And we made it - Dad's 70th in London

We woke up (well, let’s face it, at least one of us never got to sleep) groggy eyed and flat tailed as we made it to Heathrow.  Wayne and I performed surgery on our iPhones, replacing our existing SIMs with ones good for the UK (and much of the rest of the EU) that were pay as you go.  They worked quite well, and we were off and communicating.

We got out of customs and immigration, and there was our transfer waiting for us, a nice gentleman with the names Spengler, Batzer and Jaffee on a board.  As we moved towards the hotel, I was texting back and forth with Don McAllister, and Wayne was checking scores of various games and matches.

We made it to the Millennium Gloucester,  and the hotel had received word of ABC Tours, so our rooms were no longer paid for.  Small price to pay, but we at least still had our rooms, even though we could not check in until 4 pm (I made big eyes and sad noises and said we had come from Hawaii, the desk clerk softened and allowed for 2 pm).

We bundled up and then went first to Starbucks for a caffeine injection, and then off to Hyde Park Gate and some market shopping in Notting Hill/Portobello Market.                                           

Hyde Park, in combination with Kensington Gardens, is the largest of the three royal parks.  We saw many a football match, and a few runners and cyclists as we wended through the park quickly.  The park also has the famed Speaker’s Corner for advocates of free speech, the Serpentine Lido for swimming, the Albert Memorial and a statue of Peter Pan, the Isis statue and the Diana Fountain, and a memorial for the July 7, 2005 bombings in London.  Worthy of a longer visit than that which we made.

It was extremely crowded!  I was afraid I was going to lose Wayne to a milling throng, his least favorite place in the world.  Then it was lunch at a pub, and Scott & Will back to the hotel, Pam & Kate continuing shopping, and Mom, Dad, Wayne and I headed out on a Harry Potter walking tour.  We walked in and out of train stations, over bridges, by the Houses of Parliament, Number 10 Downing Street (Pakistani ex-pats were protesting asking for support against executing people for “blasphemy”), and through various alleyways at Piccadilly Circus and Leicester Square.  Midway through the tour, as we were headed to Trafalgar Square, Wayne peeled off and headed to the hotel, where he periodically texted me with updates to our situation there.                              

Ask me some time about the walk to the tube to get to the start of the walking tour, I’m sure you’ll get a smile out of it...

At the end of the tour, we headed back, checked in, regrouped in Mom & Dad’s room, and then headed out to the Bombay Brasserie for dinner.  Nice dinner, good atmosphere, and a good way to end the day. 

Onward bound

We slept fairly late for us - a little after 7 am - and headed downstairs to see my parents up and about.  After a waffle breakfast, Wayne and I walked the loop and hit Starbucks, after which I headed out with Mom to mail back my soft sided suitcase, and then to hit Marshall’s for a pair of traveling pants, sorely needed for the travel.  Lunch was at a local pizza establishment, and we enjoyed our last meal in the Oakdale/Bohemia.

We made it to JFK rather quickly, and then waited in the long security line to gain entry to the Virgin Atlantic waiting area.  No Jaffees to be found anywhere.  It turned out that there was a frantic text from Pam as we were going through the line, their car service had not arrived, and they were driving down.  We anxiously counted the minutes as boarding time drew near.  Literally minutes before boarding was to begin, there was an announcement that boarding was delayed due to a medical emergency from the prior flight.  We cheered, apologizing to our neighbors, and then saw a familiar little head pop by - Will was there, as was Scott, Pam and Kate soon to follow.

We snacked, boarded the plane, and started our way across the Atlantic.  I have to say, one of the most uncomfortable flights I have ever taken.  Teeny, tiny, cramped seats, and terrible food.  I was happy to have had snacks prior to boarding.

Now, a little about London.

London is the capital city of England and the United Kingdom, and the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom. London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its founding by the Romans, who named it Londinium. London is a leading global city, with strengths in the arts, commerce, education, entertainment, fashion, finance, healthcare, media, professional services, research and development, tourism and transport all contributing to its prominence.

London has a diverse range of peoples and cultures, and more than 300 languages are spoken here.  It contains four World Heritage Sites: the Tower of London; Kew Gardens; the site comprising the Palace of Westminster, Westminster Abbey, and St Margaret's Church; and the historic settlement of Greenwich. Other famous landmarks include Buckingham Palace, the London Eye, Piccadilly Circus (remember Big Boy in Austin Powers?), St Paul's Cathedral, Tower Bridge and Trafalgar Square. Its Underground is the oldest underground railway network in the world.

