Leaving London

I had a really great time in London and hated to leave (but we went to Paris from London, which softened the blow considerably). We took Eurostar from London to Paris--it was much easier (and cheaper) than flying, and we got to see some of the French countryside as we traveled.
The ride was uneventful, but there was one incident at Waterloo International before we left that I thought I'd share with you.

We brought three suitcases with us on this trip. Hubby had a large suitcase, and I brought two little ones. Throughout the trip, Hubby commandeered two bags—his big one and one of my little ones, and I took charge of my other little bag and any miscellaneous items we happened to have acquired. He was in front of me at the baggage screen area in Waterloo before we boarded the train. He loaded the two bags on the conveyor belt, and passed through the security checkpoint.

I had to wait a minute or two before I could start to load my stuff on the belt, as everything else already on the belt needed to move a bit before there was room. I wasn't carrying anything heavy, but I had a purse, the suitcase, a bag of snacks for the train and a water bottle, so I had to pause for a minute and strategize a plan of attack for how I was going to load all of these things onto the conveyor belt without…any incidents. I must have looked slightly overwhelmed, because as I finally got ready to load the suitcase on the belt, the security guard put his hand on it and told me not to load it.

I had a split second to think:"OHMYGOSHWHATISWRONGWHATDIDIDOTHEY'RE NOTGOINGTOLETMETHROUGHANDIWANTTOGOTOPARIS!" before the guard pointed to my husband and asked if we were together.

I said that we were and had another split second to think: "OHMYGOSHWHATISWRONGWHATDIDHEDOTHEY’RENOTGOINGTOLETHIMONTHE
TRAINANDIWANTTOGOTOPARIS!” The guard asked my husband’s name, I told him, and the guard called him back through the security gate and said:

“You left your woman here with the bag,” and made my husband load the third suitcase on the conveyor belt for me.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

I will remember that guard for the rest of my life. My husband didn’t find it as amusing as I did, naturally, as his feeling was that I was more than capable of loading the bag myself (which is true, and I thought our luggage assignments were more than fair). Still…priceless.

I'll get back to regular posting shortly. Sorry to abandon you guys...life has been hectic and this was just easier. Thanks to all of you who still read this blog!