Traveling home
The day was long, and everyone was exhausted.
Alas, the day we excitedly anticipated had finally approached us. One by one, we piled into The Media School lugging our overpacked suitcases behind us, worrying about whether we’d have to pay a fee for our extra baggage we couldn’t fathom leaving behind. Each of us took a turn weighing our luggage, silently praying we wouldn’t exceed our limit. (Luckily, we didn’t.)
As we filed onto our coach bus, we spent every minute chattering over the adventures that awaited us. We discussed the places we’d get to see, the food we’d get to try and most importantly, the totally Instagram-worthy photo ops we had planned. As we approached the Indianapolis Airport, the energy on the coach bus intensified. We scurried off the bus, eager to get inside and onto our plane.
The 37-minute flight to our layover in Detroit made our bus ride to Indy seem like two hours. I couldn’t believe how quickly the time flew by. Once we landed, the real excitement kicked in, knowing in just a short hour and a half, we’d be boarding our plane and on our way to Europe. We broke up into smaller groups and went searching the airport for food before the long flight ahead of us. As we finished our meals, we made our way back to the gate and huddled in a circle, prepared to master French in four minutes, graciously taught by Jamie.
Finally, the time came to board the plane, and we couldn’t have been any happier. However, our happiness quickly turned into annoyance as we realized we’d be sitting in a small, tight and confined space for nearly eight hours. We squirmed around in our seats endlessly, trying to find the least uncomfortable position to try to sleep in. Every single time I looked around the plane, I saw my peers scrunching up their limbs in new formations.
I thought back to Ernie Pyle’s “All the Velvet is Gone” column and suddenly felt extremely fortunate for being accommodated with food and beverages, entertainment, hot towels and even a sleeping mask to ensure our slumber was not disturbed. Guilt crept inside of me as I recalled Ernie’s time overseas during WWII. He spoke of the treacherous and intolerable conditions they slept in and explained how he slept the best he had in weeks on top of a bale of hay. I felt silly for complaining about the pleasant situation I found myself in when comparing it to Ernie’s struggle.
Approximately seven and a half hours later, our plane finally touched British grounds. We all shot up out of our seats, ready to get the hell off of this plane. After almost 45 minutes of waiting in line to go through customs, we spotted a seemingly sweet, older woman holding up a sign that read, “Footsteps of Ernie Pyle Group.” We followed her to the nicest coach bus I had ever seen. Before walking inside the bus, I saw a Mercedes-Benz logo stamped onto the window and thought to myself, “The English sure do know a thing or two about riding in style.”
As we made our way into the city of London down the curvy, winding roads, we saw beautiful, Victorian-style flats zooming past our windows. Driving on the left side of the road definitely took some getting used to. At one point, I panicked thinking our driver had made a terrible error.
The metropolitan area of London was filled with contemporary skyscrapers, gracefully juxtaposed against buildings centuries old. Large windows of the flats gaze out onto the street, allowing natural light to flood the room, illuminating an artist’s work. The woman guiding us explained how much the English loved to garden as we noticed greenery lining the streets.
As we walked into the hotel, we were smacked in the face by the strong smell of crabtree and evelyn soaps. The hotel had a sleek, modern feel to it with wooden panel walls, brown leather couches and eccentric light fixtures. The sophistication of the hotel made us feel classy and important, probably much like Ernie did while staying at The Savoy. We ran up to our rooms to store away our belongings and quickly congregated back in the lobby.
Alas, we had arrived in the city of London, and it was time to explore.