 Poster: A snowHead
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Three weeks before ½ term, family ski holiday booked for Easter, discover nobody at work is taking ½ term off. Two of our four children otherwise engaged, so ideal opportunity to see how feasible it is to get late booking at ½ term…
Watch the web sites, some reductions appearing, but not very much. One week before departure, bargain appears. Four people self catering in Nendaz (Switzerland’s Four Valleys), flights and transfers included, £800 the lot. Book it, and smile…
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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One week later, packing until midnight, alarm set for 03.50, early morning drive to Gatwick. Huge queue at Inghams check in (beginning to remember why we usually drive), eventually, when we’re nearly at the front, get called through to priority booking as our flight is nearly departing. Swept through to Executive check in, smile begins to reappear…
Woman at Executive check in baffled why only two seats left on the flight, and four of us. We’re not worried, just a computer glitch associated with booking last minute, it’ll all be sorted. Still smiling…
Check in’s supervisor can’t understand it. Better find Inghams rep. Nice Inghams rep comes along, he’ll sort it out, start to smile again…
Nice Inghams rep asks, “When were you expecting to travel.” Standing at check in, surrounded by family, suitcases and skis, would have thought the answer perfectly obvious. Nice Inghams man points to date on paperwork – 13 March, not 13 Feb. Smile disappears, wishing the floor would open up, hoping there’s not one of those reality TV crews nearby.
Nice Inghams rep already checked - no spare capacity. Quick trawl of the airlines £600 pp to Geneva. Smile now upside down…
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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Not all is lost. Go up to Costa, regroup. New plan.
Phone Nendaz tourist office. Any accommodation for one week starting today? Given number of Immo Centrale, Nendaz. Sylvie says, yes, one apartment left, for four people, swimming pool, sauna, and last minute reduction. Smile reappears.
Sylvie emails details to iphone, looks good, call her back, pay there and then with plastic, even bigger smile. By 9.30, back on M23, this time bound for tunnel, booking crossing online on iphone. Everything’s right with the world. Phone Sylvie to say en route, but won’t be there by 6pm. Sylvie asks where we are – we answer, “London.” She hadn’t seen that one coming. No worries, Sylvie will leave key in bar, open until midnight. More smiles…
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Get to tunnel. Train broken down in tunnel in middle of ½ term rush. Everything backed up. Four hour delay. Phone Sylvie. Midnight looking unlikely. No worries, says she, call at 4pm when you know where you are. Sylvie restores smiles…
4pm, not even reached Reims (no maps, no snow chains, no yellow jackets, no documents, smile distinctly forced), but now making good progress on empty autoroutes as the ½ term crown is way ahead of us. No queues at peage or fuel stops. Phone Sylvie, not looking good for midnight. No worries, says she, bar open until 2 am. Smiles return…
Fastest trip ever through France ever, no maps, just instinct! Arrive bar in Nendaz 12.05. Key and directions in envelope, all very organised and Swiss, just as Sylvie said. Free parking outside apartment door. Unpack, bed, and big smiles…
Self catering holiday 13-20 March to Nendaz for four people, including flights, now on ebay! Even bigger smiles if someone buys it!
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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Chamcham, Excellent - well done!
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You'll need to Register first of course.
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This really made me smile 
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Chamcham, Brilliant, best half term story so far ......... 
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Wow, brilliant story.
And you have another trip in March, already paid for.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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Chamcham, top marks for initiative!
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I very nearly booked for 13th March by misstake but realised at the last min that something wasn't quite right. Still you've still got that trip to enjoy next month 
I thought my tale was a good one but it's not quite up to your standard...
I booked independantly flying from Heathrow to Milan with Lufthansa. Drive to London from Manchester OK, got to Milan at 10pm Sunday eve' to find my driving licence had fallen out of my bag (found on return in the back of my car) so Avis wouldn't let me have the hire car. Taxi to motel near the airport to sleep and think. Great Italian motel staff got us out of the s**t and onto 4 trains and 2 busses and on the slopes by 1pm Monday.
Skied all week, including a full day Friday, before 3 trians and a bus back to Milan airport by midnight Fri'. Kipped there and caught the flight back Sat morning.
Can't recommend the Hotel Vallee Blanche, Courmayeur or the Green Motel near Malpensa airport enough; They went way beyond what I'd have expected to help us. The Italian railways deserve praise as well; despite looking a bit run down in places (some bits looked like the last time they were painted, Musolini was still in charge), everything ran on time and cost less than 20euro each way for a 200k ish trip.
adrian
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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I would have broken down in a quivering heap long before getting to Nendaz. Well done that snowHead!
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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Chamcham, fantastic tale with a happy ending thank goodness, you had me worried a couple of times 
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I was on the edge of my seat for that! Great story, well written,  Hope you get some money back from the other booking!
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You know it makes sense.
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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It's easily done - I've booked a ferry in the early hours before (12.20 am I think) and forgotten that after midnight it turns into the next day (if you see what I mean). Managed to blag our way onto a virtually empty ferry though.
Even better my brother (on a summer trip back to the UK from Chatel) was pushed for time and chancing his arm a bit on a dual carriageway with a 110kph limit. Saw the gendarme with the radar kit at the last minute and thought he could just keep going, turn off at the next exit and pootle along the back roads to the following junction.....where he found the gendarme waiting for him. Euro 150 lighter he arrived at Calais to discover that his had booked his ferry for that day and time but the following year. Expensive tunnel crossing followed.
Watch out for website drop-downs. If you click in the drop-down and then scroll with the mouse wheel it takes you to the bottom of the drop-down - I'm pretty sure that how my brother misbooked.
