historytraveler.. you are 100% right. we will leave Dec 25th am

Thursdaysds
ok so i found a flight Dec 25th to Barcelona
leaving LGW and one leaving Luton ? airport
which airport is better and closer to Heathrow or central london?


than return I found one coming to Heathrow but it is doubling price to $450 round trip .. which is ok, but.. is it worth it to pay the extra cost to return to Heathrow vs LGW.. is Heathrow closer to central london? thanks again.

Forget Luton. And Stansted, at least on the way out. Coming back transport into London may be easier from LHR than LGW because of strikes.

>>which airport is better and closer to Heathrow or central london?<<

As we have tried to explain . . . there is <B>no</B> transport on christmas day so no airport will be better or closer to central London. You need to stay AT the airport and forget about going into London.

Gatwick will be easier and <u>you have already booked a non-refundable hotel there! So why are you now asking about Luton?

Thursdaysd
Ty
Ok so ill book it w BA going into LHR
Is this a good final plan?

Arriving dec 24 11:30 am from toronto to LHR

If weve slept and get out of customes in time, take a private transport around town a little.. / i think u said windsor better..
(I saw LHR has lockers for luggage)?


Husband and son seperate and contiue to next destination

Mom and i head to LGW w coach jensis recommended.
Sleep at hotel
Fly out 12/25 9 am to BCN
12/30 fly back to heathrow

Flight to heathrow is at 6 am
And $100 more
But i would prefer it if convenient.

Question
25-29 good for barcelona
Or come bk 30?

I dont know how to thank all of u
Youve brought me to this point from a very far place .. Thanx to my TA

Finally any hotel suggestions for Barcelona?

Janisj
U r misunderstanding what im asinh
For the outbound was asking re luton and lgw.. Not heathrow

For the return was asking about heathrow vs Lgw

Ty

>>For the outbound was asking re luton and lgw.. Not heathrow<<

I know that! You booked a hotel at Gatwick - right? So you need to fly out of Gatwick - Luton should not even be in the discussion.

In hindsight my recommendation would have been that you don't try flying on the busiest flying date on the Friday before Christmas at a time of the year with better weather. Assuming however that somehow your dates are necessary, I would have done the following:
Assuming you are driving, do so on the 23rd and spend the night at a Toronto airport hotel on a stay and park package with late checkout. The next day you and your Mom part company with your husband and son as you each go your own way. You and your Mom fly to either BCN or MAD with one stop with ~ 3 hour layover via LHR or FRA or CDG or AMS or MUC. This way if you arrive at the Toronto airport around 3 hour before your flight you would arrive at your hotel in Spain about 17 hours after you leave your Toronto hotel. Train from BCN or MAD after three or four nights to the other city. Return one stop back to Toronto.

<Finally any hotel suggestions for Barcelona?>

Still available rooms in Hotel Barcelona Catedral, right in the heart of everything, next door to the the cathedral and the old Christmas market, the ancient city walls, the famous Gothic quarter and the medieval and vibrant Born district: http://www.booking.com/hotel/es/barc...ral.en-gb.html
http://www.barcelonacatedral.com/en/

The Christmas market in front of the Cathedral: http://www.barcelonayellow.com/barce...kets-barcelona

If you want to splurge, I can highly recommend close by Hotel Neri, part 12th century palace and part 18th century mansion, our best hotel experience ever after 30 years of much traveling around Spain. https://www.relaischateaux.com/us/sp...luna-barcelona
http://www.hotelneri.com/en/

I'm going to shoot myself ... OMG

Mom just called and says the plan i sent her last night is not good...

she does not want to travel so many airports...

I explained this to her 20x and she was stubborn and said she absolutely wants to go to barcelona or no where else...
Now she says i was right

We should just do London and Paris.. whatever is easiest.
she says london first than spend new years in Paris and come back Jan 1st in Am with train to Heathrow...

OMGGGGG !!!! Im sooo stressed. she has lost her mind since my dad has passed. I wish he was alive. i do not know how to deal with her.

Now I'm going to have to try to cancel the hotel in LGW probably ...

have to figure out a new route to Paris and new itinerary, on the bright side, we are back to my original plan.

I don't think you have enough time to enjoy a trip to London and go elsewhere but I have been to Spain from Dec 26-Dec 31 and found everything open and had a great time. London closes down from Dec 24 afternoon until Dec 27. It is hard to get anywhere on public transportation during that time and if you need a restaurant for Dec. 24 and Dec. 25 book it now and try to find one near your hotel.

Your Mom's original idea would have involved more airports than you have, but anyway. She waited until the last minute to relent on Paris and London. I think I might tell her it is too late, that the trip to Barcelona is a done deal!

