When one goes on a two-week trip in Europe with one’s mum, it’s
a guarantee that something is going to go wrong. However, I did not expect it
to occur before we even left the London airport!
This trip to Europe is my mom’s first time ever going
overseas, so I knew she was having some anxiety about the trip in the first place.
While I wouldn’t consider myself an expert, I’ve done enough trips Europe to
feel comfortable on an overseas adventure, especially when the first week would
be spent in an English-speaking country! I know some of her friends, along with
myself, had spent some time coaching her on some of the logistics around travelling
overseas. Admittedly, the laws and regulations tend to change so quickly and so
often that even I have a tough time keeping up on what’s best to do regarding
money (when to withdraw cash? Do you even need cash?), communication (do you
pay for a costly international plan and does it work in every country), and transportation
(how close is where we are staying from the airport?).
Our first three nights of our trip would be in London, in
which we would be staying at a small 2-bedroom flat off of Baker Street I found
on AirBnB. Having only been to London once before, I wasn’t familiar with the
neighborhood but based on the reviews both the location and neighborhood were
quite popular. However, the host would have to meet us at the apartment himself
to welcome us and hand over a physical key as he was not allowed to install any
lock box or technical solution. He made me promise to message him via WhatsApp once
I got to customs.
After a relatively smooth flight, we landed at Heathrow around
8.30pm. Being American, Mum and I were allowed to proceed with many of the others
from our flight through the “express” passport line, which was being “manned”
by a series of broken scanner machines in which we were supposed to scan our
passports ourselves. We skipped the ensuing mess, opting for a human interaction
with an attendant. Next, we picked up our luggage in customs, I messaged our
AirBnB host, and we headed straight for the Heathrow Express train that would
be bring us straight into the city. All in all, we appeared to be making good
time.
You may have picked up on the subtle indications that this
is the moment when the drama begins!
While the Heathrow Express train may be fast once you are on
it – getting to said train involves a hike through a warren of interconnected
tunnels. My mum, who has been dealing with some knee and back issues for the
last few years, was going to have to do a bit of walking. She managed it like a
champ though, and within 45 minutes of exiting our plan, we were on the
Heathrow Express headed…. the wrong way!
The express train makes multiple stops within Heathrow, and
I had accidentally put us on the train headed deeper into the airport, away
from London and our accommodation. A big whoops on my part, yet, as it would
turn out, a saving grace!
Once we realized the error, we got off the train at the next
stop to wait for a train going in the correct direction. As we waited and
chatted, I sent an update to our AirBnB host letting him know about my little
mistake and that we would be slightly delayed by ten minutes as a result.
It was right around this time that my mum looked me in the
face and said, “Daryl, that’s not my suitcase.”
She was correct – it was not her suitcase. It was a rose-colored suitcase, similar in shape and size to the new one she just purchased, but the name tag on this one read Joanne – and this is very much not my mother’s name.
 |
| The Proper Suitcase |
“Shit, damn-it, argh!” went the voice in my head! “Don’t
worry, I got it, we can fix this!” were the words that came out of mouth
though.
We weren’t sure what to do, but we got back on the train and
headed back to the platform we originally boarded at. I tried calling the
number on the name tag for Joanne, but it was difficult to read and for
whatever reason my call did not go through.
Back through the tunnels we went, me pushing two suitcases
(mine and Joanne’s), with my mum in tow. She knew I was annoyed, and I could
tell she felt dumb, but I figured it would best to not talk about it. When we
got to the ticketing gate where we had scanned our passes, I had her sit a
bench there and wait – there was no point in dragging her all the way back
through the tunnels to Heathrow to facilitate a luggage exchange that I could
navigate myself. As I left her I realized that I had previously told her that
we would be using WhatsApp, which was of course dependent on logging into
Wi-Fi, which I wasn’t sure she could do or would know how to do. I had this brief
thought that if mum tries to get up and follow me back, we could get endlessly
separated and this could get much worse.
Back through the tunnels I went, the rude American rushing
and brushing past people as I made my way back to Heathrow. Once I arrived at
customs, I was guided to a phone from which I could call United luggage crew
for assistance. Luckily, they were immediately aware of the situation and had
my mum’s suitcase in hand AND poor Joanne as well! For whatever reason they
kept me waiting outside the customs exit for close to an hour, coordinating the
meeting of myself, my luggage, and the unfortunate victim of my mum’s accidental
thievery.
When they all finally arrived, Joanne was thankfully quite
sweet about it all. The exchange was made and back I went to pick up mum and restart
the journey back to London via Heathrow Express.
Upon disembarking at Piccadilly station, we caught a cab to
our apartment building where Sam, our host, patiently awaited our arrival
(nearly two hours later than anticipated). He was cheekily pleasant about our
snafu and very welcoming to us overall. After showing us around the flat, he drove
us around the immediate neighborhood pointing out restaurants of note, the
entrance to the tube and other helpful highlights of the neighborhood. He
dropped us off at a busy intersection near our flat, and we indulged in pizza
and beer from the only restaurant that was open.
We returned home and within moments, I was fast asleep.
May this bump in the road be our one and only!
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