"Is there such a thing as CANADA?!"

What an amazing trip we had. There are so many great things about our trip to Hungary that I will in all likelihood go into at some point, but naturally, there's something I need to get off my chest. This experience comes to you from our connecting flight in Rome. Italy, as it happens, was such a beautiful country as we flew in.

The airport in Rome, however, needs to be seriously reworked. It is singlehandedly the worst airport known to man. At the very least, an information desk could be added, so that people know where they can get their boarding passes, since Rome is apparently the only place in the free world that hasn't heard of electronic kiosks. That is correct. There are is no information desk, at least not one accessible to transferring passengers, and if there is one, nobody working there has heard of it. In fact, they've barely heard of anything. "I don't know," was the most common response to any question asked of them, not only by us, but by the many other utterly confused people we spoke to.

It would also be kind of cool if anyone working there had some kind of background in customer service, as it might prevent them from making personal mobile phone calls on work hours just to chat while they accumulate a lineup of 25 or so people (that is, the few people who found their way to the boarding passes desk, while the other 275 wandered around the airport totally lost).

Security checks might also be a novel idea. We managed to get onto the plane without an actual baggage or metal detector scan. What? While there were in fact security scans and baggage checks, somehow we managed to wander around the entire airport, and on the way to our gate, bypass any possible security area. It's an odd and sort of unsafe feeling you get from that thought.

But hey, when in Rome.

Fish n Chips n Vinegar... Pepper Pepper Pepper, Salt.

I got this book for about $10 the other day at Coles. I realize I'm becoming the two-jobbed housewife, but what a great resource! There are like a bazillion tips on ways to use salt, vinegar, lemons, and baking soda for just about everything around the house; things you'd expect, and also neat tricks like making a pet behaviour-modifying spray out of one part vinegar and one part water. So far, so good.

Another thing I picked up was a travel journal. I can't wait to start filling it out. Six days til my first trip overseas. Eat shit, Quebec!

Addendum: I was wondering about this tonight, here's my answer.

You'll have to forgive me; I've never been anywhere.

Big news! Miklos and I are going to Hungary in April! This still really hasn't sunk in for me.

Except that tomorrow when I wake up, I'm positive I'll realize the reality of it.

I've never been on a big plane; I've never seen the ocean, let alone crossed it; I've never been in a total state of culture shock; I've never been in a country where I have so little a realistic idea of what to expect, except for what someone has told me. To summarize, it's ridiculously exciting, or it will be, once it hits me that (OMG) I'm actually going!

Actually I think that excitement is beginning to build, as I've just now begun to think of the endless new photo possibilities. (Speaking of those, go here.) And now, to prevent any further evidence of how much I look forward to spending part of spring in a totally new place, I'm going to go to bed. Enthusiastically!

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New favourites:

• Lamebook
• The Oatmeal
• Yahoo Answer Fail