Buses, Planes, Trains, Automobiles (and Hotels)

Taken with my iPad as I flew over the Alps,

maybe I need to give up my aisle seats more often if the view is this incredible.

After 3 months of 80+ hour work weeks, where I worked 20 out of 24 Saturdays and Sundays, my project is finished and I made it home.

This time getting home was in itself a lesson in patience and perseverance,  I left the office around 4 on Thursday afternoon, hiked up the hill in Lausanne (where it was freezing), grabbed my suitcases and caught a bus to the train station.

Uncharacteristically, the train was running late, so I stood around the station for an extra 20 minutes. I arrived in Geneva, found the shuttle to my hotel room for the night. I got checked in and quickly realized that if I wanted dinner I'd have to take the shuttle back to the train station because there were no options within walking distance. 6AM brought another shuttle ride to the airport where finally my journey home felt like it was beginning.

I landed in London on time and, luckily given how many flights had been cancelled last week out of Heathrow, mine was on-time. The flight to Chicago was uneventful, on arrival the snow on the ground made me slightly nervous, but I had a 5 hour layover, so surely things would be better later in the day.

Not so - only after I checked my luggage through to Salt Lake I discovered my flight had been cancelled. After standing in a few lines and talking to several people, it became apparent I wasn't getting out of Chicago on Friday. I sweet talked the airline into a voucher for a reduced rate hotel room (and thanked my lucky stars that I always pack a carryon, with the expectation that I'll get stuck somewhere.)

I braved the blowing snow to track down yet another shuttle bus to the hotel, crashed in what was probably the most comfortable bed I'd slept in in 3 months (thank you Marriott!) and prayed for a less snowy Saturday.

My prayers were answered and at noon I boarded on my final plane (for a few weeks at least.) More than 48 hours after I left the office on Thursday I was finally home. The best part of my trip home was being picked up by my sister, niece and nephew, how I've missed them.

The next time someone makes a comment about how glamourous it must be to travel for work, I'll probably grin and agree, but in the back of my mind I'll be remembering all the trips like this that turn the glamour into pain, but for now I'm going to revel in being home, sleeping in my own bed and being able to visit Target whenever I want.

Am I the last person on earth to discover Lana Del Rey? After a coworker turned me onto her album last week, its been on heavy rotation: Video Games

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