After having a quite expensive meal at Tallinn airport, a bit shaky flight to Helsinki on a small plane I had a few-hour stop there, and I wrote a Facebook comment:
"...thank God I had a meal at Tallinn airport. In Helsinki the same meal would have been our family's weekly cost on croceries... Must stop comparing now."
Well. Got on the plane again. At first looked around in a half-empty aircraft- whoohh, enough space to sleep and enjoy my time- but then a noisy God-knows-what-language-speaking crowd flocked in and settled all around. Pff, no problem, I thought. Put on my headphones and tried to focus on reading "Atonement", but the vertically challenged lady next to me in the middle seat was constantly posing diagonally, reaching far away over the tiny armrest between us. Huh, no problem, I thought, I'm still slim enough to lean towards the hollow wall with window. The lady set another pose, me- leaning closer to the window. Another setting, accompanying with a gurgling sound from her throat (hopefully), me- cleaving to the window now...
Probably her right side was finally hurt by the armrest, as she finally stood upright. And I- fell asleep.
Oohhh I was sooo proud of myself at the London airport, walking faster than others even on those moving staircases and catching my luggage! Found my way to the coach station so easily as if it was my home airport :) Having my online-booked and printed-out ticket ready, started checking for a stand to board on my 19:50-bus, but... The notice board kept saying "Wait in the lounge". Then "Expected 20:10". After a while "Expected 20:15", and "...20:20", and "...20:25... :26...
Went for a coffee.
The boiling-hot coffee cup in my hand hurt my fingers when I read the great news "Expected 20:19"!!! Whoohooo, arriving earlier, it means arriving at Exeter also at rather reasonable time, hopefully.
Grabbing my luggage, backpack and still hurting cup of desired coffee rushed to the stand. Couldn't get past the noisy youngsters there, until realized- they are all going on the same bus. With all their luggage which the bus driver was desperately trying to stuff into relatively small spaces under the bus, marking them with chalk- Ex, Ex, Ex... No, not ex-boyfriend or girlfriend. Exeter, of course. Their final destination.
The bus trip went well. Sat next to a nice lady, she- watching a film on her iPad, me- reading the most lushy parts of Atonement and watching and listening to a real sweety- Milow on my ultrabook.
I wasn't really prepared for arriving in Exeter that late... No city lines going anymore. Taxis all taken. Well- looking at my "great" GPS I decided to have a half-an-hour walk. After such torment of sitting, walking in the streets of good old England felt like heaven.
The heaven miraculously turned into a hell-like situation, actually, when I discovered that my GPS is telling me total rubbish, and that the streets don't really look the ones I was prepared to take... Suddenly those lonely cars in the streets, and random passers-by started taking a bit menacing shapes... Tried to carry my otherwise rolling suitcase to avoid the noise. Kept on checking the streets in GPS and around me. At least the direction seemed to be right. Seemed. Until the so-called street became a narrow quiet dark footpath with the trees and bushes leaning towards me...
Ooh- a sign about the university of Exeter!! Great! Found my way.
The way up. Up the hill, to be more precise. Brrrr... The suitcase felt heavier than ever. And my feet.
The instructions of the organisers had been to find the Northcote House first to collect the key to the room when arriving very late. I was. Once the sign even had the name of Northcote, but this time downhills. Nice. And then- no house, no other sign. Went back. Up the hill. With the suitcase, now a ton, definitely.
Nope. No house, no other sign. Checked my "darling" GPS again. Found the direction and a footpath. Downhills, yeah-yeah-yeah! There- found a sign pointing almost towards the same direction I had come from- up the hill!!! No way! Ohh.
Now it took me a bit more to reach a house with a sign "Northcote House". Found a very kind security guard who said that the keys have definitely NOT been left there... :( But he was even more kind to call the other security, arriving by car, helping my ton-weighting suitcase with a light move and me to the car, just a few (way more than a few, to be honest...) curves and ups-downs, and- Here we are, love! he said. That's the sweetest thing I have heard, I thought. The security guy found a key (mis-wrote the door code thought but opened it for me with his card), and escorted me to my sweet little "asylum" and wished me a pleasant stay.
And- here I am now, kicking and alive! Ready for the action! Just bring it on!! :D
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