Back ... or the beginning of something new ...

So, time to wrap this adventure up.

We arrived back, as we had hoped without real incident. Sean got us to Heathrow without any difficulty. The traffic was very kind all the way. We were a little concerned for his return journey as there were a LOT of vehicles on the other side of the Motorway and it was late afternoon/early evening when we bid our adieus. Very grateful for his flexibility in being able to drive us down around his work schedule - thank you (again).

It was sad to wave farewell to Belinda holding Maggie and Daisy standing looking through the gate. However, the consolation is they (well, not Daisy) will be out in late October/November for several weeks, so that time will pass quickly enough. And back here there are a plethora of other grandchildren to attend to who have been "ignored" for 3 months ... enough for everyone I'm sure.

The first of 2 (relatively) minor frustrations happened as we did the final check at the boarding gate at Heathrow. Another luxury of being in the lounge prior to departure is you get a "late" call to board so you basically walk right on when you get to the departure gate. The frustration was they wanted to fuss over and check and discuss and see Deb's nebuliser and make sure it was approved, and fill in more paperwork. This all happened back in November and even when the paperwork was produced for them to see, they wanted to remain officious about it. Meanwhile time was rapidly ticking down to the cabin doors being closed - this had happened once before in Hawaii and our anxiousness was borne from the doors actually closing on that journey with the attendant follow-up needed to arrange delayed flights, blah, blah, blah! Fortunately, this time we boarded and the doors closed behind us! Very frustrating, though, when all the hoops are jumped through as required only to get tangled up and almost be useless anyway ... and I just love paperwork and procedure :(.

The Dubai transit seemed shorter than on the way over (even though it was the same period of time). One benefit was a slight delay getting from the Emirates lounge to the plane saw us enter on the ramp for the top deck of the A380 so we got to walk the length of the upper cabin and see the additional space (even when full) of the business and small premium economy sections, before descending the back stairs and into our own palatial economy row 85 ... it was palatial on both legs to and from Dubai because we had 3 seats between the two of us. It is always good to have a little spread room. The economy cabin had quite a few spare seats and rows on the Dubai Sydney leg, and a few disputes and arguments with the staff about rearrangements once the fight was underway ... no one was ejected though!

We both managed some reasonable sleep time.

We were the first landing in Sydney at 5:02am. The process through customs was as tedious and unwelcoming as ever. But we managed to get the transfer bus without any waiting and that allowed the luxury of some additional time for relaxing, showering (that was REALLY good!) and a leisurely pick over the breakfast range of goodies before boarding our flight to the Gold Coast, on time for departure at 9:15am.

Alas, the second (minor) frustration. Once everyone was boarded and seated and the door closed we were informed we would not be likely to be departing until 10:15 due to strong westerly winds causing only the single east-west runway to be operating that day (Friday) ... anyway, not to grumble too much ... we did leave a little after 10:15 and mum & dad were dutifully waiting patiently when we finally emerged. It was good to see them . We were tired, but glad to be ready for a final hop down the highway in the car home.

We had a brief stop in for a coffee and some lunch to catch up with Jacinta and Oscar and Chris. We managed to stay awake for several more hours and certainly enjoyed a sound sleep. This has been the pattern for the last several days and it seems to have worked so jetlag does not seem to have been too bad. Slowly sorting things out.

Kylie and Reece and Lydia spent a few hours here on Saturday so it was good to see them too. Next on the agenda is to fire up Skype (again) and catch up with Lisa and Violet and Eliza and hopefully Ash.

Really glad I tacked this week on to leave and don't start back until next Monday.

Hope you have enjoyed the ramble - it has been fun sharing. Now for a different reality!