European Adventure Ends

Well it is official, our European adventure has come to an end. This brings with it a mix of emotions. We can't believe how fast it went, and that a short time ago we were at these amazing places. Even to think back to when it first began it is hard to remember that was in the same trip. We are excited to go home. Back to our families and our friends. To establish a routine, sleep in our own bed, eat home cooked meals, and be able to drive where we want to go. Even though we walked 20 kilometres a day, we prefer this method of transportation. We also are excited to have more clothes. We did well with what we brought, but we are looking forward to wearing not sun bleached everything, and to change it up. SWEATS!!! I can't wait to put my fuzzy socks, my sweats, slippers and get all cozy. We also are very excited to meet our new nieces, and to see everyone! We really do miss all of our family and friends. I know that's something that people just say, but I'm not. We genuinely miss our family and friends. We look forward to Sunday's being packed with going to church and seeing our friends and then going to for soup and all hanging out and talking and playing then doing the same for spaghetti dinner.

We certainly have a new appreciation for the smaller things that we have at home. We have grown a lot, and learned a lot. So many things that won't be able to written. We very quickly got used to living from place to place, and out of backpacks. Our marriage has definitely grown, I expected this but not in this way. Having four straight months of such genuine conversation, about literally everything, and being able to whole hearted talk without the distractions that life brings with school and work. Trust me we have whole hearted conversation at home as well, I am not explaining well but there is definitely something different about how our conversations were guided. Anyways, I know what I am getting at, hopefully you kind of do. We have also learned a lot about ourselves being on this trip. In regards to our marriage as well but certainly as individuals as well. 

The memories will stay with us forever. But be prepared for stories upon stories, as it has been our life for the last four months it is all we have to talk about right now. Which that in itself is a weird thought to think. It is sad that our long awaited adventure has come to an end. It really did fly by. 

Well moving on I shall tell you about our morning. I tend to talk in circles,  so I shall stop while I am ahead.

Neither of us had a great sleep last night. We both tossed and turned, and were up and 530 for a while, before getting sleep again. Sleep was also very half awake and half sleeping, so quite restless. An unfortunate thing, especially because we have an incredibly long day ahead. 

We went to the front des and got a cab to take us to the airport. The Air Canada system in Athens is quite different. We were there 2 hours early and there were tons of people. We checked in online but we needed to short check our luggage, to make sure we would get them in Montreal, even though we thought because of customs we would have to get them anyway. So we were standing in the line and a worker asked where we were headed. When we said to him Montreal he pushed us right to the front of the line. They kept doing this. We aren't entirely sure as to why, because they had a ton of people standing in line waiting and who knows for how long. Maybe they were way early for their flight. We don't know. Luckily we flew through, and there was hardly a line to get stamped out of the EU. A sad thing. And we walked through security, it was great. We had amples of time to walk around before we boarded.

When we did get to the gate it was packed. We didn't have to wait long before they started boarding us. Because we are at the back of the plane we were one of the first people on. Much to our dismay, as we walked to the plane we realized we were on a Rouge flight.

Now I had never been on one till now, and I don't particularly enjoy it. Firstly, it's small. A 2-3-2 seating across, but still small. There are not TV's. I don't know if you remember me rambling about how awesome the air canada system on the way over was, yea this has nothing. You have to download the app. Which I decided is a real stupid way of doing this. Firstly, you don't tell me this before and now I can't do it, secondly I don't want to be looking down at my iPad I want to be looking up so that my neck doesn't hurt. The seats are also small, and not very comfortable. And it is extremely cold, even completely wrapped in blankets. We were really looking forward to watching movies.

