Travelling Around Europe (Part 1)
Assalamualaikum, everyone!
I am finally back once again after busy school weeks. I am very sorry for not updating or continuing any of my travels. unfortunately, I have forgotten the details for my last visit to Italy, so I might not continue. The rest of the visit was going to Florence and Rome, visiting the leaning tower of Pisa and the famous Roman Colosseum. Fun fact: I scraped my knee and torn my jeans a few yards away from the Roman Colosseum on my birthday.
So for these two weeks, I will be in Europe. I have returned to Italy, this time with my grandparents with me. My father and Yusuf already went there last two months, if I'm not mistaken, and will be staying there until next year, when my mother comes back too. My school holidays is actually only for one week, but my teachers gave me permission to extend it. So here I am! Back in Milan!
4/7
Our flight was on Saturday night, about 10pm—but we mislooked and thought it was 11pm – so my grandparents, uncle, aunt, little cousin Maiza and I hit the road after 'Asr prayer, heading towards the airport after loading mine and my grandparents' things in the car. We went early as to avoid the traffic, and to break our fast in the airport.
After the drive, we finally arrived at the airport, getting a trolley to load our things. My aunt and uncle accompanied us around the airport since I've forgotten almost every whereabouts of anything. Before anything, my grandfather led us to a wrapping machine to wrap the baby stroller we brought with us. Since we have about six bags and a wrapped up baby stroller, my uncle took another trolley to make things easier.
It's almost time to break our fast, so all of us set off to find KFC – which I know where, but forgot. My grandfather went missing for a moment and my grandmother said he was meeting a friend. As soon as we arrived at the restaurant, we took our seats and gave our orders to my aunt. She asked me to accompany her and help her bring the food from the counter. Of course, I agreed to stand in the long snake of a line and wait for our turn.
I felt dizzy when our turn came in the line. My mouth was dry and tasteless while my eyes saw everything spinning. I suddenly felt nausea hitting my throat and I told my aunt that I wanted to throw up. As we made our way to the other counter to obtain our food, my dizziness increased, and a stomachache was added in the list of pain I was having. My aunt let me go back to our table and call my grandfather to help her instead.
Carefully, I made my way to the table and told my grandmother that my aunt needed help carrying the food, but I couldn't lift my head up. I can't remember if I told her about my headache or my aunt did. They carried the food to our tables and we waited for the announcement of Maghrib prayer and fast-breaking time.
Finally, it was announced. I immediately took a gulp of my Milo and started eating. My headache and stomachache slowly relieved and I relaxed myself. Everyone finished eating and we went out of the restaurant in search of the prayer rooms supposedly next to it for Maghrib prayer. It was quite the confusion to see that the prayer rooms were not in their original place, and was believed to have been moved.
While searching for the prayer rooms, we asked directions from others. Thankfully, one of them knew, but unfortunately it was very far away. We had to go deep into a corridor of closed shops, and turn right at the end of it.
My grandmother and I walked back through the corridor after we're done praying to find my aunt walking towards us and motioning us to walk faster. We brisk-walked towards her and asked her what was going on. she told us that the flight was actually 10pm and that we were pretty much late, so we all went back to find the counter where we should check in.
We had to wait in another long line to check in. I still felt a bit dizzy, so I sat a few times while waiting. There was no way of speeding up the line, even though the gates were already open and it was already boarding time.
Eventually, it's our turn and we settled things smoothly, along with requesting a wheelchair for my grandmother. Having not much time, we rushed to find our gate, saying goodbye to my aunt and uncle. The woman pushing my grandmother on the wheelchair led us towards the aerotrain which took us to the other terminal, where our gate was.
Quickly, I brisk-walked ahead, finding the gate number C15. It wasn't really far away, but we do need to pass through some twists and turns. Finally, I found the gate, a line of people queuing out of it to get their things scanned. All for of us went through that and found that it was more or less empty inside. Most people already boarded, so we made our way towards the plane as well.
The woman left us once we reached the aeroplane and we thanked her for the help. My grandparents and I filed into the Turkish Airlines plane, showing our tickets to the stewardess so that we have an idea where our seat was.
11E, F and G were our seats, which were located in the middle row. Since I was the only one who can understand and speak English among the three of us, I agreed to sit next to the aisle in case they asked about food and whatnot. Screens blared themselves from the back of seats, so I tried the one in front of me. There was a ginormous range of choices of what to watch, listen or play, but I only wanted to watch a couple of movies during the nine-hour flight.
I did watch a couple of movies – Kung Fu Panda 3, Pan, Epic. The cabin crew served two meals in the flight, and the second one was our sahur for the day's fast. The rest of the time was when I closed my eyes in a not very comfortable sleep.
