If you’re a reader of whatthehellonline.com, then you know about my passion for travel. The itinerary for this trip started with my daughters asking me if we wanted to go to the Paris Olympics? They applied for the Olympic ticket lottery and received three event tickets. With that, I have dates and a location. We chose an apartment in the 2nd arrondissement, which is considered a safe, convenient area of Paris.
This was only part one of a long arranged vacation. After Paris, just my husband and I would visit my friends who own a home in Ireland. Our stay would last seven days. From there we would join a tour in Glasgow, Scotland, with Globus Tours https://www.globusjourneys.com for a third week. This whole travel itinerary involved 5 separate flights, researching the tour, getting an apartment and a hotel in France. The girls had to apply to the Olympic ticket lottery as well. This sounds like a lot to plan, but what happens when things don’t go as planned?
We left a day before the girls, and flew on a newer airline, Norse Atlantic Airways. https://flynorse.com. For a reasonable price, the premium fare includes the luggage costs with seats that offer good leg space and laid back. Both our arrival and departure were on time, which is becoming rarer as more people are traveling.
For the one night I booked a small hotel, Paris Louvre Opera. Our superior accommodation was quite the euphemism. On arrival in the room, the diminutive size made it difficult to walk between our bed and the luggage. Since our flight was overnight, we were ready to take a nap. None of the lights worked. We verified it wasn’t the converter or adapter and tried to call down to reception, but the phone wasn’t working either. My husband went downstairs to get help.
Three people showed up with a tall ladder. We had no choice, but to laid on the bed since there was no room to stand. It was like a scene from a Marx Brothers movie. Eventually we regained electricity and were able to take our nap.
As we were waiting for the girls, the expected time of arrival had passed. The next day, it was off to the apartment, where the girls would meet us. A man from the real estate agency met us outside the building. We moved into the diminutive elevator with our large suitcases. The agent pushed the number six button. Surprise! Although this was the highest floor on the lift, our housing was on the 7th floor. So we dragged our luggage up the spiral staircase, not fun since the hallways were not air–conditioned https://en.livinparis.com/livinparis.
They flew into London, and were taking the Eurostar to Paris. https:eurostarails.com. Due to sabotage the day before, many trains were eliminated. The daughters felt lucky that they did not cancel their route, Unfortunately, they soon found out that their journey would be diverted. The diversion made their ride twice as long as it should have taken.
Finally, we were all together. Dinner time and then the girls would get some well–deserved sleep. The next morning, the girls told me their bedroom air conditioning did not work. Ours was working, however, the one in the living room was making a banging sound. I could hear it all night. It was Sunday, so getting help with these issues would have to wait until Monday.
On Sunday, late afternoon we went to the Parc des Principe, France to see the Women’s qualifier for Football. The highlights were Japan vs. Brazil, and USA vs. France. Since it was a qualifier, they disqualified no teams. In the end, the USA won the Women’s Football gold, Brazil the silver and Germany the bronze. https:www.psg.fr Cost- $200. For 4/midfield tickets.
There was a large Olympic merch store, so on Monday we stood in the hot Parisian sun for an hour.. We bought some Olympic trinkets, but the heat was rough. There were tickets available to a Women’s Rugby qualifier, so just the girls and I went. The USA has not won a rugby medal since the men won in 1924. The USA Women took the bronze, Canada the silver and New Zealand the gold.
While we were watching rugby, my husband stayed behind to wait for the air–conditioning repair. He described the two repairmen working on the living room AC as less than efficient. They were there for 3 hours and declared the system as fixed. The bedroom, AC, needed to be replaced. When we got back, I still heard the AC in the living room banging. I called to complain, but nothing was getting done until Wednesday. Did I mention how hot it had been? This was more than an inconvenience.
Tuesday, my husband and I were going to visit Giverny. (Monet’s house) https://giverny.org/gardens. The girl’s took a train to Versailles. https://en.chateauversailles.fr/ We met the van and traveled an hour and a half to Giverny. I had always been an admirer of Monet’s Impressionist Art. The home he had designed in this modest town was the inspiration for much of his work. The gardens were stunning. Monet’s famous painting Water Lilies is a beautiful interpretation of a man–made pond that was commissioned on the property. They renovated the original home in the early 1980s and is a wonderful replication of how he lived. We walked the grounds, hit the souvenir store and ate lunch. It was a lovely day, and we were glad we had come. Did I mention how hot it was in Paris?
