Finally – we are off on our Ping-ponging the globe trip – otherwise known as the circling Ukraine trip! Beginning in Cape Town, South Africa and ending in Cannero, Italy 73 days later, we’re excited to finally be on our way. The day starts off a little disconcertingly – we arrive at the Budget car rental office only to find there are no cars. Um, what? The sweet rental agent there knows us by now, and tells us she will call us the minute a car arrives – shouldn’t be too long she says. Well, at least we have time – we don’t have to leave for Charlotte until around 1 or 2pm. And true to her word, she calls within 45 minutes to tell us a car is available.

Back we go to the mall to pick up our Prius – wow! Didn’t realize we were getting a hybrid – will be nice to “test drive” on our way to CLT airport. After that, all goes according to plan. Drive is easy – Prius, eh, but great gas mileage, obviously! We drop our bags at the counter, head to the new Club lounge that has just opened last week – where they have excellent snacks, but unfortunately no alcohol yet (NC and their ALE rules!). Then it is off the the gate, with a stop at the little bar across from the gate for a beer and wine (since the flight is slightly delayed). And then, we are finally off. Watched a couple of movies – CODA, awesome!!!! and King Richard, also excellent – I finished a book, Ed watched Dear Evan Hansen, and generally spent a very nice flight in our weird little seats at the back of the plane. Oh, and we ordered special meals – Ed ordered “diabetic” and I ordered low-salt. Both were surprisingly excellent! Ed’s was this huge slab of very tender meat, mine was a dry chicken breast – but with a nice sauce on top. No complaints!

We arrived relatively on time and made our way to the Hoppa to go to our dayroom at the Doubletree. Worked out perfectly – a nice room, this time quiet (thank you very much, no construction in the supply room next door) and we both slept a bit – enough to get us through the next few hours and onto our long-haul to Cape Town.

At the airport, we hung out at the lounge, had dinner and drinks, then walked down to our gates – OMG – is this really London Heathrow? The underground walkway between A and B and C concourses in Terminal 5 looks like some apocalypse Night of the Living Dead scenario – there isn’t another living soul around! I’m trying not to joke about the current nuclear threat…so…let’s not go there! Still, creepy, huh?

We made it safely out of the bomb shelter and up into the teeming terminal, phew, and onto our next flight for….finally…Cape Town! So Excited!

This flight was equally smooth if not long, and at times tedious. Oh, and more children than we have ever seen on one plane at any time!!! Bassinets, lap children and various levels of screaming all night long. We tried to sleep – managed a few hours – ate our special “low-calorie” meals – ick, not advisable, and passed the time until we landed.

Through passport control relatively easily, although there were 4 big planes coming in at the same time, so it was slow, but simple once in the queue. We dropped off our health forms and showed our Vax cards to women at a table set up in front of the passport queues (shaking our head in amazement at all the dopes who were standing at counters trying to rapidly fill out their forms, when we were told specifically, multiple times on the plane, that we needed them and were handed extra copies), then got in line for immigration. It did take a long, long time, but we were finally released into baggage claim, where, big sigh of relief, both bags showed up!

Now the hunt is on for our driver! He has been texting (well, what’s-apping) telling us he is waiting, but it has taken so long to process everything, he is not outside the door where we exit. We keep what’s apping, he says he’s by the information desk. Long story, we finally find each other – he has had to move his car every 20 minutes so he doesn’t get a fine, and he is waiting closer to the car than the terminal exit. Poor guy!

The ride into town is uneventful. The driver is a doll, talking to us about how it has been there during the Pandemic and what’s changed, etc. He drops us off at the Southern Sun in no time – and voila! We are here. So happy to finally start our travelling again!