socaltraveler

Have to admit I was rather thinking the same re: cell phone. Who put the phone by your bed, the 2 year old? And no one saw either child playing with it while you frantically made phone calls about it? Very confusing.

Curious about the Stonehenge drive-by - did you have to extend the per hour fee for the driver, or was he being a nice guy? How far is the Thomas park from London?

VonVan

Some above may have missed this part of OP's story:

"Of course I would rather I didn't miss my flight . .I am not sure how I got my tickets refunded but I did . .I lost minimal money from that .. not a full 100% ...but the issue was that it will take around 8weeks to process . .so yes it has eaten into our budget and is making us spend a little more on a credit card to then pay the credit card off when we return rather then have the cash."

So please stop saying she replaced tickets at full price.

thursdaysd

It occurred to me that when you miss one segment of a multiple segment ticket, it usually invalidates the rest of the ticket. Since that leg was replaced by a flight on a different airline, I'd like to be sure that the rest of the original ticket is still valid.

bendigo

Probably best to leave that for a future surprise!

janisj

OK - I haven't posted to this thread (and wasn't going to . . .) But a driver/guide from London to Staffordshire and . . . Oh, a little side trip to Stonehenge?!? That is over 350 miles and probably 8+ hours 'car time w/o the theme park.

That will have cost a fortune. And utter fortune. That plus the posh hotel plus all that shopping plus . . . This is NOT a family w/ any budget issues.

crazyfamilyof4

Good morning ... In regards to the phone ... I have no idea where it was but it must of been somewhere either in my room or that someone handed it in while we were out and the hotel staff placed it there ... Ill find out this morning .... My 2yr old would of gotten it by getting into my bag while I was doing something ... She wouldn't have been able to play with it for long because the battery would have died ... Which is why the find my phone up didn't work.

You were right about my tickets ... All original flights got cancelled so all flights were rebooked with Thai ... Not sure who or what was looking down on us over that 24hrs but believe when I say that surprisingly all flights could be changed over with pretty much the same times and day ... Connections are the same ..not long crossovers and we could all fly out when we wanted ... Around a 20min difference then original.

In regards to our driver ... We paid for a private driver for the day .... Thomas land is about 2and a half hrs out of London with no stops.

Thomas to Stonehenge is about another 2 hours ( traffic at the time was really bad so it added an extra 30min)

Stonehenge to London was another 2 hours again the traffic between 5-7pm was so bad that it was more like 3hrs! That was with the drop off to Westfield. We got home around 10:30pm after our shop and dinner

Oh and sometimes I wish this was like Facebook where I could relate some of your negative comments! Stop it! I am happy to share the journey ... But the constant negative questioning is getting a bit tired now! Give it a rest ... Remember the saying ...if you haven't got anything nice to say then don't say it.

janisj

>>Thomas to Stonehenge is about another 2 hours best of times. W/ traffic easily 4 hours.

Now back to your story . . .

bilboburgler

Crazy you have to keep going, the whole "other-world" ness of it just makes for such a fun ride.

crazyfamilyof4

Well we were picked up just before 3pm and got to Stonehenge a little over 5pm and there was traffic about 5kms before we got there that was stand still.. Not sure but that's the time it took .

London was 5:30pm to 7:30/7:45 pm ... Not sure about speeds but he was going 75 ... What's that in k's??? 110/120??? It felt fast ... Not sure if that makes the change??

Now ... Do I continue on this thread or start a new one for France?

bendigo

Perhaps you should stay with this thread for the journey, then start a new thread in France?

That will also make it easier for people to find with the tags

annhig

crazy - glad you got your phone back.

Why not start a new thread for France, where hopefully you will enjoy a less fraught and calamity-filled holiday.

Bonne chance!

MissPrism

My friend Miss Marple says that she is reminded of a similar case in the village inn in St. Mary Mead.
A rich young lipsticked woman thought that her portable telephonic device had been stolen. She even involved Inspector Slack. It turned out that that the chambermaid had found it under her pillow and placed it by the bed.

By the way, I keenly await the mother's trip report

colduphere

Why not start two new threads - one for supporters and one for non-supporters?

sdtravels

I am commenting solely for the purpose of keeping up with the story. This is amazing. Claire you should write a book.

jmct714

I'm enjoying and hope you continue

socaltraveler

Sadly Claire, when you put your life out on the world in an open and public forum, you must expect the good, the bad and the indifferent in return. For only the positive feedback, you will need a private blog.

A new thread for France would be easier to follow, since you have tagged this one UK.

semiramis

I'm with colduphere on the subject of this thread.

This report bothers me lot but I hesitate to say much because any negative comments will likely be taken badly.

sdtravels

I'm just reading and shaking my head that anyone should have such wonderful luck to have all these bad things turn out so good. The only thing that bothers me is the comment that everything is going on a credit card because they have the rest of their life to pay it off. Oh the accountant in me is having a fit...but to each their own. I wish Claire the best for the rest of the trip and I can't wait to hear more.

Havana128

My money is on alien abduction next.

hazel1

Frankly, Claire, I think the best advice you got now that you're on your adventure, is to stop with the live posting, keep a diary, and write trip report afterward. Just enjoy the vacation, face your challenges and let us know how it went after you're safely back home.