London, East Anglia & Paris
July 16 through July 26, 2000
Adventures of Bill, Linda and Betsy Ross
Day 11, Wednesday, July 26, 2000
An expensive taxi, a talkative driver, and homeward bound
At 8:30 am, our taxi arrived at the hotel door, and the driver took over the management of our luggage and our comfort. What a treat--no more heart-attacks lugging heavy suitcases thru tube tunnels and train stations. Our luck for unexpected surprises held one last time, and our driver turned out to be a good conversationalist and tour guide. He gave us excellent commentary on the neighborhoods we were transversing, and amazed us with the ease with which he maneuvered the rush hour traffic. We were also treated to some local views on politics and the Prime Minister!
After the long ride, we were deposited at the American Airlines terminal at Gatwich, and wished a safe trip. We had little trouble with customs and the usual passport checks, and our luggage was not searched. We took a coffee break on the way to the Departure Lounge. When we got to the Lounge, the hallways were packed with people--a fire alarm had evacuated the Lounge. We were smashed in the mob for quite a while before they finally re-opened the metal-detection entry to the lounge. This had caused quite a delay, so we nearly ran down the concourse to Gate 16, just in time to board the plane.
After another delay on the taxi-ramps, the plane finally left the ground. Eight hours to go, but the food was good, and naps were easy this time. After a while we struck up a conversation with a woman who was taking the Norwich Cathedral youth choir to Durham, NC, for a concert tour. By the time we landed, we had met several of the young people, and felt sad to wave them goodbye when the disembarking passengers were divided into the US Citizens and Non-US Citizens cues.
The rest of the story is predictable. Mona and T. J. were there to greet us--what a surprise! We didn't have time for much of a visit though, because the shuttle to the parking lot showed up almost immediately. We climbed on with our luggage, returned to the car, and headed back to Greenville. I arrived home at 7:30 pm, EDST. Bill and Linda didn't linger. They were back in the car and off to Edenton by 8:00 pm. I didn't unpack, just put on a different pair of pajamas and went straight to sleep. Did I dream the last 10 days?
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Copyright © 2000 Elizabeth Ross.
The writer has made no attempt to use formal grammar, and the stream-of-consciousness style is no doubt replete with errors. It was a real trip, in every sense of the word, and the reader must forgive the run-on sentences, misplaced modifiers, and simple page layout!