Bonus day

So our flight didn't work out.  After a couple of hours of the air India girls relentlessly searching for another option, we are finally booked on a plane tomorrow at 10:30.  We have actual seats assigned this time, so it looks pretty good.  Apparently all of the uk is flying to NYC this weekend, and every flight is booked or over booked.  

It is a beautiful day, so we hit the town after lunch and a short nap.  We missed this side of london, so to Trafalgar Square we head.

I don't know who this guy is, but he has a good name!

Selfies at covent garden.  It's really cool, and I'm so glad we didn't miss out on seeing it.

There were a couple of really cool cars there for us to see.  The matte finish is popular.

 

We finished with a silly ghost tour that started across the street. There wasn't time for a drink, though.

On our way back for dinner on air India.   Tired and definitely ready to go home....again.

This is a much nicer hotel.

Saying goodbye again was just as hard today.  Love you, Al!

Good night!

Friday

A quick drive down the motorway +/- 5 hours to Stonehenge.  It was cool, but hard to fully appreciate as a full on tourist attraction.  Perhaps I'll go back someday for the winter solstice, which is what it's meant for. 

Another drive back to windsor for a final dinner celebration with the Bowen-Davies family.  We loved every minute of our time here, thanks to this wonderful family.  

Saturday -travel day

As I write this, it is Saturday.  I am standing in terminal 4 at london heathrow airport.  We made the decision last summer to spend less money on plane tickets.  By booking with air India, we saved a significant amount of money on a direct flight.  As it happens, we are stuck because air India and Kuwaiti air cancelled their agreement to contract flights together.  As we booked initially through air India and they contracted to kuwaiti, we now have no flight out.  I booked travel insurance with the  tickets, but there is no guaranteed reimbursement with a cancelled agreement.  Everyone is working hard to get us home, but it looks like we won't make it out today.

Air India management did not inform their employees prior to us showing up, and refused to come down to explain the situation or try to appease thier customers.  They told the agents not to upsell any tickets, so if we booked economy they would not give us available business seats.  A terrible position for the desk agents, but they did a great job once we all got over the initial shock.  After exhibiting extreme patience, we are now booked to go home on virgin Atlantic tomorrow at 12:30.   

Next, had to deal with the pre-booked and paid hotel and rental in NYC.  It took some phone calls, but we are now all set for tomorrow.

I believe that it will work out for the better in the end.  Stay tuned.

An extra dinner with Ali was a bonus.  I will so miss spending time with the Bowen-Davies family.  Hopefully, we will meet again soon.