Day 21, Saturday, July 30, 2022 Flight Home

It’s time to go home. It has been a fun trip. (Rob is already planning the next one.) He has a scratch off map to indicate what countries he has been to so we will have a ceremonial party in the next few days.

This time my screen on the airplane worked so I watched 4 movies. (An old colleague of Rob’s used to say if one would watch three football games in a row, one could be declared legally dead. Perhaps the same is true for movies … but I feel fine!!)

Here are the movies that I watched:

• Midway: This remake had great special effects.
• I, Tonya: This movie was fascinating and the acting was exceptional. The actress that played Tonya Harding’s mom won an oscar. Tonya was and is a victim of bad choices. I recommend this movie.
• Marry Me: Predictable and poor acting. This one was a waste of time.
• Glory: This was Denzel Washington’s breakout movie and was made in 1989. The topic is about a black unit in the civil war and based on a true story.

The flight had a lot of children. I never knew that there were so many kids flying internationally. A ten-hour flight was hard for me. I am not sure how I would do if I were a child. There was a seven year old behind me flying ALONE.

We watched a documentary on Jewish children being sent to England to be safe during WWII called Nicky’s Family. They would have been killed if Sir Nicholas Winton had not intervened. Their parents were killed. How hard must that have been?? For the parents to say goodbye and for the children who wept over their parents. I think this is PTSD as they weep when they think about it … and they are in their 80s.

I have a few odds and ends that I want to remember so I will share them here in the 11th hour of the trip.

In all the countries that we visited, the menu items all had certain numbers after the dish. These referred to the potential allergens. This is great so one can order without worry.

• 1. Cereals containing gluten
• 2. Crustaceans and derived products
• 3. Eggs and derived products
• 4. Fish and derived products
• 5. Peanuts and derived products
• 6. Soybeans and derived products
• 7. Milk and derived products (including lactose)
• 8. Nuts: almonds, hazelnuts, walnuts, cashews, pecans, Brazilian nuts, pistachios, macadamia nuts and derived products.
• 9. Celery and derived products
• 10. Mustard and derived products
• 11. Sesame seeds and derived products
• 12. Sulfur dioxide and sulphites
• 13. Lupin and derived products
• 14. Shellfish and derived products.

One country boasted the greatest number of cars per Capita, BUT it wasn’t true upon further research. USA is number two. This made me want to know what city had the highest number of cars per capita. What is your guess?

City with the Most Cars

Sadly, it is my hometown of Virginia Beach. We are trying our best to mitigate that. We only have one car, and I am currently writing this blog on a city bus as I travel to see my Dad.

One doesn’t always have to travel to learn something new. This was an article written in our apartment’s monthly newsletter and is filed under things that I did not know.

August is named for the Roman emperor Augustus Caesar, grandnephew of Julius Caesar. When Augustus defeated Cleopatra and Mark Antony at the Battle of Actium in 30 B.C., he became emperor of Rome, and the Roman Senate quickly decided that since the month of July was named for Julius, their new emperor should also have his own month. At the time, Sextillius (the sixth month of the year in the pre-Gregorian calendar) had only 30 days, so the Senate also decreed that the newly named August should be equal to July, and took a day from February to keep the calendar in balance. Other emperors tried to get months named for them: May was called Claudius for a while, and April became Neronius, but the names didn’t stick.

That sure explains lot!!

Our next adventure will be on a Chesapeake Cruise in late October. Until then… Go with God. He is the BEST travel buddy!!