Friday
October 14 and Saturday October 15 and Sunday October 16, 2016:
Today (Friday), we left our hotel in Amsterdam,
Netherlands to be transferred to Brussels, Belgium via our tour bus, where a visit
to the Grand Place would be included.
Most of the group in the first transfer (at 7:15 am) was being dropped
off at Schiphol Airport, and only five of us (two couples and I) were going to
Brussels. While there, we (including
Rosie) had to take a rather lengthy walk to the Grand Place because the
location at which tour buses and other vehicles could stop and wait had been changed. The reason for the change is that there had
been a terrorist attack in Brussels recently (but, I don’t know when) and any
vehicle standing too long in one place was actively discouraged by the Brussels
Police and other security detail.
The Grand Place in Brussels is made up of lovely,
ornate old buildings that are decorated with gold leaf. We walked through this big square to the
other side while Rosie told us about where to buy some expensive Belgian
chocolates, which Belgium is so famous for.
I bought some chocolate-covered cherries – something I love, but surprisingly
hard to obtain at home. These chocolates
were not the most expensive ones available, but I couldn’t afford anything
more. Rosie also told us about Belgian
waffles – something I also love – and we all ended up buying some instead of a
normal lunch. Since we were only going
to be in the Grand Place for an hour before leaving for the Eurostar train
station, it was suggested by Rosie that we have a lunch or snack, and a
bathroom break. Globus had paid for our
Eurostar tickets since we were still on the tour.
After leaving the Grand Place, we walked back to our
tour bus where Vincenzo was waiting for us.
He would take us to the Eurostar train station and then leave the tour
for Italy, his home. Being processed as
a Eurostar train passenger means the same thing as going through airport
security, particularly (I imagine) since that terrorist attack in
Brussels. You must go through a security
scan of your hand baggage and yourself.
Then, you have to check in with the Brussels Police, showing them your
passport and Eurostar ticket. Finally,
you have to check in with UK Border Control, where you must show your passport
and get it stamped. Everyone, whether,
part of a tour group or not, has to go through these three steps to be able to
board the train to go to London.
At about twenty minutes before departure to London,
we were in the lounge waiting for the call to board. We then boarded with our hand baggage – the
big suitcases were being transferred by Globus to the train (thank God! I would
not have been able to carry all my own baggage!). At just before 3:00 pm, we boarded and stowed
our hand baggage in the overhead bins on the train. I kept a tout bag and two purses with me, but
my backpack and two bags full of souvenirs were put into the overhead bin. I cannot wait to get rid of these two
souvenir bags tomorrow! I am going to
take them a post office on Saturday in London to mail them off right after
breakfast.
The ride on the Eurostar train is extremely smooth
and fast. We arrived in London about two
and a half hours later. But, because of
the time difference, we gained an hour and arrived in London at 4:30 pm and at
our hotel, the Park Plaza, at about 5:00 pm.
Rosie then left the tour after she’d dropped us off (via a minibus) at
our hotel. She would be going to another
hotel in London for the night, then home to Oxford, England. The other two couples, Brad and Paula, and
Neil and Linda, were going to be participating in one last excursion at 8:15 am
on Saturday morning: the London City Tour,
which included the Tower of London and the Crown Jewels, etc., but I elected
not to go on this excursion.
Rather, I was really happy to “sleep in” till 7:30
am, have a hot, leisurely bath in my hotel suite, get dressed, and then go
downstairs for breakfast around 8:30 am.
Breakfast is included by Globus for the five of us for two more
mornings. Any other meals are up to
us. I ordered room service on Friday
evening and was very happy to have a casual dinner in my suite. I may do the same on Saturday evening.
As soon as I could, I went looking for a post office
right after breakfast. It was a bit of a
challenge finding it, but when I finally did, I got help from the postal clerk
there, a young man, and got my souvenirs mailed off in two separate, big mail
envelopes, which turned out to be cheaper than sending them all in one
envelope. They should arrive in Ajax at
Dave’s home in about a week.
On Sunday October 16, 2016, the tour officially ends
and that is when we will all be transferred to either Heathrow or Gatwick
Airports (depending on where we’d arrived), along with our baggage, to be flown
home. Brad and Paula are flying home to
Calgary, Alberta, and Neil and Linda are flying home to New Jersey, USA. I am flying home to Toronto, Ontario. To that end, I finally managed to confirm my
flight on Air Canada by printing my boarding pass within twenty-four hours of
my flight time and that ensures that my flight is not delayed or cancelled. It took me several attempts, but I’m still
way too new at printing boarding passes to be good at it yet – maybe next time,
I’ll do better.
I am really happy and, at the same time, very tired,
and I can’t wait to get home (to Homewood Suites in Ajax, Ont.) on Sunday
afternoon (I land at 5:40 pm Toronto time).
My flight time is six and a half hours.
I want to see Brent and James and
Dave and tell them all about my adventures in the UK and Europe. Then, I’ll have to get started looking for an
apartment to live in. I’ve decided to look
in the Yonge and Eglinton area and live on the subway line. That would put me very close to shopping and
subway transportation and enable me easily to do supply teaching in Toronto,
North York, East York, and Scarborough (assuming that there is supply work
available this year). We will see what
the next year brings. All I know is that
travel is in my blood for good and since it requires money to travel, I am
prepared to work and earn money in order to do just that.
copyright 2016 - Anne Shier
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