When Life Gives You Lemons, Make English Tea

So if American news is covering any of the British Airlines mess you likely all know now that our worries about our British Airways flight to Rome were valid. Once we landed we made our way from Termnal 2 to Terminal 5. On the way we were looking for signs of hope that things had returned to normal in the 10 hours that we were in the air. The flight attendants and pilots on the first flight were even calling into Heathrow to check the status of our flight. One thing we have learned through this, if we ever have the chance to fly on Air New Zealand again we will. They were amazing. The seats were comfortable with enough room, the video screens near each seat actually worked, included in the fare were amenities like blankets and pillows, and they even fed us two decent meals in flight. They also had touch screen ordering of drinks at any time so that you didn't have to get up or try to hail a flight attendant. Interestingly enough, their drink selection was quite robust, including the traditional options and quite a number of adult options. It made us wonder if part of the training to be a flight attendant included bar tender school.

On our way to the terminal we saw a number of British Airways flights leaving the tarmac and had renewed hope that we might actually make it out on a flight. Unfortunately, as we were headed to check in a BA crew member verified that our flight was indeed cancelled. We were told to exit the airport through customs and go back into the airport on the arrivals side to rebook our flight with the BA side on arrivals. When we got down to the ground floor and were about to exit the airport we learned that they were not letting anyone up to the arrivals to rebook unless they were on a confirmed flight and had checked in. We also saw that if you left the airport they would not let you back in unless you were on a confirmed flight. We opted to stay in the airport until we could sort everything out. All passengers on cancelled flights were told to rebook with BA.com. Which was ironic, because it was IT issues that prevented flights from going, and now we had to rely on BA.com in order to get a new flight. 

Determined to make the most of it, we grabbed a piece of cold floor with about 2,000 of our closest friends to figure out what we would do. Thankfully Heathrow has free wifi and with that we could use to actually make a call. After about 3 hours on the phone with reps from both British Airways and Air New Zealand we were rebooked on a flight to Milan (not Rome) on Monday. We cancelled our original Rome hotel (thank you Booking.com for allowing us to do that for free) and then tried to figure out how and when we could rejoin with our original itinerary. At this point we are going to miss our reservations for the Vatican museaum and the Borguese gallery (which has Michelle's favorite statue), but we should be able to catch up in time for our reservation to the Academia in Florence for the statue of David. Fingers crossed, as BA is focused on getting their long haul flights back up first and their short hall flights up next. 

After securing a flight Tim and Susanne went to see if they could get our bags, which were tagged to go to Rome so we did not pick them up after our flight landed in London. At that moment, we were worried that they would end up in the big pile of bags that were left unclaimed. BA was assuring passengers that they would be reunited with their bags as soon as possible. We had two days of clothes and essentials in our packs, so we were not worried in the short term. But the idea of relying on an airline to properly forward baggage around the world when they can't manage getting people around the world seemed a bit of a stretch. Michelle and Christyn worked on local transport information and finding a hotel for the night. With BA reimbursing 200 British pounds for a hotel for 2 each night and 25 British pounds for food per person, there were a number of options available to us. We had fun looking for the best deals in some swanky places. :) 

Tim and Susanne had their own adventures in baggage. There were a number of lines they had to be in, each with frustrated passengers and little information. The one they finally landed in allowed 5 people at a time in to search for luggage, and this included the BA workers. So if a crew member went in, that was one person of the five and the rest of the line had to wait. After an extended search of a few hours they finally managed to locate all of our bags and were able to take them out of the baggage handling area. There is no sight sweeter after all that the day held then your husband and sister-in-law walking up with big smiles and 4 bags on their arms. 

All told, we were in the airport for 6 hours to rebook flights, find bags and get to our hotel. Thankfully we arrived at 11:00am London time, so we departed at 5:00pm and were at our hotel by 5:45pm. Since we are (hopefully!) only in town for one night, we decided to work on our list of sights to see in London a little earlier than planned. First up, a traditional London pub for dinner. We bought two different local brews and a number of dishes to share. Fish and chips, shepherds pie, traditional English breakfast plate and a fish plate filled out the table. After dinner was a short walk to Buckingham Palace. We walked through St. James park at dusk, which was a very serene experience after a hectic day of airplanes, air ports and rescheduled plans. The slowly setting sun, the various birds and the beautiful scenery all combined to remind us of the bigger picture of what we were doing and why we are here. 

Our walk continued with the ultimate goal being to see the River Thames. Along the way we marveled at Trafalgar Square and bumped into a small pastry shop. Since we all had a hankering for something sweet, we purchased four different options and made our way to the Jubilie bridge. It has a beautiful nighttime skyline view of the city and of the Parliment buildings (including Big Ben). We ate the pastry's in a small park overlooking the same city view and marveled over the days challenges and blessings. A quick walk past the London Eye brought us to the tube station and then back to our rooms.

Today was fill of blessings and adventures, and we are grateful for things like free wifi almost everywhere that made the day so much better. We can't image how difficult this would have been had it happened even 10 years ago. Tomorrow will be another adventure, but we are together and we are safe and we are still excited for what God has planned.