The next morning the clock radio woke us up with details of the earthquake in Turkey. It was sobering to think of the country we'd enjoyed so much suffering such devastation, and we wondered if the people we'd met were safe.
We caught a cab back to the train station, and were soon on our way back to London. We went back by a different train company on a more westerly route this time, which ended up being a bit longer, and had less spectacular scenery (although the passage through the lake district was quite nice). And, to my extreme disappointment, the canteen didn't serve bacon, cheese and tomato toasties. Actually, they didn't serve much of anything - an earlier run with a contingent of hungry military men had almost completely wiped out their supplies.
Late in the afternoon we arrived in London, and after a last few hops on the underground we were slogging back to the good old Grosvenor Court Hotel. Heeding previous advice, we went out to a restaurant to get our Indian food fix this time, consuming (among other things) some of the spiciest Goan chicken I've ever eaten. When an Indian waiter warns you something is spicy, pay attention :-)
My traveling companions were getting a bit hyper about the prospect of getting ourselves (and our luggage) back to Gatwick during rush hour the next morning, so we decided to splurge a bit and hire a door-to-door shuttle service to get us there.
The next morning we piled into the shuttle, and headed off through London. Before long, unfortunately, we were stuck in a huge traffic jam on one of the highways heading to Gatwick, and we began to worry that maybe we should have taken our chances with the underground and the train. We did manage to make it there in plenty of time to catch our flight, though. However, despite the hotel's assurances that the shuttle company took credit cards, the driver informed us that they did not, and we'd better pony up some cash pronto. Luckily, we had just enough (and not a pound to spare).
As the plane took off and the green fields and brick houses receded in the distance, I was already wondering how soon I could manage my next trip back (and vowed that next time I'd actually take the time to see some of London other than the inside of the underground...).
The flight back to Charlotte seemed to take forever - presumably since it was during the daytime this time, so I wasn't zoning out trying to sleep most of the way. I actually managed to read a book en route (a major accomplishment for Little Ms. Motion Sickness).
Once back in Charlotte, it was time to go through customs. I was a bit worried we'd get delayed and miss our connection to SFO, since we had a full flight of mostly Americans. Also, I was getting a little paranoid about that package of pea seeds for Gesine - would they think I was trying to smuggle contraband agricultural products and arrest me? I almost got them out of my suitcase and threw them out before going through, but decided to trust that I'd hidden them well enough that they wouldn't be discovered. As it turned out, all that angst was for nothing - all the customs agent did was ask me a few banal questions about where I'd been and what I did for a living - no suitcase search, no nothing. Jean the Wily International Smuggler triumphs...
Given the laxity of the customs people, we were processed in plenty of time to catch our flight to San Francisco. Another lengthy stretch of boredom - no book to occupy myself with this time, and after four flights I'd read the inflight magazine cover to cover several times. Eventually we landed, said goodbye to Bena (whose boyfriend surprised her by showing up to take her home from the airport), and flagged down an airport shuttle.
When we finally got home, Gesine immediately laid into us for not calling to assure her we didn't get squashed in the earthquake that occurred in the country we'd left three days prior. I guess some people have no faith in itineraries...
Some final summing-up thoughts - it was a marvelous, almost trouble-free experience. I fell in love with just about every place we visited, and would love to go back and spend more time in all of them. The eclipse was a marvel, but just one of the many things that touched my soul - Stonehenge, Framlingham Castle, the Bosporus, Kapadokya, Wheat Field with Crows, the Scottish seacoast. That said, there's still nothing like a total solar eclipse - I'm definitely going back to Turkey for the eclipse in 2006, and I'm counting my pennies wondering if I could afford to catch the one in Africa in 2001.
This was definitely the best vacation I've ever had (as well as the longest amount of time I've ever taken off work - yes, I know, I need to get a life). It's also the most money I've ever spent on a vacation - but damn, it was worth it!
Congratulations to those of you (if any) who plowed through this whole seemingly-never-ending story!
Happy trails,
Jean
Last updated 1/18/2000 by Jean Richter, richter@eecs.Berkeley.EDU