We've taken a giant leap. A week after arriving in Barcelona, we've decided to take a short trip to London. This plan includes taking a cab for 1/2 an hour to Barcelona airport; a 2 1/2 hour flight to Stansted Airport, a 1 hour and 15 minute bus shuttle to Victoria Station in London, a 10 minute tube (subway) ride to another part of the city, a five-minute bus ride to Vauxhall Street, and a walk a few blocks with our luggage to a house we found through VR|BO.com.
We flew RyanAir and learned that while their airfares are low, the baggage fees are not. We were permitted a carry-on per person, but because two pieces were half an inch over, we wound up having to pay an extra $120.00. We live, we learn.
On the way to London, my spirits were lifted by this 28-year Spaniard who got up to make room for us as we were about to sit in the plane. As he did so, another guy, probably about the same age, yelled at him, and told him to get out of the way. When our Spaniard protagonist told him that he was waiting for us to move, the angry antagonist screamed even louder, calling the Spaniard a "sad excuse for a human being." Somehow, I felt responsible and apologized to the Spaniard moments later. He didn't really seem fazed by the confrontation, and just the opposite, he gave off an aura of being untouchable. I learned from him that he was a victim of Spain's economy, an out-of-work engineer who had been offered jobs as a singer, of all things, and that he would be moving to Germany to start a new life.
Given his situation, I was surprised he hadn't fought back and taken out his frustrations on the man who had verbally assaulted him. There was a calm about him that helped me as my wife and I herded our four kids through the Ryan excess fee express, through immigration lines, through the bus shuttle, through a metro train, through a packed bus, and down a street in South Kensington. A light of goodness was in his soul, and it's funny how that light that started with him seemed to shine unto other people the rest of the day. When we arrived at the house where we'll be staying for a few days, the hosts too had this aura of goodness around them.
During our travels, I'll have to remember to focus on the light from individuals like these, rather than on those who huff when they see a family like ours slowing down a long line, for they fail to see that sometimes people who seem like they're sad excuses for human beings are actually the ones who inspire others to take a deep breath, breathe, and keep on breathing, even when it seems the air is too thick for us.
We flew RyanAir and learned that while their airfares are low, the baggage fees are not. We were permitted a carry-on per person, but because two pieces were half an inch over, we wound up having to pay an extra $120.00. We live, we learn.
On the way to London, my spirits were lifted by this 28-year Spaniard who got up to make room for us as we were about to sit in the plane. As he did so, another guy, probably about the same age, yelled at him, and told him to get out of the way. When our Spaniard protagonist told him that he was waiting for us to move, the angry antagonist screamed even louder, calling the Spaniard a "sad excuse for a human being." Somehow, I felt responsible and apologized to the Spaniard moments later. He didn't really seem fazed by the confrontation, and just the opposite, he gave off an aura of being untouchable. I learned from him that he was a victim of Spain's economy, an out-of-work engineer who had been offered jobs as a singer, of all things, and that he would be moving to Germany to start a new life.
Given his situation, I was surprised he hadn't fought back and taken out his frustrations on the man who had verbally assaulted him. There was a calm about him that helped me as my wife and I herded our four kids through the Ryan excess fee express, through immigration lines, through the bus shuttle, through a metro train, through a packed bus, and down a street in South Kensington. A light of goodness was in his soul, and it's funny how that light that started with him seemed to shine unto other people the rest of the day. When we arrived at the house where we'll be staying for a few days, the hosts too had this aura of goodness around them.
During our travels, I'll have to remember to focus on the light from individuals like these, rather than on those who huff when they see a family like ours slowing down a long line, for they fail to see that sometimes people who seem like they're sad excuses for human beings are actually the ones who inspire others to take a deep breath, breathe, and keep on breathing, even when it seems the air is too thick for us.
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