Well, I finally made it to Bulgaria! It's almost 9 p.m. Sofia time, and I'm in my pajamas relaxing in bed, so let me fill you in on what happened between my last post and now.
We started boarding, so of course, the line was down to the designated smoking area, where I kept coughing because I cannot handle the smoke, ever. My throat is still tingling from it, and that was hours ago. When we finally got away from the smoke, I saw my carry-on bag that had to be checked as I passed, so at least I saw where it had gone. What frustrated me the most was that when we were boarded, I saw plenty of spaces where I could have stowed my luggage. I know that it was probably as a precaution because they couldn't know for sure whose would fit, etc. etc., but I was finally near the front of the plane this time around!! I had the seat 3F, which I was surprised about. It was at the front of the plane and a window seat. I have a love-hate relationship with window seats; this is because I want to be able to get up and move around without disturbing too many people, but I like watching the take-offs and the descents. Two young dudes were next to me this time, which was fine. I accidentally sat in the wrong seat at first, but the person in the middle seat was fine moving when I told him I was actually on the other side of him.
The plane was taking forever to take off, and I had no idea why there was so much of a hold up (spoiler alert: we got to Sofia at 6 p.m. instead of 4:45 p.m.) Once we did take off, I was trying to read one of my books on Sofia, but I didn't get too into it because I was passing out. I didn't really sleep on the plane, but I did conk out a few times for a catnap.
One thing I did wake up for was the food, which was fish.
I'm allergic to fish. And seafood.
Once I told him this, he looked distraught and said it was the only thing they had (which is weird because I thought I had told the airline about my allergies, but I'm going to double check before I go back home. I gave it back to him and said I was fine with the rest of the stuff and he didn't have to bring me anything else. Despite that, he brought me fruit, cheese, a quinoa and bean salad (which I also couldn't eat, but I didn't want to tell him that again, so I took it with me and threw it away later), which was really nice of him. I ate most of it and was full by then anyway. The smell of the fish was really overpowering and nauseating for me, so it made it hard for me to get anything else down with that scent pervading the air.
We landed over an hour late from the originally scheduled time, and I had to figure out my way through the Sofia Airport so I could find my luggage. Also, I needed a bathroom because every time I'd try to get up and go, the "keep your buckles fastened" light came on. After a winding journey that made me wish I had brought some enchanted string along, I finally came to the passport check and got my passport checked for Bulgaria. They used to stamp you into whatever country you were in and then the next stamp wouldn't happen, but I guess that's changing now, too, huh?
The hotel I'm staying at has a free shuttle, but there was nothing that indicated which one was their shuttle. Either I was supposed to schedule it, or I just didn't know where to go, and ended up taking a taxi instead. It was €5. I checked into the hotel and went to my room and showered. It felt so good to get the three flights and 20+ hours of travel off of me. I scheduled my checkout and my shuttle for tomorrow, and breakfast is only €7, so I think I'm going to get breakfast from them tomorrow morning. Then I'll study a bit, get all my stuff together, and check out.
But, right now, I definitely need to sleep.
We started boarding, so of course, the line was down to the designated smoking area, where I kept coughing because I cannot handle the smoke, ever. My throat is still tingling from it, and that was hours ago. When we finally got away from the smoke, I saw my carry-on bag that had to be checked as I passed, so at least I saw where it had gone. What frustrated me the most was that when we were boarded, I saw plenty of spaces where I could have stowed my luggage. I know that it was probably as a precaution because they couldn't know for sure whose would fit, etc. etc., but I was finally near the front of the plane this time around!! I had the seat 3F, which I was surprised about. It was at the front of the plane and a window seat. I have a love-hate relationship with window seats; this is because I want to be able to get up and move around without disturbing too many people, but I like watching the take-offs and the descents. Two young dudes were next to me this time, which was fine. I accidentally sat in the wrong seat at first, but the person in the middle seat was fine moving when I told him I was actually on the other side of him.
The plane was taking forever to take off, and I had no idea why there was so much of a hold up (spoiler alert: we got to Sofia at 6 p.m. instead of 4:45 p.m.) Once we did take off, I was trying to read one of my books on Sofia, but I didn't get too into it because I was passing out. I didn't really sleep on the plane, but I did conk out a few times for a catnap.
One thing I did wake up for was the food, which was fish.
I'm allergic to fish. And seafood.
Once I told him this, he looked distraught and said it was the only thing they had (which is weird because I thought I had told the airline about my allergies, but I'm going to double check before I go back home. I gave it back to him and said I was fine with the rest of the stuff and he didn't have to bring me anything else. Despite that, he brought me fruit, cheese, a quinoa and bean salad (which I also couldn't eat, but I didn't want to tell him that again, so I took it with me and threw it away later), which was really nice of him. I ate most of it and was full by then anyway. The smell of the fish was really overpowering and nauseating for me, so it made it hard for me to get anything else down with that scent pervading the air.
We landed over an hour late from the originally scheduled time, and I had to figure out my way through the Sofia Airport so I could find my luggage. Also, I needed a bathroom because every time I'd try to get up and go, the "keep your buckles fastened" light came on. After a winding journey that made me wish I had brought some enchanted string along, I finally came to the passport check and got my passport checked for Bulgaria. They used to stamp you into whatever country you were in and then the next stamp wouldn't happen, but I guess that's changing now, too, huh?
The hotel I'm staying at has a free shuttle, but there was nothing that indicated which one was their shuttle. Either I was supposed to schedule it, or I just didn't know where to go, and ended up taking a taxi instead. It was €5. I checked into the hotel and went to my room and showered. It felt so good to get the three flights and 20+ hours of travel off of me. I scheduled my checkout and my shuttle for tomorrow, and breakfast is only €7, so I think I'm going to get breakfast from them tomorrow morning. Then I'll study a bit, get all my stuff together, and check out.
But, right now, I definitely need to sleep.
No comments:
Post a Comment