Uber update
Lots has happened.
22nd of February we moved out of the house in Eastcote. We went to dinner in East One in Edgware and then took the coach from Golders Green to Stansted,. Once at Stansted we, that is me and my mother, took a taxi to the Delasis hotel. There, we found a nice room that was supposed to be a twin but was actually a two roomed suite, one with a double bed that I took and the other with couches that my mother slept in. Also discovered a big bastard of a bath which looked lovely but turned out to have room temperature water, so that sucked a bit. Had about 4 hours of sleep, got up and went to the airport - not without a wait for the guy to drive us who had disappeared and very painful cholic.
Plane to Venice was fine. Arrived in Venice, took coach and bus too Mestre which I can safely say is a dump - much like the rest of Italy apart from actual Venice. Hotel sucked too because the room, that was supposed to be a medium sized twin room, was actually a small sized single with two beds in it. The room I sit in now, my cousin's room, is larger than the room in the Club Hotel in Mestre. Also, the specs said the hotel had internet but what they meant was that if you wanted to you could plug your laptop into the telephone and use dialup for extortionate amounts of money.
The next day after we arrived in Venice we went into proper Venice and spent the day wandering around, had lunch, went on a Gondola etc. We ended up on the wrong boat and got off at the Lido. There, we wandered around a bit more and I thought it would be a good idea to find out how much the hotels were charging. First hotel we went into was the hotel Boulevard (****). Cute guy at the reception told us that for 50 Euro we could have a single room, for 70 we could have a twin. I said we'd have two singles for two nights and made a deal with my mother to give her some money to cover the extra of having two singles from my pay check (when I get it).
We spent that night in the hotel in Mestre but in the morning checked out and had an awful bus ride into Venice proper with our cases. Italians are so fucking stupid and rude. It's pure logic that if you're on a packed bus or train and you want to get off, then being patient and not pushing people so that they fall over is a good idea, right? Not to the Italians - and these, I should mention, are all OAPs. Old people like that really annoy me. They think they've got some sort of debt owed to them because they're old. Useless things, old people are. Anyway, eventually we got to the Lido, checked into our separate and very nice four star rooms. Wireless internet was out because of something to do with the provider which meant it wasn't perfect but other than that, no complaints at all.
Spent the next two days (mostly) happy in Venice.
27th February we spent in Venice Lido, at the market. Then we went to the airport and this was where things got sour again. Spent 30 minutes in the queue to check in which didn't really bother me. No, what bothered me was the woman at the counter who, like all Italians, was a mean-spirited stickler for rules who charged us ridiculous amounts of money for a little extra weight in our cases, even though they were no heavier than when we left from Stansted and didn't get charged a penny. That got me angry but what really set me off was the next queue we had to go to to pay the extra. There were two people at the desk, one of them serving people slowly and the other nattering on the phone. Eventually, the woman on the phone put it down so I moved my mother over to her to be served. She started a conversation with the woman next to her which meant both lines weren't moving. I got her attention and she started serving us. I was, at this point, livid. She informed us of the price and mum got some cash out. I, an angry customer, fluffed the money at the woman. She looked at it and told us in an obnoxious voice that they don't accept cash. She then fluffed it back at me. By that I mean that she flicked the money at me. I must've seen red because I looked at her and she immediately cowered and apologised for her extremely rude gesture.
My mother made me move away from the desk because, and to be honest she's right, she was worried I might leap at the woman and rip her head off. But seriously, what kind of airport doesn't accept cash in its own damn currency? Madness.
Anyway, after we had dealt with that we went through to the departure lounge and hte gate. I calmed down to about normal temperature and we boarded. Of course, it was foggy so we didn't take off until two hours later. Good reading time - got through half of Wicked on that plane.
