Before I tell you all the juicy details of this week's trip, I'd just like to take a moment to acknowledge the fact that life in the aviation industry is absolutely ridiculous. I regularly go to bed at 4:00 AM, noon, and 9:00 PM. It is completely normal for my friends and I to meet for dinner at 10:30 PM, and go to the theatre to watch movies that start at 2 AM. I frequently work turn around flights, only to return home and have no clue what country I was just in. So in an attempt to make the events of the past several days seem semi normal, I'll try to apply it to a regular human being situation.
Have you ever had a day off from work, and thought, "My friend Fill N. Theblank is working today. It'd be really nice to go meet him for a catch up during his lunch break."
So you jump in your car, head down to Fill's place of work, and enjoy spending one glorious hour together; talking, laughing, eating, and overall, just being the buddy ol pals that you are?
Well that's basically what I did this week. Except Fill was my friend Rajeev, his place of work is on an Airbus 380, and his lunch break just so happened to be in London!
So, like any normal person with three days off would do, I booked a discounted ticket on the flight he was working and enjoyed 24 hours with one of my best good friends!
Now that we've gotten the whole why it's normal for me to fly to London for 24 hours just to hang out with my friend out of the way, here's a few of the highlights from our trip!
We arrived in London at around 8 PM, and since Rajeev had just worked a seven hour flight, and I had the extreme pleasure of sitting next to the most annoying three year old known to man kind during said flight, we were both fairly tired and decided to have a low key night. We walked to a nearby pub, and drank their house red wine in their outdoor garden. From here on out, that shall forever be my happy place!
Both of us have been to London several times, and although we like selfies next to the Big Ben just as much as the next guy, we wanted to do something a little off the beaten path. The next morning we woke up bright and early, ate a delicious breakfast, and embarked on operation road trip!
Rajeev, being the born and raised Aussie that he is, is a pro at the whole driving on the left hand side of the road game. I, on the other hand, am a little thing called an amateur. Since this is pretty much my life mantra....
I accepted the challenge and agreed to do some of the driving for the day. A chip chip cherio and we were on our way!
Much like life, our trip really was more about the journey than the destination. Regardless, we plugged Stonehenge into the ol navigation system, blared some T. Swift through the speakers, and just like that, we were officially on a road trip!
Perhaps I've just become a little too accustomed to sand, sand, and more sand, but the scenery in the English countryside was absolutely gorgeous. We drove by massive lavender fields, rolling hills covered in wild grass, and tons of fields with cattle grazing. I was in farm girl heaven!
Because every good road trip needs snacks, we luckily spotted a fresh fruit stand along the road, and filled up. Fresh fruit, another item for the Shtuff They Don't Have In The Desert list!
After nearly two hours on the road, we finally reached our destination, Stonehenge. If you're seriously interested in the history of Stonehenge, then I highly recommend listening to the entire audio guide that is given to all visitors at the entrance to this historic sight. However, if you're ok with just knowing that the stone formation is crazy old, then I also highly recommend wearing the audio guide around your neck, for decorative purposes only, and taking fun pictures next to the rocks!
Needless to say, it was a monumental experience!
Obviously, holding boulders left me pretty hungry, so we decided to search for the nearest English pub. In order to do that, we needed to drive. It was my turn to drive. Pure panic!
Not only is driving on the left hand side of the road tricky, but getting used to the steering column being on the right side of the car is no easy task, either. I also noticed that the rearview mirror situation threw me off big time, as it's obviously tilted at a different angle. After 10 terrifying minutes of me driving, we came to a small town that looked promising in the Fish n Chips department, alas my driving turn was complete! Despite the line of traffic backed up on the two lane highway due to my extra cautious driving, and a few curb checks, I'm going to chalk the experience up to a success. One that I am happy to have checked off the ol bucket list, and am completely ok with never doing again!
Just as I had hoped, the cute little town, had a cute little fish n chip shop. We enjoyed lunch with a side of Pims and Strongbow in the restaurant's outdoor dining area. Because I'm a dainty lady, the frilly cocktail was totally mine. I wouldn't dare order a manly man's cider and proceed to belch like a sailor throughout the remained of the road trip. No siree, Bob. I'm also a size 0, can sing like an angel, and don't have knock knees....
After lunch we walked around the town and window shopped, bought some more fresh fruit, and worked on perfecting out British accents. Trust me when I say, mine is getting REALLY good!
Our road trip continued on as Raj drove an hour more to a small seaside town called Southampton. Because we were short on time, we didn't get to explore the entire town, but we did get to eat ice cream cones on a pier, which totally makes up for any missed educational opportunities.
And as quickly as our trip came about, it came to a close. Rajeev worked the flight back to Dubai from London Heathow Airport, and due to that flight being completely booked, I caught a flight from London Gatwick Airport and arrived safely into Dubai yesterday morning. I retired to my own bed for a grand total of six hours before waking up, slapping on some clown make up, and reporting for duty, where I worked a roundtrip flight to Bangalore, India and back!
And as of right this moment I am off work for 12, Twelve, TWELVE glorious days! And what shall I do with those 12 days off you may be wondering? Well, I've been receiving harassing messages from this little lady, demanding that I do not pass go, do not collect 200 dollars, and report straight home! As a result of it being humanly impossible to not adhere to her requests, to Illinois I go!
"Country road, take me home, to the place I belooooooonnng...."
