Yesterday definitely topped any other day that we have had to encounter in the U.K. so far. We got up at five a.m. and left Canterbury by bus. The bus arrived into Victoria station at around 8:30 and we caught a non-stop train into Gatwick airport. When we got there, I stopped at an ATM before we entered the terminal in order to get cash out in order to pay the woman we were going to stay with in Spain. I stuck my debit card into the machine and nothing happened. I tried to press cancel in order to retrieve my card but it wouldn't work. As I began to panic, I asked the man working in the money exchange booth next to me what I could do. He told me that the card couldn't be retrieved. I called the ATM company and they told me the same thing. When I hung up the phone I began to cry. An older English gentleman came up and said, "Pardon me, miss?". He pulled an unopened package of tissues out of his pocket. When I tried to decline, the look on his face made me change my mind.
I was stuck in an airport with no way to get money. Egil decided to try and use his bank card to get money out of his account. I waited with the luggage and tried to stop my tears as he went over to a teller. He came back empty handed and explained that his card had been declined. At that point, we both realized that we couldn't leave for Spain because neither of us had any sort of funds. We sat in the lobby of the airport for five hours while we waited for our friends to get home from work so we could stay with them for the evening. I fell asleep on the seats for a short while. They were actually more comfortable than the bed we had slept in a couple of days prior to leaving Canterbury.
Suzanne and her family opened up their house yet again for us. I still feel so thankful and grateful that we had the opportunity to meet such an amazing household. We slept on her extremely comfortable futon bed and had an amazing dinner of bangers and mash. When we left today I wanted to leave them something to show them how thankful I was for their hospitality and selflessness but I couldn't think of anything to leave. I will.
When we were at their house last night I tried to book some bus tickets to Cambridge using a back up credit card that I had brought. (Thank God I had!) It was also declined. To top that, Egil went online to check his bank account to find that the teller had charged his card but hadn't given him the money. He was (and still is) now $800 short. Let's just say that yesterday was one of the most exhausting, emotionally draining, and confusing days of my life.
Also, I emailed the woman we were supposed to stay with in Spain and explained the emergency. I apologized for the circumstances. It has been almost two days and I haven't heard a thing. I also tried calling her and no one answered. Very strange.
This morning I worked everything out with my debit card. A new one will arrive on Monday. I am using my credit card until it does. Egil is getting his money back by Tuesday.
We left for Cambridge this afternoon. The bus ride was about two and half hours and Egil got motion sickness. Oh well. Cambridge is twice as big as Canterbury and we have not yet had a chance to explore. (We fell in love with Canterbury and want to go back as soon as possible!). The hotel we are currently staying that is based about ten minutes ( by car) outside of Cambridge. It's stunning. Our hotel room overlooks a creek and green fields. It is so extremely relaxing. We are going to take the next couple of days to simply unwind and take a breather. Just being out of London is a huge relief.
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