By the time we arrived in Stansted, it was 28th February and very early morning. We had few options. I had arranged to stay with my aunt and uncle for a few days but I couldn't go to their place that night because A) it was really early in the morning and I didn't want to wake them and B) by the time I got there and got to sleep, i'd have only about an hour or so to sleep and then I'd have to get up and go to Southampton. So that wasn't an option. We could've gone to a hotel for a few hours of sleep, got up and gone into London to get to Southampton on time. If we had hte money to spend, we'd have done that but as it happened, the holiday was expensive and we weren't really willing to spend that kind of money for only a few hours sleep. Our remaining two options involved staying up at the airport until it was time to go to Southampton. I was by this time in an emotional state close to hysteria and I didn't think that staying up for 24 hours and then going to Southampton for an open day (without a shower, I should add) was something I could cope with. So instead we stayed up at the airport until a reasonable time and then we took the coach to Golders Green, and I came here, to my aunt and uncle's house and slept for a few hours. The room was spinning and I felt nauseous because I was so tired. I still haven't spoken to Southampton about that *winces*
Anyway, the next few days were easy. I ran a few errands and used the internet here and relaxed.
Then on March 2nd I got up early after 4 hours of sleep and my mum took me to Golders Green to get the coach to Stansted, yet again. Checked in easily via a lovely check in lady, went through, found gate, boarded plane and had a pleasant flight. It wasn't full and I had an empty seat next to me. El Al have really shaped up with their service - nice, healthy breakfast and one of the easiest flights i've ever had. Incidentally, the easiest flight i've ever had was also El Al - me and Marcelle Jennings were flying together and it was half-full so we took two rows at the back for ourselves and had a laugh.
Arrived in Israel, took a cab to Jerusalem to find that Susan was ill and so our Purim plans had been cancelled. I was secretly pleased about this (not that she was ill, but that our plans were cancelled) because it meant I could relax and would be able to use the net more :P Met step-cousins a bit more and spent some time with them - i'll update with pictures and explanations of who everyone is (if I can remember). Got burnt in Ashkelon (stupid sun) and then caught whatever Susan had, so now full of snot.
March 8th I came back. Flight was slightly, but not majorly, less pleasant. Namely, was someone in seat next to me and someone smelling vaguely of body odour near me. Arrived back in Heathrow, took a while to get luggage, mother picked me up and I came back here, to my uncle and aunt's where I've been since then.
Tomorrow, March 12th I go back to work at the accounting firm. Fun!
Hopefully by the weekend after next, that is the 23rd March, I'll be moved into the new house in Hemel Hempsted and my little escapade of travel and homelessness will be over.
22nd of February we moved out of the house in Eastcote. We went to dinner in East One in Edgware and then took the coach from Golders Green to Stansted,. Once at Stansted we, that is me and my mother, took a taxi to the Delasis hotel. There, we found a nice room that was supposed to be a twin but was actually a two roomed suite, one with a double bed that I took and the other with couches that my mother slept in. Also discovered a big bastard of a bath which looked lovely but turned out to have room temperature water, so that sucked a bit. Had about 4 hours of sleep, got up and went to the airport - not without a wait for the guy to drive us who had disappeared and very painful cholic.
Plane to Venice was fine. Arrived in Venice, took coach and bus too Mestre which I can safely say is a dump - much like the rest of Italy apart from actual Venice. Hotel sucked too because the room, that was supposed to be a medium sized twin room, was actually a small sized single with two beds in it. The room I sit in now, my cousin's room, is larger than the room in the Club Hotel in Mestre. Also, the specs said the hotel had internet but what they meant was that if you wanted to you could plug your laptop into the telephone and use dialup for extortionate amounts of money.
The next day after we arrived in Venice we went into proper Venice and spent the day wandering around, had lunch, went on a Gondola etc. We ended up on the wrong boat and got off at the Lido. There, we wandered around a bit more and I thought it would be a good idea to find out how much the hotels were charging. First hotel we went into was the hotel Boulevard (****). Cute guy at the reception told us that for 50 Euro we could have a single room, for 70 we could have a twin. I said we'd have two singles for two nights and made a deal with my mother to give her some money to cover the extra of having two singles from my pay check (when I get it).
We spent that night in the hotel in Mestre but in the morning checked out and had an awful bus ride into Venice proper with our cases. Italians are so fucking stupid and rude. It's pure logic that if you're on a packed bus or train and you want to get off, then being patient and not pushing people so that they fall over is a good idea, right? Not to the Italians - and these, I should mention, are all OAPs. Old people like that really annoy me. They think they've got some sort of debt owed to them because they're old. Useless things, old people are. Anyway, eventually we got to the Lido, checked into our separate and very nice four star rooms. Wireless internet was out because of something to do with the provider which meant it wasn't perfect but other than that, no complaints at all.
