Layovers

I am back at the Amsterdam airport for another layover. This time I will be visiting the States for two weeks of Christmas vacation, which I am very excited about! This layover is about 7 hours, long in terms of staying at the airport, but not long enough to go in to the city. Flying back and forth from Uganda to the States so many times has given me the chance to have more extended layovers several times, taking advantage of stopovers to see Europe and North Africa. I thought I would post a few pictures from my more extended layovers (to pass the time on this relatively short one) and share some memories.

In July 2008 I had about a 12 hour layover in London. My friend Rachel, who had lived there for a year, recommended the small town of Richmond, an easy tube ride from Heathrow. It was quaint, sunny and a perfect stopover.

Some of the scenery around town. I do remember feeling awfully tired and falling asleep on the way back for my flight, but still enjoyed getting out of the airport.

In June 2009, I extended my layover to 3 days in Amsterdam and toured around the canals, museums and various sites. Highlights were the Van Gogh Museum, the walkable and bikable city and the Anne Frank museum pictured below:

This was especially memorable to me because I had just reread her diaries, so seeing the actual house where they were hidden made it seem so real. Highly recommended.

In May-June 2010 my parents came and met me in Paris! Here we are in front of the Louvre:

This was an amazing trip- being in Paris and getting to be there with two of my favorite people. I loved so much about this trip- the food, the language, the beautiful city. A few highlights were the Rodin Museum and a trip to Normandy. We stayed in a place fairly close to the Eiffel Tower:

In May 2011, my most recent long layover, I went to Morocco to visit friends, Keely and Kevin. This was my first time to North Africa and found it so different than East or Southern Africa. Here is a picture from one of my favorite experiences there:

I got henna on my hands, while enjoying traditional mint tea and snacks. While the henna stung a bit while getting it, it was beautiful and lasted about 3 weeks. Keely and Kevin were great hosts, showing me all around Casablanca. Here are Keely and I are front of a mosque (the third largest in the world) after a tour:

I feel very blessed to have all these opportunities to travel and see all these interesting places. So, you may wonder where will my final layover be? I am planning to visit friends in England and maybe squeeze in one other place, to be planned. I am not sure there will be another time in my life I will get to travel so freely so I hope to take advantage of these last trips.

For now I am looking forward to the travel to the States for the next two weeks. Sometimes going directly there is best when there is Christmas, family celebrations, friends to see and only two weeks to of time!