Day 19-BA5 takes the lead
Arrivederci Italy!! Arrivederci Norwegian!!!
7/10/22 - Sunday
This day is largely a blur and I took very few notes as it unfolded. Suffice it to say, our trip has come to an end. Bye Norwegian! Bye Italy and Greece! Our luggage was collected last night and L. and I have to get ready with the bare minimum. I head to the Garden Buffet for my last protein breakfast, then return to our cabin and stuff my pajamas in my back pack.
For whatever reason, our group doesn’t have to disembark at an ungodly hour. At least I have time to eat breakfast sans the Mimosa. They’ve stopped serving alcohol yet again - Why, you ask? Who knows. I don’t think I’ll ever figure out these arbitrary alcohol rules.
As a family, we finally leave the ship and stand around for a good hour on the pier before our driver arrives to take us to the airport. Mom. is. sick., but at least she’s mobile - crisis averted as Mom is able to walk down the gangplank unassisted. She is on her way home…to better medical care (this is questionable). If Mom can make it through this day, she/we’re home free.
I have no recollection of the first leg of the flight, other than that Mom coughs the entire time. We hit JFK around 4:30 pm for our layover. I’m on the hunt for champagne for the next flight because I’m a nervous flyer. L. and I check out the Swarovski store because she wants to buy something for A., her long time female friend. I don’t like shopping as much as L., so we part ways and I go to an Airport bar where I order 2 glasses of champagne and a clam chowder. The soup is…okay. I mask the entire time when I’m in the airport EXCEPT while I’m eating.
We catch the connector around 7:30 pm without incident and finally land at LAX around 11:30 pm. Our previous driver [from Day 1] is on standby to pick us up - L texted him earlier - and he’s in the vicinity and right on time. Mom seems to be getting sicker by the hour and can’t stop coughing. Covid BA5 is a bitch!
12:00-1:00-We pile into the van and the driver’s first stop is my house, because S&Ms car is there. We arrive in one piece, my Mom and S&M say their good-byes, get in S&Ms car, and they’re off. Mom made it.
1:00-3:00 am-The dog is ecstatic and I give her lots of love before unpacking my suitcase and starting a load of laundry. While the laundry is going, I check my plants and give the dog the onceover. Both seem to be fine. T. [recall that he house-sitted and is still, momentarily, L.’s boyfriend] did a great job! I straighten the kitchen.
3:00-4:15 am-I must be on Italian time, because I’m wide awake. I do a 15-Minute, Insanity Max-Ab workout and a 30-minute, Insanity Max -Cardio workout, then put my clothes away.
5:00-5:30 am-I paint my toenails (2 coats) and apply L’Oreal sunless tanning.
5:30-6:00 am-I put my toiletries away at the same time I do my nighttime routine.
…still putting away my toiletries.
6:00-6:30-I apply my final application of L’Oreal sunless tanning, then paint my regular nails and call it a day. I’m in bed by 7:00 a.m. Our amazing vacation has ended.