We won’t do this in real time, so suffice it to say that I did eventually get to that taxi stand. Still snowing, still dark. And a line of people ahead of me also hoping for a taxi to come by. Which isn’t happening.
The thought that I may not make this train is becoming more apparent. But in 25 years of traveling the world I’ve missed a plane just once and I’ve never missed a train. I didn’t want to start today.
Which left me then with one alternative–the metro. And which meant one thing. I’d be dragging that bag–whose wheels by now have locked up permanently–up and down more stairs than I cared to think about. Oh, and did I mention that I was also wearing a backpack that was weighted down like a bowling bag?
But if I was going to catch my train to London, that is what I would have to do, and even then I wasn’t sure I’d make it. Fortunately the metro station is literally right next to the taxi stand. As I stood at the top of the first steep flight of stairs I knew that, given the combined weight and density of all that was attached to me, it would be impossible to get down them in a controlled and stately manner. So the three of us–suitcase, backpack and me–hurtled ourselves from the top and somehow managed to reach the bottom intact, avoiding bodily harm to other travelers on the way down.
The next task at hand is to buy some tickets. That’s a pretty easy and straightforward process. Just go to the machine, put in your card, punch in some numbers and wait…The machine spits out the tickets and I take the suitcase to begin dragging it to the entrance. And I would have, too, except that the handle comes off in my hand. All I can think of is that I must make this train, so I find some way to grab the thing and walking backwards, pull it to the entrance. Getting it through the turnstyle was interesting as were all the other flights of stairs and changing metro lines twice. But I made it to the train station and I got on that train!
Although we arrived late due to the weather, I did make it to London, which was having the worst snowfall in 18 years! It’s all over the news here. It seems 6.5 million people didn’t come in to work today as a result of the snow and it’s estimated it will cost the country 1.2 BILLION (?) pounds in lost revenue!! And that’s just for today. Supposed to snow tomorrow too…
It turns out the agencies I had appointments with today also canceled. The bookers either couldn’t get in to work or were leaving early to make sure they could get home from work. So despite my efforts of the morning, I find my afternoon schedule completely empty.
But that’s OK. It will give me a chance to buy a new suitcase…
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