There and Back Again

I decided to steal the title for this post from The Hobbit, 1) because it's awesome and 2) I feel like Bilbo (except without the dragon and the unhealthy addiction to jewelry).

I mean, it's been two months since I was last on American soil and though it doesn't feel much different than Italian soil, I really have missed it. But more of that later. Here's a quick rundown of my flight home.

Our taxi was late picking us up so we missed our train to the airport. Luckily, it was a shuttle and therefore comes every 30 minutes. So we got on the next one over.

Then we disembarked and followed various signs to end up at our terminal (and can I just say that it was ridiculously complicated to get there. Our terminal was super far away from the rest of the airport. Oh, well).

So then my flight was delayed for about 45 minutes, I got on the plane, took off, and then discovered that my audio was broken. Which meant no sound for me for our 10 hour and 15 minute flight. Therefore, I watched Unstoppable, Night at the Museum 2, Hugo, and The Hunger Games all without sound. Of course, I picked them because I had seen them before and could fill in the dialog in my head. So that was fun.

I had a quick hour layover in Charlotte (mainly because I'm not counting the time it took to get through customs or get my bags for rechecking (it wasn't that bad, but it didn't really feel like a layover)) and then hopped on my flight for Dallas!

Compared to the previous flight, 2 hours and 45 minutes didn't really seem like that big of a deal, so I just read and waited for the plane to land. Getting off and getting to see my family was great. Plus, they had chocolate, so you know, priorities.

                                                  Serious face, at Jack's request.

Shelby and Dad weren't there because they were in Mississippi. Obviously looking at prospective colleges is more important than welcoming home your sister that you haven't seen in two months. But like I said before, priorities. C'est la vie.

But yes, I had an amazing time in Italy and I will miss all of the people I met and the things I saw while there. At the very least, I have over 1600 pictures to help me keep the memories alive. So thank you Italy for being a beautiful and magical place to study and grow, and I will see you again someday (probably in approximately 4 or 5 years)!

Arrivederci!