we’re a few hours early they must not have an open gate. So we read. We chat. We walk up and down checking the gates. Never comes up. About a hour before our flight, we start to get concerned and go looking for answers (which in the Newark airport are nearly IMPOSSIBLE to get). We got different answers from THREE different people about where we were supposed to be going. By the time we got there, our flight was “locked down” and ready to go. EVEN THOUGH IT WASN’T SCHEDULED TO LEAVE FOR 45 MINUTES. They airline worker LAUGHED at me and said “Oh well, you missed it! Nothing we can do.” I cry. I text my Mom. I cry some more. Casey on the other hand, stayed calm (a true switch of roles).
WELL.
If you know us, you know that the answer “there’s nothing we can do” was not good enough. WE WERE GOING ON A RELAXING EUROPEAN CRUISE ON JUNE 24, 2011 COME HELL OR HIGH WATER (what does that phrase even mean?!)
Anyway. We met an Angel. Not really. But we did meet an amazing Newark worker who helped us get onto another flight to Frankfurt, Germany and then a new connecting flight to Barcelona. Like magic, we were on an international flight and on our way.
The rest of the flying part was relatively uneventful. We learned that international airports (all the ones we visited in Barcelona, Frankfurt, Geneva) were much more calm and peaceful. You don’t have to strip down to your underwear to go through security (though it’s funny to spot the Americans stripping down and taking off shoes while the workers go “no, no! you don’t have to do that!”) In general, the pace of the world seemed much more relaxed outside of the United States.
When we finally made it to Barcelona I nearly cried at the sight of my luggage miraculously arriving with us (despite the flight changes), and the Carnival transportation waiting for us. We made it 20 minutes before our ORIGINAL flight would have made it. That’s how much our Newark Angel helped us. I wish I had gotten her name so I could write a long and flowing note of gratitude. We owe our vacation to her!
To say Casey was excited would be a gross understatement. (He’s not a serial killer, promise)
We will be back with another entry on the first half of our vacation: Monacco, Pisa, Naples, and Rome in a few days (or however long it takes for me to sit down and have 10 consecutive minutes again. No promises!) I apologize if you were deathly bored by the travel entry, but I don’t want to forget a moment, so you’ll have to live with it!