After nine hours, we finally made it to the Istanbul airport, which I failed to know the name of. All passengers climbed off the plane and boarded the buses waiting below. The buses brought us to the airport, where I led my grandparents uncertainly to the transfer desks. It turns out that we didn't need to go to the transfer desks. i only followed the signboards to find that we need to pass through the scanning of our stuff before entering the departure hall.
It was almost five in the morning, so I searched for the prayer rooms with the signboards' assistance, finding that it was as far away as the prayer rooms in KLIA. After asking whether it was already Fajr prayer, which was a yes, my grandmother and I performed our prayers and went out, finding my grandfather waiting for us.
Our next flight was at 11am (no mistakes this time), so the gates had yet to be announced. We waited at the small part of the huge departure hall, occasionally walking up to the screens to see if the gate for our plane was up. In the whole waiting process, my grandparents and I sat on seats provided. I turned on the Wi-Fi on my grandfather's phone, tried to WhatsApp my aunt or my parents, but failed. It said that WhatsApp couldn't send or receive messages using the airport's network.
So we did other things, like sleeping. I also took out my book and read it, but my eyelids were a bit heavy and my focus on the book faded before sleep overtook me eventually. My grandmother also took a shirt nap, but once we woke up, mu grandfather was nowhere to be seen.
I thought he might be waiting at one of the screens, but he wasn't at the nearest one. My grandmother and I searched for him – she was so worried she almost panicked. We spent almost an hour, asking for help, searching, thinking of what to do. Someone suggested asking at the information desk, so I went. On the way, I found my grandfather, his eyes fixed on a screen displaying the departures and the gates. I was so thankful! i told him about my grandmother and he told me that he'll be waiting there for our gate.
I told my grandmother and she was so relieved. She said she almost had a heart attack. We waited a few more minutes until my grandfather came to us, telling us that our gate had been displayed – 701. Making sure we had all our hand-carry things, we made our way through the departure hall, searching for gate 701. It was really, really far away. Without a doubt, it was the farthest gate in he airport.
We were one of the earliest to arrive at the gate. As we waited, one by one other passengers started to join us. There's still a lot of time before boarding, so I took that time to take a short nap. A few minutes later, we were told to line up and the counter, show our tickets and visa in the passport (which my grandparents and I don't have since we transfer flights), and climb aboard the waiting bus.
The bus took as to the plane and we climbed up the steps. This plane wasn't as big as the last, but it still has the screens. I watched only one movie during the three-hour flight; Goosebumps. I should've watched it in the last plane when it was dark, I suppose. The rest of the time, I rested my mind and slept again.
Less than three hours passed and we finally arrived in Milan!
I am finally back once again after busy school weeks. I am very sorry for not updating or continuing any of my travels. unfortunately, I have forgotten the details for my last visit to Italy, so I might not continue. The rest of the visit was going to Florence and Rome, visiting the leaning tower of Pisa and the famous Roman Colosseum. Fun fact: I scraped my knee and torn my jeans a few yards away from the Roman Colosseum on my birthday.
So for these two weeks, I will be in Europe. I have returned to Italy, this time with my grandparents with me. My father and Yusuf already went there last two months, if I'm not mistaken, and will be staying there until next year, when my mother comes back too. My school holidays is actually only for one week, but my teachers gave me permission to extend it. So here I am! Back in Milan!
4/7
Our flight was on Saturday night, about 10pm—but we mislooked and thought it was 11pm – so my grandparents, uncle, aunt, little cousin Maiza and I hit the road after 'Asr prayer, heading towards the airport after loading mine and my grandparents' things in the car. We went early as to avoid the traffic, and to break our fast in the airport.
After the drive, we finally arrived at the airport, getting a trolley to load our things. My aunt and uncle accompanied us around the airport since I've forgotten almost every whereabouts of anything. Before anything, my grandfather led us to a wrapping machine to wrap the baby stroller we brought with us. Since we have about six bags and a wrapped up baby stroller, my uncle took another trolley to make things easier.
It's almost time to break our fast, so all of us set off to find KFC – which I know where, but forgot. My grandfather went missing for a moment and my grandmother said he was meeting a friend. As soon as we arrived at the restaurant, we took our seats and gave our orders to my aunt. She asked me to accompany her and help her bring the food from the counter. Of course, I agreed to stand in the long snake of a line and wait for our turn.
I felt dizzy when our turn came in the line. My mouth was dry and tasteless while my eyes saw everything spinning. I suddenly felt nausea hitting my throat and I told my aunt that I wanted to throw up. As we made our way to the other counter to obtain our food, my dizziness increased, and a stomachache was added in the list of pain I was having. My aunt let me go back to our table and call my grandfather to help her instead.
Carefully, I made my way to the table and told my grandmother that my aunt needed help carrying the food, but I couldn't lift my head up. I can't remember if I told her about my headache or my aunt did. They carried the food to our tables and we waited for the announcement of Maghrib prayer and fast-breaking time.
