Thursday January 7th.
I woke up that morning and finished repacking my suitcase so that it was as tiny as it could be (meaning it was about a foot wide and four feet tall). My dad came home and we headed off. It was snowing. After making a few stops for cash we called to see how my flight was and heard the one word we did not want to hear. "CANCELLED" Yes. My first flight (the one that would take me to Toronto so that I could then head to London) was cancelled. The mad rush began. My dad then got on the phone with a guy trying to get me on anything going to London, whether it was a flight to Toronto to catch my 8:15 flight to London or a straight shot to London from Chicago. The guy was able to get me to stand-by on a straight shot that would leave at five, and then a 1:22 flight to Toronto, which would make me wait a long time for the 8:15. So this is what I was looking at when I got to OHare. At OHARE the lady behind the counter asked what I was on so that she could get my ticket all ready and when she looked up my name, five or six different tickets showed up. She also told us that it was not possible to stand-by on an international flight, even though with the weather there was going to be openings on this flight. So my dad and her worked on trying to get me a flight. As we found out, not only was my flight to Toronto cancelled, but Air Canada had taken me then off the next flight to London and switched me onto a flight the next morning, making me have to spend the night in Toronto, and then (because of the time difference) spend the night in London, because there was no way in the world I was going to try to catch a train at 9:00 at night to get to York about eleven. During this whole ordeal I was worried that I wasn't going to arrive until maybe today or the 12th which made me really scared and added to my nerves that I already had. After a while it became clear that no matter what I would end up not on the 1:22 to Canada, but probably not leaving till around 8.
But then a magical thing happened. The lady next to us at another counter wasn't helping anyone so she was looking to see what I could do as well. She must have checked the straight shot again just because she was looking at all the options, but I am glad she did because there was a seat open. And I got it. They needed permission from a supervisor to put me on it, but they said yes as well and soon I was the proud owner of a ticket to London (no canada) leaving at five. It was of course by now about 1:30, so we had some time. My parents were able to come back into the airport with me so we ate lunch and headed to the Red Carpet Club. There I fell asleep until about four thirty when it was time to head down to the terminal. When I got there there was a bunch of people, but my dad (being the cool guy he is) was able to get me priority seating meaning that I was able to board close to first. This allowed me to settle into my seat before my neighbor arrived. I had the window.
My neighbor was a middle aged mad traveling on business and trying to catch another flight to somewhere else. He was very nice, especially since he had to deal with me and an upset stomach the whole flight. Yes, I will admit it, that flight was the worst I have ever taken. The take off felt like a roller coaster with different pressures coming at me and me just nervous that we would crash and burn. By now my stomach was already hurting, but I thought it nothing. If my stomach doesn't feel right before getting on a plane again, I'm not sure I will be getting on that plane. I ended up not eating anything the whole flight (except water) and sleeping enough, but at the same time, not really enough. We got to Heathrow with no problems and landed about 7:30 in the morning (UK time). I got off the plane and made my way toward baggage claim. Immigration was no problem and getting my luggage took no time at all. I'm not sure if I skipped customs or I just didnt have anything that needed to be told, but I just went straight through on my to try to get to the Underground. I grabbed a water and a newspaper at a stand for a pound. The underground was interesting. I had to actually roll my luggage (which was not a pleasant thing because it was so heavy and the wheels were a bit odd) but I got my ticket and got onto the train. This took me to Kings Cross. At this point I am going to go into a little bit of a Harry Potter nerd moment, so if you would like, skip the next paragraph.
OK. Kings Cross Station is completely different then I thought it was. Sadly I did not see Platform 9 or 10 so therefore no 9 3/4 due to the fact that I had to sit by the big board to find out when my train was actually going to arrive. Yet at the same time I kept glancing out to where the trains were and I could just picture a beautiful train showing up, red, and people would be getting on it and off it with trunks (instead of terrible suitcases) and owls and all of that. The platform itself is a little more modern then I thought it was going to be,but at the same time all I had to do was look up at the soaring ceiling and there was the old architecture mixed with the new. Sadly the train I got on was not an old train at all, but a very fast electric train.
Of course the trains were delayed as well. This was not because of weather, but because of a train breaking down in Petersbourogh (or some spelling like that) and so everything got pushed around and delayed. But they weren't telling us how delayed, so we kinda just had to wait and see and they called out platforms and trains as they came in. So, finally my train came in, and there was a mad dash to get seats (its a first come first serve deal) and I ended up on the train, but with no seat. about three minutes before it left, a guy stopped by and told us that there were seats at the front, but there was no way in hell I was going to lift my suitcase off the train down the platform and then back onto the train in two minutes so I just stuck where I was. I was standing with an elderly couple, a couple younger guys, and a elderly mother and daughter.
About an hour into the train ride another person came and told us that there were seats still in the first car, so some people went in search. I stayed where I was because of the bag, but then about a half an hour later when the train came to a stop (because there was something wrong) i decided i needed a seat. I was feeling light headed and really tired so I grabbed my duffle and backpack and headed down the train. In car B (i started in H) I found two seats facing forward and dropped my stuff. Then I went back for my suitcase. If it had been any wider then it was it would not have fit between the seats. I was able to push it along running over probably about four feet and having to lift it over a couple of bags along the way. But it made it to B with only a broken handle. Then I slept for the next hour and a half, only waking to look out the window or ask the guy sitting in the seats across from mine (cute guy, i think he was from New Zealand) which stops we had hit. He wasn't paying attention at all. The train stopped i think twice more because of some problems (it wasn't moving that fast at all) but in the end we got to York and I got off the train. To get to the area where the taxi's were though I ended up lugging my bag up about two flights of stairs, and then down the same amount...I thought my wheels were going to break. Thank god they didn't. I got into the queue for a taxi and finally was on my way to campus. The taxi driver pointed out some spots on the way and so we had a lovely ride. I checked in and got to my room.
Well it is now time for me to actually socialize/get some stuff done...so I will pick up with the story at a later time...sorry its so dry.
that was great glad you are having fun cant wait to hear more
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