Have you ever had a day off from work, and thought, "My friend Fill N. Theblank is working today. It'd be really nice to go meet him for a catch up during his lunch break."
So you jump in your car, head down to Fill's place of work, and enjoy spending one glorious hour together; talking, laughing, eating, and overall, just being the buddy ol pals that you are?
Well that's basically what I did this week. Except Fill was my friend Rajeev, his place of work is on an Airbus 380, and his lunch break just so happened to be in London!
So, like any normal person with three days off would do, I booked a discounted ticket on the flight he was working and enjoyed 24 hours with one of my best good friends!
Now that we've gotten the whole why it's normal for me to fly to London for 24 hours just to hang out with my friend out of the way, here's a few of the highlights from our trip!
We arrived in London at around 8 PM, and since Rajeev had just worked a seven hour flight, and I had the extreme pleasure of sitting next to the most annoying three year old known to man kind during said flight, we were both fairly tired and decided to have a low key night. We walked to a nearby pub, and drank their house red wine in their outdoor garden. From here on out, that shall forever be my happy place!
Both of us have been to London several times, and although we like selfies next to the Big Ben just as much as the next guy, we wanted to do something a little off the beaten path. The next morning we woke up bright and early, ate a delicious breakfast, and embarked on operation road trip!
Rajeev, being the born and raised Aussie that he is, is a pro at the whole driving on the left hand side of the road game. I, on the other hand, am a little thing called an amateur. Since this is pretty much my life mantra....
 |
| Props to my friend Evan for seeing this and thinking of me =) |
I accepted the challenge and agreed to do some of the driving for the day. A chip chip cherio and we were on our way!
Much like life, our trip really was more about the journey than the destination. Regardless, we plugged Stonehenge into the ol navigation system, blared some T. Swift through the speakers, and just like that, we were officially on a road trip!
Perhaps I've just become a little too accustomed to sand, sand, and more sand, but the scenery in the English countryside was absolutely gorgeous. We drove by massive lavender fields, rolling hills covered in wild grass, and tons of fields with cattle grazing. I was in farm girl heaven!
 |
| GREEN
|
After nearly two hours on the road, we finally reached our destination, Stonehenge. If you're seriously interested in the history of Stonehenge, then I highly recommend listening to the entire audio guide that is given to all visitors at the entrance to this historic sight. However, if you're ok with just knowing that the stone formation is crazy old, then I also highly recommend wearing the audio guide around your neck, for decorative purposes only, and taking fun pictures next to the rocks!
 |
Be The Rock |
Obviously, holding boulders left me pretty hungry, so we decided to search for the nearest English pub. In order to do that, we needed to drive. It was my turn to drive. Pure panic!
Not only is driving on the left hand side of the road tricky, but getting used to the steering column being on the right side of the car is no easy task, either. I also noticed that the rearview mirror situation threw me off big time, as it's obviously tilted at a different angle. After 10 terrifying minutes of me driving, we came to a small town that looked promising in the Fish n Chips department, alas my driving turn was complete! Despite the line of traffic backed up on the two lane highway due to my extra cautious driving, and a few curb checks, I'm going to chalk the experience up to a success. One that I am happy to have checked off the ol bucket list, and am completely ok with never doing again!
Just as I had hoped, the cute little town, had a cute little fish n chip shop. We enjoyed lunch with a side of Pims and Strongbow in the restaurant's outdoor dining area. Because I'm a dainty lady, the frilly cocktail was totally mine. I wouldn't dare order a manly man's cider and proceed to belch like a sailor throughout the remained of the road trip. No siree, Bob. I'm also a size 0, can sing like an angel, and don't have knock knees....
After lunch we walked around the town and window shopped, bought some more fresh fruit, and worked on perfecting out British accents. Trust me when I say, mine is getting REALLY good!
Our road trip continued on as Raj drove an hour more to a small seaside town called Southampton. Because we were short on time, we didn't get to explore the entire town, but we did get to eat ice cream cones on a pier, which totally makes up for any missed educational opportunities.
And as quickly as our trip came about, it came to a close. Rajeev worked the flight back to Dubai from London Heathow Airport, and due to that flight being completely booked, I caught a flight from London Gatwick Airport and arrived safely into Dubai yesterday morning. I retired to my own bed for a grand total of six hours before waking up, slapping on some clown make up, and reporting for duty, where I worked a roundtrip flight to Bangalore, India and back!
And as of right this moment I am off work for 12, Twelve, TWELVE glorious days! And what shall I do with those 12 days off you may be wondering? Well, I've been receiving harassing messages from this little lady, demanding that I do not pass go, do not collect 200 dollars, and report straight home! As a result of it being humanly impossible to not adhere to her requests, to Illinois I go!
"Country road, take me home, to the place I belooooooonnng...."
Loved the post but then I love all of them. If we could get together while you are home I would love it. Just give a call but I also understand that everyone wants you time. Love you Kelsey!!
ReplyDeleteWhen I saw that picture I thought, I so took that picture when I saw that taco sauce and thought of Kels... but did I actually send it to her? I knew it was either a crazy coincident or I did send it and just "made the blog" haha. Cant wait to see you this week and make some memories :) <3 you!
ReplyDeleteHave an amazing time at home!!!
ReplyDeleteSafe travels and enjoy your time with your family!
ReplyDelete