Spent the next two days (mostly) happy in Venice.
27th February we spent in Venice Lido, at the market. Then we went to the airport and this was where things got sour again. Spent 30 minutes in the queue to check in which didn't really bother me. No, what bothered me was the woman at the counter who, like all Italians, was a mean-spirited stickler for rules who charged us ridiculous amounts of money for a little extra weight in our cases, even though they were no heavier than when we left from Stansted and didn't get charged a penny. That got me angry but what really set me off was the next queue we had to go to to pay the extra. There were two people at the desk, one of them serving people slowly and the other nattering on the phone. Eventually, the woman on the phone put it down so I moved my mother over to her to be served. She started a conversation with the woman next to her which meant both lines weren't moving. I got her attention and she started serving us. I was, at this point, livid. She informed us of the price and mum got some cash out. I, an angry customer, fluffed the money at the woman. She looked at it and told us in an obnoxious voice that they don't accept cash. She then fluffed it back at me. By that I mean that she flicked the money at me. I must've seen red because I looked at her and she immediately cowered and apologised for her extremely rude gesture.
My mother made me move away from the desk because, and to be honest she's right, she was worried I might leap at the woman and rip her head off. But seriously, what kind of airport doesn't accept cash in its own damn currency? Madness.
Anyway, after we had dealt with that we went through to the departure lounge and hte gate. I calmed down to about normal temperature and we boarded. Of course, it was foggy so we didn't take off until two hours later. Good reading time - got through half of Wicked on that plane.
By the time we arrived in Stansted, it was 28th February and very early morning. We had few options. I had arranged to stay with my aunt and uncle for a few days but I couldn't go to their place that night because A) it was really early in the morning and I didn't want to wake them and B) by the time I got there and got to sleep, i'd have only about an hour or so to sleep and then I'd have to get up and go to Southampton. So that wasn't an option. We could've gone to a hotel for a few hours of sleep, got up and gone into London to get to Southampton on time. If we had hte money to spend, we'd have done that but as it happened, the holiday was expensive and we weren't really willing to spend that kind of money for only a few hours sleep. Our remaining two options involved staying up at the airport until it was time to go to Southampton. I was by this time in an emotional state close to hysteria and I didn't think that staying up for 24 hours and then going to Southampton for an open day (without a shower, I should add) was something I could cope with. So instead we stayed up at the airport until a reasonable time and then we took the coach to Golders Green, and I came here, to my aunt and uncle's house and slept for a few hours. The room was spinning and I felt nauseous because I was so tired. I still haven't spoken to Southampton about that *winces*
Anyway, the next few days were easy. I ran a few errands and used the internet here and relaxed.
Then on March 2nd I got up early after 4 hours of sleep and my mum took me to Golders Green to get the coach to Stansted, yet again. Checked in easily via a lovely check in lady, went through, found gate, boarded plane and had a pleasant flight. It wasn't full and I had an empty seat next to me. El Al have really shaped up with their service - nice, healthy breakfast and one of the easiest flights i've ever had. Incidentally, the easiest flight i've ever had was also El Al - me and Marcelle Jennings were flying together and it was half-full so we took two rows at the back for ourselves and had a laugh.
Arrived in Israel, took a cab to Jerusalem to find that Susan was ill and so our Purim plans had been cancelled. I was secretly pleased about this (not that she was ill, but that our plans were cancelled) because it meant I could relax and would be able to use the net more :P Met step-cousins a bit more and spent some time with them - i'll update with pictures and explanations of who everyone is (if I can remember). Got burnt in Ashkelon (stupid sun) and then caught whatever Susan had, so now full of snot.
March 8th I came back. Flight was slightly, but not majorly, less pleasant. Namely, was someone in seat next to me and someone smelling vaguely of body odour near me. Arrived back in Heathrow, took a while to get luggage, mother picked me up and I came back here, to my uncle and aunt's where I've been since then.
Tomorrow, March 12th I go back to work at the accounting firm. Fun!
Hopefully by the weekend after next, that is the 23rd March, I'll be moved into the new house in Hemel Hempsted and my little escapade of travel and homelessness will be over.