Luckily we remembered to phone to get me a gluten free meal. We were real hungry and glad when it was the first thing they did when we were at our gliding altitude. This is a 10 hour flight. Which is brutal. But it is also weird because we are always in the day as we fly. The general consensus, purely based on what people are doing, is so sleep solidly for at least the first 4 hours. Because it has been 4 hours of the flights and people are all crashed around us. 10 hours is a real long time. It is brutal. Wouldn't be so bad if I had movies to watch. Even on the app, Luke got it on his phone and they don't have new releases, if you want those you gotta rent an iPad from them, but at least you have movies. We left at noon o'clock Athens time, and we land in Montreal at half past 3. Then we go through customs, pick up our bags, and go out of the secure area to re-check our bags and catch our flight to Ottawa. I am hoping we can maybe just treat it like a connection and not have to do all that, but I am not sure. 

Then we sleep, hopefully a good solid sleep. Then we start our Ottawa adventure. We are looking forward to coming home. And we are so close to being Canada bound. 

Also it is a scary thing when the captain puts the seat belt sign on, and then tells the flight attendants to be seated. That isn't an encouraging thing I decided. Luckily though nothing came of it. Another reason why I will not fly with rouge, they have no gluten free snacks. They only carry veggies and dip on other flights, no peanuts, and everything else is glutenous. It's the small things, not to mention they started out with a bad taste in our mouths so everything just makes it worse. There are supposed to be a snack, and then a warm snack before we land. Hopefully the warm snack is more meal like because that means they should have something for me. I bought a chocolate bar before the flight. It is a big one cause they literally had nothing smaller, and I didn't plan on having it all. But between the 2 of us it is half gone already. Ugh! My little tiny lunch doesn't last long. I'm hungry mother, I'm hungry, I really am!

One of the greatest things about requesting to have a gluten free meal, is that you get it before everyone else. With lunch I lucked out, by the time my hot snack came around I was real real hungry and I got it at least a half hour sooner then Luke. For lunch and snack. My warm snack was a hot(temperture) omelette loaf. Black olives, red onion, potatoe, cheese, mmmmm it was tasty, just hot. I was more then ready for something. With an hour and a half before we land hopefully I get an actual meal when we land. 

But we made it through, we must have been one of maybe 5 planes that landed at the same time in Montreal because customs was packed! The bearded you through a que where you got observe the madness before entering it. When you did you walked through multiple very long switch backs. At the end there were machines where you scanned your passports put in your customs card, and it spit out a photocopied card. Then you proceeded into another queuing heard, but much shorter where you spoke to a customs guy. He handed everything back and you made the journey to retrieve your bags. To be honest I was expecting s few more questions purely because of the length we were gone for but nope flew through it. At baggage claim things were delayed because of the mass amount of people landing. 

When we got our packs the people at the connection desk were able to help us out which was great. She was confused as to why we were there but helped us anyway even if she didn't understand. We ate then headed back through security and found a Tim Hortons. We were both very stoked about that! 

The tiny plane to Ottawa was late. This was unfortunate because we left at the time we were supposed to be in Ottawa. Not to mention they had us boarded and we sat at the gate longer then we were actually in the air. We got in the air the ran through with water, ran through with garbage, and then we landed. Pretty sure it is the shortest plane we ever been on. Pretty fun though 22 minute.  

When we arrived in Ottawa we were greeted by Joc and Abby waiting for us! It was a great reunion, we missed them a lot. We grabbed our bags and headed for home. When we arrived Steve and Shawn were the next excited people we got to greet! It was great. We talked for a while Steve made us a delicious sandwich then he gave me a gift. PILLOWS!!! Haha too funny but they are magical! For our adventuring out east I get my own pillow to sleep on as per what I said hehehe to kind!!! 

Our jet leg was very odd, as it kind of wasn't there. By the time we got to the house it was 3 AM to us but we were feeling fine. To us it some how felt like 819PM Ottawa time. When we went to bed it was 1045 and we were ready to sleep. And on our new pillows at that! A solid sleep waking up earlier then we expected but feeling good. Now a full day ahead of getting ready for the weekend and anxiously awaiting the arrival of mom and dad!

No matter what when we are together we are always adventuring. Look forward to what comes next and our eastern Ontario adventure this week! 

And so a new adventure begins...