The Amazing Race

Andel and I are ready to enter the Amazing Race. We have proven that we can travel together, and fast too!

Our second day in Ireland was sunny and warm, mostly. We lazed around in the hotel until check out time, and then spent the best part of the afternoon picnicking in St. Stephens Green. Despite having a later flight, we decided to make our way back to the airport early in the evening to ensure that we were well prepared for our trip back to London.

Our picnic spot

As it turns out, there was little preparation for what was to come:
At 22h00 were notified that our 21h55 flight was delayed, and would be leaving at 22h30. We only left at 23h00. This meant we would only be arriving at Stansted at midnight, and would have to really move it to make the last train at 00h30.

So we raced to the front of the check-in point at Dublin. We queued for over an hour! We ran to the plane, and took seats in the very first row (no jokes). As soon as we arrived at Stansted we jumped on the tube that would take us from the terminal to the main arrivals section, before sprinting to UK Border Control. Ordinarily, the exchange at Border Control can be a stressful encounter. There are a million questions regarding your “business” in the UK. This time, although the wait was long, when we got there, we were let right through. We head straight for the train station only to find that we had missed the last train.

At this point we had to call on our resources for some assistance. Together we worked out a new plan to get us home. We managed to get tickets for the last coach back into Central London. Again, we had to run (and jump over fences) to get to the bus just as it was leaving. As soon as we stopped at the coach station, we jogged to London Victoria train station. There we got tickets for the 03h00 train to Croydon.
(Have I mentioned that through all of this Andel is carrying a 8kg backpack, and I a 3.5kg handbag?)

Thank God for aunties! In the space of 48 hours we were blessed by sacrifices from both of ours here. This time it was aunty Michelle’s turn to collect us at the station at 03h30 – and on a work day!

This kind of mayhem seems to be following us around on this trip. Having had a good 8-hour sleep though, we are now well rested, and ready for some more adventure!

Everything is better together