Hello everyone! Sorry I was MIA last week. Now that the holidays are approaching quickly, I wanted to catch up on my blog about my mini getaway to Paris! As usual, I had some adventures again, but now I’m getting use to the idea on not to pack in too many activities. You always get disappointed, and let’s face it, there are surprises that can happen anytime when it comes to traveling.
Such as what happened to me on this particular trip. I booked with an Icelandic airline which had me land in Iceland for a one hour layover. I was nervous at first because I felt the layover was too short. I even asked around if anyone had flown with this particular airline, but didn’t hear too much about them. Since it was a low fare, I booked it right away and hoped for the best.
Well I’m pretty sure you know where this is heading. Lol. I started to receive texts and email notifications on the day of my departure. It stated that due to the late arrival of incoming aircraft, my flight will be delayed. It pushed the time for take-off by an hour. Then I received another message and they delayed my departure again. By now, my flight was leaving almost 2 hours later.
I made my way to the airport regardless. As I stated before, I get very anxious getting on a plane. I absolutely HATE flying. Delaying my flight made me want to get this whole thing over with. I checked in my bags along with the other passengers on my flight. We all asked the same questions; would there be a problem with our connecting flight since we were leaving later? The lady behind the counter assured us they would not leave us behind. We felt somewhat relieved.
As you can imagine, that DID NOT HAPPEN. I was exhausted when we landed in Iceland because our flight was on an airbus. I was a nervous wreck throughout the 5 hour ride. People ran off and quickly looked for their connecting flights on the screens. I immediately ran to the first
gate that mentioned Paris. As I stood along with the other passengers, it occurred to me it wasn’t my airline. I looked around for my gate to my airlines but noticed other passengers on my flight were walking over to a counter. It was our airlines, and they slowly formed a long line. I didn’t know what was going on since I was exhausted. When it was my turn, I walked up to the counter where the attendant asked me my name. I told her and she then handed me a pink slip. “What is this?” I asked. “It’s your hotel voucher. You get complimentary breakfast, lunch and dinner…” “WAIT, what?? What happened to my flight??” “It left because you weren’t there.” I looked at her as if she was crazy. “WE ALL WEREN’T THERE. They told us in Chicago that our flights would wait for us!” I was upset. Yet I couldn’t help but wonder if this was really happening to us. I’ve never experienced anything like this so I wasn’t sure what my options were at the time. I also couldn’t believe they left 50-60 people stranded. “The shuttle bus who will be taking you to the hotel will be here shortly. The meeting point is over there.” She obviously wanted to get rid of me so she could take care of the next guest. “When can I leave?”, I nervously asked. “Your flight is tomorrow at 6am. The shuttle bus will pick you up at the hotel at 3am.” I walked away in a daze. I met up with the other passengers, some who were just as livid as me, and waited until the man with the shuttle bus signaled us to come outside. He took our luggage and stored them away while we found the first available seats. It was a silent 5 minute drive to the hotel, not to mention, it was after 8am and pitch black outside. The sun had not risen yet.
Our hotel looked like what you would expect from one by the airport. Not much happening around it. We checked in with the receptionist who handed us our keys one by one. She made the announcement that our complimentary breakfast would be over by 10am and a rush of people headed to the lounge area for toast, ham and cheese cold cuts, and yogurt. The food on the flight was ridiculously pricey. You had to pay for the catering on the flight, and since we all assumed we would be continuing our flights out of Iceland, we were starving. A couple of the passengers were annoyed with the whole thing. One woman in particular was also heading to Paris, but found another flight out of Iceland through another airline. She took a cab back to the airport and we never saw her again. The rest were in the lounge trying to figure out what to do next. I was messaging my friend in Italy on what was going on. She advised me to call my hotel in Paris to make sure they wouldn’t give my room away.
