I made it back to London with just a couple of days until I flew out to New York. My bags were mostly packed so it was just matter of doing one or two last minute errands and saying good bye to a few friends.
I had purchased a ticket on Iceland Express (oh yeah, sounds good huh) that was by FAR the cheapest way to get to New York (like half price to the others), but had me connect in Reykjavik. So no big deal, should be fine. I paid for an extra bag and was ready to go. Yup I am leaving London with two big suitcases, combined somewhere close to about 80 pounds total, yes total - clothes, papers, lap top, suits, shoes... you name it.
So I got down to Gatwick and got my flight. We were an hour late leaving, oh and I was on a 737 extended (737s don't have the range needed to make New York...), no in-flight entertainment, and food and drinks @ extra cost... The flight took off well enough and we headed to the land of Vikings, blonds and coldness. Well one of them anyway.
When we got to Iceland, we had a layover, so the delay from London just shortened the planned layover. However the international gates were not open so we had to pass through immigration, wait for an hour and then come back into the terminal and go to the gate. I had to get my passport stamped in and out, so even though I only spent an hour or two there, I claim that Iceland now counts as a country I have been to. Due to the food situation on the flight, I took the opportunity to get a burger and fries and added a few Icelandic coins to my collection.
The flight was back on schedule when we got an announcement on the plane... Due to a storm front on the way to New York, we were diverting to Happy Valley / Goose Bay, Canada to refuel and then get under way... adding about 3.5 hrs to the trip. Gotta love budget airlines.
I finally got into New York and caught up with a friend of mine from UNC Rugby, Raja. He and his wife (Beth) let me crash for a few days. I hadn't seen Raja in about 3.5 years and Beth a bit more. He had spent some time overseas with work (India, Asia) so we caught up and traded stories. I managed to get a US sim card so I have a phone again, wandered around NY and saw a few sights (Times Square...) I also was happy to catch up with a friend that I had made in Colombia, Claudia but couldn't catch any of the others I met in Colombia (Nelson, Will...) or my two former UK colleagues who ran in the marathon (congrats Matt and Alexis for finishing), which was one of the big reasons I stopped in NY. I was also luck to catch up with a girl from my Africa truck, Gee Youn, who had been in town for about two months. And I caught up with an old high school friend, Carolyn, that I had only seen once or twice in the last 13 years at friends' weddings.
after a few days checking out Hell's Kitchen and Manhattan, it was time to say good bye to Raja and Beth (thanks again guys) and get out of town. So I caught the shuttle over to the airport and my flight down to Raleigh. I never thought I'd say it but I like New York, well enough. Its not as nice as London but its ok.
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