31st Gennaio: Funny Dates; the Return

Sunday was the day that we departed from Rome. First it was the Costa Ricans, at five o’clock, and the South Africans and New Zealanders at eight.

We had breakfast, then returned to our rooms, packed up, put our little bags in the little rooms with our big bags and then got onto the bus to visit the Vatican.

It was excellent, and quite a surprise to be honest. I looked inside St. Peter’s Basilica – magnificent -  and also walked around the piazza where the big crowds form for Papa Francesco’s mass.

Following our brief excursion to the Holy See, we wandered to the Coliseum and had lunch, a pizza made by the hotel, outside. Then we walked back to almost-the-Vatican and caught the metro to a stop called Cypro, and then a bus to near enough to our hotel to walk.

When we were back at the hotel we waited for a while, doing nothing. I weighed my suitcase for the first time and found that it was 30.1 kilogrammes, 100 grammes over the limit. However, I measured it later and it said 29.8. Unsure, I decided to put my new Poirot book and the dictionary in my hand luggage.

At a quarter-to six, we left the Villa Aurelia for the airport. I was a little bit concerned about luggage, especially when the scales at the check-in counter had 700 grammes on them before I started. However, including that, I was 29.9, which really is the best value packing. It’s like getting a Blackjack.

We boarded the flight at 8 something, and it was incredibly empty. The original ticket said it would be an Airbus A380, but it was a Boeing 777. We learnt that there were only 200 passengers, just over a third of the capacity. For dinner we had: pasta salad with chicken, unusual lamb sausages with beans, gravy and “roast” potatoes, and then sticky date pudding with caramel sauce and some cream thing. That was great. I watched a great film with Maggie Smith about an American man who inherits a Paris apartment from his estranged father, only to find out that it is under a special contract where he must pay €2,400 each month to the previous owner until they die. The previous owner must also be guaranteed to be able to live in the house. Maggie Smith is the 92 year-old former owner, and the American man really wants to sell the house. It was called “My Old Lady.”

I began to watch “Oliver and Company”, but didn't really like it, and “The Fox and the Hound”, but I was falling asleep. Instead, I decided to write these, so I could stay awake, It worked, and we arrived in Dubai surprisingly quickly.

In Dubai, we went through security again and found a place to sit. Then we went out, a few at a time, to have a look at the shops, use the bathrooms and generally look around. The five hours were long, but it wasn't too bad.

At about nine o’clock, we had to say goodbye to Jamie and Carina, who were flying to Sydney, and then go to our gate. We did, and then we had to have our bags searched again, because Australia is particularly strict with liquids on aeroplanes.

We are seated quite to the rear of this plane: row 84, out of 90. I watched the tail-camera during take-off and most of the Arabian Peninsula, until it was too cloudy to see anything. Then I began to write this. I have reconsidered my division. I think I will write from Rome to Melbourne in one post, but separate each writing session with a line. That is all for now.

Since the last writing, I have watched a film called “The Good Lie,” about some Sudanese refugees who are resettled in Kansas City, Missouri, and the struggles they faced. It was another good one.

After that I tried, perhaps only half-heartedly, to sleep. I put on some music, to block out the plane noise, and when that didn't work, I tried to watch another film. I wasn't awake, but I wasn't really asleep either. I watched “Planes”, and stayed awake for most of it. I am afraid that I mightn't be going to school today.

We recently finished breakfast. There was a fruit salad, with pineapple, watermelon, and grapes, as well as scrambled eggs with chives, hash brown, baked beans and something called “turkey bacon” which I tried but didn’t really like. Then there was the croissant. The best thing about aeroplane food, in my opinion, is how it comes out all organised in little ‘pots’, ready for you to eat organisedly (which should be a word).

I am not sure what I will do for the remainder of the flight. I still have some homework, so I might try and do that. I have a problem though, where I leave the most difficult things until the end, and then I have that obstacle. I will manage though.

I think I will finish writing this when I get home – after I do my homework I am so looking forward to seeing everyone again, though I know that I am exhausted and not at my best, so I am a little bit concerned about that. I think our flight will be about 10 minutes late, but by the time I put this online, it will be too late to be of use to anyone.

I did homework, and was over the moon to see everyone again. Tash went to school, and Mum, Dad, James and Kerryn went to work. I went home and slept until about 1. Then I did some more homework. Then I went back to my normal, Australian life.