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Published: July 31st 2008
So I had an interesting time getting back to the UK the day before yesterday..... I had booked a flight on Ryanair to leave Paris at 10:50pm and arrive in Glasgow at 11:20pm UK time. While I was waiting for the bus to go the airport, I met an Australian couple who mentioned that they thought they were going to miss the bus they booked from the airport to the downtown area, and was I willing to share a cab if the bus had already left? Sounded good to me, as I had no idea how I was getting out of the airport. Well, the best laid plans......
Tom and Laura were really nice, and we chatted while awaiting our flight, which was running late. We got seats together on the plane, and I should have gotten their contact info then, instead of waiting to ask them on the bus. Tom had a UK passport so he got through customs quickly. Laura and I waited in line for the "other passports" section, and then had to get our bags. Tom had already gotten Laura's bag, so they said that they would meet me at the bus. I got my bag, went to where I saw "bus" marked, and they weren't there. I discovered that that particular bus stop no longer had buses after 10pm, so I returned to the main building, looking for taxis and my friends. Nothing. Then I heard an announcement that the bus to Glasgow was departing from Car Park 1, and so I went looking for it. As I was about 30 metres away, the bus pulled out. I waved my arms, and it ignored me. 😞 I ended up taking a cab from the airport to my hostel, on my own, and it cost me 50 pounds. That's about $100!!! More than two of my flights combined! I was so mad that I hadn't found my bus, and disappointed that I hadn't gotten my friends' contact info. Now they'll never know what happened to me!
Glasgow to Chester was an okay train ride. I had booked a seat on the "quiet coach" and it was anything but quiet. Little kids running and screaming, babies crying, and people carrying on long conversations. Good thing I had my iPod. Got into Chester without any difficulty and dropped off my bags.
I headed for the shops downtown, and I love this city! It's so quaint and pretty, and lots of history! For shopping, I hit the Tesco supermarket, a Woolworth's, and the Pound Store. I thought maybe with some luck I'd find another mini-tripod cheap, but no luck. I did manage to find converters for my phone so I could plug it in somewhere other than the UK. 😊
Today I took a tour with a Roman soldier and saw all kinds of ruins and got lots of historical background on Chester. It really is neat. I also went to the Grosvenor museum, which was free, and saw lots of cool stuff there. I'm so glad I came to this city, especially because I had not considered coming here until I was planning the trip and wanted to break up the journey between Glasgow and Cardiff.
Also met a really nice girl in my hostel, Stacey, and we've done a little sightseeing together today. Tomorrow I'm off to Cardiff!!!
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Steve
non-member comment
I hear Cardiff has a rift...
Be careful in Cardiff, I hear they shoot Torchwood there.