Day 10 Southampton to Bath and Bristol

Amy and Misha were heading home and Chris, Kristen and I found a place in Fairford in the

Cotswolds to spend the next four days.

We got Amy and Misha to their train just after nine.

They would have to transfer to a bus at Woking to get to the airport. Fortunately they had a lot of extra time before their flight in the afternoon. It was good to get the text finally that they were boarding the airplane.

 

We took a train in a different direction to Bath. The countryside was so beautiful and we

enjoyed an afternoon taking a tour through the Roman Baths. Not to worry, we all wore masks and we socially distanced as much as possible.

We did happen upon four missionaries who were also touring the Baths. We spent the afternoon

exploring in Bath after our tour and then took the bus from Bath to Bristol.

 

More adventure as the bus broke down and had to let everyone off before reaching our

destination. The driver told to us to wait at the bus stop and another bus would be along soon.

 

It worked out to our advantage as the new bus dropped us off right outside our hotel. We

dropped off our luggage and then went over to a mall for dinner at an Italian restaurant called

Zizzi’s. The food was so so.

 

We booked an Airbnb in the Cotswolds at Fairford. It would mean a lot of left side of the road

driving for Chris for the next few days.

 

He spent a couple of hours that night watching videos on driving in the UK and learning

about traffic signs.

 

Amy and Misha texted us that they had landed in Colorado.

 

Our neighbor texted us some pictures of the swallows that had attacked our house. Ughhhh. One more thing to worry about.

Day 9 "Go Ape" in Southampton

Kristen was content to rest at the hotel for the day.

Chris found an adventure called “Go Ape” for him and Amy and Misha. I went along to hang out with them and to take pictures. It took a lot longer than I thought, especially as they got stuck behind a whole bunch of people stuck up in the trees and a little nervous.

 

They climbed trees, zip lined, crossed on suspended platforms, and swung like Tarzan. They had a blast.

 

We ordered another Uber and drove down to the pier. It was the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee

weekend and there was supposed to be a flyover. Unfortunately, after we got down to the pier, someone told us that the flyover had been cancelled due to the weather. Well, great. This weekend just gets better and better!

 

I chatted with Kristen. She encouraged us to stay and get dinner. She was going to have a nap. We had pizza first and then found this restaurant called Heavenly Desserts that served delectable dessert offerings. Their menu was probably 30-pages long. We had leftover pizza and now a piece of chocolate cake for Kristen as we Ubered back to the hotel. 

We booked another night at the hotel and then planned to all leave in the morning.

Day 8 Southampton and a Canceled Cruise

We enjoyed an included breakfast in the dining room at the hotel and brought a tray of food

to Kristen in her room.

 

Chris tried to call the cruise line but wasn’t able to get through. He and I took an Uber down

to the port. 

 

We knew that we would be denied boarding, but we wouldn’t be able to start the cancellation and

refund process without receiving a “Denied” letter from the cruise line.

 

There was a lot of sadness for all of us.

 

We finally spoke to a live person after arriving at the check-in desk at the port who facilitated the

processing of a letter of denial. The cruise employees were very happy that we hadn’t already

dropped off luggage in the check-in process. That would have meant sitting around at the cruise

terminal for at least two to three hours waiting for them to sort through and find our luggage.

 

We booked another night at the hotel, mostly to give Kristen a chance to rest.

 

Amy and Misha began to think that since we weren’t going on the cruise that maybe going

home would be the best idea for them so they didn’t get sick. As it was, we couldn’t leave for

home with Kristen until she had a negative Covid test. That would be at least a week.

 

Chris started talking with United Cruise to initiate the refund process. He also changed Amy

and Misha’s flight to Monday morning. And we had to come up with a place to stay and things

to do for the rest of the week.

 

We were disappointed to find out that we wouldn’t get a refund for the cruise, only a credit.

And, even though the girls hadn’t paid anything for their cruise, the refund was spread out over

all five of us. To use the credit, all five of us would have to go on the next cruise together.

 

Amy and Misha didn’t want to join Chris and I as we headed out to find some dinner and

groceries. We took a bus part of the way and then walked through part of the outskirts of

Southampton. We found pizza for the girls and Mediterranean for Chris and I. At the grocery

store, we bought snacks, fruit and some drinks.

Instead of walking all the way back, we took an Uber back to the hotel. Kind of a boring day,

certainly not the fun we expected in boarding a cruise for Norway. Kristen got a chance to rest.

Day 7 Paris to Southampton

Ahhhh, sleeping in. I was up earlier than everyone else. I had started a load of laundry the night

before, but when I went to remove the clothes, the door was stuck. I set up the dryer to run for

12 more minutes hoping that would unlock the door.

 

Nope. Not sure what to do now!

 

Chris started a conversation with the main office. They weren’t much help. They did send a

maintenance guy to the apartment. He started the 12-minute cycle again and said the door

would open when it was done and then he left. The door didn’t open.

 

At the same time, we were doing proctored covid tests for the cruise. Proctored meaning an

online company was monitoring the results. Four out of five were negative until Kristen took

her test. Positive. She was devastated. We were all devastated.

 

And suddenly our plans for the next week changed.

 

In a “discussion” with the Airbnb office, Chris explained that the washer door was still closed

and we weren’t leaving the apartment without the clothes. Well, I wasn’t. Chris took the girls

out exploring while I sat and waited for the maintenance guy to return.