A group of 4 women were asking the receptionist what’s there to do in this town. We were right outside of Keflavik by the airport. The receptionist told us we were about 3 miles away from It. We could take a bus that cost around $20 that would leave us closer to town, and walk by foot the rest of the way, ( a 10 minute walk). Or we could take a cab to and from Keflavik, but it was cost $20 each way. One of the passengers stunned us by stating he was going to walk to the nearby town on his own. “Yeah, it’s only 3 miles away.” We stared at him for a second and then listened again to the receptionist for our other options. There was a bus that could take you to the Blue Lagoon, but the shuttle bus for that was $60. Once you get there, you have to pay for the spa services. A group of passengers rented a car (apparently the rate was cheap) and decided to drive over to the main capital Reykjavik which was a 45 minute drive. Off they went.
I grew frustrated. I went to my hotel room which looked like a room at a mental institution. White walls, no tv, and a white bed with a bad view of the parking lot. I sat on the bed and continued to message my friend before I realized how comfy the bed felt. Right then I knocked out HARD. It was lights out for me…
gate that mentioned Paris. As I stood along with the other passengers, it occurred to me it wasn’t my airline. I looked around for my gate to my airlines but noticed other passengers on my flight were walking over to a counter. It was our airlines, and they slowly formed a long line. I didn’t know what was going on since I was exhausted. When it was my turn, I walked up to the counter where the attendant asked me my name. I told her and she then handed me a pink slip. “What is this?” I asked. “It’s your hotel voucher. You get complimentary breakfast, lunch and dinner…” “WAIT, what?? What happened to my flight??” “It left because you weren’t there.” I looked at her as if she was crazy. “WE ALL WEREN’T THERE. They told us in Chicago that our flights would wait for us!” I was upset. Yet I couldn’t help but wonder if this was really happening to us. I’ve never experienced anything like this so I wasn’t sure what my options were at the time. I also couldn’t believe they left 50-60 people stranded. “The shuttle bus who will be taking you to the hotel will be here shortly. The meeting point is over there.” She obviously wanted to get rid of me so she could take care of the next guest. “When can I leave?”, I nervously asked. “Your flight is tomorrow at 6am. The shuttle bus will pick you up at the hotel at 3am.” I walked away in a daze. I met up with the other passengers, some who were just as livid as me, and waited until the man with the shuttle bus signaled us to come outside. He took our luggage and stored them away while we found the first available seats. It was a silent 5 minute drive to the hotel, not to mention, it was after 8am and pitch black outside. The sun had not risen yet.
Our hotel looked like what you would expect from one by the airport. Not much happening around it. We checked in with the receptionist who handed us our keys one by one. She made the announcement that our complimentary breakfast would be over by 10am and a rush of people headed to the lounge area for toast, ham and cheese cold cuts, and yogurt. The food on the flight was ridiculously pricey. You had to pay for the catering on the flight, and since we all assumed we would be continuing our flights out of Iceland, we were starving. A couple of the passengers were annoyed with the whole thing. One woman in particular was also heading to Paris, but found another flight out of Iceland through another airline. She took a cab back to the airport and we never saw her again. The rest were in the lounge trying to figure out what to do next. I was messaging my friend in Italy on what was going on. She advised me to call my hotel in Paris to make sure they wouldn’t give my room away.
A group of 4 women were asking the receptionist what’s there to do in this town. We were right outside of Keflavik by the airport. The receptionist told us we were about 3 miles away from It. We could take a bus that cost around $20 that would leave us closer to town, and walk by foot the rest of the way, ( a 10 minute walk). Or we could take a cab to and from Keflavik, but it was cost $20 each way. One of the passengers stunned us by stating he was going to walk to the nearby town on his own. “Yeah, it’s only 3 miles away.” We stared at him for a second and then listened again to the receptionist for our other options. There was a bus that could take you to the Blue Lagoon, but the shuttle bus for that was $60. Once you get there, you have to pay for the spa services. A group of passengers rented a car (apparently the rate was cheap) and decided to drive over to the main capital Reykjavik which was a 45 minute drive. Off they went.
I grew frustrated. I went to my hotel room which looked like a room at a mental institution. White walls, no tv, and a white bed with a bad view of the parking lot. I sat on the bed and continued to message my friend before I realized how comfy the bed felt. Right then I knocked out HARD. It was lights out for me…
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