I am lucky enough to have a job which means I get to travel about a bit, well quite a lot really. I normally travel at least once or twice a month within Europe and sometimes to the States too. Those who do not travel for work think this is quite a glamorous lifestyle. In reality it means I spend a lot of time either at Eurostar terminals or in airport departure lounges and hotels. Unfortunately travelling with work generally doesn’t mean you get to see an awful lot of the place you are travelling to. On the plus side I love the variety my job gives and I work with a really top bunch of people which makes the delays etc all a bit easier to take. It’s also great for air miles and reward points...
So I started the New Year by travelling for work, just an overnighter, leaving on the holiday Monday and returning yesterday. This in itself is a test of my willpower. You see I have always associated going through an airport with going away for personal reasons, like a holiday. I cannot walk through Heathrow, Gatwick, in fact any airport without buying something at duty free. It’s a near impossibility for me. I even manage to hunt down Chanel perfume or Lancome cosmetics at those miniature airports you find in Greece, failing that I will buy on the plane. I get that from my Mother – ever since I was young as soon as we got on plane we would go through the duty free mag and work out what was a good deal. Put me in terminal 5 and its like I have been transported to a world of absolute beauty with temptation at every turn AND its all cheaper than the high street – it really really is honest.
That’s just the shopping, don’t even get me started on the food, drink and exercise aspect of going away. When I go away I am quite a sociable person and so I would always rather find someone to eat with me, which of course means a restaurant , perhaps drinks first, and then a glass of wine with dinner, or maybe a bottle between us. This normally results in subsequent exercise going out of the window and so I have lugged my trainers around Heathrow and the destination airport for no good reason other than to protect the perfume bottles which are safely stashed away in them for the journey. Did I mention I was an expert packer? (if you shop a lot you have to be and may I say this is a great trick –also works very well for suncream and deoderant ;)).
Anyway despite having a miserable journey home – I missed my stop on the train, went to the middle of nowhere, had to get back sharpish and then leg it for the Eurostar at which point because I was wearing boots, a belt etc I basically had to strip at security and bloody fast then run half dressed to train, just made it sweating like marathon runner in a bin liner wearing rouge only then to be seated next to a Cruella evil passenger who sat next to me for the duration of the journey – told me off for talking on my blackberry and tutted at me for texting – and to top it all off I got stopped at Customs at St Pancras – anyway even after all this I did NOT turn to wine. I did not turn to chocolate or any other form of bloody nice junk food. I really wanted to. I went to the buffet car and forced myself to buy a bloody yoghurt and a diet coke. I even got up at the equivalent of 5.15am UK time and ran for 5 miles that morning. I didn’t go out the night i arrived. I didn’t even have a glass of wine at the bar. When i got home i was totally knackered, cranky and felt like I could burst into tears if I watched those pesky mice pull bagpusses whiskers (yes that makes me sad!!) but I made it through the day and stuck to the task in hand – YAY.
I know you are all thinking wow (ok yes it was merely day 4 but this was a bad day). I will say however that I am not perfect by any stretch and so I shall fess up and admit that I did buy some fake tan at St Pancras on the way out but that’s essential in January right? I mean we all need a healthy glow and it WAS on offer.....until next time folks...x
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