A Year Ago Today

A year ago today, me and three of my best friends in the world left on a trip to Italy....

(And since all I've been doing lately is working and gardening, gardening, gardening as I get ready for the garden tour (which is finally almost here) I thought I'd post a few excerpts from my travel journal for the next little while........)

Nanaimo:

"Pol is right. It IS only a ten minute ride drive from her place to the place where the sea planes leave. But I am impatient, oh so impatient to be off. As soon as we are on that little airplane, our travels will begin."
"This is my first time in a sea plane. It is a quintessential West Coast experience, bringing to mind old Beachcomber episodes, and all the times I've watched with fascination as float-planes have lifted off from Vancouver."

"It was a fun ride. There was an enormous amount of gentle turbulence, making the plane rock and tip as the crosswinds caught us this way and that. We zoomed over ferry-boats, and crossed to the harbour in richmond in twenty minutes, landing with a splash and a roar in the Fraser River."

Here we are at Vancouver airport, waiting for our flight to Amsterdam.

This is Pol's first experience in a big airport. "So far", she said as she peered around, "it's like being at the mall." She practices yoga tree poses as we wait in the check-in line for KLM.

****

"We have checked our luggage before we realize that although the four of us are all travelling together to Amsterdam, Pol has been placed on an entirely different plane for the connecting flight to Rome...what was our travel agent thinking?"

*****

At security in Vancouver: They didn't seem overly concerned with the recent liquid toiletries restrictions. I overheard one of the security guards drawling sarcastically: " Oooohh, toothpaste! This stuff scares the shit out of me...."

Vancouver to Amsterdam:

The first time EVER that I fell asleep properly on an airplane, with help from a sleeping pill from Pol: "I pulled my hoodie over my head like a blanket and drifted and dozed peacefully (if uncomfortably) for over three hours. I feel like a curse has been lifted, I told my friends."

In Amsterdam:

"Pol set the security beeper off with her watch and got a pat-down which she smiled through. "I have to say I really enjoyed that. ", she told us. The security person also asked what the lump in her back pocket was.

"Yoda."

"Yoda?"

Pol pulled out her faithful little green plastic Yoda.

"Ah! Yoda!"

Tai has brought along her Pirate duck as well, trip mascots of sorts.

The above picture is from the very very end of our long travelling day....but technically speaking it was a brand new day before we actually got there. That's the thing about travelling---the getting there takes a looooong time.

Somebody needs to write a book on the Zen of Waiting in Airports.