All holidays have to end. Our flight home was at 13:45 hours so we planned to leave at 10am. There was time for a short roof-top yoga session and even a quick dip in the pool. I packed my bags and went down to the kitchen for breakfast. The five of us loaded the car after saying our goodbyes and we set off only a few minutes after ten. As we found our way back down the steep roads and around switch-back corners I felt as if we were slowly coiling up the thread of our holiday which we had uncoiled just four days previously.

Airports are the same the World over. So much time is spent in queues. Once safely through security checks and passport control we purchased something for lunch. I decided to save mine to eat on the plane. Departures on planes are painful. More queuing at the Gate. More waiting. Despite the Gate Attendant insisting that only Group One should line up at the gate there were an awful lot of passengers milling around hopefully, anxious to get aboard and stow their bags in the overhead bins. No-one checked bag sizes and some bags were most definitely outside the dimensions specified for cabin bags and carry-ons. Once we were boarded we settled in our assigned seats. We had to wait behind seven other planes for our take-off. It must be so frustrating for the captain to be all ready to go but have to sit on the tarmac with his engines idling waiting for his slot. Once we were in the air everyone went quiet. It was as if the Crew had added a sleeping draught to the Air Fresheners. The only disturbance was later, after the food cart had passed down the aisle, and passengers left their seats to use the  toilets.  Now that we were on our way, I asked for my sandwich but it could not be found. Oops! It must have been tossed with the rubbish before we boarded. Of course it did not matter – I was not even hungry. “Eating” is one of those things that helps to pass the time when trapped in a confined space thousands of feet up in the sky. Half way through the flight, when the crew came round with the food cart, I was able to purchase a cup of tea and a Kit Kat. It was great to get away for a few days but the best thing about going away is the coming home.

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