An unexpected night in New York - and finally Raleigh

Not the sort of thing that happens every day. And, I never thought I'd ever find myself there and not actually WANT to be there....! But nevertheless on this trip fraught with trauma, it was the case!

My previous blogging of 'nearly' getting to Raleigh got me as far as JFK airport, and so the story continues with me standing, chocking back the tears, at 11pm, as the Continental Arlines lady told me that they weren't going to be able to get me to Raleigh that evening. I was gutted. My hotel was booked in Raleigh - it was late. 11pm US time which meant that I'd been travelling for 22 hours since Brussels - I was in New York, and I didn't want to be there.

So, first things first, let's get me on a flight to Raleigh tomorrow. I knew there was an 8:05 flight and an 11am one the next morning. But the Continental lady disappointed me yet again. All the direct flights from JFK to Raleigh were fully booked. She could only get me there via Cleveland (Ohio) and that wasn't until 3pm the following afternoon.

Dispair truly set in when I phoned the AmEx travel line people only to find that because of the tornado shutting the whole airport, there were hundreds of people looking for a place to stay. I was too late for a place at an airport hotel. I was too late for a place within 2, 5 or 10 miles from the airport. I ended up getting somewhere in Long Island City....10.5 miles from the airport and virtually in Manhatten.

A I walked into the 'La Quinta Inn' the manager said - "you must be Miss Rossi, you're so lucky, when your agent phoned, we had just received a cancellation or we'd not have had a room to offer you". The staff were lovely and freindly and although the place itself looked a bit shabby, I was relieved to get somewhere. (anywhere) I just wanted to sleep. I'd been travelling for 23 hours by this time.

I got into the room, ready to collapse, and was confronted with this - a BATH next to the bed - complete with frayed carpet around the tiled splash area. Special. I'm sure it must have been theyr idea of a honeymoon suite. I didn't want to think about what it had been used for.

Good job I was so tired - I got into my nightie and laid on the bed with the TV on to watch some of the Olympics and wind down. Sniff, sniff. Hmmm, I thought - travelling doesn't exactly keep you clean and fresh - must get a shower before falling asleep. It was with extreme horror then, that I realised that the nasty BO niffings I smelled, wasn't eminating from my person, but from the BEDSHEETS! Eeeeeeeeeeeeek. Under normal circumstances I'd have been right up to reception, asking for a new room, clean sheets, compensation. I have to confess that I was soooooo tired, I put a scarf over the pillow, spreyed my bed with perfume, and launched into one of the best night's sleep I've had!!!!

I woke up about 9am the next morning and after connecting to the internet and working out where I was exactly, I decided best not to go for a wander to explore the local environs. I holed myself up in the hotel and chatted to the family on MSN/Skype, and watched the Olympics.

At midday I headed back to JFK and had a remarkably uneventful trip to Raleigh via Cleveland - nothing worth mentioning other than the fact that as we were coming in to land at Cleveland, I saw what I thought was the coast, and realised it was in fact Lake Ontario - an amazing vast body of water which is SO BIG, it LOOKS like the sea....


View Larger Map