So I realize I'm about 2 years behind when I said I'd be back to tell you about the rest of our European adventure. That's my bad, I didn't realize there would be so much running involved in those 10 days. From trying to walk at the same speed as Addy, to almost missing several connecting trains, to crossing 25 bridges in Venice looking for our apartment, we were able to find balance with how much we were eating. However, as I know all of you are our near and dear family and friends to even be willing to read this silly recount of our adventures, I'm sure you have heard those stories and seen the countless ridiculous pictures. Thus, I'm going to start a new chapter in our children's book - don't worry, Addy and I can't speak the right language in this one, either :)
Just a quick note before we jump in - I know many of you helped us celebrate our graduation from the Colorado School of Mines last weekend. Whether through our ceremony, party, family gatherings, phone calls, or any other form of your love, we are so grateful to have you in our lives and cannot thank you enough for your endless support. You give us the strength to push through every challenge and the confidence to experience the unknown. Which, brings me back to the small folding table in front of me. Here we go again!
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| Our new Alma mater! |
In typical Addy, Victoria, and Lauren fashion, this story starts as explosively as the last one ended. For those of you who don't know or have perhaps blocked it out, last time we were on a plane traveling across the ocean together, Victoria almost did not join us. A quick recap - despite being 2 hours early, we were bringing up the rear of the check-in line. As we checked our bags 1-by-1, Marcello, Emily, Addy, and I were all ready for a long nap on the plane. That was until Victoria looked over at us from the check-in desk with her big blue eyes in a rare form of panic. Apparently, while Addy and my own confirmation had gone through the booking agency, they were not showing that Victoria was on our flight - our full flight. As we stood there in disbelief, we heard over the intercom that our flight was beginning to board, halfway across the airport. Luckily, while I may be the one whose face turns red in embarrassment, Addy's does in times of fury. That's usually when you know something exciting is about to happen. I'm not sure how many of you have ever tried to win an argument against Allison Bateman, but it's tough when she's barely invested. So, why don't we threaten leaving her best friend in Spain for funsies? For a little while I thought she was speaking a different language to whoever was on the other side of her phone. If they could've seen the hand motions and head bobs that were accompanying her speed and tone, they might have resigned from their job during the conversation. However, whatever she said, in whatever language, was enough, because Victoria got the golden ticket and we ran for the gate. As I said, much like any good sequel, we are picking up in the same way we left off - cardio included.
Flash forward 2 years and apparently we are still slow learners despite our new degrees. We had a plan. Leaving at 10:45AM would give us 3.5 hours before our flight to Dallas, where we would have a 3 hour layover before our prized flight south. At first, everything was going swimmingly, the Chick-fil-A included. We even boarded semi-on-time. All that was left was to take-off...but that would be a boring story. Once we found our seats and settled in, I took the prime napping position as the plane started to taxi and I began to doze (if you don't remember, I am an excellent travel sleeper). It was only about a 2 hour flight, and that is well within my napping abilities. So, that's what I did - slept through the turbulence, the dinging of the PA system, and the guy right behind us that was snoring louder than the crying baby. However, when I woke up to look out the window at the warm Texas land below, I instead was looking straight at the beautiful snow-capped Rocky Mountains. STRAIGHT. Looking at the clock, I had almost completed my task - take-off was at 2PM, it was now 3:10PM. Just then, the pilot came over the intercom saying that we had been taxiing for so long due to inclement weather that we were out of fuel and had to return to the gate. Few things - 1: number 1 rule of driving as a cheap college student - turn your car off when you're not driving. I realize planes are a little different, but over an hour of driving in a circle is not going to help! Just ask my mom while she was trying to teach me to drive a manual. 2: here in dear Colorado we have quite the range of weather possibilities, sometimes all in one day. No where on the list is 60 degrees and sunny considered "inclimate". 3: if it's not clear yet by my ranting, losing that much time and now turning back for fuel is cutting us dangerously close to a flight that is currently a few states away. Unfortunately, besides our normal comfort of sarcasm, there was really nothing we could do except not be freaked out by the text messages reading "it is likely you will miss your connecting flight to EZE. Please find alternative flights at the link below." Finally, at 4:15, we left the runway, with our next flight at 7:30PM, or 6:30PM in mountain time. That leaves us two hours and 15 minutes to fly, land, and get to the new plane. At least there's a chance. Well, thanks to some pretzels, tea, and encouraging wind, we landed at 6:50PM in Dallas in the C terminal. Thankfully, our next flight was just one terminal over in D...or, as usual, so we thought. I'm not sure how many of you have been to the Dallas airport, but each of the terminals is connected by a tram that circles through terminals A, C, E, D, and B. So, with our normal strand of luck, D was the furthest terminal from C no matter which direction we went. Go ahead, you can laugh. Needless to say, we burst off the plane, ran for the tram, and eventually flew down the escalator to our gate, where no one but the desk attendants remained. About 5 minutes after we sat down, we heard the plane doors close and the welcome video start to play. We were taking off early. I've never regretted primarily wearing sneakers in my life. Today was no exception.
