Day -175 - Less Than Half A Year To Go

I've gone and booked a hotel in London.  Way too soon, but I couldn't resist.  It isn't any of the places I so carefully checked out earlier but one in Bloomsbury.  One dull day at work I was surfing the eurocheapo hotel site and discovered Bloomsbury is similar to Bayswater/Paddington in that it is an area with a lot of cheap B&Bs. However, it is also more centrally located (although obviously not as convenient for Paddington station).  It is within a 10 minute walk of the British Museum, the British library and one of the largest Waterstone bookshops.  It is also the district around Imperial College so there are lots of cafes and the like that cater to students.  How could I resist the lure of such a location?

I've put together a short-list of Bloomsbury B&Bs and then, 6 months to the day, I e-mailed my first choice to make a booking.  This place, the Jesmond Hotel, was rated #4 out of all London B&Bs on Tripadvisor.  The worst rating was a 3/5.  Sounds like a good bet. I've got a single with ensuite for 55 GBP.  It is tiny.  I've seen someone's photos of my very own room (#3) on Tripadvisor.  Still, they say it is clean and the bed is comfortable and the breakfast (cooked to order) is tasty.  I had hoped for a room up in the attics.  Such fun to be where the servants used to be.  However, my room (assuming I get that one) is one the landing between the ground and first floors. Oh well, that will be an experience in itself.

One definite point in the Jesmond's favour is that whoever handles their internet/booking system responded to each of my e-mails within 24 hours.  Very civilised.  Not like the so-called "Caring" hotel that didn't reply to my query.  Mind you, the Jesmond only takes bookings over the phone or via its website.  They aren't listed with any of the agencies so they have to pay more attention to their e-mail.

Now I just need to resist booking the B&B in Reading for my last night ridiculously early.  Wish me luck.

Day -209 - Getting Ever So Slightly Closer to Lift Off

Well, as I said earlier I wasn't really going to wait until later to look into hotels in London.  I did some searching a discovered there is a square (really a rectangle) about a 5 minute walk from Paddington station with rows of Georgian terraces along each long side and a garden in the middle - Norfolk Square.  As far as I can make out all the terraces have been converted into B&B's - several having been joined into one B&B.  For fun (am I sad or what?) I tracked down every B&B/hotel in that square, checked out their rates and read their reviews.

The reviews on TripAdvisor were the most fun.  Full of Americans being appalled by the obvious - no airconditioning, no lifts, small rooms and cramped bathrooms.  My favorites were the ones that complained that no-one opened the front door for her, the lack of room service, no hairdryers, no toiletries besides soap and only towels not the full complement of bath sheet, bath towel, hand towel and face towel replaced daily.  They're 2 and 3 star B&Bs.  What did you expect?  More, clearly.

I've sorted the list of Norfolk Square B&Bs based on ratings and rack rate and will try a book at one of the top 3 later in the year/early next year.  I put in (somewhat) arbitrary requirements that they must supply breakfast as part of the room rate, full English breakfast (or some simulacrum) preferred and possible to get a single room for not more than 60 GBP.

However, having done all that and having nothing more to do but wait wasn't very much fun, so I did yet more hotel research.  Worried that the area near a major train station might be a little seedy I expanded my search into Bayswater using the critera above.  Found very few and had to compromise on the 'full English breakfast' requirement.  Found one with great reviews, did have the full breakfast and rack rates within my budget.  They only have 26 rooms so I succumbed to temptation and sent them an e-mail enquiring about rates for next May. That was over a week ago and no reply.  OK, May is 7 months away but not bothering to reply to questions doesn't inspire me with much confidence in their customer service.  Will they be as cavalier with any e-mail/fax trying to make a booking?  Will there be a room waiting for me if I do book?  Cross them off the list.

I had been leaning towards booking directly with the hotel but perhaps it is safer to go through venere and the like.  If a hotel has some sort of online booking system then I'm a little more confident they will be expecting me when I finally do show up.  

Found another Bayswater hotel that seems reasonable.  Only continental breakfast, but the rack rate for a double for single use within budget and comes with a room safe.  Reviews are so-so.  TripAdvisor denizens underwhelmed, other booking sites more positive.  Like the idea of a 'double for single use' but am a bit concerned at how cheap it is, relatively speaking.  Perhaps it is as poor as the TripAdvisors reviews suggest.  Probably end up in one of the Norfolk Square B&Bs.

Day -245 - Lift Off (Will Be Happening Sometime)

Well, the holiday has finally begun.  My airfares are booked and so is the hike itself.  

Planning for this actually began in January 2007, which is a long time in advance even for someone as anal-retentive as me.  But I can plead extenuating circumstances.  

Back in January 2007 I was considering what holiday to tack onto the Fusion conference.  However, it was in Quebec, which I've been to before and didn't feel was worth a second visit.  Also, the rest of Canada was not so appealing and the USA was right out.  Finally, I was frantically busy and the thought of having to put somethng together by February was all too much.  I ended up deciding, "Stuff it.  Skip Fusion that year and have an extra long holiday tied into the Fusion in 2008 in Europe."  

Thus began the planning, and boy did I plan.  There was a radar conference in Rome at the end of May and then Fusion itself in Cologne in the first week of July which left June all for me.  I decided on 2 weeks in Italy at an Italian language school and 2 weeks hiking in the UK.  After many hours of research (hey it was what I did for a living) I chose the Istituto il David in Florence, an apartment in the Residenza il Carmine and hiking the Cotswold Way with Contours.  I was all set.

Then by the end of 2007 I thought "Stuff it" again and decided to give up the job entirely.  Banking (and the promise of more money) beckoned.  I scored a new job with a largish dollop of good luck due to help from Mark Joshi and started my new life in April 2008 at the NAB.  Unfortunately, they weren't about to send me to conferences and I didn't have any leave so the grand plan was off.

After yet more dithering/reseaching I decided on 3 weeks off in May 2009 made up of a few days in London, then hiking the Cotswold Way and then a few days in Bath,  I've now been at the NAB long enough to pass my probation and be in my boss's good books so I asked for pre-approval of my leave so I could book flights now while they are still (relatively) cheap.

Yet more planning to do.  I was happy as a clam.  Step 1 - find a good airfare.  The cheapest I came across was $2200 with Etihad, the new airline of the United Arab Emirates.  I knew I should have booked this but I just wasn't comfortable with the idea of travelling on the flag carrier of an Islamic country.  At least it is legal for women to travel alone there but it is unusual.  Alcohol is strictly illegal. The idea of travelling on an airline where the mere fact I was there by myself and wanted alcohol with my meal would be, at the very least, frowned upon if I'd done it in their country was just too unsettling.

I found a fare with Finnair, via Helsinki of course, for $2600 and asked Kym to see if she could get it for me.  I'd also found a fare with Singapore Airlines for $2850 and ended up settling for that.  Too conventional and safe for words but it will be comfortable, well organised and with less changes and travel time than the Finnair option.  I also arrive in London mid-afternoon rather than early evening, which is more convenient.  Enough rationalising.  It's done.  At least I get to travel on an A380 for the SIN->LHR legs, so that is something a little out of the ordinary (for now).  Jim will be envious.

I started looking into hotels as well.  I only need one for 1 night in Reading on the way home and one for 4 nights in London.  Couldn't find anything very appealing.  All my recommended hotels either have no rooms or are charging rack rates for them.  I guess it is too early to be booking (at least I hope that is what it is).  Odd that hotels should be so different from airlines.  I'll try again in January 2009.  

Who am I kidding?  I'll check again and again over the next few months.