There's no place like home.

Flying high to our connection in Zurich!

As I sat on the steps of the Trevi fountain amongst a crowd of other excited tourists (an unwelcome change to when we drunkenly stumbled upon it empty minus the polizia in the early hours of the previous morning) I thought of home. Part of me itching to be back in my own bed enjoying food I am more fond of, the other dreaming of an extended stay wondering the streets of central Rome enjoying the evenings I had took pleasure from the nights before. The sky was a pure blue, no clouds in sight. The gold writing glistened in the sun and my sunglasses were greatful to be released from there case for the first time in months. Josh sat beside me also enjoying the view, looking handsome as ever. The remains of cherry gelato (another favourite of mine) melting in a small paper cup sat in between us. I couldn't help but ask myself why anyone would want this to end?

Oh how I would discover that I in fact would rather be in Birmingham than spend another minute in a foreign country when the option of being home that night disappeared. Do we always want what we can't have? 

A few hours later the fountain had been swapped for a check in line. It was officially home time, we checked in quickly whizzed through security, that was however after I had been stopped and drug swatched because I left my coke bottle in my bag (the cola kind). Have you ever been stopped in an airport? Had your bags taken to be checked by someone and a small tab wiped over your hands and shoes? I swear one look at me and you would have thought I had something to hide, even I started to doubt myself and pictured myself going to prison. Part of me chanting "shit shit shit" in my head the other saying "how irrational they can't find anything because there is nothing" then I heard "that's fine thank you" and snapped out of my anxious over reaction and literally had to laugh at my idiot self. Never the less security didn't take long and we took a short walk around the airport (searched ten minutes for a magazine in English then nearly bought the new cosmo till I saw it was €11!)  boarded our plane and waited. And waited. Till the pilot announced they were still doing checks on the right engine. Then we waited, and waited, and then were told that we would have to leave the aircraft. 

Have you ever been in an airport dying to know if you're going home tonight, mobbed by other passengers all wanting to know the same thing. Three or four different languages flying about, people talking over each other and a poor airline worker in the middle of it all. It's hell. 

Eventually we found out that the flight to Brussels will continue just later than planned which is great! Unless you have a connecting flight, which as always its us with the awkward situations. 

So we waited, and were told to collect our luggage at carousel ten and hurried down there. 

Then we waited for another twenty minutes till the luggage started to come round. 

Then we waited in line for no joke a good hour and a half waiting and waiting for any information we could get our hands on. 

What we discovered when waiting was that there was in fact a direct flight to Birmingham but with Monarch, which as it is not a partner airline for we would have to buy a ticket. So to get back to Birmingham that night would mean buying a ticket. Not like we had already bought two or anything...

Then we waited, and we waited and we waited. Get my point? Eventually we did get new flights and by 11 o'clock were in a hotel eating dinner (on the airline btdubz) then we flew out at 12pm the next day.

In hindsight I can understand it, I don't want to get on a plane that doesn't work as much as the next person, but standing in lines for a good four hours was not the highlight of my trip!

To read the highlights of our trip watch out for future posts! Leave me a comment to let me know if you've ever ended up in a situation like this, would love to know i'm not alone.