il neige, (mal)heureusement
it was quite a surprise this morning when i woke to find london covered in a reasonable amount of snow..of course our transport systems handled it with their usual grace - ie terribly. my planned 80 min trundle to luton airport via tube, train and bus turned into a just-over 2 hour hike with me ultimately losing my nerve and jumping in a cab at st albans as time ran down. of course i should never have bothered - plane delayed by the snow! delayed by 90mins they thought, though when pressed admitted that the plane was still stuck in geneva. ho hum. there goes my bus connection to val d'isere...
i settled down to contemplate my likely day of 'airport lounge appreciation'.
and then suddenly, we were.at the gate. sure, some time had passed but here we were, getting onto a plane only 45 mins after we should have left. hope for my bus connection.yet then - but it would be tight...
i stand, itching to get off. it is 2.55. we have just landed. the stairs have not yet appeared. come on! 3.30 will still be tight - there's getting off, airport corridor walking, passport control, baggage collection, ticket pick-up and then finding the bus stand - if i am even in time. this list feels like a black hole sucking up my time as i stride purposefully to passports. it takes seconds. i'm at baggage but the carousel hasn't started. nature calls - damn i hadn't factored that one in!
still no carousel action. 10 mins to go. i try to spy the ticket collection point through the glass wall of Arrivals. no luck. ah - finally the carousel judders into life. 8 mins to go.
baggage-fates, i am in your hands.
i see my bag and go, rushing but trying not to look like a manic terrorist or nutcase as i approach the green channel. emerging, a total result awaits me - accueil france is opposite me, here be bus tickets. 4 mins to go. but there's a queue.
a very british dilemma befalls.me - do i assume everyone is getting the same bus as me and so are equally hurried.. or do i politely barge past and try to get my ticket before the bus goes? in the end i do a little of both but am reassurred that everyone else is in the same boat and anyway one of the people at the counter is the ticket inspector so noone is going anywhere yet. i relax. i arrive at the bus, ticket in hand, at 3.28pm. fantastic.
i settled down to contemplate my likely day of 'airport lounge appreciation'.
and then suddenly, we were.at the gate. sure, some time had passed but here we were, getting onto a plane only 45 mins after we should have left. hope for my bus connection.yet then - but it would be tight...
i stand, itching to get off. it is 2.55. we have just landed. the stairs have not yet appeared. come on! 3.30 will still be tight - there's getting off, airport corridor walking, passport control, baggage collection, ticket pick-up and then finding the bus stand - if i am even in time. this list feels like a black hole sucking up my time as i stride purposefully to passports. it takes seconds. i'm at baggage but the carousel hasn't started. nature calls - damn i hadn't factored that one in!
still no carousel action. 10 mins to go. i try to spy the ticket collection point through the glass wall of Arrivals. no luck. ah - finally the carousel judders into life. 8 mins to go.
baggage-fates, i am in your hands.
i see my bag and go, rushing but trying not to look like a manic terrorist or nutcase as i approach the green channel. emerging, a total result awaits me - accueil france is opposite me, here be bus tickets. 4 mins to go. but there's a queue.
a very british dilemma befalls.me - do i assume everyone is getting the same bus as me and so are equally hurried.. or do i politely barge past and try to get my ticket before the bus goes? in the end i do a little of both but am reassurred that everyone else is in the same boat and anyway one of the people at the counter is the ticket inspector so noone is going anywhere yet. i relax. i arrive at the bus, ticket in hand, at 3.28pm. fantastic.
so - a crazy day of wrestling problems caused by the snow i ultimately seek. outside the bus windows - the serene white mountains beckon. time to board...
lyrics by viperx143 at
16:43
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