Travel Frustration

So right now I am sitting in the London airport with currently NO flight to Madrid… I’m sure you’re wondering why or how this could happen…so I’ll tell you.

I got to the Philadelphia airport at 4 p.m. on Feb. 2 to find out that my flight from PA to London was canceled due to a blizzard in London (the first time it snowed in London in like 20 years). So, they booked me on the 10 p.m. flight (that’s 6 HOURS later by the way). The only good news thus far is that I don’t have jet lag, even though I only got 4 hours of sleep sitting up. Although the plane landed in London at 9:30 a.m. on Feb. 3 (it is only 4:30 a.m. in the US), it took almost 2 hours to get off the plane because of “disruptions from the weather.” (Mind you there is only about 2 inches of snow on the ground). Of course now I’m really nervous that I’m going to miss my 12:50 p.m. flight after another 20 minute bus ride between the terminal I was in, and the terminal I needed to be at. (It was now 11:45 a.m. when I got to the correct terminal) ONLY TO FIND OUT THAT MY FLIGHT WAS AGAIN CANCELED! The next departing flight to Madrid with British Airways was 7:50 at night, SO they booked me a 3:00 flight with Iberia at the EXTREME devastation that my bags may not be in Madrid when I get there. Then, I went to check-in with Iberia and what else could go wrong you ask? They CANNOT check me in because the plane hasn’t even left Madrid yet, and there’s a possibility that the flight could also be canceled. That takes me to now…where I sit in the London airport to wait until a plane departs from Madrid, so then they can check me in. The best part is, there will be someone waiting for me in the Madrid airport to take me to my housing, and I have no way to contact them to let them know that I haven’t even left London yet. Now when I get to Madrid, I have to figure out how to take a taxi with a Spanish speaking driver, and I don’t even know where I live. This would happen to me.
^wrote this in the airport when I needed to vent. The only good things that came from this ordeal was a 28 year old billionaire from Chicago who kept me company in the airport for 2 hours, and then getting on a Spanish speaking flight and they sang happy birthday in espanol for a little girl! so cute!

Now, I got off my plane at like 9 p.m. and had to take a $70 taxi to get to my residencia. Immediately greeted by my housemates (1 American, 3 French, 1 Venezulan?, and one from Mexico) Needless to say, I have to learn Spanish soon! Sooo then me and Kira (the American) went to a bar and ate tapas and drank LOTS of sangria, so I could forget about London possibly losing my luggage. So far, through the anger/frustration…Madrid is like a dream and I'm SO happy I'm finally here! (I'll be even happier when I receieve my suitcases!)