It is now april 5 and we arrived in Italy this afternoon. Pisa, blue skies, and 82 degrees. It was like being welcomed by an old friend — the fluid song of the language, the friendliness, the fresh tastes. I am not counting the impatient honking of car horns.
As I was flying over the French Alps , repeat, as I was flying over the French Alps (doesn’t that sound awesome?) I was praising in my heart of hearts for the journey I’ve had so far and the 5 weeks to come!!!!!
Hello, Italy!
We have arrived!! Flights uneventful…just the way we like them, and no Debbie did NOT sleep on the plane.
Had a quick tour of Red Square, saw St. Basil’s Cathederal, lunch at McDonalds, a walk thru Gum shopping mall (one of the oldest malls in the world) and we are now at the hostel to spend the night. Our room is SMALLER than our closet at home.
Tomorrow on to the camp site. Everybody loved the scarves and they helped at Red Square.
Das vey dan ya,
Steve
Well, here we are on the other side of the world!
Steve and I boarded an “Airbus’ in D.C. (it’s as big as a football field) for the flight to Johannesburg, South Africa via Dakar, Senegal for gas. In Dakar, before taking off again, the stewardesses run down the aisles with bug spray above their heads, spraying the inside of the plane and us occupants with insecticide saying: “please cover your mouths and close your eyes.”
After 20 hours, several airplane meals, and NO sleep, we arrived in Jo’berg for an overnight before the last leg to Lilongwe, Malawi and another 2 hours of flying. But we’re here, and our friends Brenda and Perry and their lovely family have opened their hearts and home to us. What fun getting to know them all over again.
Tomorrow, we check out the tasks ahead. THANK YOU for all your prayers , they keep us uplifted!
We are in Johannesburg for an overnight and then 3 more hours of flying tomorrow to get to Lilongwe and finally see familiar faces.
It is just such a brutal flight…especially if the tv in your seat doesn’t work. I am glad we don’t turn around and leave in a week. We see lots of soccer signs. Sending you all hugs.
I can’t even make out this language…dots and dashes and shapes that all make up the language of this barren and intriguing country.
We landed here after two successful flights on Ryan Air, and because of their strict weight allowances on baggage, we were wearing 5 & 6 layers of our heaviest clothes to make it under the 15 gram per bag ( we were within half a pound on each). We roasted on the planes, but needed it when we got off. It is a gorgeous day, puffy clouds, and snow falling like dandruff but not sticking: it is 32 degrees. Having left Gails at 5am, we will take a quick walk around our Radisson Artrium Hotel, clean up, and call it a day.
On a side note, everyone here sounds like the swedish chef on the ol’ Muppet show.
tak,tak (thank you in swedish)
We have arrived in Gothenburg, been picked up at the airport, and now are in our room on the 4th floor overlooking the lobby…very nice. No extra charges for baggage on Ryanair, but 6 layers of clothing made for two very warm flights. More later.
PS. Saw quite a few Volvos on the road coming in, can’t imagine why.
We are packing up and weighing our luggage for our flights tomorrow to Sweeden via Dublin . We hear there is quite a steep penalty for any overage and we have two legs to pay. This will be a lot like KC and J to Korea . So we ask that you shoot up a prayer as you go to bed and as we are getting up for EARLY flights…that our luggage arrives with us, doesn’t cost us a fortune, and that we have travel mercies as the big Volvo adventure begins!
We have had such a marvelous time here…it’s become safe haven for us, but it is time for the BIG ADVENTURE 🙂
