Russian Journal 2013
Day 1: It's all begun horribly wrong.
I'm sitting here writing this at the Etrop Grange Hotel just a mile from Terminal 1 at Manchester airport. Later on tonight we are supposed to be boarding a train bound for the south of Russia. I have this niggling sixth sense feeling that we may not make that train.
Everything was going so well. We leisurely made our way to Manchester yesterday and booked into one of Lenny's Inn's a couple of miles away from the airport. We laughed gleefully at the amount of fluffy Hares that roamed around the nearby grounds. I don't think I've ever seen so many Hares in one place since, well, since I cried the last time Watership Down was on TV.
That short lived optimism and excitement of adventure seems so far away now. At least 24 big ones.
Our problems started when we left our digs this morning and drove to find our long stay car park. We needed Jet Park 3, but and found 1 and 2 almost immediately. My wife had programmed the Sat Nav with what she thought was the post code of the parking lot, but what actually the head office of the whole outfit in the airport. When we realised this we changed direction and headed back the same way. We went back to check in another direction. Nothing. So we went back to Jet Park 2 and tried to ask someone for directions. By this time I'd found the correct post code and programmed the Sat Nav. We started again and very soon I realised, by comparing my phone map and the Sat Nav that we were again going in the wrong direction. What the hell. We swiftly turned around and I guided Ira from the map on my phone. We eventually found Jet Park 3 but the automatic number plate gate control seemed to not work for us, so Ira had to call them and give the booking reference number before we were granted entry.
We then had to go to the overflow parking area right at the end of the car park to find a space. Quickly jumped our and waited for a bus to the airport. This took several minutes and by the time we reached the airport I was around 7.10.
We were told we'd missed the last chance for dropping our bags, which EasyJet state is 40 mins.
After some initial upsets and disbelief we accepted our fate. That we'd have to catch a flight tomorrow afternoon, that we'd need to book a hotel for the night, and that we would not be making the train for our journey to the south of Russia. Holy crap.
We eventually re-booked, amd it conveniently left us out of pocket to the tune of £180 and we set back to the task if find a hotel. We decided on Entrop hotel near Jet Park 1. Again fate just wasn't on our side, as our payment was being processed online the ipad froze up. We tried to call the hotel to see if we could book it over the phone. No one answered.
We took a chance and walked the half a mile or so to the hotel, wheeling our suitcases behind us in the blazing heat of the sun. Luckily the hotel did have rooms.
We've spent the rest of the day licking our wounds. Poor small Treadwell has been running a temperature too. Probably too much sun combined with the early start this morning.
We visited the local park near the hotel earlier, greeted the cannabis users and watched a dog paddle in a lake filled with trash.
Across in Russia. Air tickets to the Black Sea have been purchased for Tuesday. Thankfully we won't have to endure the drive there, which would not have been pleasant.
We are all hoping the gods of travel look down on us tonight and take pity on us. We don't need any more monetary sacrifices on this trip.
Tomorrow as they say. Is another day. Our flight is at 1pm. Alarm clock set for 4am then!
Camped out in the garden of Etrop Grange Hotel, Manchester.
I'm sitting here writing this at the Etrop Grange Hotel just a mile from Terminal 1 at Manchester airport. Later on tonight we are supposed to be boarding a train bound for the south of Russia. I have this niggling sixth sense feeling that we may not make that train.
Everything was going so well. We leisurely made our way to Manchester yesterday and booked into one of Lenny's Inn's a couple of miles away from the airport. We laughed gleefully at the amount of fluffy Hares that roamed around the nearby grounds. I don't think I've ever seen so many Hares in one place since, well, since I cried the last time Watership Down was on TV.
That short lived optimism and excitement of adventure seems so far away now. At least 24 big ones.
Our problems started when we left our digs this morning and drove to find our long stay car park. We needed Jet Park 3, but and found 1 and 2 almost immediately. My wife had programmed the Sat Nav with what she thought was the post code of the parking lot, but what actually the head office of the whole outfit in the airport. When we realised this we changed direction and headed back the same way. We went back to check in another direction. Nothing. So we went back to Jet Park 2 and tried to ask someone for directions. By this time I'd found the correct post code and programmed the Sat Nav. We started again and very soon I realised, by comparing my phone map and the Sat Nav that we were again going in the wrong direction. What the hell. We swiftly turned around and I guided Ira from the map on my phone. We eventually found Jet Park 3 but the automatic number plate gate control seemed to not work for us, so Ira had to call them and give the booking reference number before we were granted entry.
We then had to go to the overflow parking area right at the end of the car park to find a space. Quickly jumped our and waited for a bus to the airport. This took several minutes and by the time we reached the airport I was around 7.10.
We were told we'd missed the last chance for dropping our bags, which EasyJet state is 40 mins.
After some initial upsets and disbelief we accepted our fate. That we'd have to catch a flight tomorrow afternoon, that we'd need to book a hotel for the night, and that we would not be making the train for our journey to the south of Russia. Holy crap.
We eventually re-booked, amd it conveniently left us out of pocket to the tune of £180 and we set back to the task if find a hotel. We decided on Entrop hotel near Jet Park 1. Again fate just wasn't on our side, as our payment was being processed online the ipad froze up. We tried to call the hotel to see if we could book it over the phone. No one answered.
We took a chance and walked the half a mile or so to the hotel, wheeling our suitcases behind us in the blazing heat of the sun. Luckily the hotel did have rooms.
We've spent the rest of the day licking our wounds. Poor small Treadwell has been running a temperature too. Probably too much sun combined with the early start this morning.
We visited the local park near the hotel earlier, greeted the cannabis users and watched a dog paddle in a lake filled with trash.
Across in Russia. Air tickets to the Black Sea have been purchased for Tuesday. Thankfully we won't have to endure the drive there, which would not have been pleasant.
We are all hoping the gods of travel look down on us tonight and take pity on us. We don't need any more monetary sacrifices on this trip.
Tomorrow as they say. Is another day. Our flight is at 1pm. Alarm clock set for 4am then!
Camped out in the garden of Etrop Grange Hotel, Manchester.
posted by Nic Treadwell at 8:41 pm
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