Within London, both the City of London and the City of Westminster have city status and both the City of London and the remainder of Greater London are the ceremonial counties. The current area of Greater London has incorporated areas that were once part of the historic counties of Middlesex, Kent, Surrey, Essex and Hertfordshire. London's status as the capital of England, and later the United Kingdom, has never been granted or confirmed officially—by statute or in written form. Its position was formed through constitutional convention, making its status as de facto capital a part of the UK's unwritten constitution. The capital of England was moved to London from Winchester as the Palace of Westminster developed in the 12th and 13th centuries to become the permanent location of the royal court, and thus the political capital of the nation.

London is often described using a set of district names, such as Bloomsbury, Mayfair, Wembley and Whitechapel.  Each district refers to a local area with its own distinctive character, but without current official boundaries. Since 1965,  London has been divided into 32 boroughs, as well as the ancient City of London. The West End is London's main entertainment and shopping district, and it includes very expensive residential areas.  The East End is the area closest to the original Port of London, known for its high immigrant population, as well as for being one of the poorest areas in London. The surrounding East London area saw much of London's early industrial development; now, brownfield sites throughout the area have been redeveloped as part of the Thames Gateway, including the London Riverside and Lower Lea Valley, which was developed into the Olympic Park for the 2012 Olympics and Paralympics.

No knowing how much we will get done in 3 short days, but let’s hope it’s a good 3 short days!

Safe and sound in New York

Woke up this morning just before Newark, had the light breakfast, and then slowly got ready to man the phone and finish up on reservations if necessary.  As we landed and I turned on my iPhone, a flurry of messages passed in and out of email.  Pamela had verified our reservations, and it seemed as though all was secure.  We cancelled the United reservations, and proceeded to shower, head to Penn Station, eat lunch, and then off to Long Island.

Train ride was uneventful, which is good, as we were exhausted.

We got in to la Casa Spengler, unpacked a little, and then I watched my hubby take a nose dive on the bed as jet lag caught up.  After a while, he got up, and we had Dad open his birthday gifts, and then proceeded on to dinner. Lamb and end of season Long Island corn on the cob.  Color me happy.  At the end of dinner,  Pam called,  and the group arranged check in for seating on the jet taking us across the pond.  Keeping fingers crossed, but it all looks like it’s  heading for the good. 

Dad had called the American Express fraud unit, and, as he had paid the initial deposit with the Gold Card, they told him he would be reimbursed that money.  They also informed him that the trip insurance that he bought through ABC for the tours was not going to pay him back most likely.  So, two important lessons learned here:

1. Never, ever pay for your tour through a travel agency in cash, always use a credit card

2. Always get your travel insurance through a third party agency

We learned the second lesson early on while I was still in the military - we found only one agency that would insure our trip and reimburse us in the event that I was called onto active duty or deployed.  None of the ones associated with our booking agency would cover a “work related” emergency.

We did enjoy the company of two out of three Spengler cats, Carmen and Tristan.  And we enjoyed the heck out of a good night’s sleep as well.

Eagerly awaiting tomorrow!

London calling, or maybe not...

Wednesday morning at 5:00 as the day begins...ironic that a Beatles song moderately applies to that which vexes us this morning.

The day began fairly early, we never sleep well when we are about to travel, and to go from Honolulu to London takes quite a bit of travel.  I know, I know, London is a bit crazy of an effort from Hawaii, but it is Dad’s 70th birthday weekend, and we were looking forward to walking tours, a match, Harry Potter, and a musical in celebration of his birthday.

Were, you say?  Don’t you mean are?  Well, we hope so.

At 6:31 this morning, after we’d been up for a bit of a while, Dad called to tell us that he had received a call from ABC Tours saying that all the London trips had been cancelled.  I was in the midst of getting ready for practicum and school, and about to be on the way for the day, so I linked him up with Wayne.  Wayne went in and checked on flights with frequent flyer miles, and then wound up calling the hotel in London (as did Brother in Law Scott) to at least secure our reservations.  We were in luck that frequent flyer mile requirements for London were at the minimum, so I went off to court to do work on a case, and to book flights.  As I was prepping (well, primping) to go to work, the phone rang again (6:48 am), and it was some service for ABC Tours stating that they had ceased operations, and all tours heading out were cancelled.  Oy.

I headed in to the CASA offices, started the day, and 8 reservations and three frequent flyer accounts later, we were at least booked on United in the event that our Virgin Atlantic flights were cancelled.  That was multi-tasking.

