We continued to become more seasoned travelers via many modes of transportation. We currently have 16 plane trips, 11 train rides, and countless cab, subway and bus trips under our belt. Generally speaking travel days result in increased tensions. We have to pack efficiently, arrange transportation to a station and make sure we are on time. Everyone's level of concern differs. Michael is the time master. I'm the packer for the children and generally concerned about efficiency....not a fan of 'hurry up and wait'. Liam will always panic at the last minute, "Mom, do you have my ipad!?" his most treasured belonging. Maeve has become more concerned (and rightfully so) about germs, people coughing and sneezing, etc. on public transportation.
Which brings me once again to the people we encounter on travel days. I find it all fascinating. I know they all have a story to tell around their travels. Sometimes it's just fun to pass the time imagining their story.
We left Buenos Aires, Argentina for Barcelona, Spain - a twelve hour flight. As with most flights, I had no expectations. We were just glad we made it to the airport after we found out we needed to go to a different airport an hour away. I decided to grab some gum at a small gift shop before we boarded. I had to wait behind a man who decided to purchase many large boxes of chocolates. He paid cash and he made no secret of the money he had as he pulled large bills out of his pocket. Several bills were Argentinian pesos and several were 100 U.S. dollars. I ventured to guess he had about $5,000 in all. Now, I can appreciate the last minute gift as well as the next person. I couldn't understand why he chose this place for all of the chocolates (not really famous in Argentina) when the duty free store was ten meters away. Anyway, this gentleman ended up sitting across from me on the plane.
Seated in front of this man on the plane was a woman with two small children about three and four years old. This is pretty much what everyone wants to see on a twelve hour flight (please read as sarcasm). They seemed okay to start and weren't kicking up a fuss, so all was well for the time being.
As per usual Collins experience, the flight was delayed an hour, but this time it was while we were on the plane. So now it was a 13 hour flight.....sigh. The small children had fallen asleep (yay!) and we were served dinner. The mother still requested meals for them even though they were sleeping. She methodically packed all of the pre-wrapped food into backpacks-muffins, crackers and even the plastic utensils. I get that. As a mom, you never know when someone will be hungry and heck you paid for the food, so if it's good to go, best to have some for later. What I don't get was that as the flight attendant came around for drinks, the mom requests that Coke be poured into two sippy cups. Seriously? So the boys have cold food and warm, flat caffeinated sodas to look forward to when they awake. A treat for all everyone.
At this point the mom took advantage of the rare personal time and checked her hair and makeup. She created a spot for her portable mirror so it was anchored on the Tray table in front of her. She reapplied eyeliner, while the rest of the flight prepared to sleep. Interesting choice. Some watched movies, but eventually most passed out.
I have to say that this flight did go faster than anticipated. Watching a movie or two does pass the time and if you can sleep, you are fortunate. Of course, the kids across the way woke up and had a bit of energy. Mom reapplied more makeup to start her day. The man behind the boys didn't help matters when he opened one of his many boxes of chocolates. He slyly passed some of the chocolates to one of the boys. At one point I thought they must have known each other. I mean, who does that? I guess the chocolates weren't all a gift after all. It certainly wasn't a gift to us as we have to deal with the children fed Coke and chocolates.
The youngest boy was controlling the aisle. He traveled up and down several times, then decided that Michael's view was interesting. He just worked his way in by him to catch a glimpse out the window. The plane was descending, so he needed to get back to his mother, who had him on his lap for a good bit of time. At the very last minute, she belted him in his own seat against his wishes and we landed. He wandered over to Michael again to catch a view of the men working below the plane, getting the luggage and all. I must say that the boy was adorable while he sat on Michael's lap without a problem. No worries though, mom finally took control to prepare for traveling through the airport (after one more makeup application) and put the boy on his leash.
As we traveled through Europe we found ourselves on more trains. Local trains, international trains, high-speed trains and even overnight trains (not a great sleep at all). I always imagined Liam would be excited to travel on these trains, but unfortunately he outgrew his train phase many years ago. He did, however, enjoy our first class experience on a high speed train from Spain to France- no surprise there.
Some local trains had an awful sewer odor. Most were filled with people coughing up a lung or sneezing. It felt like there must be some sort of quota of plague ridden people to fill on public transportation. I saw one woman who had to be in her late 50's or early 60's exit a train at a stop different than ours. She walked by this gentlemen probably in his 60's and slipped him a note. She said nothing and exited the train. He opened the note and there was a number and signature. The man closed the note, pondered for a moment, opened the note again and pondered some more. He then took out his phone and entered the number. Hmmm. This was definitely interesting. I figured sly folks, never too old to put yourself out there, but Liam thought they were spies exchanging some sort of code or information. See, it is fun to imagine the stories.
As for cars, we did get the opportunity to drive in France. We haven't been behind the wheel in well over five months. Thankfully, the car had an automatic transmission. The narrow, rural French roads did not have lines splitting lanes, so if another car came, you had to make sure you each had enough room. That was a little tricky on some blind curves. Michael and I took turns criticizing each other's skills. I guess some things don't change too much.
Our transportation adventures continue. I had written another story about our first experience on a Ryan Air flight. That was a doozie. I was so taken by the whole thing that I began writing about it while we were on the plane. I wrote it in the notes app. Sadly my iPad and our phones were recently stolen so I can't access it. We are fine and that is most important. I'm working on different ways to get the blog posted. The text is fine (well, lots of thumb typing now), it's accessing media that will require some work. So please wish us well and be patient with future posts. Maybe our devices will be found-now that would make a great post.
A nice sibling moment on one of the trains