 

It was awkward. The cleaning girl was there, and I was definitely in her way.

 

I waited for the maintenance guy to return. The office said he would be there within an hour and

it took over two hours for him to return. He wasn’t happy. He walked in, unscrewed the washer

door from the machine, and had me remove my clothes before he put the door back on and left.

It took him all of five minutes and he could have done that the first time he came!

 

At this point, it was about ten minutes to 3 pm. The new Airbnb guests could be arriving soon.

I packed up the damp laundry and then proceeded to make four trips loaded down with

suitcases, duffels, and backpacks to remove all of our stuff from the apartment. The apartment

was on the third floor (probably equal to five or six flights of stairs), but I finally got everything

moved.

 

Chris and the girls were trying to get back to the apartment, but it was raining and the buses

were behind schedule.

 

They finally arrived and we took off quickly to the Gare de Lyon (train station) to transfer to the

Gare de Nord for our Eurostar train back to London.

 

After a harrowing morning and afternoon, we stopped for an easy and quick dinner at Five Guys

in the train station.

 

Kristen was starting to feel not so great. Unfortunately, it was the beginning of waiting in a

bunch of frustrating and infuriating lines for our train which was delayed once again.

 

I would never ever recommend taking the Eurostar. So poorly managed. The workers were so

frustrating. They had people in four queues and would open the first queue and let a 100 people

through no matter how long they or others had been waiting in line. And then then same with

the next line.

Once you got through, no one was there to tell you that families (and people under 18) had to go

through one line. So we get to the front of a line and they asked Kristen how old she was. 17. They

tried to get her to go on her own to another line. Nothing doing. She isn’t going by herself.

 

So she and I moved to another line. More waiting.

 

After so many hours, we finally get through immigration and then security, only to wait in the

lounge with hundreds of people—pushing, shoving, not willing to wait in line people.

It was not our best travel day ever.

We finally boarded our train. I guess we should be grateful. The next night the train lost its power and people had to sit for a couple of hours outside of Paris. Don’t ever take the Eurostar.

We rode the train to London and then transferred to a bus toward Southampton. We were supposed to be leaving from there for our cruise the next day. We arrived at the Hampton outside of Southampton around 11 pm.

Day 6 Disneyland Paris

We needed to leave the apartment by 7:50 am this morning in order to catch the train to

Disneyland on time. Amazing how the girls were able to get up and moving early. We caught

the RER Train outside the Gare de Lyon to Parc Disneyland for the one hour train ride. 

 

The girls were just a little bit excited.

 

We arrived at Disneyland before opening to get in line and besides the Disney hotel guests,

we were some of the first people in the park.

 

We all had a great day riding all of the rides starting at Thunder Mountain in Frontierland and

then moving on to the Indiana Jones ride where we went through as single riders. We got through

so much faster because we filled in the empty seats as they needed to be filled.

 

The Tea Cups were next and we happened upon the Main Street parade as we exited and were

fully spun. We were going to take a lunch break at McDonalds just outside the park but stopped

to watch and dance along with the crowd.

During the rest of the day, we sailed on the Molly Brown riverboat and then took the train

around the park.

 

The “Cars” ride was just a little slow for speedy peeps in my family, but we just tootled around

the track. Probably a lot more fun for the shorter and younger visitors to the park.

 

The day passed quickly with lots of fun rides, finding our way from one side of the park to the

other and back again.

 

We ate dinner at Agrabah, a Mediterranean-themed restaurant in Disneyland. 

The rest of the evening, we toured the Princess Castle, rode the carousel, and Chris and I finished

off with the Dumbo ride. The girls raced back across the park to ride Thunder Mountain a few

more times. 

Chris and I found a spot along the Main Street and settled in to wait for the 10:55 pm drone show and then 11 pm Disney Spectacular. We had about an hour wait filled with people pushing and shoving their way through the crowd to find the best spot.

 

We watched for the girls to return and then were amazed by the finale. So cool.

 

From there, it was a “Kline paced” walk to the train. Good thing too. The train was packed and

not everyone got seats for the one-hour return train ride back to Paris.

Another late night, but we weren’t in any rush on Friday morning and could all sleep in.

Day 5 Fountainebleau

We were fortunate to be only a five minute walk to the Gare de Lyon from the Airbnb.

We were headed to Fountainebleau on the 10:45 am train. After 45 minutes on the train, we took the bus to the castle.

Our bus driver was rather grumpy. With the narrow streets, a lady in a small car made the

mistake of turning down the street and blocking the bus. As the bigger vehicle, the bus driver

wasn’t giving an inch. The lady even got out and cussed him out. She finally got back in her car

and began to back up down the street. Every little bit she backed up, he inched forward.

 

We arrived at the castle and began a tour of Napolean’s home. So lavish for the time. The castle

was similar to Versailles but much less busy and not nearly so grand and opulent. Still, it was

extravagant for the time.

After touring the castle, we stopped for a quick lunch across the street from the castle. We

returned to the castle and began a tour of the gardens and enjoyed a relaxing afternoon lazing

by the pond with people boating nearby.

There was supposed to be a cool forest area where we could hike, but after walking for a bit,

Chris and I decided to turn around. Besides, the girls weren't interested in hiking and had

found a spot to sit and wait for us.

We walked back into town and did a little window shopping instead.

We took the bus back to the train station (with a different bus driver) and missed the train by just a few minutes. We had to wait a half an hour for the next one.