Flash forward 2 years and apparently we are still slow learners despite our new degrees. We had a plan. Leaving at 10:45AM would give us 3.5 hours before our flight to Dallas, where we would have a 3 hour layover before our prized flight south. At first, everything was going swimmingly, the Chick-fil-A included. We even boarded semi-on-time. All that was left was to take-off...but that would be a boring story. Once we found our seats and settled in, I took the prime napping position as the plane started to taxi and I began to doze (if you don't remember, I am an excellent travel sleeper). It was only about a 2 hour flight, and that is well within my napping abilities. So, that's what I did - slept through the turbulence, the dinging of the PA system, and the guy right behind us that was snoring louder than the crying baby. However, when I woke up to look out the window at the warm Texas land below, I instead was looking straight at the beautiful snow-capped Rocky Mountains. STRAIGHT. Looking at the clock, I had almost completed my task - take-off was at 2PM, it was now 3:10PM. Just then, the pilot came over the intercom saying that we had been taxiing for so long due to inclement weather that we were out of fuel and had to return to the gate. Few things - 1: number 1 rule of driving as a cheap college student - turn your car off when you're not driving. I realize planes are a little different, but over an hour of driving in a circle is not going to help! Just ask my mom while she was trying to teach me to drive a manual. 2: here in dear Colorado we have quite the range of weather possibilities, sometimes all in one day. No where on the list is 60 degrees and sunny considered "inclimate". 3: if it's not clear yet by my ranting, losing that much time and now turning back for fuel is cutting us dangerously close to a flight that is currently a few states away. Unfortunately, besides our normal comfort of sarcasm, there was really nothing we could do except not be freaked out by the text messages reading "it is likely you will miss your connecting flight to EZE. Please find alternative flights at the link below." Finally, at 4:15, we left the runway, with our next flight at 7:30PM, or 6:30PM in mountain time. That leaves us two hours and 15 minutes to fly, land, and get to the new plane. At least there's a chance. Well, thanks to some pretzels, tea, and encouraging wind, we landed at 6:50PM in Dallas in the C terminal. Thankfully, our next flight was just one terminal over in D...or, as usual, so we thought. I'm not sure how many of you have been to the Dallas airport, but each of the terminals is connected by a tram that circles through terminals A, C, E, D, and B. So, with our normal strand of luck, D was the furthest terminal from C no matter which direction we went. Go ahead, you can laugh. Needless to say, we burst off the plane, ran for the tram, and eventually flew down the escalator to our gate, where no one but the desk attendants remained. About 5 minutes after we sat down, we heard the plane doors close and the welcome video start to play. We were taking off early. I've never regretted primarily wearing sneakers in my life. Today was no exception.
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| See? Everyone has a gift. |
And here we are, cruising/bouncing our way over a different ocean this time. We are also very lucky to have Victoria's wonderful mother, Mariana, with us throughout our journey, assuming Addy and I don't annoy her too much before 3 weeks is up. Victoria has fallen asleep to 27 Dresses, one of the greatest movies of all time, and I think that sounds like an excellent plan. I honestly have no idea what to expect in the morning, but as demonstrated, that is part of the fun! Whatever it is, one of us is sure to say something embarrassing in Spanish, fall down something, and have forgotten something essential from home. Now the question is, who is who? Don't worry, I'll be sure to let you know :)
Thanks for checking in! Talk to you again soon with some neat pictures and inevitably goofy stories from our first stop - Buenos Aires, Argentina! Besos y hasta luego!
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