On Wednesday, the girls visited some museums and in the late afternoon we were to explore the Eiffel Tower https://www.toureiffel.paris/en This is when my vacation took a downturn. When we arrived at the tour office, I asked to use the restroom. They didn’t have one and told me to go to a restaurant.
I walked downstairs to the toilet. As I was tinkling, I felt nauseous and turned around to vomit. This was a singular restroom, and my daughter came down to look for me. She could hear what was going on and was directing others to use the men’s bathroom. Coming up the stairs to the restaurant, I was weak. The wait staff got me water and an ice pack. My hubby ordered an Uber, and we missed the Eiffel Tower tour. At least the AC’s had been fixed. Apparently, the heat was affecting me.
Thursday, I was still under the weather, so the other three went to see swimming. They took the train, which was confusing, but they made it to the venue. Once there, they discovered a long line and waited an hour in the scorching sun. Even though they allowed for enough time, they were late getting in. There were many others behind them that missed much more. The USA did very well in swimming, winning 28 medals.
After lying around and still not feeling well, I was thinking, can I make it another two weeks?
Friday was the last full day in Paris. We had tickets to the night session of. Beach volleyball. This was the event we almost wanted to attend. The sand courts were set up in a park under the largess of the Eiffel Tower. I rested all day, and we ate dinner near the venue. We had a lovely meal, and I went downstairs to the bathroom. I still felt ok until I walked back up the stairs. I was sweating and getting weak. The girls wished me to go back to the apartment. I regained some strength and chose to continue on to beach volleyball. Cost: $200 for lower level seating.
My true thought was if I wasn’t well, the venue would have a medicinal tent. We were to leave for Ireland the next day. It would be a good idea to be checked out. If I remained ok, then I could stay and watch the matches. It turns out the walk in the heat did me in, and I ended up in the medical tent. The medics and the doctors were very kind in caring for me. They even gave my husband a once over. They rolled me out in a wheelchair and I ordered an Uber.
I had an entourage of medics and random policemen escorting me. The black van that was to show up in a minute appears. This man was trying to get in, but he had no chance with my protectors, oh, and my spouse. I waved Au Revoir to my saviors, and now we are in the van. The driver pulls over and asks us, where are we going? Confusing question since it was an Uber. As it turned out, this was probably the man’s ride who got shooed away. Sorry! The driver took us to the residence and I gave him an exorbitant tip.
Back up the winding stairs with no idea of where I was flying tomorrow. I was having health issues, and I had to make a choice. Home or Ireland? The next morning, the girls were leaving for London by train. We had to leave the apartment until 11am. My friend from Ireland, What Apps me ghow excited she was that we were coming, Decision made, it was off to Ireland.
Postscript– The girls took the Eurostar back to London. My daughters were to meet with co–workers on Saturday and fly home on Sunday. Since they were only staying one night, they booked a high–end hotel. The next day, while checking their airline APP, they found out without receiving direct communication that the departure was canceled. As they waited on the phone with Delta Air Lines, they were told that the flight was a partnership with Virgin Atlantic and that’s who should handle the cancellation.
When Virgin Atlantic answered the phone, they were informed that they would be booked on a Tuesday departure. They would reimburse them for the two added nights they were staying, but nowhere near what they were paying at the high–end hotel. They had to find a more reasonably priced lodge and move on. This cancellation added unwanted time spent, and additional costs. Today’s traveler needs to be flexible. It is rare that everything goes off as scheduled. As always I say whatthehellonline.com
(Stay tuned, I will continue my travel to Ireland in my next blog)
1 thought on “Traveling: When Plans Don’t Work Out”
Dad was a big sports fan, but we never went in person a baseball, football, basketball, hockey, tennis, golf or any other game/match. Dad’s rationale was that from a viewing, cost and comfort standpoint, watching a sporting event on TV from home was unquestionably the way to go. Your Olympics adventure (or mis-adventure) kind of makes that point!