Leaving on a Jet Plane

Today begins my whirlwind 10-day trip to Europe! This past week, I finished my shopping for the trip, packed and repacked, exchanged currency for Pounds and Euros, and finished up final tasks at work. It was an early rising this morning with just a few hours of sleep (blame it on the heat and the excitement) at 3:30 a.m. The boys all got up early to say goodbye and Matt dropped me off at the airport at 6:00 a.m.

I'm going on an EF Tour with my just graduated student, Aubri, her mother (and my friend), Janice, and our school's executive director, Jennifer. We will be landing in London at 6:00 a.m. on Tuesday, 8 hours ahead of California. Two days in the U.K., and then it's off to Paris for a few days, and then on to Italy to explore Florence, Assisi, and Rome. The itinerary is packed with side excursions to even more places. It's going to be a blast!

Part I
Right now, as I type this we are in flight on an Air Canada Airbus 319 (that's for my father-in-law who was asking) en route to Toronto, Canada. All instructions are first given in English and then in French. Many of the passengers on the plane are speaking French. It's a five hour flight with a two and half hour layover before we board the next plane  to our destination: Heathrow Airport. Jennifer said that the other schools in our tour group are arriving later  in the day, so we will have time when we arrive to go to our hotel and do a little exploring if we want. Pretty exciting!

Jennifer asked us if there was anything we really wanted to do or see on this trip. Aside from all of the wonderful sites and history, I'm hoping to have tea at Windsor Castle. And I told Janice, that I hope we get to ride a double decker bus!

You can get an overview of our trip by viewing this Tripline. Click on each destination to read all of the things on our scheduled itinerary.

Part II
Now I"m sitting at the Toronto Airport. We just finished lunch/dinner. While on the first flight, I watched the movie Non-Stop, with my favorite actor, Liam Neeson. Not the best movie to watch while you are stuck on a plane, but it kept me awake and gave me something to do during at least part of the 5 hour flight. Although internet is free here at the airport, and I'm supposedly connected, it has been impossible so far to get online. I may be waiting until we arrive in London before getting this entry posted. The next flight is a long one, and the goal is to sleep as much as possible on this flight so that I am well rested, when we arrive.

Part III
The plane ride was not too restful. In between the meal service and the crying babies, it was a little hard to get some rest, but we arrived and after an adventurous taxi ride through the streets of London, we have arrived at the Crown Moran Hotel where we will spend two nights. Everyone is checking e-mail as we sit in the lobby and decide what to do next. Time to upload this post!