Day 14: back to Texas

As with all things in life this too must end.  I am sad but look forward to my next trip across the pond!  Yes, it is already in the works.  I booked this trip using miles.  If there is one thing I have learned about the flight to Europe it is when you fly to Europe you sleep on the plane because you normally arrive in the early morning and when you fly back to the US you nap a little but mainly stay awake.  So, when I booked my flight I booked Business Class for the flight home!  It was a lot of miles but so worth it.  Since I was in a premium cabin, I knew I would be able to use the fast lane for security and that would save some time and not have to arrive super early.  We also stayed at the Hilton Amsterdam Schiphol which is connected to the airport.  I was up and ready to roll by 8:00am from my 10:20am flight.  Got in line to drop my suitcase and headed up stairs to security.  The agent even reminded me that I could use the express lane once upstairs.  And this is when it all went down hill . . . the man would not let me use the fast lane.  He gave me some story that I had to be top tier no matter what cabin my seat was in . . . I knew I was right as my boarding pass even had it listed on there too but no matter what he refused so I got in line with everyone else.  I was not happy but the line was not that bad, and I had nothing but time.  I went right to the gate, and they were starting the secondary security screening so went ahead and did that and we soon boarded the plane.  My seat was 5J . . .

. . . and then a couple was separated so offered to switch to 7A . . .

It didn't really matter to me as long as I had a cool lay flat seat!  It was time to take off . . . Good Bye Amsterdam . . .

Not too long after we took off the food service started . . . appetizers . . . which were yummy!

The main entree . . . steak with potatoes and the grossest looking spinach . . . my steak was well done but the lady across the aisle had one that was a perfect medium rare . . . I was jealous, and she didn't even eat it all!

The dessert was a sundae of vanilla ice cream with hot caramel, hot fudge, whipped cream, and nuts!

The sundae was really good!  And then I started enjoying my seat by laying flat and taking a nap or two and watching movies.  It was SOOO worth every mile (54,000 if you are curious) and thankfully I still have enough miles to do it a few more times round trip.  Colin has enough miles to make the trip with his own miles too!  Before I knew it 8 hours had passed . . . we are served the hour from landing snack . . . BBQ sandwich, fruit, and sea-salt chocolate mousse . . .

It was a quick process once landed . . . since I have Global Entry it literally took 30 seconds at immigration, waited 10 minutes for my suitcase, and 30 seconds at customs.  I was to my car quickly, and ready to tackle the two hour drive home.  Funny thing is my parking at the DFW airport was triple the cost of my flight.  I laughed.

Home is always good but my heart is still in Europe!

Trip Stats
number of flights:  5
total miles traveled:  13,665 miles (plane, train, ferry, bus)    
calories consumed:  too many
photos taken:  495  
miles walked:  68.4 miles
memories:  PRICELESS