Belgrade to London to NYC

Sunday morning started early with Shelley's wake up call at 4am.  I was awake to see her off, but then couldn't get back to sleep, especially since the pre-dawn light was beginning to come into the room.  So a very early start to a very long day!  I showered, packed, went downstairs for breakfast, and checked my travel details online.  We got to the airport in plenty of time (a miracle, since we did nothing else "on time" on this trip!).  The flight was blessedly uneventful, and since my fellow pilgrims and I had booked different return flights, after arriving in London we said our goodbyes, and I made my way to BA's Terminal 5.

Henrietta graciously volunteered to keep my duffle bag of books at her place in London and then bring it to Heathrow for me.  We met up at departures, repacked both bags to make sure each was under 23kg (I can't believe this worked out and I didn't get charged a fee!), checked them and myself in, and then stopped in an Italian restaurant for a late lunch.  It was great fun seeing Henrietta one last time before leaving.

Of course things were going too smoothly!  When I entered the security line I was told that my 6:10 flight had been cancelled.  And thus the fun begins.  After standing in two different lines, British Air transferred me to a Virgin Atlantic flight at 8:35.  Seven hours of flying after being up since 4am Serbian time became grueling.  But I managed to get a couple hours of sleep and made it back to the Close at 12:30am EDT (which was 6:30am Serbian time) for a grand total of 23 1/2 traveling hours door to door.  Since I've sublet my apartment for the summer, my dear friend Candice let me stay at her place while she's away.  Lucky for me she just moved into the apartment across the hall, so I had easy access to switch out suitcase items!  Thanks, Candice - it's great to be only one door away from home!