Now we are at the airport waiting for our trip to NY.  Pam will be calling Virgin tomorrow morning, 2 am EDT, to find out our  status.  Hopefully we will have good news when we land in EWR in the morning.

And this from Travel Weekly:

Club ABC Tours believed to have ceased operations

By Michelle Baran

Club ABC Tours is believed to have ceased operations, according to the Better Business Bureau of New Jersey. 

"The BBB [on Oct. 3] received numerous calls from concerned consumers who had booked tours with the company and are reporting canceled tours or non-responsiveness by the company to any inquiries,” the BBB reported on its website. 

Club ABC Tours is a vacation packager owned by Crown Travel Service of Bloomfield, N.J. 

The BBB alleges that Club ABC ceased operations on Oct. 1. The Club ABC Tours website, www.clubabc.com, is down, and repeated phone calls to the company led to a message that the office is currently closed. 

Emails yield an automatic response that the company will be in touch. All websites of associated ABC businesses, including Women's Travel Club in New York (www.womenstravelclub.com) and ABC Destinations (www.abcdestinations.com) are down, as well. 

Travel Weekly spoke with at least one affected customer who had a two-week trip to Turkey canceled on Tuesday, 24 hours prior to departure. The customer had paid for the trip in cash and was awaiting word about how to get a refund. 

The BBB advises consumers who paid for their travel arrangements by credit card to contact their credit card company and alert them about the status of Club ABC’s operations. The BBB believes that if travelers paid for insurance through Club ABC, the contract does not cover refunds in the event that Club ABC ceases operations. 

Club ABC Tours is not a member of the National Tour Association or the U.S. Tour Operators Association.

Leaving Basel

Yesterday was quite nice as we walked around the city.  First, though, I really needed a nap!  Despite being on vacation, we have been up long before the sun each morning, and yesterday was no exception.  I burrowed under the marvelous duvet (I’ve enjoyed those on this trip), and grabbed a half hour’s nap.  A small snack later, and we were off on our walk.

We took public transport into town, first a bus, and then the S-bahn (short for Strassenbahn, or street car).  There were a number of walks we could have done, but I needed to get back in order to have a test conference at 9 pm.  So, we followed the blue headed man..

Dinner was at an Indian restaurant on the road leading back to the hotel.  After dinner, we walked back, and were dually entertained by and fearful of the clouds overhead.  There was an ominous cloud funneling down towards the ground, and that which appeared like lightning in front of us.  We made it in ahead of the rain, which started to pour down after we got in.  Upon checking our flight reservations (United separated our reservations for reasons unknown to me), we saw that I had been moved from my seat in economy plus next to Wayne to the second to last row in the entire plane!  We changed my seat to that right next to Wayne and then went about our normal routines.

My conference test was a success, and then it was off to bed.  I heard the conference testing on the other side at 1:30 am, and jumped up afraid that I had missed it.  I hadn’t.  I got another hour’s sleep, and then got ready for my interview, which started a little late.  I was a little anxious at first, but then warmed up and did what I think was a fairly good job.  Keep your fingers crossed for me!

Back to sleep until 8:30, I woke up  to a very hungry hubby who had been waiting for an hour and a half for me to get up.  We dressed, went down for breakfast, and came back up to see that I was again relegated to the second to last row.  After a frustrating call to Geneva (thank you Skype), we were seated together for our flights after being told we must have separated our reservations by mistake on the web.  Hah!  This is the second time this has happened to us with United, the first being our trip to Costa Rica.

We got to the airport, went into the Swiss lounge (very, very pleasant(, and waited for our flight.  Once we boarded, the male flight attendant henpecked one other female in the emergency exit row into leaving her seat and yielding it to a man.  He tried the same with me, telling me there was no way I would be strong enough to open the emergency exit window, and that I should give up my seat to a man in the back.  Again, hah!  I told him no way, as did Wayne, and we went on.

We got into Frankfurt, and had to navigate from B terminal to Z terminal, with no specific gate number listed.  We got there, visited the Lufthansa lounge, and got our information, and went up.  When we got to the line to board, we had to go over and get screened by security because of TSA requirements of US citizens.  I mean, goodness, TSA in Germany?  Isn’t it bad enough stateside??  Oy. 

Side note, Wayne told me that the current TSA model is built on the one established at BWI airport.  Now I understand.

On the flight, the flight attendant mostly ignored my requests, and only served Wayne until I was loud enough for him to realize I existed.  Go figure.  Here’s hoping the layover in San Francisco and tomorrow’s flight to Honolulu goes well.  And that I get the practicum position!