London Heathrow

Normally, I don't think I would include our layover time at an airport...however, since this is 3 for 3 I think for Mr Mark not getting to the gate on time, it's worth mentioning...and gives me a space to reflect on Europe.

We landed at Heathrow without much fanfare, went through normal stress of getting through all the gates and trams and check ins, except then we had to get our baggage and re-check them from London to Dulles then Dulles again to SFO later.  Luckily (AND LUCKILY!) Mark splurged on the miles and we were BOTH flying business class so after checking in, we got to go through the "fast" lane at security and hang out in the Lounge.  Although SOMEONE kept leaving me behind but keeping my ticket so everywhere I went, I was stopped and told: Only Business Members allowed!  Ummm, I'm with HIM!  oh, sorry ;( 

Maybe the food and drinks made us too comfy, but 3 hrs later, we were paged and a special cart and driver had to take us to our gate.  oops!  We arrived at the Gate and there was absolutely NO ONE there, except the ticket people. And the entire time Mark was worried about us making it to the gate on time, and kept telling me of his past adventures running through Heathrow...but I guess lesson wasn't learned?

Anyways, I did get a chance to reflect on some things about Europe:

a) DO NOT bring heels that can get stuck between all the cobblestones!  Since I didn't have the kids with me, I thought I'd wear heels...good thing I brought my Nikes and a pair of flat slip ons!  On our way to dinner in Berlin, dressed up in a nice dress and heels, I barely made it without breaking an ankle ;(  Thanks Yoriko for the tip!

b) Restaurants are pretty much all the same menus, catering towards the western world.  The best food we had, and probably our least expensive, was an Italian restaurant in Brussels.  

c) Belgian waffles for 1.50 Euros was YUMMMY!! There was the Czech version of cinnamon/almond/sugar pretzel thingy which was good, but definitely NOT a cinnabon as some other tourists tried to describe to us.

d) Part of the pollution problem in Europe is the stench from EVERYONE smoking! ick!

e) The dollar was terrible over there, but more so was the fact that we didn't realize how lucky and good we have it, material-wise, here in the States!  Everything was soooo pricey, esp on things we take for granted here, Levi's jeans, Ralph Lauren, anything designer...and they definitely need a Target or two over there :)

f) To be truly GREEN, the US needs to learn to make mass transit more convenient like they seem to do everywhere else in the world.

Historically, everything we saw was amazing, but landing back in the States, the wide open spaces we each call our own Home was even more incredible!