The End of Our European Adventure: Part One

Once again, this absence is far to long, and completely unwarranted.  Sure, I’ve been busy since I got home.  But not too busy.  I partially blame myself, for not feeling motivated to finish my blog.  I partially toss the blame to Jon, saying that I’m not ready to finish it until I get my pictures from him, to which he replies “I have four months of pictures to go through, you’ll get them when I get to them.”  Does he really expect me to wait?  I guess so.

I think the real problem is that, finishing the blog means that my trip is officially over.  And as excited as I was to come home and see my friends and family, I’m not ready for it to be over.  I’m ready to go back.  We’ll come back to that in a few more posts.

So, my job right this moment is to tell you about my last few days in Ireland, and our trip home.

Dublin was wonderful, as always.  Jenna was very welcoming, and we had yet another fantastic weekend with her.  We did a lot of walking, a lot of sight seeing, and surprisingly a lot of learning.  The Sunday afternoon we were there, we spent in Dublin’s Archaeology Museum with her mentor for her internship, who happens to be an archaeologist!  Neat!  It was a surprisingly busy afternoon at the museum, but we managed to huddle close as she explained the significance of some of the artifacts in the museum.  Our group grew in numbers as we went along too; I guess they thought we were a free tour?  Also, I learned that not all archaeologists like ancient Egypt.  Apparently it scares her.  Who knew!

We ate some wonderful food (battered fried sausage and chips is a close rival to my favorite fish and chips!), we enjoyed a few drinks, and soaked in the sights.  For the most part the weather was beautiful, except Sunday afternoon.  Before we knew it, Monday night was upon us and it was time to start packing and thinking seriously about a good night’s sleep.  Funny how when sleep is important, you don’t go to bed until well past midnight.

Tuesday morning ran pretty smoothly.  I got up early, showered, and had all our bags fully packed before Jon got up.  Since he’s a serious pain in the morning, I figured that would be a better way to start.  I unfortunately had to leave my walking stick in Dublin so Jon could try and get his through security.  He was far more attached to his, since he made it, and I decided that the chances of two people using them as a crutch would look a little suspicious.

We left after an abundance of hugs before Jenna even left for work, and headed to the bus stop.  The very friendly bus driver made sure we got off at the right stop for our terminal, and we were on our way.

Of course, the first thing I notice as I’m dreading the 4 flights ahead of us, is that there’s a flight directly from Dublin to Orlando.  Seriously?  I don’t know if we even thought to check Orlando flights.  Regardless, I had a gut feeling those tickets probably cost a fortune, and didn’t mind that we weren’t going on that flight as soon as I noticed it was United.

As we go through the daily airport grind, Jon still with his walking stick in hand, it still hadn’t hit me that I was leaving this beautiful country.  It takes until I’m physically sitting in my seat (an exit row seat thanks to Jon’s wonderful timing!) that I start to feel sad for all those “I can’t wait to be home” wishes.  And by then, it was of course too late.

The flights really weren’t that bad.  I had never flown US Airways before, but I can tell you that if they’re an option in the future, I wouldn’t mind doing so again.  Obviously with exit row seats on our longest flight, it was considerably more comfortable than our flights into Europe, but even our domestic flights from Philadelphia to Chicago, Chicago to Charlotte, and Charlotte to Tampa had ample leg room for me, and even enough for Jon.  That’s quite a feat!  We only got food on our international flight (which was pretty good, I might add), but the usual beverage service on the rest.  We had some delays (which made our short layovers in each city a little stressful at times), but all and all, the experience wasn’t awful.  The only plane I slept on was the last one, but by then I had been up for nearly 24 hours anyway, so I guess that’s okay.  The in-flight entertainment on the long flight wasn’t bad; that surfer movie about Bethany Hamilton, and Marley and Me.  A great movie, though I wonder if I was the only one with tears in my eyes.  Jon had to stop watching it.  He won’t shy from saying that movies with dogs are the only type that “move” him.

