The Journey

A long 30-06-08

It’s bloody pouring down rain on the 4th of July!! Yes, you’ve guessed it—the family has finally arrived in jolly (freezing) ‘ole England to a) promote HOPE in Europe and b) visit the family. Ooops I should probably flip those a’s and b’s hadn’t I? (Look I’m already phrasing sentences as a proper English girl)!

The flight, despite all of my worries was fantastic. In perfect American fear-driven antics, I complained for weeks about Greg’s choice of a Middle Eastern airline. Okay fine, it was the cheapest airline but Greg doesn’t hold an American passport! (I’m definitely on the horn about EU passports for the kids while we are here!) No, the idea was not at all enchanting, but I will say that hands down it was the best trip ever. Not only was the food the BEST vegetarian meal I’ve ever had on an airline (the kids ate everything too) but the treats for the kids were amazing! They gave them each a Gulf Air bag and inside were a red gulf air baseball cap, sunglasses, a wallet, The Wizard of Oz book, Alexander the Great book, coloring books, and colors!! It was amazing. Now the kids are prancing around England in bright red Gulf air caps, sunglasses and asking their grandparents to fill their new red Gulf-Air wallets! It’s quite a hysterical fashion statement coupled with their HOPE promotional clothing!

The Stop Over: Bahrain I just looked on the map and I know where it is now. It’s an island in the Persian Gulf. For those of you who knew, more power to you. For the rest of us fools, slip it into a conversation the next time you want to feel smart and worldly.

There were a few interesting things about the Bahrain airport. 1. Clearly, this is a country where people shop — the toy store has a better selection than the Bangkok Airport!

2. There obviously weren’t nearly as many women traveling as there were men.

3. They had these amazing perfumes in gorgeous Arabian bottles for sale. I just know there is a genie in one of them. Unfortunately the kids wanted french fries (from a MacDonald’s, I kid you not!) so I didn’t get to smell them all. The epitome of exotic is a good description of these sensual scents.

And 4. there was this fancy shop dedicated to selling black burkhas. There was even a mannequin in the shop window with a black burkha on (or are they just robes? They didn’t have the fencing net over the eyes and mouth.) At any rate, black, black ,black — with a little bit of beadwork on some of the head scarves. I SOOOO wanted to go in and I will on the way back if time permits, but it was really in all honesty, a bit daunting. I did reach for my camera but there were all these men with long beards dressed in white staring at me — I’m pretty sure they were going on a pilgrimage to Iran. So I refrained from the photo, feeling sorry for the poor twenty-something-year-old who looked very uncomfortable in her shorty-short denim mini skirt, halter top, and flip-flops, perfect for Bangkok but not perfect for Bahrain. I was very happy and content that I had chosen my micro fiber black blazer-jacket for the journey.

What a difference a 24 hour journey makes!

In closing, Happy 4th of July. I’ve been celebrating in the cold rain with my red-coat family! Next up: Reports on Bubble London, the new children’s clothing trade show.