Day Ten ~ Sunday, May 5

Happy Cinco de Mayo! Wait… wrong country. Happy big travel day! Man, Hollis wasn’t lying when he said we had some big travel days on this trip.
So far we have taken two busses and a train and are currently sitting on a plane. We have yet two trains to take, and possibly even a taxi. In that time, we have to meet up with Christina, have dinner, and find out where exactly our Chalet we’re staying at is. Whew! What a mouthful.
The day has gone well for the most part. We left the Youth Hostel about 10 minutes later than we had been aiming for, but with the layover time we had allowed for in the day, that was fine.
That first bus was pretty nice, a personal bus for hire, which in England means for rent. We took that bust down the path we hiked so many times to and from the Hostel, all the way over to Penrith. From Penrith, we took an even nicer coach bus over to Preston. (a 2 and a half hour ride) where we caught a train after a 40 minute layover. (We got lunch at the station).
The train was incredibly crowded, to the point where I had to stand most of the hour, and only got to sit down between the last two stops.
The last stop was Manchester Airport. Once there, we made our way over to “Easyjet” baggage check-in. Security was easier to get through – shoes allowed to stay on – but a couple of our people got stopped. Sean J. had to throw away his travel lighter of several years, and the other Sean (Sean M.) had his pocket knife confiscated. Stephanie got stopped for the last little water left in her Nalgenes, but was allowed to keep everything.
Once through, we roamed the airport for about an hour. I tried unsuccessfully to find a computer from which I could send an email. No luck! So I joined a few others who had bought pizzas and salads.
Eventually we made our way to Gate 6 to board our flight. And here we are, on the flight now. One cultural thing I think many of us learned today is that sodas on European flights (at least with this carrier) are not free. I felt bad at how frequently the flight attendants had to put drinks back when they reached our group and people slowly realized they had to pay for the drinks. The attendants must have been thinking something along the lines of “damn Americans!”
Well, I can tell we’re descending now, or at least my ears can tell. So I’m going to go. Cheers!

-Joseph Bruner