Traveling Mercies, Part I

Posted on December 22nd, 2009 under Travel

After two delayed flights, two cancelled flights and one exciting, serendipitous night in Paris, I am now happily back at home in Maryland.  The trip started uneventfully in the wee hours of Saturday morning.  I boarded an airport shuttle at 5:15 in the morning in St. Andrews for a sleepy ride into Edinburgh.  I got comfortable, because, for some strange reason, I’d decided to stay up late enjoying those last few hours with friends before saying goodbye for Christmas.  After all, I’d have the whole transatlantic flight to catch up on lost shuteye.  Yeah Right.

My traveling buddy Amanda and I made it onto our flight in Edinburgh, with only one minor hitch, a hitch that ended up making a world of a different 48 hours later.  Amanda had some trouble getting her boarding pass to print.  Another boarding pass was printed for her by one of the receptionists.  We didn’t know it then, but the receptionist had made an error on the boarding pass that would mean another line to stand in and eventually our return to the United States by Sunday evening not Christmas Eve.

As soon as with touched down in Paris, Amanda and I took off running through the airport to catch our next (cancelled) flight.  Somehow the cancellation took everyone by surprise, including the airport staff.  When I finally reached the top of the first queue, I got up to the desk and handed the receptionist my boarding pass. She informed me that this plane had already left.  If it had left, I would have been on it. No, sadly this plane was not going anywhere.  Thus began a long day of standing in one line and then another.  Some seven hours later Amanda and I were still standing in the airport.

I had made the earliest reservations possible back to the United States: Christmas Eve.  Everything else was booked up and down the East Coast.  Record breaking snow storms had cancelled scores of flights and displaced hundreds of people.  Because of the error on Amanda’s boarding pass, the receptionist couldn’t make her new reservations.  Nerves weren’t the only thing running high by this point; so was my fever.  Amanda headed off for another line and I made a bee line for the airport medical center.

Half an hour later I was on my way to the airport pharmacy armed with three newly written prescriptions: antibiotics for the ear infections in both ears, some steroids for my throat, and the French equivalent of Tylenol for the fever.  This was the best news I’d had all day.  I was so grateful for the medicine!  The airport medical center was a huge blessing.  I don’t speak any French and the prospect of trying to find a doctor in a foreign country was rather intimidating.  I filled my prescription, took my first dose, and set off to find Amanda.

Her hour had not been as productive as mine, having gained only several places in her present line.  I put my backpack down looking forward to the next highlight of the night: taking my next batch of pills.  Another hour came and went and we were finally close to the desk.  It was during this hour that I bought some wireless internet time, called some friends, and was finally starting to see the bright side of a surprise holiday in Paris.  We were in Paris after all.  There were museums, palaces, and cafes to sample.  All in all, Amanda and I figured we could get used to this. After some my internet time expired, I rejoined Amanda back in line just as she was making it up to the desk.  As we were standing there, the receptionist told us two seats had just opened on a flight tomorrow to Boston!  If Amanda’s ticket had not had the error, we would have both made reservations for Christmas Eve!  Amanda and I stood had to stand in line for those extra two hours in order to be at the desk when the cancellations were made.  God is good!  With our wonderful reservations, we hailed a taxi and headed for a hostel where exactly the same thing happened.

We got up the hostel check-in desk and the receptionist told us that due to all the flight cancellations, the hostel was booked.  We asked her if there were any other hostels she could call.  While she was calling, two people canceled their reservations on the internet freeing up two beds while we stood there at the desk!  For the second time that night we were in awe.

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