Once we landed in Tampa, well past our planned midnight arrival, I went from complete exhaustion to that exhausted slap-happy phase.  Knowing that Cristina and Jon’s mom were waiting for us, every step of the de-boarding process seemed to take forever.  When we finally turned the corner in the terminal and saw them, I was so excited to be home.  It didn’t hurt that Cristina had made us signs to welcome us, saying “Welcome Home” in every language of every country we went too, plus Dutch!

After going through baggage claim, we were on our way to the beloved Taco Bus.  We took the time to enjoy our meal there, and went home.  We didn’t hesitate to put on our suits and jump in the pool.  We lasted a while too, considering the pool closes at 11, but we were eventually kicked out.  We proceeded to do a little unpacking, to share little souvenirs, and some much needed laundry.  Some very much needed laundry.  Jon went to sleep at around 3, to catch a little nap before having to take his mom back to the airport.  She made an unfortunate scheduling mistake when planning a business trip, but at least we got to see her briefly.  I fought to stay awake until the two of them left, and then left Cristina to enjoy the quiet living room and get some sleep.  I practically melted into my bed.  I had forgotten how comfortable it was.  I don’t even think I noticed when Jon joined me again after his trip to the airport.

And for now, I’ll leave you with this picture Jon’s mom managed to catch before leaving the airport. 

No Justice for Caylee

I’m going to have to take a break from the generally upbeat travel related posts to vent a little about what’s had my Facebook News Feed up in flames since 2:15 EST.

Today, Casey Anthony was found not guilty on counts of Murder 1, Aggravated Child Abuse, and Aggravated Manslaughter of a Child.  She was found guilty on four counts of providing false information to law enforcement officers.

So, what do you think (all 7 of my readers)?  I know, the world is upset right now.  I’m a little upset myself.  Being from Florida, it was on my daily news for months when the state was looking for Caylee, and it’s only been covered even more since they found her.  So I understand the chorus of “WTF?” happening online right now.  But it’s important that everyone realize the way our system works.  I know the system breaks down and sometimes justice isn’t always served.  For poor little Caylee, it definitely hasn’t been.  I know Casey was accused of taking a life, but our conviction puts her life in our hands.

Do you want that sort of responsibility?  My Facebook New Feed suggests you do.

In some countries, you’re guilty until proven innocent.  In America, you’re innocent until proven guilty.  The job falls on the state prosecutor to prove her guilt.  Casey’s defense attorney does his best to disprove what the prosecutor is arguing, and in the end, all it comes down to is who had the better show.  There is a juror of 12 people as unbiased as physically possible, they take the two arguments, and flesh everything out until they come to a unanimous verdict.  And it has to be beyond a reasonable doubt.  We’re talking like, 99.99999% positive she did it.  But with what evidence?

Now of course, everyone has their own opinions.  I personally believe she did do it.  I believe that if you’re a decent mother, it shouldn’t be difficult for you to prove that you didn’t kill your 2-year-old child.  But that’s not the way our system works.  It’s not Casey Anthony’s job to prove that she didn’t do it, its the State of Florida’s job to prove that she did.  Unfortunately the Sunshine State only had circumstantial evidence, which isn’t enough to bring Caylee justice.  But if our system made exceptions for cases with children, it would just be a domino effect of system breakdown.  The system, flawed as it may be, is there for a reason.  It’s important that we uphold the rules of the system.

Personally, I don’t know why they didn’t charge her for child neglect.  I think if your child goes missing for a month and you don’t report it, that’s seriously suspicious.  Though I believe she did it, I knew she wasn’t going to be convicted of Murder 1, that they’d have a really hard time proving Manslaughter of a Child, and that if the state was lucky, they could get her on Aggravated Abuse of a Child.  Why neglect wasn’t on the table, I haven’t the slightest clue in the world, but they should have been able to get her for that.

But most importantly, I’d like to know what happens next.  Whether guilty or not, Casey Anthony’s life will never be normal.  No one will want to employ her, she won’t be able to go out in public again, and her family doesn’t want her.  I’ll be interested to see what happens in the civil trials.

Alright, enough of that.  I hope this doesn’t clutter the social media realm or any other media realm for much longer.  We’ve made a celebrity out of a maniac, and that’s just sickening.

C’est une fête!

Well, we are now 2 days away.  Less than two, even.  OMG THATS SO FRICKIN CRAZY!

