I suppose this post could be titled "The Great and Dreadful Way to our Hotel." We started off our travels by a surprisingly easy 10 hour flight to Paris. It went by really fast and was quite pleasant considering. After that, the day went a little downhill, but since we were at the beginning of a pretty fabulous vacation, we didn't let the stress get to us...too much. But really, how can you complain when you are on vacation right? So instead we just chalked it up to having more memories and tried to laughed our way through it.
We had four hour layover in Paris and just as we experienced last time, there was nothing to eat. We are convinced that Paris has something against food. Good thing we were prepared and brought snacks. We weren't going to go through that starvation again.
As I said earlier, the first flight went really well. I often have back pain when I sit and stand a long time, but I didn't...but then shortly after it hit and wow it hit hard. All that sitting was so bad for it. It has never hurt like that before. I couldn't stand straight and walking was a big chore. Sitting didn't make it any better and if I moved wrong it spasmed so bad I wanted to cry. It was joyous. Cam was so sweet and carried both backpacks and most of the time even my purse and pulled both suitcases. Poor guy. And I still couldn't keep up. This is as far as I could straighten and my face has the appropriate expression.
And here is Cam aka family pack horse...looking super tough carrying the load especially the white purse. He really was so sweet to me in all my hobbling (I think I just made up that word) glory.
We finally got our luggage...(it is usually easiest to find if you wait at the right baggage claim station) and headed to find the train. The next bit will be much easier if put into a bullet list.
- Get stopped by a man with a taxi service
- Tell him several times that we do not want him to take us to our hotel...we know it is pretty far and taxis aren't cheap (even when he says his is).
- Finally he takes no for an answer.
- Ask "Information" The best way to our hotel
- He doesn't know, but points us to the train station.
- Train station also doesn't know, but tells us to get to the main metro station and then ask for help
- Pay a lot more than planned for train tickets
- Ride the train to main metro station
- Walk forever again and try to find someone to help point us in the right direction.
- No idea where to go
- Can't understand anyone.
- Have approximately 20 people tell us how incredibly far away our hotel is...we get it people, it's far.
- But no one will tell us how to get there.
- Walk forever. Back killing, pulling 50 lbs of luggage up and down stairs.
- Okay lets be honest, Cam was doing the stairs part with both suitcases.
- Finally get help
- Try to buy metro tickets, but they don't take credit cards
- Only have U.S. dollars...no ATMs.
- Customer service guy has pity on us and lets us through for free. Thank you!
- Arrive at new train station
- It is getting dark and I'm pretty sure we weren't in the safest part of town
- Silent prayers
- Try to buy tickets from convenience store girl.
- Barely can understand each other
- Won't take a credit card
- Tells us to buy tickets at ticket booth next to her
- Ticket booth is closed...I'm pretty sure she should have known that
- Ask her again for a better suggestion
- Shrugs shoulders...Again no help.
- Silent prayers
- Nice guy who speaks English points us to an ATM and which train...Thank you!
- After 3 tries at ATM, we get Euros
- Go back to ticket machine
- Won't take our money...5 tries later still won't take money
- Back to rude/unhelpful girl
- Sells us a day ticket and said we can use it for 24 hours...we ask to clarify we can use it tomorrow. She says yes. We buy it. Later find out it is only good for the day you buy it.
- Then tells us the train does not go to our city anymore that night.
- Are you kidding me?
- She of course doesn't have any better suggestions.
- Try to hold back tears and not look outside at the street that I'm sure we are going to have to sleep on tonight.
- Silent prayers
- Ask bartender for help
- He doesn't speak English,
- But finally finds someone who does
- Nice girl tells us to take the train, then get on blue bus...Thank you!
- Get on the train. Finally!
- Remind myself that we are not in Fiddler on the Roof. By the way everyone is dressed, it sure seems like it.
- Breathe through mouth so I don't gag...it reeked in there.
- Ride train for a long time.
- So thankful to be on the train.
- Finally off the train
- Trying to find the bus, and someone who speaks English to help
- No such luck. After all there are only like 5 people around
- Desperately just say "Sacrafano" (our destination city) to people smoking outside the station.
- They point to the blue bus... which is about to leave
- Run!
- Can't run...can't get suitcase up the stairs
- Cam runs to flag the bus down
- Still can't get suitcase up, smoking people come help. Thank you!
- Run...like an 90 year old...pulling a suitcase
- On the bus!
- Ride for a while
- Bus pulls up to "Sacrafano"
- Off the bus
- Right onto the side of the road...in the dark...not at a hotel. No idea where to go.
- Silent prayers
- Start walking
- Find a convenience store that so "conveniently" says "Hotel information" on the side.
- Nice worker inside to help us.
- No English
- Show him our Hotel information and he calls Hotel for us.
- Shuttle is on its way. Thank you!
- Wait outside.
- Shuttle comes.
- Nice driver loads our things Thank you!
- Quick drive
- We finally made it!
And to think that is the simplified version. It only took us about 5 1/2 hours to get to our hotel. It was far, but definitely not 5 1/2 hrs far. By the way people sounded when we told them where our hotel was, you would have thought it was in another country. That definitely did not help the stress level. I noted above that many silent prayers were said throughout the course of our adventure...but I'm pretty sure each of us were constantly praying and boy were those prayers answered. When we finally got here, we kept saying that we seriously didn't know how we made it. Thank goodness for blessings of nice people and perfect timing especially in regards to the bus at the end. I'm pretty sure that was the last bus of the night and if it hadn't been for us catching that, we would have been completely lost. There were times...many times where I honestly thought there wasn't any way to get here, especially when the girl said no more trains were going that night, but before I let myself get all upset I remembered all of the other times we have been traveling and thought we were completely lost or out of options and we somehow figured it out and then I realized there was no use in crying over it, we would somehow get there or at least have somewhere to sleep. And we did!
Although the first part of our trip was a little stressful especially with how tired we already were, we were surprisingly in good spirits and have had such a great time. We think our adventures are pretty funny and we laugh about things like this all the time. It wouldn't feel like a vacation to us if we didn't have some sort of stressful adventure thrown in there somewhere, that is just what makes life exciting right?
Anyway, I'm sure that is more information than anyone wanted to know, but I wanted to document it for memory's sake.
