December 28, 2006

Across the Pond

For the particularly incompetent readers of this blog, let me clarify: I'm currently writing this entry from an Internet cafe near Trafalgar Square in London, England. Our flight left San Francisco last night at around 6 PM and was (surprisingly) one of the best international flights I have ever taken.

I'm not kidding. I know I'm not one to have normal trips of any sort without the routine harassment of bums, buffoons, and bigots, but this flight was really nice. No crying babies—not a single one; no harassment at the check in/security/boarding lines; and no luggage issues at Heathrow. Well, there was the lady seated directly behind us who complained incessantly throughout the flight and had this witty comment attributed to her: What are you going to do? Throw me out of the plane?, but a completely normal flight would have been too much to ask for.

I kept waiting for Jack Bauer to come by, punch her in the face, and drag her to the cargo hold to interrogate her, but sadly, that did not happen. Maybe next time.

And it was not just the flight that was smooth. For some reason, Heathrow was not at all crowded today and we managed to get out and make it to our hotel in less than 1.5 hours. The itinerary for the day was not met, however, as the soft, comfortable 2-star beds were calling to us.

All was not lost, though: we had dinner with Audrey and her friend tonight. Highlights included the Spanish waiter who managed to: insult Audrey's friend and then subsequently become his best friend; propose twice to Audrey in the space of two hours; and forget, but not forget to bring my French Freedom Fries.

For those who care, I will be in Europe for roughly two weeks, traveling through England, France, Luxembourg, Belgium, and the Netherlands. I will return to the States on January 10th. Stay tuned for more, as I attempt to increase my unbroken streak of "normal" trips to two.