Tonight is our little going away get together for anyone in Tampa who wants to see us out.  Thankfully, Jon and I went to Brevard and saw everyone there one last time this past weekend.

My to-do list is getting small enough to put on a post-it note now, which is good.  Before I could certainly write a novel with it.  Unfortunately, my favorite pair of jeans finally wore through the bottom and I have to make yet another last minute mall trip for another pair of jeans.  Which I suppose isn’t so bad, because I forgot to get the battery in my watch replaced today, so it all works out.

Well, I should actually get dressed.  :)

Ciao!

J’aime bourses d’études

T-minus 5 days and counting, and all of my monies from scholarships and loans have JUST finished disbursing.  Cutting it a little close, USF?  But alas, its all there.  Which is a relief.  However, once again, I feel like my list of things to do before we leave is getting longer even quicker than it was before.  5 days is not much time, especially since I’m STILL trying to get rid of my car.  Its looking like it may just go back to Brevard at this rate, which I hope not.  Everyone at home is a little busy to keep trying to sell my car, but alas.  Not like I have a whole lot of choice in the matter.

Normally before large trips I would have already started packing, slowly but surely.  I haven’t even tried to think about packing.  Its mildly terrifying, to be frank.

Either way, just a quick post to keep you readers interested.  Jon’s entire family will be here at some point this week, include his grandma and her husband.  In other words, his mom is freaking out about the house being clean (understandably so).

As if I didn’t have enough on my mind! :P  Bonne nuit!

Je suis oublier quelque chose

Ever notice when you feel like you’re finished everything you need to get done, a new to-do list of at least 5 rather important items pops into your head no more than a moment later?  Welcome to my day.  I feel like everytime I turn around and get something done, the rest of my list multiplies at an exponential rate!  We have now hit the single-digits phase of my countdown to departure, and there simply isn’t enough time to get everything done!  My friends insist I relax, that everything will be okay, that I’ll magically get it all done, probably just in the knick of time.  But alas, my name is Caroline Heywood.  If defined by Webster, “stressed” would be his first choice to describe me.  I feel like White Rabbit today, just simply running out of time.

On another stressful note, my car is still mine… which is not good.  I’ve only had two genuine bites on the car; I’m showing one girl my car on Sunday, and another guy whenever Tampa decides to stop raining on my day.  So again, anyone in need of a car, or know someone in need of a car, pass this along please! http://tampa.craigslist.org/hil/cto/2166131033.html

On a brighter note, everytime I have a new question come to mind regarding the trip, my oh so wonderful study abroad adviser is always an email away.  I don’t know what her inbox looks like, but at the rate that Jon and I email her, I feel like half the messages have to be from us!  Needless to say though, this trip could not have happened without her!

I should be off attending to my to-do list.  Until next time, ciao!

Je pense que Skype sera utile

So, I’ll be the first to admit, I dogged Skype like crazy when it first came out.  But after actually experiencing it, I think it might come in handy when I’m gone.  If only they could master what iChat already has, and enable multi-user video calls.  But alas, I can’t complain about free three-way calling.

So that being said, anyone who wishes to Skype me while I’m abroad, you can do so here: caroline.liz89

Je déteste l’emballage

I. Hate. Packing.

I know, I’m not actually leaving until the 30th, but I feel like I have been packing for this trip for weeks.  This is partly due to the fact that while packing up my entire apartment to move it into Jon’s storage unit, I basically had to pack for Europe at the same time.  Do you know how difficult it is to imagine what clothes you’ll want to wear six months from now?  To make things even more difficult, Jon seems to think we can both fit our stuff in ONE large suitcase.  I mean, I plan on packing light, but I’m still a girl!

I also find myself worrying about silly things, like shampoo, razors and deodorant.  I mean, the French aren’t exactly known for cleanly shaven armpits, or smelling like a bed of roses.  But I keep thinking about this whole trip as if I’m going to some third-world country in South America, and that is clearly not the case for Nice.

I can say, without hesitation, that I have an extremely long to-do list that needs finishing before I can leave the country, and I’m definitely running out of time.  But more on that later.  Until next time, bonne nuit!