The Big Trip Ends

Yesterday we woke up at 2AM and went to bed at 11:59PM, or we woke up at 8AM and went to bed at 5:59AM the following morning... it depends on if you look at it from the NY or Belgian perspective. Either way, it was the last day of our Big Trip.

The day began in the home of our friends Jan and Maxine, in Brussels. There will be more on these good folks later, but for now I will say that they showed us a fantastic time in Brussels, and our three latest nights in Europe were spent in their company: even later than the sing-a-long in GP and the night with the Rastafarians in the American Cafe of Lyon. They also provided the best breakfast and softest pillows of the trip!

Now for the departure:

The airport was particularly nice, which is good since this is the capitol of Europe, but why do they sell condoms in the bathrooms here? I have seen hand dryers with video ads playing and chewable mouthwash... but never an airport that promoted joining the Mile High Club. Maybe this is something Branson and the fellows at Virgin thought of.

The flight to London was not much more than a puddle jump... except that we didn't really jump over much water but just a fair bit of land. I expected Heathrow to be a disaster, but it wasn't that bad. They had cask ale at an airport pub, and at a little over 2 pounds a pint, it was by far the best purchase in the airport! Unfortunately, it was still morning NY time, so we had to call it quits after eleven pints.

British Airways delivered us to JFK and did it well: the movies were on-demand and diverse, the food was decent, the staff was attentive, and the plane didn't blow up or crash. I think I need someone to explain to me why all these planes still have ashtrays on them though... are they all really that old?

And so we arrived in NY, jobless and with nothing more than the clothing on our back, just like our ancestors did 10-200 years before*. Well, we did also have family to help us get settled and pick us up from the airport, and we also had about 100kg(220lbs) of luggage including some scuba gear, and we didn't have smallpox.

My parental units picked us up and drove us, willingly, to their home in Jackson, New Jersey. The last bits of the day were enjoyable. Pleasant conversation was interrupted only occasionally by an involuntary quick nap, but this was understandable since my dad was very tired. OK, I was a bit tired too, but I was only "resting my eyes".

Thus ended the last day of our Big Trip. Over 3000 photos have been loaded onto the Mac, and about as many tidbits are in my head, waiting to be loaded onto paper or the computer. Please stay tuned.

*Immigrant reference credit: Glenn Mason. The Glenn on the left, that is.