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Poster: A snowHead
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Chamcham, Brilliant story Impressed with the recovery - kudos!
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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PMSL
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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Forgot to mention one extra element.
The moment it was apparent I'd blown it, 16 year old son gets on the internet on his phone, and posts on Facebook, "I'm in Gatwick airport with no holiday - my dad booked the wrong month." Within an hour, numerous texts and phone calls from all over the world trying to tread the delicate line betwen commiseration and amusement. All the friends we were supposed to be meeting in Verbier already had the full story.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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PMSL again
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| Quote: |
Watch out for website drop-downs. If you click in the drop-down and then scroll with the mouse wheel it takes you to the bottom of the drop-down - I'm pretty sure that how my brother misbooked
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2 years ago, off to St Anton with a friend when at 4am in his flat he realised he had fallen foul of this and booked the flight at the end of the day not the beginning, turned up at Stansted (I think though my memory is dodgy) and he had to pay Mr Leary £240 to get to Freidrichschafen with me!
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Chamcham, top thinking on your feet Sir.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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Oh, and another. As we were going to Switzerland, we had lots of CHF, but for the drive through France we had no Euros, no food, no drink, no snacks, no coffee. Amazing what can be achieved with a mobile phone and credit card.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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well done chamcham, I think if that had of happend to us we would have just went home with our tail between our legs. YOu must be very optomistic to not let a really bad situation turn sour. glad you had a good holiday in the end. good luck with selling it on ebay. will you go in March anyway if it doesnt sell?
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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No, can't go in March. Mother-in-law's 70th birthday family shindig on 20th March - three line whip. Already been twice this year, and planning a thrid at Easter, with possibly a bit of ski touring in April. Four's enough, five would be excessive...
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You know it makes sense.
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Chamcham, Well done, 007 and Derek Trotter spring to mind.
Last edited by You know it makes sense. on Sat 27-02-10 10:11; edited 2 times in total
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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| Quote: |
Can you beat this for a ½ term story?
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No, It was great.
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Poster: A snowHead
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| DJL wrote: |
Watch out for website drop-downs. If you click in the drop-down and then scroll with the mouse wheel it takes you to the bottom of the drop-down - I'm pretty sure that how my brother misbooked. |
This caught me out with hire car booking for Portugal. Email confirmation had me collecting car at Faro, and dropping off at Lisbon, when I wanted to go back to Faro. It took several emails to sort out, and when I arr at Faro, surprise, they had lost all trace of any booking! Luckily I took a copy with me and they managed to find a much bigger car than I'd ordered:-)
Well done on the 1/2 term trip...
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Well done that man, what a superstar, I hope your son was impressed that you turned it around.
My journey to Nendaz this year was a diaster, got up at 5am, got to Gatwick at 6am, amazingly small queue at Easyjet check-in desk, very impressive. Then a massive wait at security, not so good.
Get inside to find flight has been delayed 2 hrs, never mind, can have a big fry up brekkie to compensate (had forgotten to make any food for kids anyway who hate airplane food) and do some proper shopping, hurrah.
Husband tells me I should phone Avis and explain we will be late but I think that's a bit OTT so don't bother.
Finally get onto the flight 4 hrs late only to be told we have to wait on tarmac for 50 mins and there's no hot food. Kids starving by now 
Really annoyed by now as I realise we are going to be driving in the dark to a place I have never visited, grr
Get to Geneva and the snotty woman behind the AVIS desk tells me "I should have phoned" to say I was going to be late. I apologised, explained the delay got longer and longer without me realsing the implications. She tells me she could have "given the car to someone else". I asked how come, it's paid for, in full, how can she give it away? She tells me if I'm late they give it to someone else, marvellous. Husband gives me an "I told you so" stare.
Turns out she had given it to someone else but we got a better car as a result, phew.
Then Husband reminds me I was going to do the driving which was a bug because I HATE driving on motorways in the dark but since they want another 140euro to put him on as a driver we decide against it, so I have to drive. SO annoying, I paid more for the earlier flight to avoid driving in the dark, typical.
So we set off, immediately go the wrong way, and then after about 10 mins it starts snowing, hard, pretty much all the way to Nendaz. Huge big mesmerising flakes.
I was exhausted, starving and peed off.
Still, the car was nice, the appartment was lovely and the skiing was fantastic.
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Chamcham, Brilliant well done! From the thread title I was expecting a story featuring Ski Beat 
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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Chamcham, we have a three-line whip for MILS 80th birthday on the 20th too. As we were meant to be celebrating on 4th April, and had to change to accommodate her son who lives abroad we've had to delay our hols by a few days. The birthday is on the 29th, but he was expected to be coming over for the Easter weekend.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Chamcham, I'm glad you didn't give up when it was all stacked against you !!
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Shimmy Alcott, love your link, I hope u win it
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I am more concerned that the bar was due to close at midnight..............................
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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My mum turned up at the airport on the wrong date once. She also booked flights to Alicante once when her holiday was in Malaga and didn't even realise until the pilot announced they were about to land in Alicante. Huge security scare on the plane when her and my aunty were insisting they had booked tickets for Malaga (or wherever the airport was). Captain was going ballistic that security and cabin crew had let two passengers on with incorrect tickets. Then they checked their tickets and saw that they were on the right flight for the destination they'd booked, it was just the wrong destination.
Easy mistake to make, except they'd been going to the same resort (where their friends lived) for years.
Numpty's. The pair of them!
Oh, and last year my mum forgot her passport and only realised when we got to the airport. It cost £70 round trip in a taxi!
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