Sue has been posting about flying with her mum.... Syncronicity???
One of my tenants in London is leaving at the end of the month and I-we must go there to re-let the flat.... Taxi to La Rochelle airport - Ryan Air Stansted - Coach Waterloo - Tube with one change - Taxi or walk to flat - cope with tenant... persuade Monique this is a great place to be for a while.
A few years ago I would travel from the West Indies - USA - anywhere in Europe without a moments hesitation but now? Feels like a major logistical operation!
Packing for Monique - minor .... Getting her out of bed in time for the taxi and having the 'conversation' about how I can just leave her - why does she have to come with me... MEGA one false slip here and we will not be standing in the check in queue.
Getting seats together on Ryan Air depends on either getting there 2 hours early or moving fast once the gate opens - 2 hours of 'why are we here?' or trying be very close to the gate (means standing for some time) and then persuading her to walk fast and climb the steps into the aircraft and grab the first pair of seat available. (Failed on the last trip and spent much time waving down the centre isle of the aircraft!)
Stansted is pretty busy and Monique will be v tired by then - fed up - wanting the loo (all those stories) and we get to the coach depot where I have to leave her for a minute to buy the tickets (no point in pre booking as I do not know how long the loo will take or how slowly she will move)
Coach will be anger time - 'What the hell are we doing here'?
Victoria or Liverpool street and a very exhausted Monique - me tired too, with a bag of duvets and pillow etc - clothes - lap top, slowly descending into the bowls of the earth talking optimisticly about how great it is to be in London again!
Change trains with all the problems of getting Monique on or off before the doors close - (just imagine if we got seperated at this point - does not bear thinking about!) Out into daylight - no taxis - walking - tired to a flat....
Makes you smile? Well I am a bit.... We did the same trip almost exactly a year ago for the same reason - this next trip will be interesting, in as much as I will find out how practical it is - The upside is that Monique is always saying she wants to go back to London so that is a great carrot for me - Fairly certain that when she has been there a while she will want to go back to France. Just hope the flat lets quickly.
Other big hurdle is it is difficult for me to leave her when I go to the shops for sustenance or maintance items as after half an hour she forgets where I am and panics which in a strange flat could be very frightening for her.
Not sure why I am posting this - others face far greater problems but the anticipation of it all is concentrating my mind!
Michael
One of my tenants in London is leaving at the end of the month and I-we must go there to re-let the flat.... Taxi to La Rochelle airport - Ryan Air Stansted - Coach Waterloo - Tube with one change - Taxi or walk to flat - cope with tenant... persuade Monique this is a great place to be for a while.
A few years ago I would travel from the West Indies - USA - anywhere in Europe without a moments hesitation but now? Feels like a major logistical operation!
Packing for Monique - minor .... Getting her out of bed in time for the taxi and having the 'conversation' about how I can just leave her - why does she have to come with me... MEGA one false slip here and we will not be standing in the check in queue.
Getting seats together on Ryan Air depends on either getting there 2 hours early or moving fast once the gate opens - 2 hours of 'why are we here?' or trying be very close to the gate (means standing for some time) and then persuading her to walk fast and climb the steps into the aircraft and grab the first pair of seat available. (Failed on the last trip and spent much time waving down the centre isle of the aircraft!)
Stansted is pretty busy and Monique will be v tired by then - fed up - wanting the loo (all those stories) and we get to the coach depot where I have to leave her for a minute to buy the tickets (no point in pre booking as I do not know how long the loo will take or how slowly she will move)
Coach will be anger time - 'What the hell are we doing here'?
Victoria or Liverpool street and a very exhausted Monique - me tired too, with a bag of duvets and pillow etc - clothes - lap top, slowly descending into the bowls of the earth talking optimisticly about how great it is to be in London again!
Change trains with all the problems of getting Monique on or off before the doors close - (just imagine if we got seperated at this point - does not bear thinking about!) Out into daylight - no taxis - walking - tired to a flat....
Makes you smile? Well I am a bit.... We did the same trip almost exactly a year ago for the same reason - this next trip will be interesting, in as much as I will find out how practical it is - The upside is that Monique is always saying she wants to go back to London so that is a great carrot for me - Fairly certain that when she has been there a while she will want to go back to France. Just hope the flat lets quickly.
Other big hurdle is it is difficult for me to leave her when I go to the shops for sustenance or maintance items as after half an hour she forgets where I am and panics which in a strange flat could be very frightening for her.
Not sure why I am posting this - others face far greater problems but the anticipation of it all is concentrating my mind!
Michael