05:45 the alarm goes off. We get ready to leave. Eating our last food we have grits cooked in the microware, mangosgteen and the last Tate Gallery orange (Art Changes). At 06:25 the phone rings. The taxi driver is here. It takes about 3 minutes to get to the station £7.00. I turn in the Oyster cards and get about £16.00 back. The man at the counter wants to know why I have 3 cards. Rhonda and Sam are sitting at platform 4 when I come up the stairs. We only have to wait about 3 minutes. The train is not crowded and we find seats for our luggage and us. The day is high overcast and hazy. Not like the blue clear day we had yesterday. The ride is about 40 minutes.
The departure gate area is packed. It takes a good hour to get to the gate. Only one carry on bag is allowed through security so we put the bag with my copper pots in Rhonda’s backpack. It just fits after we move some of the other stuff to Sam’s and my backpacks. Rhonda and my backpacks are now way over the 12 kilo limit but They do not weight our bags. They do look at the pots for a long time at the x-ray counter. I find the VAT Customs counter and get my tax receipt stamped so that I can get 36.00E back from the copper pots I bought in Paris.
Our flight is delayed at least two hours due to the incoming flight being late. We are resting in the departure lounge now. I have about £12.00 of change in my pocket. We will go upstairs and find something to eat in a little while.
Hot Chocolate at Gatwick
The flight finally leaves at 13:30. It is a long flight. I finished read the book I had read on the way over, Garlic and Sapphires the life of a critic in disguise about the New York Times restaurant critic. I enjoyed the book.
Ellie is there to pick us up when we arrive at 18:30.
