Hello! I'm back from the UK, a bit washed out but so glad to be home. Our outbound trip involved being stranded overnight in Schipol after snowy weather hit Amsterdam and Manchester, resulting in our flight being cancelled. There was chaos in the airport with hundreds of confused passengers queuing up to ask 3 KLM staff if/when they could get outta there... and then the computer system crashed. We were seriously jetlagged after our inbound flight from Vancouver, had a grouchy toddler and no buggy after we'd had the wisdom to check it in at Vancouver. It was not a fun experience. We learnt a whole lot of lessons here: always have gate access to your buggy, always pack a full overnight kit (I brushed Beth's hair with a toothbrush!), and never ever pack your laptop in your main luggage. We lost 3 out of 4 luggage pieces on the outbound journey, and I expect we'll never see the buggy again. So our trip was not quite off to an auspicious start, and Boo and I never quite managed to assimilate to UK time, but we are thankful for the times we managed to spend with family and friends, and Boo's enthusiasm for visiting different houses! I think I will remain eternally grateful too to the KLM staff member at Vancouver airport who facilitated our fast-tracking the day-long ticket office queue at Amsterdam airport to get us on a flight out to Manchester about 24 hours after we arrived at Schipol airport. We are resolved that we should not subject Boo (or indeed ourselves) to such a stressful travel experience again, so we'll be spending future Christmases in Vancouver. There really is no place like home.
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