Of course, London had bad weather so we were in the hold for 30 minutes there. It then took an hour to get from the gate, through passport control and to the bus stop for the Hilton shuttle. Grr. I then had to wait 25 minutes for the next shuttle, having just missed one. Double grr. It was 11:30 pm by the time I checked in at the Hilton. Maximum possible sleep was down to 5 hours.
The Hilton room was rather nice, but all I cared about was the bed at that point. I completely zonked out, and 4:45 am came wayyyy too soon.
From the Hilton to the terminal where American is located, T3, you walk through an outdoor walkway, then take the HEX between T4-T3, then have another little walk. This, plus security, took all of 30 minutes. Why hadn't the night before gone so smoothly?!
I made my way to the Admirals Club, extremely happy to be a member as I got online, charged my iPod, and ate breakfast while guzzling coffee. Ahh. I enjoyed the lounge for a half hour or so before heading to the gate. What a civilized way to start the last leg!
The flight home was completely uneventful except for the sad demise of my headphones, which broke as I put them on. I tried wearing my iPhone headphones but my ears got sore, so I ended up holding the left earpiece to my head while watching the movies!!!
We arrived at O'Hare a little early, and amazingly I got through border control, baggage claim and customs in 25 minutes! Getting up early sucked, but being on the only flight coming in has it's benefits. Just over an hour after landing, I was home with a very happy cat.
This was such a wonderful trip. I can't imagine doing this kind of vacation frequently, but it truly had everything: relaxation, gorgeous views, culture, activity, beaches, food! I'm so happy I was able to do this vacation and will have fantastic memories.
Until the next trip...
Polkagrl
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