Day 16 (Jan 9) - Back in the USSR [ Day 15 | Index | Done! ]

Everything ends, I guess, and it's time to head home. Too bad, since we were just starting to groove on the Italians and their tacky sunglasses (I was gonna get a pair if we stayed another day). We grab a 45-minute taxi to the airport (European airports are not nearby major cities it seems) and do the standard lamp checkin routine one last time. "What's that?" "It's a lamp." *Poke* *Prod* "A lamp?" "Yes." *Poke* *Prod* "Hold on a second please." (Phonecall) "And this is your lamp?" "Yes." "And you bought it?" "Yes." "And you packed it yourself?" "Yes." *Poke* *Prod* "You said this is a lamp?" Eventually they load it on the ramp, and we head for security. The Italian military guy checking passports stops me and asks me to pronounce my last name, then proceeds to repeat it over and over, apparently to practice, even after waving us through (we can hear him echoing in the distance). Next time he meets a "Wiger" he'll know exactly what to do. 16 hours of plane later, complete with whining Jewish couple behind us and the tweedle-dumb brothers in front of us, we're happily back in the US for a nice case of reverse culture shock. Next stop: Australia. Or maybe Costa Rica.

Rise and shine Sarah Slipping Slowly into Sleep Good to go Solid cloudcover over the Atlantic Greenland from 30,000 ft