Mixed feelings about leaving Europe

We had a really nice stay with Andrew these past three and a half days.  It was nice being with him, having dinner with him and relaxing in the evenings.

But the time has come for us to leave Europe.  Andrew took us to the airport early this morning and we said our sad goodbyes to him there.  Saying goodbye to him and watching him drive off was really like saying goodbye to the whole of Europe experience right there.  But, you just keep on going.

We checked in at the ticket counter and that took a LOT longer than we thought it would - probably because of the extra hassle of having to pay for our extra luggage.  So by the time we were finished there, and by the time we went through security, we didn't have much time to spend the last of our Euros and Swiss Francs.  We settled in at our gate and that gave me a whole 15 minutes to go to the bathroom and walk ALL the way back to the shops to see what I could buy.  The Basel airport is set up so strangely - all the shops are right by security and after that, it's just seating at the different gates and those are quite a distance away.  Well, as it turned out, 15 minutes wasn't enough to do all of that, so I walk back to see that our plane is boarding already.  Good thing I gave up the shopping!

Our flight to Heathrow was nice and we had a decent layover there so we could comfortably find our next gate and get a little something to eat.  Our flight to Dallas was also good because we were in the middle section where there are 5 seats in a row.  Guillermo and I were on one end and a lady was on the other end. The lady and I agreed we'd both take the one extra seat next to us to spread out on which ended up not mattering because when either she or I needed to stretch out our legs, neither of us minded that the other was maybe a little bit over their side.  So, that made that 9 hour flight so much more pleasant.  Being able to put up our legs and stretch them out, not to mention having extra space for jackets, blankets, headphones, etc, helps immensely.  So, it was a long, but good flight back home.  As the plane lifted off from Heathrow, we both looked out the window as best as we could from the center of the plane and said to each other, "Well, that is it for our Europe trip. It's been an amazing experience."  And we both wondered, "Where are we going from here?" (after Dallas and San Antonio, of course)