Long Road Home

“You wake up and you’re nowhere.” I have been home for an entire day now and I can hardly remember being away. It really is strange how the mind works this way. Was it all a dream? After a ton of sleep, I am finally back up to spec for my home. I am even getting used to the 100+ heat down here. I’m really glad I have a pool to chill out in. I am struggling to catch up with everyone I left behind about my trip. That’s why I wrote this, so it can help a lot. Where was I? I stayed up until 3:45 am at the hotel in Rome and made my way to the airport. We got there at 4 and still hadn’t checked our bags until 5:30!! The Rome airport is horrible. So unorganized. We then got the fast-track through security because our flight was boarding at 5:50. We made it with plenty of time, though, and said goodbye to a few friends at the airport. It was then I realized that I was losing more and more friends. We may not all be together in one place ever again. More likely even since we all are from different places. We had a layover in Frankfurt Germany. Not much happened. Then we got on our 10 hour flight to Houston. Too bad we weren’t all sitting next to each other. The flight didn’t seem to last as long as I thought it would. Tylenol PM may have had something to do with that lol. I continued to doze off the whole flight. Then every time I would wake up, the flight attendants would be stuffing food and drinks at me. They had a few movies too, but I didn’t pay attention. At Houston, went through security and got my bag only to get right back on a plane to San Antonio. Said goodbye to my last few friends on the way. At least they all live in Texas too. My parents and grandparents were happy to see me at the airport. Although, they didn’t recognize me at first because of my adventure hat. I practically sneak-hugged my grandma. We then went and ate something I had been missing most of the trip, a fat, juicy steak. Last of all, I had another two hour drive home. Total travel time from leaving hotel in Rome to Home: 26 hours. Overall, I had a great trip. I met a lot of new friends, did a lot of cool things, saw a bunch of cool places, walked all over the place, ate authentic, fresh food, learned about art and architecture, and basically broadened my horizons. The world is not flat after all. If I had the opportunity, I would do it all over again and keep it exactly the same. Now my trip is over, and I have nothing to write about for a while. I’ll just have to work on planning a trip for the sequel. ;)