Adventure Awaits

Well the countdown is well and truly into single digits, the week ahead is planned out and today, as I start writing this post, is probably our last completely 'normal' and relaxed day before the adventure begins. It has been our usual Monday with a home gym workout, followed by a sauna and then a lovely two and a half mile walk to our favourite coffee shop. A couple of coffees and a little time for Simon to get some art done and for me a little bit of port research and writing time before heading back home and the mundane tasks of laundry and grocery shopping.

The early part of this week is all about getting things prepped ahead of the end of week madness. I am determined to get the majority of the packing completed over the next few days rather than it all happen at the last minute!

And now as I come back to this post my hair has been refreshed... 

Back to my nice and bright pink hair!

...a segment for my podcast has been recorded, my nails have been 'Disneyfied'...

Cute nails...a touch of Disney to hopefully last a tad over four weeks!

...Simon has had his haircut and the majority of the packing is done! 

This does mean that our last full day at home can be taken at a fairly relaxed pace. We have enjoyed a breakfast out followed by a treat of coffee and cake as we walked the 3 miles home - hoping the 16000 steps walked by lunchtime has burned off the shared cake!!

Brekkie at one of our favourite local spots

And a little stop on the walk back home for some carrot cake!

The Uber has been booked to get us to our local train station, e-Sims have been bought ready for use when we get to the US, last minute jobs around the house have been done (always nice to come back to a clean and tidy house), check lists have been checked, checked again and checked once more just for good measure.

I'd achieved my goal and managed to get the majority of the packing done before the end of the week by getting everything in compression packing cubes which meant on Friday all I had to do was to get the cubes into the cases! I'd been a bit clever by making sure that one of the cubes had the clothes we would need for our first couple of nights in Southampton so that we wouldn't have to 'unpack' prior to boarding on the Monday. Next it was getting the backpacks sorted with all those things we wanted to have close to hand...and then everything was all done...which meant packing paranoia set in and I began questioning whether we had everything we needed! Or it could just be that taking our third big trip in around 18 months means that I'm now getting better at packing?!

All that remained was to grab some takeout food with our son and spend some time with him before we disappear for a few weeks. Oh and before I forgot I remembered to paint my toenails!

All that was left was to get a good nights sleep ahead of our first travel day!

Home We Go...

After a wonderful few days of exploring a city we have come to love, it was time to pack our bags and head home. Our Eurostar home was scheduled for 2.40pm which meant we needed to be at Centraal Station around 1.25pm for when check-in opened. But this did mean we could take our time checking out of the hotel and taking the walk over to the station.

The day was bright and sunny and probably the warmest day of our visit; in fact on the walk over to the station we needed to stop to remove gloves, hats and scarf and stow them away in our backpacks.

Beautifully sunny day

We arrived at the station a little after noon which meant we had plenty of time to shop for snacks for the journey home as well as enjoy a Starbucks looking out across the water. There was a group of people making some sort of video which involved a phone attached to an advertising board that was obviously ringing and waiting for innocent passersby to stop and pick it up…no idea what it was all about but it was intriguing to watch from afar!

The time came to move and we found our way to the UK Eurostar Terminal and we began the check-in process. Tickets checked - easy. Queue for security - slow, shuffle, stop, shuffle until we could finally get our bags through screening only to then join another queue but this time for border control. It appeared that getting through Dutch border control was rather slow and steady which impacted the speed at which the security screening could work. The Dutch officials wanted to know how long we’d been in the country, then we had to do a finger scan and I had to remove my glasses so they could check I was in fact me! The next border control was UK operated and that was super quick and fuss free!

Thankfully once through to the departure lounge we were able to grab a couple of seats and a couple of coffees while we waited to be called to our train. In fact by 2.29pm we were on the train and all ready for our 2.40pm departure and all was looking well.

All ready for the journey home...or so we thought!

At 3.58pm as we headed towards Antwerp we received a text and email to advise that the train would be delayed ‘due to an accident involving a person on the tracks’!! We stopped at Antwerp station and we waited, and we waited. 

