and the trip is booked...

Finally, after several hours-long sessions of trying different scenarios of days/countries/airlines/options, I decided it was time to just book something. The airfare alone was coming up around $3000 and then I noticed that Orbitz had a hotel option where they claim you get a better deal if you book both through them. One of the hotels that was recommended by a friend, a Holiday Inn in the Mayfair district, was one of the chosen hotels, and reasonably priced.

So I knocked a day off the trip (leaving Saturday, returning Friday), changed my flight preference from the redeye to the morning flight (we leave at 8am on British Air) and reluctantly bagged the Continental flights despite the mileage we would have gotten, because their cheaper flights were on the same kind of plane we take to Fort Lauderdale, the one that shook and rattled through the clouds of the storm. I cannot do that on a transatlantic flight!

Now, of course, I am hoping not to have the room next to the boiler, and thinking I probably didn't get the 'breakfast included' option. But it seems like if they don't get you coming, they'll get you going. Our trip will probably be filled with long walks through Hyde Park and lots of feeding pigeons. That will fit the remaining budget. But the hotel + air was $5000 for all of us, so that was not too bad; initially I thought we could get bargain airfares for around $400-500. It's been a long time since I booked an overseas flight at my own expense, obviously.

So the next is to plan the day trip from London to Paris. I thought that would be better than flying out of London with all of our 'stuff' and then flying home from Paris. This will be a long and tiring day, but we'll do it Thursday, and our flight is in the afternoon on Friday, so we can have the morning to move about slowly and get ready to check out and head to the airport. So the trip set for mid-August!

In other news, E continues to cough and honk into tissues. Megan sniffled a bit yesterday, but Brian was gone most of the weekend so he didn't have the exposure to the flying germs. With the recent renewal of swine flu coverage, I am keeping an eye on her. It's been five days now, so hopefully that means it's 'just a cold' but with Megan's tendency to get sinus infections and Brian's predisposal to bronchitis, I really wish she'd get over that cough. And I can't support her medicinal needs either! Claritin D is an expensive alternative to natural healing! If she isn't better in a couple of days I am going to insist that she see a doctor. And I am off to work for the day, in first grade. I got the call last night. But the job I was supposed to have tomorrow was given to someone else. I told another teacher I couldn't come in for her, but now I will tell her I can; although she may have already called so it might be too late. (disclaimer: not proofed!)