Final Day in Riga!

Incredibly, today was my last day in Riga! I can hardly believe how fast the time went! This brings both positive and negative emotions to mind. I'll surely miss the quiet charm of Old Town, the good weather (when we had it), and the chance to explore an interesting European city. I won't miss many of the negative experiences I've had, but I did learn from them. Life isn't always easy or fun, so you have to take the good with the bad.

Unfortunately, on my last day in Riga, I was still feeling ill with a cold. This was the first day during my trip when I didn't even manage to leave the hotel. Instead I packed and made some preparations for leaving. I did find a very charming young lady named Linda working at the gift shop, who I had some good conversation with. Fate always finds a way to give us something good when we don't have much time left, doesn't it! Linda wanted to make it clear to me that there were indeed friendly Latvians here.

After catching a cold in the last week, I hadn't really done much of anything, so housekeeping started getting worried. They constantly saw the "Do Not Disturb" sign on my door, and finally sent a manager here today to see if I was still alive! Of course I told them that I had simply been feeling ill, and that there would be plenty of time to clean my room once I'd left! I spent the evening attempting to pack everything I'd brought to Riga, along with the souvenirs I'd bring back, into my small luggage case. Not an easy task, but finally completed!

Tomorrow morning I start the long and exhausting journey back to the states. This time hopefully my flights will not be delayed! I checked in early online, so that I could select my favorite aisle seats on the plane. Over the years I've decided that I like aisle seats the best. They have the most room and feel the least claustrophobic. Of course the disadvantage is that people in the aisles walk into you quite often, and you must get up when anyone in your row wants to use the restroom. Still, it's worth it to me! I will admit window seats are nice if you want a nice view, but I don't like the feeling of being trapped!

After my trip home, I plan to write a summary of my experiences in Riga. It will contain links to all the blog posts in a more organized fashion. That way people can easily locate the posts they are looking for. It will be the last post of this blog, although I may go back and update some topics from time to time.