British Tour: Manchester

Hello world, I'm back! In October, I had a once in a lifetime opportunity. When those things happen, you can't just watch them past. Clare the Nanny is no more, but no matter. On to the next. I'll let you know what the next is when I figure it out. Enough with the bad grammar. So, I had some time, flight benefits coming to an end and two best friends in England. What's a gal to do? I planned a 10 day trip in about 2 days and all the while, my sense of adventure and excitement came rushing back. I was ecstatic to see my friends and explore some new parts of the beautiful world. I couldn't have done it without knowing Lauren and Mallory were waiting for me on the other side of the pond. It helped that my mom was scheduled to work a flight to Manchester from Atlanta. 

Getting on the flight flying standby is always a relief. It's even more fun when Mom's a flight attendant, working in her element at 35,000 feet. We arrived to Manchester early Monday morning and took a nap at The Midland Hotel. It was a beautiful hotel, famous for hosting a meeting between a Mr. Rolls and a Mr. Royce that started a car company. I probably could have stayed up, but Mom was tired after working all night. When we got up at about 2PM, we walked around the cold and windy city. I visited my first Caffe Nero, grabbed a coffee and some tomato basil soup. I love Caffe Nero now. Please come to America. Then came the usual stops: Boots, Primark, Marks and Spencer. After a great Thai dinner along with her friend Cathy, we headed to the Palace Theater for a night I'll never forget.

Wicked is one of those cultural phenomenons you hear about. If you've seen it, you get it. If you haven't seen it, you may think you get it... but you don't. I've seen Rent, Mamma Mia, The Lion King on Broadway but there was something about the beauty of the Palace Theater and the sheer brilliance of Wicked. I don't mean to sound dramatic when I say it may have changed my life.

The next morning, I hoped on a train to York...
...more on that tomorrow!

Cut that Ribbon

My internship at Cobb Travel & Tourism will be ending the first week of August, so I've been trying to learn a lot and work as hard as possible during the time I have left. My boss and the CEO of the company is an incredible woman. With her guidance and connections, I've been able to do things most young adults just don't get to do.

On Friday, I had a really exciting day. My new roommates and I moved into our beautiful new house in Athens. I'll put up some pictures soon, but before I came to Athens, I had the opportunity to go to the Ribbon Cutting Ceremony for the new hangar at the McCollum Airport in Kennesaw.

I got to the office at about 8:15 and Holly asked me if I wanted to go to the new hangar. As a daughter and sister of pilots, I don't pass up an opportunity to go to an airport. Airports are full of of possibility, and I love possibilities.

Many local politicians were there, along with the media and several people who I have met over the summer. I doubt I'll be using the airport to house my Gulfstream any time soon, but hey, a girl can dream.

Sidenote: The cutting of the ribbon would have been a lot more dramatic if the ribbon had been guarding something previously unused or unseen. I guess it's all about the photo op. 

confidence is killer

Here's the thing, I wasn't incredibly honest about Brussels. Yes, it was a great trip. Yes, I loved the city. However, the ending of the trip was anything but great.

I took my first airplane flight when I was six weeks old. With parents who work for Delta, I find myself on planes a lot. I know how the whole traveling thing works, which was one of the reason why I felt confident enough to live in a foreign country for four months.

Regardless of my experience in the past, there have been plenty of mistakes in Europe, most of which have monetary consequences. I'll start with Brussels, and I'll probably end with Brussels because my ego can only handle so much self-criticism.

I booked the wrong ticket home. Military time, ever heard of it? Yeah, I have too. I've used it a lot. Which is why I'm still confused about why I booked a 6:00 flight home from Brussels, when my roommates booked an 18:00 flight.  After a great weekend, I show up to the RyanAir desk (not the best company, their employees will even tell you.. More on that later.) and the lady tells me I've missed my flight, it left this morning. Panic sets in. I go to the ticket counter and this fabulous lady who reminded me of Rihanna told me I would need to pay 241 euros to get on this flight with my friends. Not gonna happen. Option B: Go to a hotel, buy a cheaper ticket for the next morning and wait it out. I chose Option B. Anyone ever been stranded in a foreign country, alone? It's a little disheartening. I watched my friends walk through security as I walked to the information desk and reserved a cheap hotel for the night. 45 minutes later, the taxi comes to the airport and takes me to the hotel, and charges me 8 Euro. Brilliant.

This hotel was BIZARRE. PROS: Free wi-fi, a computer to use, a nice desk man. CONS: Vending machines with hot meals, a pizza vending machine, spilling my tea, no shampoo & conditioner in the rooms, cold.

I tried for about two hours to book the ticket for the 6 AM flight Monday, and the RyanAir website would NOT process any of my cards. That's when I Skyped my family, who were lounging in a hotel in Hilton Head. The tears flowed, then stopped. I ended up going back to the airport to book my ticket, paid more than I would online, which was when the Rihanna doppelganger and another employee eloquently repeated, "Fuckin' RyanAir", after they found it was a computer problem, not my card. I laughed for the first time in a few hours. It's fascinating to watch employees casually bash their company.

Got in a cab back to the hotel, another 8 Euros. I was in bed by 10, but there was a really interesting documentary on BBC about the marriage and dating practices among Hasidic Jews in London. I woke up every hour until 4:30, when I got up to get ready for the flight, virtually wearing the same clothes as the day before. The Brussels airport was nice, I enjoyed one last waffle and slept the entire two hour flight. When I got to Rome, I took a bus to Termini, another bus to Largo Argentina, then a tram, then the 75 bus straight to school. Class started  two hours ago, oh am I late? Luckily, we were watching Moulin Rouge in Film Genres and because I've seen it about two dozen times, I could still participate in discussions.

My advice: double check, triple check. Don't use previous traveling experience as an excuse for not being prepared and organized. You'll regret it when finding yourself alone in Belgium, deciding between paella and lasagna from a vending machine. I chose neither.

Did I mention how much I love Rome? It felt so good to be back. 

The people are lovely

in Amsterdam. Everyone has been really friendly and this airport is awesome. I'm still waiting on the rest of my group to get here from Atlanta.

It's very strange being in a foreign country alone but I like it. I feel really free.

We'll get into Kilimanjaro at about 2230 local time. I have 50 seconds left on my internet card so byeeeee