Drama Getting Back From Steemfest2 - planes, trains & automobiles
Well, I'm back from Steemfest2 & am planning a few posts about the brilliant people I met, the things I learned & the experiences that I had. However I thought I'd start backwards & describe my experiences getting home yesterday!
It all starts long ago in September when I was uncharacteristically organised & bought flights way ahead of time. Unfortunately my return flight was on Monarch Air which promptly went bust (apparently this wasn't covered either by Expedia that I bought the ticket through, or my travel insurance). I managed to get another flight coming in to Heathrow, then planned a trip to Euston station by tube before a final 100 mile train journey back to Birmingham & a short Uber home.
I left the lovely Hotel Fenix Music at about 11am & wandered around in the glorious sunshine for a while. I MIGHT have also had a Pasteis de Nata.
Then it was onto the Metro (thanks for my free Metro card team Steefest, we were spoiled by you guys from beginning to end) to the airport. Don't take a taxi... they cost 35 Euros I'm told!
Unfortunately this is when things went wrong. I arrived 2.5 hours before my flight to find I couldn't get a boarding pass from the machine. A short queue later and I was told my flight had been cancelled. So, off to join the long queue at the TAP service desk. Almost 2 hours later I finally get to the front of that queue ...my only respite being a chance meeting with the lovely @surfermarly (honestly, I think she might be stalking me), and the elderly guy in front warning me that bad news always comes in threes. It seems that they've arranged another flight for me later in the day (yeaay!), but I'll miss my connecting train (booo!).
The flight was great, free food & onboard movies (I didn't even know they still did that). However by the time I'd got to Heathrow (and then taken a full hour to get out of the damn place)...I was running seriously late, but I also see on my App that many trains from Euston are delayed...there's hope!
A long tube journey later & I'm at Euston to see the ZERO trains are heading north out of London (so that's why the App said 'delays') due to an accident on the line. (the old guys was right after all, bad news DOES come in threes). Things were getting desperate, it was now past 9pm & I still had a 100 miles to cover. I hot-footed it across London to Marleybone Station, the only other line which goes to my city, and managed to squeeze onto the last train out of London that night. It was an uneventful journey (I passed it researching Smart Media Tokens on YouTube) ...by the time I'm in Birmingham it's around midnight...but I'm on the home straight, I can walk the last few miles if I have too! A short Uber ride & I stumble through my door weary but glad to be back.
Was it worth it to have been to Steemfest2? Hell yes.
Eeeek sounds like you had a mini nightmare mate, glad you got back safe thou! Great to meet in the flesh
Hey, yes great to see you too. I wanted to speak more on the DJ evening, but it was a bit loud to talk :) I forgot to ask where in the UK you are...we should organise UK meetups
We will have one very soon. 😀
Oh great...I'm in! Sorry I didn't get much of a chance to speak to you guys or visit the Steem Art space.
Your man! Sounds like quite a journey, so it does ;)
We missed your sparkling dinner conversation on the last night :p
Yup...it would have been sparkling ;-)
So it would.
It was definitely worth it for all of us that you came to steemfest al. Awesome to hang out with you and take it the fine wines and the fine sights together.... I was superglad that amongst all the crypto talk and tech jargon there were some people I could have a really good laugh with.... in fact there were loads of great people to have a good laugh with, but Im especially grateful to you, @steevc, and @siersod for that VERY first night which TOTALLY helped me to settle in to that crazy week. Special mention to @adambarratt and @damnthatbanana as well for being consistently awesome and friendly and hilarious. you guys all rocked x
Hi Basil, yes I agree! Great to meet you man... & get on that homeopathy-train. I'll treat you for Steem, or can suggest people if you want second-raters (don't hit me @sallylloyd!) :D
I was wondering how to link up with you on here, you beat me to it.
mwahaha! my initiative is paramount! Will definitely get some homeopathy for my nerves :) cheers for the advice man :)
do it. do it. do it. & I'm def coming for a ghost tour of Norwich :)
Oh man, I feel for you ;) Glad you're home now with your girls ;)
Betty! Sorry I didn't get to see you guys on the last day. See, now you're addicted to Steem...I knew it! What is that poor husband of your's steem name?
@fitzgibbon and yes, he is a poor husband.. You should have seen the look on his face when he came home this evening.. 'Honey, what are we eating?'
'Figure it out yourself, I'm on Steemit so I don't have time to cook!'
:)
Steemit is the downfall of the traditional family. We need to go live in the Garden of Eden.
Haha yes we should! We need to find ourselves a Messiah..