Waiting for information...

There were no more emails or texts and we had no idea of what was happening. Eventually there was an announcement to say that the train would have to go back to Amsterdam Centraal with a plan that we would be able to board a new train which would be able to make the journey. We arrived back at Amsterdam at 5.30pm with instructions to leave the train but to stay on the platform and wait for our new train. Even the display boards on the platform clearly stated that an extra train was due at 6.30pm +30 minutes, which then got updated to +40 minutes…but at least we would get a train home…right?

And that was when the ‘fun and games’ started! We stood on the platform for about 10 or 15 minutes before what appeared to be some random security guys who came along and told us that we needed to leave the platform and head to the UK Eurostar Terminal as there was no train coming! So dutifully we all did as we were told and made our way to the terminal. I think the assumption was that we would have to wait for a much later train but no…over a very crowded space on the concourse outside the terminal entry a Eurostar employee attempted to tell a train full of very confused people that there was no train taking us home and that we would get an email within the hour to let us know what would be happening.

Trying to work out what was happening!

Now, we hadn’t been able to hear what she had said so we had to wait for those at the front of the crowd to move so we could shuffle forward and try and figure out what was happening. In the end most of the information fed to us was from other passengers who’d been able to hear what had been said or who’d actually managed to talk to someone. To say there was some confusion would have been an understatement. We, at this point, had no idea of when our train home would be or whether Eurostar were going to provide any assistance overnight. As we were trying to figure out what best to do we started to hear other passengers talk about getting their passports 'unstamped'...realisation then hit that because we'd passed through UK border control on departing we were technically in the Netherlands illegally! We were so glad that we had hung around trying to figure out what was happening as we were then able to join a queue to get our passports 'unstamped' - basically a cross put through the appropriate stamp (ours was actually done by the same Dutch border control officer we'd seen earlier in the day and she remembered us!!). But goodness knows how many other passengers failed to realise this and went off into the night with incorrectly stamped passports and all the potential confusion that may have followed!

As we started to leave the terminal we could see some passengers queuing at a desk waiting to see Eurostar staff, others were just leaving, some had their passports 'unstamped', others didn't and it was all rather overwhelming and confusing. I managed to ask a member of staff about getting a train home and whether I had to book a new train myself and he said 'yes', but then another passenger told me that we would get an email in the next hour and there would be a link to do that. We got the distinct impression that no-one really knew what exactly was happening.

We made our way to the main concourse area and found a place to sit down and gather our thoughts with my focus being what are we going to do overnight?...we need a hotel room...we need it close to the station as we had no idea what time our train home would be. I was pretty sure that there was a hotel next door to the station and quickly fired up Google Maps and sure enough I was right. I quickly jumped onto Ibis hotels website and booked a room - boom we were sorted for the night. 

Quickly booking a hotel for the night!

While doing that we had a conversation with an older couple who were trying to get home to Australia; they'd already had their flight home changed because of the conflict in Iran that had just started so they needed to be in London that night. They were looking at getting a flight to Brussels and then onto London! So for all the hassle the events were causing us we recognised that an extra night in Amsterdam and the stress of getting home a day late was nothing in comparison to what other people were experiencing.  

We then had a quick walk next door to the hotel to get checked in and find our room; it was a tad on the small side and quite basic for the price we'd paid; suffice to say we won't be booking an Ibis hotel anytime soon. 

Room for the night!

But we now had the dilemma of finding food for the evening, so we decided to go where we knew we would get something enjoyable and tasty; Burgermeester. 

Mmmmm burgers and fries

With a good burger inside us we nipped into the Albert Heijn opposite the restaurant and bought some treats and bottled water for back at the hotel. By the time we walked back to the hotel it was getting close to 10pm and we'd still not received any communication from Eurostar so we thought we would stop by the train station and the Eurostar departures area just in case there were any staff still on duty who could help us...but no! Back at the hotel we made the decision to book ourselves tickets home for the following day; we figured this way we would know exactly what we were doing, we would have our pick of train times and if by some miracle we woke up to a communication from Eurostar we could cancel the tickets. So £231 spent to secure two tickets on the 10.40am train home.

