The Continuing Saga of the Large Package: I think we’re zeroing in on a workable plan.
We’ve arranged a taxi service to take us from the airport to the flat in London, with a big enough vehicle for us and the luggage and the prints. So that part’s taken care of; we won’t be struggling with the Tube (and the unfamiliar currency and accent and directions and the crowding etc) when we’re all jetlagged and exhausted.
We’ve got a cascading set of options for getting the thing to Brighton, ranging from renting a vehicle (and persuading someone who lives there to drive it!), hiring a driver and vehicle, or taking the coach. (It is possible to ship it from London to Brighton, but DHL would charge nearly as much as it would to ship from Portland, and that’s just dumb. But we’ll have 8 days in London before we go to Brighton, so that’s plenty of time to look into other shippers.)
It’s starting to seem like it’s going to be okay. And, we’re actually starting to get excited about the trip again. 🙂
I have to say: I’m so, so happy that I posted about this and that so many people responded, with good advice and words of wisdom and encouragement! I love this community: thank you all so much. I so often post about “here’s what I did today, freelance gardening editing swimming blah blah blah,” and though my life sure doesn’t FEEL boring, I fear it can sometimes READ boring; I really never know how many people read this blog anyway. So I am thrilled that clearly so many of you do. It warms my heart. Thank you, all.
In other news…well, we leave Tuesday, so the rest of the items on the to-do lists are being whittled away at as well. Mine is in pretty good shape; Mark’s is a bit worse, but he’s making progress. We were able to take time out last night to have dinner with EB, visiting in town, who introduced us to good friends of hers–marvelous people who we are so excited to know! Those friends in turn introduced us all to a delightful new restaurant, Fado. And what with one thing and another, we were out past midnight, and so getting a bit of a slow start today.