Home.

As with all vacations, it is sometimes hard to return home. There is the love of traveling or wanderlust which many of us have, which would keep us exploring no matter what the cost and the inconvenience. The opposite force is that which pulls us home to the safe and familiar environment of our houses and cities. Then there is the plunge back into regular stressful life, the routine which drives our lives. I often joke that it takes only twenty minutes back at work to forget two weeks of vacation time. That is part of my rationale in doing this blog and spending so much time poring over digital photographs in large number. Our memories need reinforcing as our brains are bombarded with current, past and future events trying to establish themselves as equally important in our consciousness.
So we made it home on August 11th after a long flight from Athens with a refueling stop at Shannon, Ireland. We did some shopping at the airport before finally clearing security. Against small odds we ran into our Australian family heading for their flight to Singapore. There was a brief exchange of business cards and then we were on our way. The flight was only briefly interesting as some French and English customers started to argue and swear at each other over their behaviour and seat positions. No punches were thrown and tempers cooled off. The food and movies helped to pass the time although I was disappointed that Iron Man 2 did not play as announced. Customs and baggage claim were quick and we were out, to be met , as predicted by this author by Georgette and Raphael.
My impressions of this trip were that it was fun, relaxing, interesting, adventurous (slightly) and smooth. No big hassles, no health problems, no bad choices. Chapeau and opa!