On the plus side we did manage 13205 steps!

The following morning we were up and checked out of the room by 8am. 

Stunning view from our room!

We made our way to the Eurostar terminal on the off chance that there would be staff that we could talk to...but once again, no! Oh well, Starbucks for breakfast it was. 

Glamorous Starbucks brekkie

We also made use of the Albert Heijn To Go store within the station and bought sandwiches and snacks for the train home (making sure we had more than we had the previous day...just in case!!). It was then a case of deja vu as we made our way through security and border control and once again found a spot with charging, acquired some coffee and waited for our train home. 

While we waited I made best use of the time to plan the next stage of our journey. We had rail tickets from London to our home station that had been issued for a specific train yesterday! But I'd discovered there's a reciprocal arrangement between rail providers in the event of missed trains due to delays beyond the control of the passenger. I was able to WhatsApp with East Midlands Trains who confirmed that our tickets would be honoured and told me exactly what to do upon arrival at St Pancras. 

We boarded the train with ease and despite having seats opposite each other we were able to swap with another passenger and actually sit next to each other. 

Here we go again....all crossed.

The train left just a few minutes late at 10.45am and arrived in London just after 2pm. We then found Eurostar customer services and explained the situation regarding our delay and our onward train home. They then printed out our Eurostar tickets and stamped them as evidence of the delay and confirmed that we would be able to use any East Midlands Train home. Looking at the departures board we could see a train home at 3.31pm which gave us plenty of time to grab a Starbucks before heading to the departure platform ahead of time. Once the platform opened we were at the front of the queue which gave us plenty of time to explain the situation and get let through onto the platform and board the train. We managed to find a couple of unreserved seats together and we settled in for our journey home. 

London, St Pancras at last.

And after a quick Uber ride from the station we were home! A day later than planned but we were home! And very quickly back to reality as we were faced with needing a grocery shop and sorting laundry!!

Oh and only 6355 steps today.

Next time we will chat all things Eurostar and money!!

What to write...

What to write about...where do I begin?

After such a long hiatus from writing this blog I wonder if it's time I reintroduced myself? After all the person I was in 2012 when I started the blog is different from the person sitting here at the keyboard today...if only by the fact that I'm twelve years older, two stone (28 pounds) lighter and I'd like to say wiser, but who knows!

So here goes...

Hi...my name is Jayne. I find myself just entering the second half of my 50's and am very blessed to be retired, married to my best friend of nearly 39 years, we have a couple of amazing grown-up kids and somewhere along the way I developed a love of Disney.

It was that love of Disney that initially gave me the idea to write a blog, I wanted to share that love along with the knowledge and experiences that I'd gathered over the years. I also wanted to share my Disney daydreaming as I looked forward to, and planned for, my Disney vacations. But as the years rolled on and circumstances changed so did the topics that I decided to write about.

Disney will always be apart of who I am and something I will always want to write about but there are now other topics that I am passionate about that I would like to share. The transition from a working mum to a retiree. My personal health and well being journey that started in 2014 and is still ever evolving. A love of Star Wars that has grown and evolved through cosplay adventures and a new family of friends. A sense of discovering who this new retired version of me could be and what interests and adventures are out there that I have not yet even thought of!

I am extremely fortunate that in the last couple of months my partner in crime, my husband Simon, has joined me in this retirement malarkey and we are navigating this change to our lives together. We are beginning to make plans for the year (and years) ahead and are looking to make the most of the time that we have in front of us. It is taking a little getting used to but one that we are thoroughly enjoying.

We have a few travel plans booked, some cosplay events for this year are beginning to get scheduled, I have a weekly podcast that I co-host called the Disney Dream Girls and Simon has numerous art and prop making projects on the go. And within all of that we try to keep ourselves as fit and as active as possible so that we can continue to enjoy the time we have, for as long as we can and in the best shape that we can be so that life can be lived to its fullest.

So let's see where this journey is going to take us!