The Last Post-What I have learned

on the plane. 2 hot girls heading home.
Putting on her slipper socks. Ahh yeah.
The two love birds kissing goodbye at the hotel before we leave.

Sorry it has taken me a full week to do this last post. (I did write it on the plane ride home just didn't get it downloaded until today) I have been doing....well not a whole lot. Laundry, catching up with friends, sleeping, housework, laundry, sleeping...you get the drift. Since I am a teacher, I obviously had to do some reflecting on what I learned during this month long holiday. Here it is...in no specific order.

1)Water is not free.

2)When renting a 'gite' in France, inquire about whether your bathroom will indeed have a shower or at the very least a hand held spout in the tub. That is apparently not standard. (You'll notice there are no up close and personal photos from France. The greasiness factor in my hair was pretty high.)

3)Change money to Euros before you head onto the Continent because once you're there, it's a week waiting list to get money exchanged and even then only $100 at a time.

4)France is like America. The further you get out of the city, the nicer people are.

5)Just because you're in the front, doesn't mean you know where you're going.

6)There's no chance of 'blending in' when you're a group of 9.

7)We take hot water and water pressure for granted in the States.

8)It doesn't matter how many movies you've seen on WWII, you don't know everything on the subject. Grrrrr.....

9)I'm proud to be an American and proud of my Grandad for the job he did.

10)Everything, I repeat EVERYTHING, is cheaper in the States.

11)Never order open ravioli again.

12)More empathy for people who can't speak the language. A smile does go a long way though.

13)Greater respect for my Nana, who left her family, friends, country, and way of life to move to America with a G.I. whom she hadn't known all that long. At that time, without commercial air flights, she probably thought she'd never see her family again. Can you imagine? At 17? Guts.

14)Bring along band-aids even if you've broken your shoes in and worn them for months. Vacation walking, by definition, leads to massive blisters on day 1.

15)Some people can tour for 14 hours and then come back to the hotel and play cards for another 2. I can't.

16)Thoughts about men.

Scots-are rugged.

English- are dainty and wear all sorts of pastels (but have excellent suits).

French-smoke and wear too much hair gel (probably come to think about it, it's probably grease and they don't have showers either.) But they still look good. Mmm..

17)When traveling bring along a man or wear a low cut shirt. Either way you won't have to carry your luggage.

18)Don't pack more than you can carry if you don't have either of those things. :(

19)When packing for your vacation pack another bag (i.e. duffel) inside your suitcase to carry all your extras home.

20)If you have space issues, don't take The Tube.

21)Deodorant is not widely used anywhere in Europe. Bring extras with you to distribute on the Tube.

22)MC Hammer pants are back in (Harem pants).

23)I love Celtic music and Mr. Whippy's ice cream, not necessarily in that order.

24)I miss clothes dryers.

25)My back garden (and front, if we're being honest) is atrocious. Get that under control before any of them come visit us.

26)Being gone for a month in strange cities makes me appreciate my house and all its space.

27)I'm just a Kansas girl at heart.

28)Wine is cheaper than water in France.

29)Pedestrians do not have the right of way.

30)I am much more suited to First class then Coach. I mean I knew this before, but my 10 and a half hour flight home reiterated it.

31)Elevators are the exception, not the rule.

32)I do not have sea legs.

33)I can not speak French.

34) My new favorite phrase, "Voila". I'll be pulling it out often. Get used to it. Runners up were; 'Mon Dieu', 'Mais oui', and 'Och aye, the noo'.

35) Don't Jaywalk. (refer to 29)

36)There are people paler than me (excluding albinos). You just have to go to England to find them.

37)If someone offers you a fag, don't snicker. It's a smoke.

38)Gypsies still exist. And not the movie kind.

39)I miss air conditioning and drinks that are cold.

40)There's no place like home.

41)I'm a celebrity. (at least to Stefan's classmates anyway. I even signed the KS bookmarks I brought them.)

42)I missed my calling as a woman of leisure.

43)Kindles stay charged for 3 weeks. Ipods-1day.

44)I should never travel by myself. I'll get lost. Dad will as well. (How has he done it all these years? He REALLY has NO sense of direction. None.)

45)Don't make eye contact with strangers. They'll start talking to you. Don't let Mom make eye contact with strangers. She'll start talking to them.

46)I have the best family in the entire world. Thanks for the trip of a lifetime.