Hey guys! We arrived home from our Europe trip last night.
Grand Place Brussels
Shirt | Necklace | Jeans | Sneakers
I can’t wait to share all the details on our trip in upcoming blog posts but first I need to comb through the hundreds of photos that I took and decide how to best capture it.
There were lots of Belgian waffles eaten.
Belgian Beer in Bruges
Sunglasses (on sale for $24.99!) | Shirt | Bracelets
And Belgian beers drank.
I seriously missed peanut butter in a land where Nutella and Speculoos reign king.
Shopping in Brussels
My Bag | My Shorts | My Shoes
I also missed air conditioning as the second half of our trip was in the midst of an unseasonable heat wave where temps were over 90 degrees. By the final day of our trip, I gave up on caring what I was wearing and rolled with Lululemon and tennis shoes.
Dinner out in Brussels
My Romper | My Shoes
The best part of the trip was getting to catch up in person with my dear friend Lina. There were lots of hugs, many long conversations and even a few tears. Lina is such a strong, ambitious, brave and loving woman and she inspires me so much. Every time I’m with her I feel like we have so much to learn from each other. It’s such a special friendship.
Yesterday was an 18-hour marathon travel day home. We left Lina’s apartment at 8 a.m. Brussels time (2 a.m. Eastern) to head to the airport. We wanted to give ourselves plenty of time to make our 11 a.m. flight since security in Brussles is tight and there had been the train station incident the night before. After getting checked in and clearing security and border patrol, we had a quick breakfast. I had a slice of quiche and a coffee. I saved the croissant for later.
Our flight from Brussels to JFK was every minute of eight hours. The flight to Europe was faster and only a little over six and a half hours (this is due to the jet stream). It was a looonnnngggg eight hours since I did my best to stay awake (trying to help with the jet lag arriving home). Towards the beginning of the flight, Delta served a hot lunch that was surprisingly delicious. It was coconut chicken and rice with a salad, a roll and cheese. My fave was making a butter and cheese sandwich with the roll. After lunch I watched Manchester by the Sea, tried to start the Batman Lego movie but snoozed through most of it, worked Sudokus from the Delta magazine and finished the second half of Sex and the City 2 (I watched the first half on the way over).
We landed at JKF around 1:30 p.m. but our flight to Charlotte didn’t depart until 5 p.m. We cleared customs and checked back in to American Airlines and then started the waiting game. I ate the leftover croissant from my purse along with a banana and mint tea.
I passed the time by walking up and down the terminal talking to my mom and grandmother and getting my steps in for the day. It was needed after so much sitting! I got to just shy of 20k for the day but that also included a 3.5 mile run before we left for the airport. Not bad for a travel day!
We finally boarded our plane to Charlotte but sat on the runway for an hour due to weather. I loved this view of NYC when we were finally airborne.
We quickly collected our bags and grabbed at Uber at CLT and were reunited with the girls a short time later. We missed them!
They were super excited to see us. Sullie jumped in bed with me last night (we’ve been limiting dogs in the bed lately but I couldn’t say no) and she literally made herself the inside spoon and snuggled up right next to me.
Before bed I had a salad with salmon and avocado that we picked up from the restaurant in the Uber on the way home. I tried to watch a little TV with Tanner but I was falling asleep so I went to bed around 10:15 p.m. Given that it was 4:15 a.m. Brussels time and I’d basically been up for 22 hours straight, I was proud of myself for making it that long! I woke up naturally around 6 a.m. this morning feeling really good so I hope my body can quickly re-adjust to the time change and get back to normal.
I have to admit that it was nice to completely step away from my blog and work for an entire week but I’m happy to be back and my mind is racing with ideas and inspiration. Lots to come! 🙂
What’s your favorite thing to do on an airplane?
What’s your favorite way to pass time in an airport?
What’s the longest flight you’ve ever taken?
