So at the hostel I have previously mentioned that the boys have nicer bathroom bathing facilities. They even have the luxury of stalls with doors for their showers while we have lame shower curtains that don’t quite manage to cover the whole opening and do as clingy shower curtains tend to do and try to stick to your body.
But there is the advantage of having a radio playing in the girls’ bathroom. The boys have to enjoy their lavish private showers in silence.
I have actually seen chick’s hanging out in the bathroom as it’s a nice semi private place to have a chat with good music in the background.
But I have been feeling that the radio has been trying to tell me something, I think it is speaking to me in song. It keeps playing the same song whenever I am in there, Bryan Adams Summer of 69. Which I have come to believe is taunting me with the line about the best days of my life. It’s like it’s sending me a message asking if this is what it is supposed to be, if this is what it’s all about.
I mean these should be the best days of my life right? But am I that happy? I mean sure there is always the whole incel thing to bring me down (no 69 with my baby for me). But I should be happy about the travel aspect of my life, instead I feel stressed about finding a job (I didn’t plan on a recession when I finally attempted to live my dream!) and how much I want to see and how can I afford to do it all?
Chuck seems to find joy in constantly nagging me to go travelling. Giselle is considering going travelling and then back to NZ if her boyfriend who was made redundant can’t get a job so she suggested that I should travel too.
So I was definitely considering it.
Then I got the latest rejection from a job I interviewed for, they left me a message on my phone to call them. And I was all oh this is different from the usual email or ignoring. But it turned out they just wanted me to waste my phone credit to call them and be told it was a no go. Thanks for nothing guys, next time just tell me in the message you left…
So anyway with the no go on the job I decided I had to go with the travelling.
Being a beginner budget backpacker I simply went online and just looked for the cheapest airfare I could get to anywhere in Europe.
I booked a flight on a Tuesday for a Sunday morning flight to Alicante Spain with Thomson Airways. Nothing like the last minute to make your travel plans all the more exciting.
My little gherkin friend decided to accompany me. Yay it was a scary thought to go alone, of course I would have done it if he wasn’t there. But strength in numbers and all. I was very glad to have a friend to share the journey with.
So the trip began with a bus ride late Saturday night to Gatwick airport. I used the internet again to book us a bus all the way to the airport, then during the ride I found out that I could have taken the tube some of the way which would have been quicker and easier (especially since we didn’t know exactly where to catch the bus). Ah first lesson learnt.
At the airport after exploring the terminal area I tried to sleep but wasn’t too successful despite the luxury of a carpeted floor. All the seats were taken by other sleepy travelers who had gotten in early enough for prime placement. Perhaps they read the budget travelers guide to sleeping in airports and know all the tricks a newbie like me is yet to discover. Checked in for the flight around 4am and went airside. A female security guard patted me down. Most action I had gotten in awhile (unless you count the room service I provided at Chuck’s hotel on Thursday, yes I wore the boy out and then went on my merry way).
I didn’t get the full rubber glove treatment, I am sure The Gherkin was disappointed that he was ignored. But he did get a lot of attention on the way into the UK. They detained him and searched all his belongings. No full body cavity search was done thou and I know he is deeply disappointed he missed out on this intimate experience. I am sure he would have enjoyed it.
But with our body cavities remaining virgin (well for at least one of us…). We celebrated making it airside by having some brekkie and checking out the duty-free shops.
Finally we boarded the plane and which I guess is officially the beginning my European Odyssey