Transit

And we’re off! All set for a day of adventure, anticipation and….
…..waiting! And so I reference the *‘Waiting Place’ from the fabulous Dr Seuss book ‘Oh the Places You’ll GO!’ (Thank you AH for gifting this, it has very much been our summer Bible.)

*”…for people just waiting.
Waiting for a train to go, or a bus to come or a plane to go”

And for the entire duration of our 16.5 hour travel marathon with 2 small ish children and loads of extremely uncomfortable, heavy luggage (note to self: back-packing is for youngsters) I felt (close to death from the exertion and) as though we were on the run:-

Travel advice extracated prior to departure ‘yeah, sure you have to isolate for 5 days when you arrive but it will be A-ok to travel by tram, bus, train and a friend’s car to get to where you’re going’.
Travel advice clearly stated on in-flight-legally-binding-forms ‘You must transit by private means upon arrival to your isolation accommodation.

Gulp.

Baggage labels ripped off and smuggled into nearest bin.
Kids, don’t draw attention to us by behaving like kids.
Kids- call me ‘mama’ not the English give away: ‘mummy’
Pay for tram, bus and train tickets in cash (completely untraceable).
Make phone call not WhatsApp message to friend with arrival time at final destination train station (again, completely untraceable).
”Uh, hu, 9pm is too late for you to collect us…yes, it is a little later than I’d hoped, we missed the convenient, direct train and had to take another which required 3 changes and 2 x 1.5 hour waits, but no problem, I’ll sort something else out….”
Make new call to another friend.
”Vengo io”
AMAZING, thank you Roberto- you’re literally our hero x