Okay so to fill you in I only have limited time to type this because I'm in my hostel in Dublin and I have a time limit on this internet access. I just figured that this part of my trip was just that interesting and I HAD to fill you in on it..
First off,... London was great and I learned how good I was at navigating in general now after exploring so many new places in the past new months. wahoO! I'm no longer map challenged! I ended up staying at a cute place called Ashford, Middlesex? hahah I know it doesn't sound too cute but the city was adorable and the houses looked like gingerbread houses ! It was beautiful in the morning too. So nice I had to go out and take a run! I'm pretty sure running in Roma messed up my body though. I felt like an old person running with leg pains. Perhaps the uneven cobblestones in Roma ? iono. hopefully that gets better.
London sure was chilly but nothing I couldn't handle after my experience in Paris. The metro system thankfully was awesome and we avoided the cold by using our day passes. Josh and I definitely found out how expensive things were but we still found ways to explore and have a great time. We basically hit up all of central London: soho, oxford circus, the south side of the river like shakespeare's globe theatre, the tower bridges, the london bridge, the columbian district, and also the east in Notting Hill. anywhoo.. to go on with the limited time...they love elephants there, the parks are awesome, shopping is wonderful yet expensive, they have MEXICAN FOOD YUM!, the double decker buses are cool, and day passes rocked my world.
Unfortunately.. here's where story turns. I definitely had quite the evening and .. here's what I sat down and wrote that night in the airport:
It's 11pm here in London and moments closer to 11:11pm when i secretly hoped this silly wishing game of "it's 11:11, make a wish" really worked. Update: Jen missed her flight to Dublin even after leaving 4 hours in advanced. She then searches frantically on an internet site in the airport while paying 1 pound (1.5 dollars) for ever 10 minutes. After about 1 hour she finds a flight (this includes time spent assisting 4 other families that for some reason decided to ask me for assistance). I suppose at least someone got some good out of this chaotic time. I then find that I can't pay for my flight because my credit card company decided to finally do their job and put my credit card on hold. Two nights ago, I emailed them about my itunes situation again, specifically telling them that I was overseas and they still put my card on hold. Thankfully my awesome boyfriend graciously helps me so that I can continue on this trip. yes, he's my angel. I then get asked for helped again by Italians! I was secretly thrilled to hear the language. It was comforting for some reason. Maybe because for once in that past hour , I was able to understand people. Even though we all speak English in America, how come things like this happen?oy miscommunication.. I don't know.. boh!?
So after this little adventure, I attempt to withdrawal money from "Barclays" to see if it would let me pull out cash even if I couldn't use it online like a credit card. Little did I know the damn machine would retain my card. My heart sank and I felt like all of the water in my body ran up to my eyes as my eyes started to water. The only sympathy that ATM machine could give me was "you should try contacting your bank". The next two people that were supposed to help me turned out to be just like that machine saying, " you should try contacting your bank." Too bad I can't, seeing you how my source of income was gone!
I thankfully had my discover card, that I assumed wasn't accepted in many parts of Europe. The pay phone nearby had "discover" written on it. I thought *fist pump* my luck is turning around. I called my credit card company (LBSFCU) and although the rep found that she couldn't do anything for me , she was so kind I would have just blamed her for my next cavity because she gave me a toothache! She was so sweet! The next call was to discover and that rep was equally as awesome. His questionaire to verify my ID was like a game show. He was extremely helpful and informed me that I could withdrawal 300 dollars from my card at ATMs labeled "link". I was so pumped because that would have been perfect for my time in Dublin. I'd be set until I got back to Rome where I could get money from my school account.
I grabbed my things and head on over to an ATM where I try to withdrawal money. Accidentally asking for more than 300 dollars in pounds, I had to try again. The bloody machine took my card AGAIN!
So... I have a backpack, a suitcase, tickets to Dublin, 20 euros, no cards, and a headache. I try to once again go to the info desk and the woman just could care less really. I tried figuring out what to do as I walked away. I start crying unwillingly.I wipe my tears and go to her again to ask what the code to call collect was. I could tell she was starting to feel a bit bad for me. Finally a real person came out from her eyes. She didn't say anything but "100". I thanked her for the third time and went back to the pay phone. I call the first person that came to mind, Hai. My parents would have been if not for my pride ,and my foreshadowing conversation of confusion and worry on their part because their baby was stuck in the UK without any money.
I must admit, I didn't call him for anything but to hear his voice. I didn't need money. (well I did but that's besides the point) I just needed comfort and someone familiar to calm me, and someone to keep me from crying. I just needed some love. I know he said it sounded like I was disappointed in him for not figuring out what I should do, but I was just upset in general. I know I 'd find a way but like I said.I just wanted to hear his voice. Unfortunately he had to hear mine after this fellow that embarrassingly enough connected my collect call. I can only imagine what he was thinking then. Or now at this moment...
I now find myself sitting on a cold stone floor on the airport floor with my luggage to keep me company. My tears have subsided and I'm now merely the narrator rewinding the past few hours in my book. What a night and it's not over yet. My flight leaves at 6:30am and I'll be pulling an all nighter. I suppose I could sit here thinking about who to blame. Was it the server that was super slow? The late underground that took forever to get me to the station? Or the shuttle that took 2 hours to get me to the airport instead of 1 hr and 10 min? Or was it the damn ATM that had no mercy on me? The help desk that wasn't so helpful? Meh, what's the point? Finding out that answer would take up a lot of time that wouldn't be able to be given back to me. Much like that ATM machine. I'd be shredding something important, precious time. Time as a person with adventure, aspirations, joy, feelings, friends to think about and all that other mushy stuff. I refuse to be a machine... so here I come Dublin with nothing but 20 euros and my camera. .. that I'll use to zoom across a rainbow and find a pot of gold!!! haha Or at least a four leaf clover. =]
.. To end this story (for now) I ended up making friends with some Russians that were super sweet and fun. They made my night better and even taught me some Russian along the way. The rest of the morning went smoothly and I ran into Californians too who made me super excited to hear "my dialect" of the english language. haha . As for the rest of my trip to Dublin.. I'll fill you in later because I'm running out of time on this internet timer!!
PEACE!
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