What a sad anniversary we Americans must face each year when September 11th comes around again. It was a day I'll never forget, on so many different levels. My husband and I were on a plane in London, strapped in our seats, and ready to come home after two weeks in Europe. We hadn't heard about the terrorist attacks yet until the pilot got on the intercom and told us that two passenger planes had just crashed into two towers of the World Trade Center. Everyone on the plane was stunned! It was too awful to be true! Then, the pilot told us that the airspaces have been closed and we'd have to get off the plane and collect our luggage. We didn't know where to go or what to do.
This was a special service attended by the Queen, Tony Blair, the American Ambasador,
and me along with hundreds of other commoners
I tell more about this experience in my eBook "Destination Europe: The Summer the World Changed." This travelogue is a compilation of my happiest memories and favorite places to visit in London, Paris, Rome, and Belgium. It also covers a literary pilgrimage I went on in England. I haven't been back to Europe since 9/11. In a lot of ways, those earlier days were "The Golden Age of Travel" for me. After the attack, I didn't want to ever fly anywhere again for a long time. I hated the idea that passenger planes were used as "weapons of mass destruction". Who would do such a horrible thing and how did they get away with it? September 11th has definitely changed my feelings of safety in the rest of world; but what a glorious time I had in Europe before that fateful day. Come along with me as I follow in the footsteps of the Caesars, marvel at the beauty of the Sistine Chapel, and see Monet’s garden at Giverny.
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