UK Fall 2010: Worst Travel Day in my Life

First the good stuff…

Maastricht was delightful; even sunny. It’s a totally charming and genuine medieval city… cut with a river and development on both sides… It’s got an interesting history, is an educational center.. and is a totally walkable town with bridges criss crossing…some old, some new…some for cars, some only for bikes and/or pedestrians.. And the town was buzzing.. I was exhausted after lots of walking and decided to eat at the hotel (a rarity for me)… What a surprise… A fantastic restaurant… with each dish not only a work of art but a total gastronomic wonder..

OK.. now for the worst day..  Got up early to walk to the train station in Maastricht which was just about 4 blocks away..  thought I could stop en route to get some tea and something for breakfast..  But nothing was open until 8 since it was Saturday (and I suppose the Dutch sleep in)…  so I meandered to the train station..  It was now 8 am..  My train was at 9:04…  I checked out the board..  There was a train at 8:04…  4 whole minutes..  so I ran and caught it.. short hop to Liege where I had to change for the Brussels train and then the Eurostar to London..

Arrived in Liege at about 8:35; the ticket I had was for the 10:09 train, but again I looked at the board and there were three trains leaving before 10:09, so I went into an office and they said I should take the earlier train — it would be better for my next transfer. They said to take the 9 am train from Platform 3… That was a piece of cake. Got to the platform.. train arrived (on time as always)..  and I boarded, took a seat.  It was to be another short run ..  Once the train left the station the porter came by to collect tickets, and informed me I was on the wrong train.. destination was ok.. but I was on a “fancier,” faster train.. and needed to pay an additional 19 Euros (about $24) beyond my original ticket which was not cheap…  I questioned this, but his English was weak.. and so just ponied up… Then I realized my ticket was for a “local” train; this was a luxurious express train.. headed to Paris (after stopping in Brussels..) So I had a very short (35 minute), rather pricey, luxurious ride.

Got to Brussels to find all sorts of signs with warnings about the Eurostar.. Went into the Euorstar office.. There had been a fire in the tunnel.. Thought about heading to the Brussels airport to get a flight to London.. but tickets were $400 one way (and I already had a paid for ticket on the train)… so I waited it out… Train was about 90 minutes late (I assumed fire was minor).. Once I got on and headed to London, the train stopped for a while before entering the tunnel in Calais.. so all in all we were about 2 hours late getting to London… Fortunately I was in First Class and was fed (a not too shoddy meal).. so I was fine.

But…
Got off the train.. with everyone running to catch connections because of the delays.. and just as I got on the escalator realized I left my trench coat on my seat.. couldn’t go back to the train (security) so they told me to head to the Eurostar Customer Relations office.. The irony is that I didn’t take my trench coat from home.. didn’t think I’d need it in May in London and Paris.. and it was too heavy to carry… so I opted for a rain poncho.. but then it was so cold in Paris I caved in and bought a new French trench coat.. and now there it was .. — my new French trench coat sitting on the train..

After 20 minutes they found the coat and sent it to “Dispatch”.. a half mile walk… So I trudged wheeling my luggage to Dispatch to collect the coat.. But.. suddenly my luggage seemed very very heavy and difficult to pull..  I trudged on for a while.. then finally stopped to see if something was obstructing the wheels…

Aha.. one rubber wheel covering had cracked along the circumference and was making things uneven and tight.. but I just proceeded to pull.. then the half of the wheel covering just fell off.. and it actually moved better.. but a bit shakily as it was no longer balanced..

Got to the Dispatch, picked up my coat and decided to take a taxi.. which was about another half mile on cobblestone streets (not kind to my wheelie)…

Arrived at the hotel (in the East End, close to Lara and to Mike’s niece with whom I’d be having dinner tonight).. And both of them had raved about this new hotel called Town Hall Hotel.. a recently renovated project.. taking an old town hall and turning it into a first class hotel (in a rather seedy neighborhood)…

OK.. got here.. they did a nice renovation job..
My room (which I didn’t accept after about an hour of trying to “settle in”)… was large — obviously very very new — but it was located about a half level below the street.. strange for a hotel room.. sort of like a basement apartment. The room was quite chic.. with very high ceilings (from the original building)… But then it became obvious that to have any natural light, I would have to keep the curtains open and it was like being on stage for anyone walking by… Also in this very modern design.. the wall separating the bath from the bedroom area was glass.. so if you kept the curtains open and used the bathroom, walker-bys really had a show..

So, I decided to change rooms.. Initially they refused, saying they were booked, but when I said I was leaving and not paying they miraculously found a room.. on the ground floor.. a step up from the half level below ground.

OK.. same floor plan.. with same situation, but being on ground floor was a bit better.. Then I settled in before heading to meet everyone for dinner.. and found all the flaws with the room (I wouldn’t be making such a fuss, but this place is being billed as the latest and greatest, and it’s pretty clear they chose chic over anything else)… And lots of details that will be difficult to maintain in a hotel room…
No full length mirror.. Mirror in bathroom which goes wall to wall. starts at about 4 feet up, so all I can see is my neck up… No electricity in the bathroom area near the high mirror, so you can’t really use the hair dryer….

OK.. I’ve vented.. had fun drinks and dinner with Lara, Elliot (boyfriend) and Emma (Mike’s niece) .. and later joined by Emma’s flatmate, a nice guy who’s a graduate student at London School of Economics.  Got back to my room at about 1:30 am — closed all the curtains.. and zonked out.

Headed to the Columbia Road flower market now.. and some “dunch” with Emma. Then I’m packing and doing some office-related work; finished grading all the papers and filed course grades for class..

Pray for the ash to go in another direction — Airports in Ireland and Scotland are already closed… So far Heathrow is open.. I’m keeping my fingers crossed.

Fern

PS — Really ready to get home. Mike is now on his big hike down the Grand Canyon. Spoke with him this morning as he was leaving.