EUROPE BLOG March 31st and April 1st, 2023 - LONDON

 

03/31/23- Crazy morning already as I had to do some last minute errands before our flight. Once they were done I hear on the weather report that several tornados was probable to hit Chicago, right around the time our flight is to leave. Undeterred, as we’ve flown through much crazier things, we kept our flight as planned.

Aunt Gloria and Uncle Lon drop us off at ORD around 3:45pm, plenty of time before our 7:15pm flight. Little did we know that the winds have already caused a delay in that departure. At first it was only twenty minutes as they shut the airport down due to evacuating the grounds crew in spurts. We were confident that our fight wouldn’t be cancelled, since it was international and the plane was sitting there, but I wasn’t sure how long the delay may be. They let us board to get ready but eventually shut it down again. Two hours later, we’re finally on our way to London.

There were some definite bumps in the air but I think I was too tired to care. The middle seat between us was open, allowing enough room to stretch out and sleep for about half of the seven hour  flight.

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4/1/23- There was a hard landing in London around 10:35am, but overall not a bad flight. Luckily our next one isn’t until the evening so we weren’t in danger of missing it.

With the long layover, our plan was to drop off our carry-on bags (since our checked bags will continue onto Budapest), leave the terminal and explore parts of London we haven’t seen yet. It was a breeze going through customs (just flashed our passport in the reader), took the Hogwartz (I mean Heathrow) Express to Paddington train station, stored our backpacks for about 30 Pounds, and then rode the tube to St Paul’s Cathedral.

The weather showed rain earlier in the week but we didn’t hit any of it. Cloudy skies did fill the air, but that’s to be expected… it’s London after all. The dreariness doesn’t affect us as the interior of the Cathedral was what we wanted to see, and it didn’t disappoint. Beautifully built, this massive complex has some of the most extravagant ceilings we’ve seen. Statues line either side of the seating area with murals spread throughout. The underground crypt was also a nice reprieve to reflect and take a short break.

After leaving, the skies did open up a bit, allowing us to get a few photos of the cathedral and surroundings in the sunlight. We then continue to the Millennium Bridge, which is brutally packed with people, to see the Thames River and the buildings that lined it. It’s a nice stroll down the waterfront, seeing a different side of London we missed previously. There are multiple pubs and shops along the way as well, and the view of the Tower Bridge keeps getting more magnificent the closer we get.

After about 25 minutes, we finally walk across the Tower Bridge and take the tube back to Paddington. Our legs are spent with the little sleep we’ve had and carrying luggage. We had another hour to kill (actually two as our next flight is delayed an hour) but it was time to rest, and the airport seemed like the place to do it.

Train takes us back to Terminal 3 simple enough, but our gate hasn’t been assigned yet. Trying to avoid the crowd in the main lobby, we duck into a random boarding gate to use their wall outlets, as my phone is about 40%,, but of course they don’t work. Then, after the room empties out to their flight, we find the main doors to the gate close, locking us in. An airport employee passing by was able to scan us out, but made sure to mention that we may have been trapped there if nobody came by.

Another hour passes and finally we get our gate number. Our seats are not together and the flight is full, so they couldn’t do anything at the gate, but we both had window seats and thought best to just leave it as it is. Also, there are no screens to watch anything, no charging ports and no meal service, but we’re completely wiped at this point so not a huge deal.

We touch down in Budapest around 1:30am, grab our bags in baggage claim, I check my suitcase for my work monitor, and get Hungarian cash out of the ATM on our way out. I think it charged me $15 US dollars on the exchange but whatever. It’s emergency cash anyhow.

Our taxi brings us to our AirBnb, we follow the hosts instructions on how to enter, and the first thing I do is load up my work laptop computer to make sure I can connect to their VPN. Eureka, it works flawlessly! So, right now I’m on cloud nine when suddenly the breaker pops. All of the power in the entire apartment goes dark, and here I am with very little battery power for a flashlight on my phone.

After a few minutes of stumbling around, looking for the power box, we finally find it above the entry door. I flip switches and hit the test button several times but nothing powers on. So now I’m feeling full panic mode, which I don’t get to often, thinking how stupid of me to try and plug in a US power strip.

Five more minutes goes by trying to find an alternative breaker when Sharece mentions it may be outside. Sarcastically, I open the door to show her how wrong she may be when low-and-behold it’s staring us in the face, waiting to be flipped back on.

Luckily my foot wasn’t wedged in my mouth, and Sharece happily forgave my innocent dismissal of her idea. I so love her.

With everything finally done, we turn in for the night. Don’t know when we’re getting up exactly and unsure if the rain will make an appearance, but we’re very happy we have a bed to sleep on. Oh, and the place is very nice. Full kitchen, separate bedroom, very high ceilings and a balcony to the street level. We picked a good one.