Well,  what to say…..

It was a very loooong journey from London to New Orleans.  It involved 3 planes, 2 stopovers, 1 hotel, multiple shuttle rides and finally I am here sitting by the great Mississippi River, watching the boats go by. 

It’s been an eventful journey to say the least.  I flew SAS and by far they are the best I have flown in a while.  The planes were big and spacious and the flight attendants were lovely. I even got a gluten free option for the in flight meal. You have no idea how excited I was for that!!!  I mean, I can’t even get GF products in my local supermarket sometimes.

The only downside to flying halfway across the globe is the time it takes. 9 hours from London to Newark with a 2 hr 30 min stopover in Copenhagen. This was followed by an overnight stopover in Newark. 

After Copenhagan it went a bit wrong. But not as wrong as when I arrived in New Orleans. It started of with the stopover in Copenhagan. It was 2hrs 30mins of being stuck in the gate as the was no where else to go followed by a delay of over an hour while they waited for a man in business class to appear. Wouldn’t board any one else.  WTF??  

Then the flight was 8 hours of not sleeping.  I don’t know how anyone but small kids sleep on planes. I have some serious envy. I just can’t do it. Never mind how tired I am. Not so bad??  Well when followed by post nights sleep deprivation and the woman next to me moaning because she had a central seat and not an isle.  Then it is THAT bad.   After which we were held on the tarmac for an hour after arrival in Newark because flights had been diverted to Newark from elsewhere due to thunderstorms. That’s 1 hour of being stuck on a plane, confined to your seat, with no entertainment. And you are really tired. 

When I did finally get off the plane, I went to the airport hotel, one of many at the airport, only to be told I was at the wrong hotel ( this was my mistake, but, to be fair, someone told me to get on the red shuttle bus). I then had to get the shuttle back to the airport to get the correct shuttle to my hotel. I finally got to bed at midnight in the noisiest hotel room to be woken at 05:30am (yes am!) for my flight to New Orleans. 

When I arrived’ I found it was san luggage. Good old SAS, who had up until that point been doing really well, messed up big time. They hadn’t sent my luggage to New Orleans.  Instead it was lonely back up in Newark.  That meant I had nothing with me apart from a travel wash kit, a used pair of underwear, my valuable and the clothes on my back. Que a panicked visit to baggage claim who after spending ages tracking it down, agreed to send my rucksack to my hostel. The only downside is that they have 5 days to get it to you. 5 days with no processions. That includes no pj’s and I am staying in a shared dorm. Poor bunk mates. That wouldn’t be a sight I would wish on anyone. 

I quickly had to track down some food and some temporary clothing only to be nearly drowned by a sudden monsoon.  There is nothing else to describe it. It was sheets of rain, soaking the only clothes I had. Thank goodness I had brought an umbrella. 

It rained so much, water got into my watch. 

Welcome to New Orleans…..