Monday, September 29, 2008 1:45 pm EST (reposted May 26, 2009)
Somewhere over the Atlantic Ocean
Well, my first long journey of the year is coming to an end. Saturday I attended a huge college fair in London followed by a weekend spent enjoying the company of my kids. As I mentioned before, I lived for 8 years in Bulgaria. There weren't a lot of good English language options for them so they went to boarding schools in the UK - first in Penzance and later in York. Following their successful A-levels, Genny and Logan went to university in London. Genny completed a degree in medieval Bulgarian literature from University College London, married a pleasant young British bloke, and now lives in Camden Town and works in one of the UCL libraries. Logan did chemical engineering at Imperial College and just took his first job at a major engineering firm in Reading. It was a pleasure to catch up with them, as I usually only get a chance to see them once a year during my travels.
Saturday evening we ate at a quaint little Thai restaurant near King's Cross Station. Sunday I headed out to Reading for my first visit to the town and to see Logan's apartment. I also managed to beat him in Wii bowling!! Back into London. Dinner at a Turkish restaurant in Islington (Chinese, Thai, and Turkish dining in successive evenings!!). Isn't London grand.
This morning started with a real treat. I hate spending money needlessly so I decided to take the tube from Islington to my school visit at the American School in London. But I knew that I needed to get from ASL to Heathrow airport as quickly as possible if I were to catch the noon flight home. This necessitated hauling two suitcases and my computer bag through the London Underground during rush hour. I can't say that this is something that I recommend. But I made it to ASL only 2 minutes late and had a great visit with a counselor and 5 students. A quick cab ride to Paddington station, the Heathrow Express to Heathrow Airport, and here I am only minutes away from landing at Washington Dulles Airport just outside DC. An hour layover and one quick flight home to Cleveland and I'll see my wife and puppy for the first time in over two weeks!
Well, bye for now. I'll keep you posted on what's happening in the office and then we can start this all over again in two weeks when I leave for Costa Rica.
