1/21/2022 0 Comments Airport time!Hi everyone! It's been a minute since I posted, which leads me to some advice: If you're travelling abroad, SAVE YOUR BLOG PASSWORD!!!!!!! Yes, as soon as I arrived in Sorrento, I sat down to write about my time in the airport. Naturally, it did not occur to me that leaving the US would log me out of all of my accounts, including my blog. So, if I have any advice to you right off the bat, it is to save (or at least write down/memorize) your blog password! Anyway: Now that I have gotten back into my account, I am so excited to tell you all about my flight experience, which was actually cancelled and pushed back a day (from January 8th, to the 9th). This made the mandatory Covid testing a little trickier, but otherwise it wasn't too bad. My parents dropped me off at Newark Airport on the 9th, which is almost two weeks ago now! We arrived at 3:30 (three hours before our flight), we all went inside to meet up with Nat, Lauren and Jadyn. My sister stayed in the car because she "forgot to bring a coat" (I think maybe the heated seats had more to do with it). I met Lauren in front of check-in for our flight and we took care of our checked bags while our parents introduced themselves. I actually had no problem with check-in. The man didn't even weigh my bag (which was right at the required 50 lbs). Lauren had more trouble. Poor girl has the worst luck traveling. Nat and Jadyn arrived a few minutes later and we waited while they checked in so we could all find our gate together. Our parents said goodbye when we reached security. I thought I would cry, but the entire experience was so surreal it felt just like saying goodbye to come to school. I still don't think it's hit me that I'm in Italy yet. Once we got through security (Lauren got stopped because of her makeup wipes & Nat found a random bag that didn't belong to any of us) and found our gate we had a while until our plane took off. Jadyn and I got some wine at the airport bar since she's 21 and I had just turned 22. We also bought water and some snacks for the plane. I usually get pre-flight jitters, but I think having four other people with me helped. By the time we boarded our flight, I was just ready to go to sleep. I had to put my carry-on in an overhead container about five rows back from me because the plain was so full. My advice would definitely be to pack things you need on the flight in your personal item (backpack or bag), for this exact reason. I had the window seat, so getting to my carry-on throughout the flight was not going to happen. I also forgot to bring earbuds (airpods don't connect to plane TVs) so I had to watch Sex and The City without sound for the fifteen minutes I was awake. The girl sitting next to me was super sweet and didn't even mind when I had to use the bathroom promptly five minutes into the trip. She was traveling to Scotland for a semester abroad. We talked for a few minutes as the plain took off and then I decided to take a nap. I woke up about an hour later, just in time for dinner. I was sort of surprised we got a meal on the flight, since it was an overnight. They ran out of pasta when they reached the row behind me, so I got chicken. It came with a little quinoa salad and a chocolate mouse (pudding?) and was surprisingly good. They also served free wine on the plane, which I've never seen before. I got a glass of red and went back to sleep. I woke up about half an hour before we landed at London Heathrow for our connecting flight and we got a croissant and yogurt for breakfast! The view out the window as we landed was gorgeous. The entire city of London was lit up against the black sky. You could even see tiny cars traveling down the left side of huge roads. When we landed they called us off the plane by row. As this was my first time stepping foot anywhere other than the US, it was very exciting. Jadyn, Lauren and I got off the plane (on the tarmac!!!) and were herded onto a shuttle by a man with a phenomenal accent. We wanted to wait for Nat, but they don't allow you to stand outside the plane for too long. Once we got to Terminal 5 we waited for Nat right inside the doors. Somehow there was a miscommunication and Nat had made it inside and past security before we even got up the stairs. Lauren got stopped at security because of her makeup wipes again (poor girl!) and had to throw out her favorite moisturizer. After that, it took us about half an hour to finally find Nat at Starbucks. In wandering the airport we also found a Harry Potter store, which I fully intend on visiting during our layover on the way back. We got Starbs, they don't have the pepper egg bites in England :(, and found our gate. By the time we sat down our two hour layover had turned into 15 minutes until boarding. This flight was pretty empty compared to the first one. My row was full and I had a window seat, so next time I probably would have sat in the empty row two in front of me. The women next to me were very nice though. They did not speak and English, and my Italian is not wonderful so I had to get the family across from us to help translate when the crew handed out the Covid Self-Declaration forms (entirely written in English, which the women next to me couldn't read). The views from the window this flight were a lot more fun since it was daylight outside. I've never seen such huge mountain ranges before. When we landed we got off the plane and went to pick up our checked bags. We were nervous because the group we were meeting had lost their luggage but we got ours without issue. Besides Jadyn almost taking an Italian woman's bag by accident. (They had literally the same exact luggage and the woman was very nice about it.) Finally we went and met our driver and the other group of students. Overall I'd say our airport experience wasn't too bad! PHOTO GALLERY
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1/6/2022 0 Comments PackingHi everyone! It's the day before I leave, since my flight got pushed back a day, and I figured it's the perfect time to post my packing list!! Packing was hard for this trip since I've never had to fit four months worth of clothes into one bag. I've also never left the U.S. before, so I wasn't entirely sure what to pack. I definitely utilized the packing list given to me by my school, as well as some of the recommendations of friends who have already gone abroad.
This is the comprehensive list of everything I packed! Check back at the end of my trip for a list of things I had to buy there, things I used the most, and things I definitely didn't need. :) Clothes
So that's my full packing list! One thing I wish I had packed already was an extra bag for souvenirs. I'm considering either buying a bag there or mailing things home, but I'll update you all when I decide later in my trip! Thanks for reading! Check back in for a recap of my flight and airport experience! :) |
AuthorMy name is Meg and I'm going to Italy! ArchivesCategories |