Are you KIDDING?

Today has been a real day.

To fully comprehend the joy of this day, I'm going to start with last night. To save a bit of money, I decided to stay in a mixed room (meaning boys and girls in the same room - don't tell Grandma!!) in my hostel. Quick explanation of the room I was in: 14 beds (7 bunk beds), 2 girls, 10 boys. The bunks are lined up lengthwise along the side walls, so the head of my bunk was about 6 inches from the feet of the next bunk. You have the picture in your mind? Good, good. Away we go.

I went to bed around midnight-ish, and a few people were already asleep. And snoring. Now, I have a REALLY hard time falling asleep when there's noise going on. Especially a repetitive noise. I can lie awake and listen to a clock tick for hours. Or fish tank filters. Those are good. So, I listened to my friend Logan, whose bed was right across from mine (and whose feet were 6 inches from my face) snore for an hour or so before I fell asleep.

At about 2:30, six drunk idiots came into the room, turned on most of the lights and proceeded to talk in outside voices for the next half hour or so. Jerks. And they smelled HORRIBLE. Drunk idiots always do. Then three of these drunk idiots started snoring. Awesome. I listened to music for the next couple of hours, trying to drown them out, and finally fell asleep around 4:30 or so. At about 5, the idiot on the bunk below mine came in to sleep. He took off his shoes, and his feet smelled so terrible that I couldn't get back to sleep. Honestly. And his feet weren't even 6 inches from my face, like Logan's! And then he started to snore. The night continued like that with alarms going off, people not hearing them, people snoring, people farting, and me not getting any sleep.

I stand by my facebook status. Boys are stinky, loud and disgusting. And I'm paying the extra money from now on to stay with only girls. For reals.

The day went on: I yelled at a pushy salesman, bought new boots, repacked my luggage, and headed to the airport. I found out from dad on the way there that my flight into Frankfurt was cancelled. I waited in line for a couple of hours with a few other people around my age. In that time we moved 2 meters. Mostly because people were just leaving the line. An employee told us that it takes on average 30 minutes per person to sort things out. There were about 20-25 people ahead of us in line, so after we get hotel vouchers and 6 GBP worth of free food from the sandwich shop in the airport, we headed out.

My new friend Marianne and I made our way on the Underground to our hotel, which is in Kensington Gardens. Marianne packed her luggage the way that only a 21-year-old girl can (WAY TOO FULL) and she struggled with it at every staircase we came too (which is a whole crapload, if you've ever taken the London Underground). She did look pretty pathetic trying to carry it up stairs and actually had 4 different offers of help from random strangers who took pity on her.

Apparently I look as capable as all get out. No offers of help for the brick shithouse! That's ok, though. I'm a Canadian girl. I pride myself on being tough.

We got to the hotel around 7, and I took the LONGEST shower of my life (side note: what is up with Europeans not having shower curtains or a door on their showers? I cannot for the life of me manage to have a shower in a European hotel without getting water EVERYWHERE), and then had some free dinner at the hotel.

Clean, clean, clean bathroom. So clean. I love it. 

I ran out to Starbucks to use their Internet (10 GBP a day for internet in the hotel? Are you kidding?) but it wouldn't work for me and then Starbucks closed and so I had to go back to the hotel anyway. So, 10 GBP later, you'd better believe I'm staying up all night to get my money's worth.

I finally threw my pyjamas on at around 11:30 or so(?) so that I could call Lufthansa in comfort when a HORRIBLE beeping noise filled the room. At first I thought I'd totally done something wrong, although, what could I have done? I threw on my boots and my jacket and grabbed my passport before I headed outside. People were grumbling about having to be outside, but all I could do was laugh and laugh. And then it hit me! I'd forgotten some very important things in the hotel.

The three things I wish'd I'd taken with me when the fire alarm went off: my camera (for hot firefighter pictures), my sister scarf (I would have cried buckets if it had been burned up) and the banana cake I bought today and hadn't gotten to eat yet.

Priorities.

My OWN room! And a Queen-sized bed!! 

Anyway, I've called my travel insurance people and gotten things in motion there, I have somewhere to stay tomorrow night, and I have a plan for tomorrow - drop luggage off at hostel and head to City Airport to wait for a few hours and talk to a ticket agent about my options. Although, thinking about it, maybe I should take my luggage with me? Ugh. No thanks.

Here's hoping tomorrow is better!

Also, new boots!!!