Wow - what a week! Who knew a volcano in Iceland could cause such chaos!
My week was already a busy one as a few of my colleagues from Houston were in town and we would be in meetings Monday through Wednesday for a major project. This included late hours, dinners and happy hours Monday through Wednesday. I spent Wednesday night with my family before an all day trip to Paris on Thursday for client meetings.
On Thursday morning, I left the house at 6 AM to make it to the airport for an 8:30 AM flight to Paris. I heard that a volcanic eruption in Iceland from Wednesday had already caused the Aberdeen airport to close and thought that was kind of weird. The cab driver said that the ash could spread as far as London, but it would just depend on the wind. I just laughed it off. Our flight took off on time and we made it into Paris by 10:30 AM.
Once we were on our way in a taxi, I checked my blackberry and had several missed calls and an e-mail from our London office that my flight back that evening had already been cancelled and the airport was closed. I do not think I could ever be imaginative enough to think up an excuse like this one for staying in Paris.
I stayed the night in Paris while our executive administrator and lifesaver, Rochelle, worked her magic in finding a way home for me. Obviously all flights were now cancelled and/or fully booked for days. All trains to London from Paris were completely full. Being the resourceful genius that she is, Rochelle booked me a ticket to Brussels on Friday afternoon, a hotel in Brussels for the night and a train from Brussels to London for Saturday morning.
My colleagues from Houston, on the other hand, are still in Paris with no real solution in sight. They did have return tickets for Friday. When that flight was cancelled, they were able to book new tickets for Monday. Those were just cancelled today - so there is no telling when they might leave. We also have a colleague from South Africa in London who is also stranded here.
Of course, there are definitely worse places to be stuck than Paris or Brussels. Our hotel in Paris was in the shadow of the Eiffel Tower - which is just cool! Paris was really pretty too with the new leaves on the trees and flowers everywhere.
Brussels was really nice as well. Lots of beer and chocolate and excellent food. Friday night I checked out the main square and saw street performers and lots of cool shops. The streets are all cobbled and there were tons of places to eat and drink. You could smell the wonderful aromas from restaurants and waffle stands and of course beer. Everyone was happy and smiling and so friendly!
Saturday morning, I was up early and took a stroll around the square again. At 8 AM, the sun was just coming over the buildings. It was very quiet, except for the bottles being picked up by the trash men. There were a few little restaurants open for breakfast with really just locals inside. The flower stands were just setting up. The smells were a little different from the night before. Now it smelled of coffee, waffles and a faint odor of urine coming from the cobbles.
Anyway, it was interesting and I wish I had someone to share it with. Here are a few pics from my iPhone.
This is where I ate dinner. I had Flemish Beef Stew and it was really good, but the Creme Brulee was absolutely divine! (Also, this guy thought he looked like Sarcosi.)
This is a beautiful old square near my hotel.
In the square above there was this small little metal framed board with a few post-it notes stuck inside. There is no glass on it - so anyone can put something there. In it were four post-it notes simply signed - World Leader.
I thought it was quirky and unexpected, so I leave you with the messages below:
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