Day 37

So it's officially over today. We're heading home. Even though the rest of the family is eager to return home and are even a little tired of traveling, I feel like I could go a few more weeks. Mostly because I have to go back to work in a week so I don't want the vacation to end.

Our apartment was nice and close to the train station, so we walked over to catch the train which brought us one stop to the airport. It was our last train for a while, it's too bad, it is a great way to travel. No hassle of security lines like an airport and it's much cheaper. You don't have the freedom like in a car but it was nice to just sit back and enjoy the scenery. Our airport experience in Rome was pretty good

compared to some of the horror stories you hear about it. We were pretty relaxed and had lots of time before boarding.

The flight was excellent as usual when traveling on Etihad. Although the plane left 20 minutes late, the rest of the flight was enjoyable. Movies to watch and plenty of food to eat. We were a little stressed because we had to catch a 9:00pm bus to Al Ain. When we landed the taxi to the where the plane was parking seemed to take forever then we had to get on a bus that slowly brought us over to the terminal. We ran through customs and patiently waited for our luggage. Jen and Josiah ran out to the bus to ask them if they'd wait for us. One guy said no but another guy said yes. At 9:05pm our luggage arrived, so Abby and I sprinted out to the bus which gratefully was still waiting for us. Not easy to do when your suitcase is riding on half a wheel. Good thing we had a luggage cart.

The bus ride seemed to go pretty quick and soon we were back in Al Ain. We were supposed to be dropped off in the town center but the bus made a stop at a gas station near our place so we got off there, grabbed a few burgers from McD's, and found a cab to take us home. It's always a nice feeling to return home when you've been away. Dhalia, our neighbour, had stocked our fridge with some essentials and turned on our air conditioning, how thoughtful of her. Best of all was returning to our own bed!