Finally, it was announced. I immediately took a gulp of my Milo and started eating. My headache and stomachache slowly relieved and I relaxed myself. Everyone finished eating and we went out of the restaurant in search of the prayer rooms supposedly next to it for Maghrib prayer. It was quite the confusion to see that the prayer rooms were not in their original place, and was believed to have been moved.
While searching for the prayer rooms, we asked directions from others. Thankfully, one of them knew, but unfortunately it was very far away. We had to go deep into a corridor of closed shops, and turn right at the end of it.
My grandmother and I walked back through the corridor after we're done praying to find my aunt walking towards us and motioning us to walk faster. We brisk-walked towards her and asked her what was going on. she told us that the flight was actually 10pm and that we were pretty much late, so we all went back to find the counter where we should check in.
We had to wait in another long line to check in. I still felt a bit dizzy, so I sat a few times while waiting. There was no way of speeding up the line, even though the gates were already open and it was already boarding time.
Eventually, it's our turn and we settled things smoothly, along with requesting a wheelchair for my grandmother. Having not much time, we rushed to find our gate, saying goodbye to my aunt and uncle. The woman pushing my grandmother on the wheelchair led us towards the aerotrain which took us to the other terminal, where our gate was.
Quickly, I brisk-walked ahead, finding the gate number C15. It wasn't really far away, but we do need to pass through some twists and turns. Finally, I found the gate, a line of people queuing out of it to get their things scanned. All for of us went through that and found that it was more or less empty inside. Most people already boarded, so we made our way towards the plane as well.
The woman left us once we reached the aeroplane and we thanked her for the help. My grandparents and I filed into the Turkish Airlines plane, showing our tickets to the stewardess so that we have an idea where our seat was.
11E, F and G were our seats, which were located in the middle row. Since I was the only one who can understand and speak English among the three of us, I agreed to sit next to the aisle in case they asked about food and whatnot. Screens blared themselves from the back of seats, so I tried the one in front of me. There was a ginormous range of choices of what to watch, listen or play, but I only wanted to watch a couple of movies during the nine-hour flight.
I did watch a couple of movies – Kung Fu Panda 3, Pan, Epic. The cabin crew served two meals in the flight, and the second one was our sahur for the day's fast. The rest of the time was when I closed my eyes in a not very comfortable sleep.
After nine hours, we finally made it to the Istanbul airport, which I failed to know the name of. All passengers climbed off the plane and boarded the buses waiting below. The buses brought us to the airport, where I led my grandparents uncertainly to the transfer desks. It turns out that we didn't need to go to the transfer desks. i only followed the signboards to find that we need to pass through the scanning of our stuff before entering the departure hall.
It was almost five in the morning, so I searched for the prayer rooms with the signboards' assistance, finding that it was as far away as the prayer rooms in KLIA. After asking whether it was already Fajr prayer, which was a yes, my grandmother and I performed our prayers and went out, finding my grandfather waiting for us.
Our next flight was at 11am (no mistakes this time), so the gates had yet to be announced. We waited at the small part of the huge departure hall, occasionally walking up to the screens to see if the gate for our plane was up. In the whole waiting process, my grandparents and I sat on seats provided. I turned on the Wi-Fi on my grandfather's phone, tried to WhatsApp my aunt or my parents, but failed. It said that WhatsApp couldn't send or receive messages using the airport's network.
So we did other things, like sleeping. I also took out my book and read it, but my eyelids were a bit heavy and my focus on the book faded before sleep overtook me eventually. My grandmother also took a shirt nap, but once we woke up, mu grandfather was nowhere to be seen.
I thought he might be waiting at one of the screens, but he wasn't at the nearest one. My grandmother and I searched for him – she was so worried she almost panicked. We spent almost an hour, asking for help, searching, thinking of what to do. Someone suggested asking at the information desk, so I went. On the way, I found my grandfather, his eyes fixed on a screen displaying the departures and the gates. I was so thankful! i told him about my grandmother and he told me that he'll be waiting there for our gate.
I told my grandmother and she was so relieved. She said she almost had a heart attack. We waited a few more minutes until my grandfather came to us, telling us that our gate had been displayed – 701. Making sure we had all our hand-carry things, we made our way through the departure hall, searching for gate 701. It was really, really far away. Without a doubt, it was the farthest gate in he airport.
We were one of the earliest to arrive at the gate. As we waited, one by one other passengers started to join us. There's still a lot of time before boarding, so I took that time to take a short nap. A few minutes later, we were told to line up and the counter, show our tickets and visa in the passport (which my grandparents and I don't have since we transfer flights), and climb aboard the waiting bus.
The bus took as to the plane and we climbed up the steps. This plane wasn't as big as the last, but it still has the screens. I watched only one movie during the three-hour flight; Goosebumps. I should've watched it in the last plane when it was dark, I suppose. The rest of the time, I rested my mind and slept again.
Less than three hours passed and we finally arrived in Milan!
Comments
Post a Comment