Days 13 and 14 - The last full day and the farewell

This was my last full day in Portugal. I took it easy in the morning as, by then, I could sleep properly.
That day I went to somewhere very special for me: Ikea. Yes, you read it correctly! I love Ikea: full of colors, with a nice taste, modern and cheap. I had lunch there. I ate Swedish meatballs. But the hardest part was me going through the shop and not buying anything! I did buy some small cinnamon croissants, though. The snacks on the plane are never enough!
The last time I had been to such a place was in Los Angeles, with crazy Carlos. Oh, god, those hours in LA were crazy!

After that, I waited and waited for a bus to the hospital. I had to say good-bye to my father. But the bus was super late. I wasn't really in a hurry, but I didn't want to wait forever. Plus, a lady waiting as well was there for almost an hour then.
I managed to call the bus company and the man told me there was a 20-25 minutes delay. And he was amazingly accurate: the bus came just after I called him, 25 minutes after its time!

I got to the hospital and my father was feeling better. I stayed there for a while, as it was time to say good-bye.
I eventually left him (even he recognized that all I was doing there was staring at the ceiling).

I got home. My dog was as happy to see me as always. I had missed my dog, of course. I know some people don't understand this, but pets can indeed be part of the family. And they love you unconditionally. And that's the best of it.

My cousin popped by, as my parents had asked her to buy some cookies for me to bring for a teacher, in appreciation of a present he had sent them.
We chatted for a while and then she left. She had a cold, poor thing.

Later that day, Xana came to visit me. So did Tete and Rebekka. And, when all of them were there, Filipa, aka Pipa, Penteadinha popped by as well. I was very happy to finally meet her. She was kind enough to drop by after work.

Mari didn't come. Something was wrong with her that evening...

I had dinner with mom. The last time I would eat mommy's food for, at least, one year. I had a great steak with chips, rice and sauce. Delicious, of course.

I slept like a baby that night.
The next morning, a Friday, I got up quite early to prepare my suitcase. I was so surprised that it was, again, so packed! Anyway, there was no problem at the check-in.

Xana was a darling and drove my mother and me to the airport. They stayed there for a while, but then it was time for them to leave, as work was waiting for them.
Right before them leaving, I swear I heard the lady saying this on the speaker: "Flight to Alemirim". The problem is that Almeirim is a town not that far from Lisbon... Maybe I hadn't changed my hearing aid battery!

I went in, passed the security check, and was reading my magazine, when I heard an announcement saying that my BA flight was late... I was a bit scared, as I had two more flights lined up and that could mean trouble!
But the flight was just slightly late and that was no trouble.

I got to London pretty much on time, and there were around 4 hours in between flights, so that was no problem. The problem in London, Heathrow, is that there are always thousands of people anywhere you go! Just transferring is a pain in the ass and people look like cattle and not people. I honestly think that airport cannot handle the number of people it gets!
Anyway, the place didn't smell like feet, as when I had got there 2 weeks before!
I went through the transfer security check and sat down at a cafe where I had lasagna. I wanted to eat that in Portugal, but for some mysterious reason I never got one. So I had it in London. It was ok, not the best of lasagnas though!

The flight to Hong Kong was smooth, but it seemed endless, as usual. The only problem was with my tv set. The sound wasn't that good at all... But I still managed to watch Die Hard 4.
A guy asked me if I would mind exchanging seats with him, as he wanted to sit next to his friend, to my left. I had to say no, as my seat had extra leg room and his, unfortunately, didn't... There are some very important details when flying such long distances!

I got to Hong Kong where I stayed for only a couple of hours. I could use the wi-fi again, which made me very happy, as you can imagine.
By then, yes, I was very sleepy and in desperate need of a bed. This feeling is the only bad thing about going to Portugal: the trip is just too long!
The good thing is that that flight stops over in Taipei, so the entire row was free for me, during the time the plane was there. I slept for a while.
After that, off I went to Fukuoka, where I got quite early so I managed to take an earlier bus than expected.

Beautiful Kaori and Crazy Taka were there waiting for me. I was still excited with everything I had been through, with all the people I had met, with all the love I had felt and with all the good food I had eaten. But I was also back to where my life now is. I was happy. Just longing for my big bed!