Fact is, you are now becoming parental in taking on this responsibility. You are the adult. At some point, you will have to make an adult decision or neither you or your Mom will actually be making decisions. You will just be accepting whatever tickets, seats, shows, hotels, etc. that are leftover. Every minute now that passes will leave you with fewer options, especially during this holiday time. Please believe I am on your side. Early on, I thought you would have a great time if you just did London!

OTOH, did you ever check with your TA to see if you could get a credit from the airlines and do a trip later? If I could, I would just cancel the whole thing at this point. I am not saying it to be mean or snarky. I honestly believe it would be the best thing to do. It would be disappointing and upsetting, and take a few hours to get used to the idea, but then you could have a big sigh of relief. Spend this time planning a good trip for Early Spring.

A bit late for this trip, but one thing I have learned. I plan exactly the trip I want and then tell anyone who may want to come where to book it or if they send me a check, I book it for them. All this anxiety before a trip is miserable. Of course, it is your Mom, and you are being a wonderful, considerate daughter.

At least, you have gained a LOT of planning experience and know now what kinds of logistics you deal with and where to get info. That is worth something for the future!

Hope the rest of your day is better.

If you go along with your mother's new plan, I would fly from LHR to Paris on the 24th, since you will be AT LHR. Take the train back mid-week. You need to be IN LONDON the night of the 31st.

But I agree that postponing the whole thing would be best at this point.

You are right, OMG !!! LOL.


London and Paris would be easiest for sure. But you shoud do what thursdaysd suggests - book a flight to Paris from LHR on your arrival day and stay a few days. then take the train to London and stay there at least two full day, fly home . . . (but I assume the Eurostar fares will be huge at this late date.

Or tell your mom sorry, too late and go to Spain as planned

After all the effort you put into this, I certainly would not postpone. Just make a decision and go with it - go to Paris, go to Barcelona, or stay in London, whatever works. Keep a positive attitude and you'll have a great time. You'll be with your mom, seeing things and doing things you haven't done before. There may be the occasional glitch, but it's all part of the experience which you'll laugh about afterwards.

here are suggestions of things to do on Christmas day in London:

http://www.visitlondon.com/things-to...Qj1MJ8TiHsh.97

The hop on bus will be running on Christmas day, so although the sites wont be open, you can see the points of interest without worrying about lots of traffic.

Since you booked the hotel for 2 days, you can fly to Barcelona or take the train to Paris on Dec. 26th. Easyjet and Vueling flights to Barcelona from Gatwick are still reasonably priced and available.

Use Booking.com for hotels in Barcelona or Paris.

You'll work it out. Just go and have a good time.

Agree with just London or London/Paris. Fly to CDG on the 24th and return via Eurostar if possible or flight. Would train back even if it cost a$100 a person more as it's easier, saves time and you do not have to go out to/from an airpot.
On the other hand you could stick to your original Spain plan and than your mother would never want to go to Europe again.

kimhe, thanks for the great information about Barcelona. I have not been there in years. Makes me want to go back soon!

Lily, I hope you and your mother can relax and have a very nice trip where ever you decide to go. It will be fun.

Hello everybody thank you so much again for helping me.
I am glad that mom came to her senses ...however so much wasted time and effort on my part,

At this point - we have 2 options:
1. What Thursdaysd suggests,
Catch flight to paris 24 th same day as arrival.

Train to london 28 th, spend NYeve in london. Fly out jan 1 bk to toronto and drive to Buffalo.
What i believe to b most logical.

Option 2:
What Mom is insisting on again.. Lord help me w my patience.

On Dec 24 arrive in London at 11:30 am check into hotel located centrally -
Leave london 12/28 via train to paris

Stay in London 12/28-01/01
So that we r in Paris NYEve (****says strongly prefers paris NYeve)

Fly out Jan 1 at 10 am from Paris
Arrive in London Heathrow airport at 10 am (must have a time change)
Until our flight to toronto
Which leaves Jan 1 at 3 pm.

I explained everyone suggests we do paris first than london due to weather etc. she says
If our flight leaves at 10 am even if its delayed we have so much time as our flight from london is not till 3 pm, and we would b in heathrow. She says has her heart set on NY eve in paris.. Bc London will not celebrate the way they do in Paris etc..

Thoughts?

Ugh mistyped

So moms plan
12/24-12/28 london
12/28-0/01 paris
NYE in paris

Typing from tiny phone

What does your mother think will happen in Paris that doesn't happen in London? Has she actually been to either?

In any case, your answer to her is "no". If the connection was protected OK, but it isn't. Unless you are flying into the same terminal at LHR connecting is a lengthy pain, worse in you case since you can't transit airside. You will have to clear passport control, collect your luggage, transit land side, check in, clear security, clear passport control and probably clear secondary security since you are flying to the US.

And what if something goes wrong on the Paris end? A strike? An overbooked flight from which you are bumped? Bad weather causing a flight delay or cancelation? Just say no! (A skill always worth mastering, lol.)