I Unexpectedly Crossed the Atlantic SIX Times in March 2025
How the mishaps of travel teach lessons and remind me to look for the bright side + an upcoming BSL insider date release
Hello again! It’s Been a While. Again.
March 2025 was a travel month like none other. (If you missed all the photos, check out Big Story Living on Instagram) It started with a BSL journey to Vienna, Krakow, and Prague, with day trips to Bratislava, Slovakia, and Dresden, Germany. It ended with a Spring Break adventure with my 13-year-old daughter to France where we spent four nights in Paris and three nights in Rouen. That alone was way more international travel than I have ever had the privilege to experience in such a short amount of time. It already felt nuts. I left March 1, returned March 14, had six days back in the US, and then turned around and crossed the Atlantic all over again until the end of the month.
But wait! There was more.
If you happened to have done the math already, it may seem like I miscounted, but no. The unexpected part of my second trip was that London Heathrow (where my daughter and I were flying into on our way to Paris) shut down with just 1 hour and 49 minutes left in our 9.5-hour flight from Dallas…meaning…at one point mid-flight we looked up at the map on the screen in front of us to see that our plane had just done a giant U-turn in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean…and now we were headed back to Bangor??
I’m ashamed to say that I didn’t even know what state Bangor was in. Haha! But five hours LATER we landed in Bangor, Maine. We proceeded to sit on the tarmac for two hours. Then, once American Airlines figured out what to do with a plane full of would-be European travelers, we flew onward to Boston instead of London.
As it turned out, a fire near Heathrow shut off their electricity and we were 20th in the line of the flights coming into Heathrow from the US. By the time they got to us to share the bad news, there was nowhere else in all of Europe to divert us to, so back the the US we returned.
This was the biggest mishap of March that I had the opportunity to experience and learn from. Others included our group missing our bus from Bratislava to Vienna, thus, having to figure out how to get us all back to Vienna AND having a train cancelled from Vienna to Krakow, causing me to need to reschedule once again for a group of five.
Now, at this point, you might expect me to begin telling you about all the frustration of these unfortunate mishaps. You might be thinking, “I’m so sorry. Eeek!” But I have to tell you, it really was okay.
Honestly, it was better than okay.
Each of these mishaps, though inconvenient and tiring at the time, just added to the adventure and enhanced the story of our journey’s all the more. For real. How? Perspective. Open-handedness. No need to freak out. We were fine. It was important to remember that we were always absolutely okay, and mishaps just happen.
There’s always another bus, another train, another plane. And now we had a more colorful story to tell that included communal laughter and running through city streets, extra hours in Vienna that turned into a glorious morning, and two unexpected days in Boston that my daughter now tells everyone was her favorite part of her Paris adventure. O, Geeez! (She says it even trumped the day in Disneyland Paris and was second to climbing the Eiffel Tower at night.)
Mishaps happen when traveling. It’s why I’m forever telling my teams to prepare to be flexible. Even though I follow really specific travel plans, leaving very little up to chance when leading a group, the best-laid plans can fall apart in a second. Then it’s all about what you do in the seconds, minutes, and hours to come that dictates the outcome and vibe of the rest of your journey.
So, breathe. In the middle of mishaps I’ve got lots of proof that is really is going to be just fine. In fact, the unexpected mishaps might actually make for the best memories. In my perspective, the Spirit, who is always our very best travel guide, might even have a better plan than the one laid out to begin with if we can stay calm and attentive to what is happening all around. So what can it hurt? Let’s learn to watch for the bright side! I mean, who but the Spirit could have ever imagined that Boston would be better than Paris and a memory to last for a lifetime!?
March Travel Lessons Learned
Double check Viator tickets to make sure they offer the correct pick-up and drop-off addresses. You would think this is something you could count on, but no.
When your train is cancelled in Europe, go directly to the train station and reschedule with a human, not online. It saves a TON of time and more mishaps.
I will NEVER travel without travel insurance!! For a mere $28 fee with Allianz travel insurance, I was covered and able to get reimbursed for my Viator tickets that had incorrect information, the upgrade for the tickets we had to repurchase from Vienna to Krakow, AND $638 worth of charges for food, Uber, Boston hotel, and a hotel and booked experience that we missed due to our diversion back to Boston, all of which would have been a loss otherwise.
Travel insurance hugely assists in helping me not to freak out in the moment. Knowing I was going to get reimbursed for the extras that I was having to pay allowed me to move with a much greater sense of ease in those mishap moments. Ease and peace of mind in travel are beautiful things.
My most determined way to travel…NEVER checking luggage…never fails me. When we arrived in Boston it was a mad rush to the AA help desk where there were only four staff to help over 200 customers to reschedule their flights. Because Hanh and I did not check our luggage, we didn’t have to wait for baggage claim upon arrival. Instead, we were able to rush to the other side of the airport and get the second place in line for rebooking assistance. When we finished, the line behind us was over 200 deep and there were already almost no flights to be found since it was Spring Break week. We were fast and still couldn’t fly out of Boston for two days. I can’t imagine how many people’s vacations were completely canceled.
Some of the best travel moments happen in the middle of the unexpected. It’s all about perspective. “I GET to (fill in the blank).”
Six trips across the Atlantic in one month is A LOT, but give me a little more rest and I might just do it again. :)
Mark Your Calendar! Insider Info Just For You
I’m already dreaming about Big Story Living travel in 2026!
-Our Fall 2025 journey is completely full. Eleven women, ages 17-71, will be journeying to Ireland, Estonia, and Finland this October and November, and I can’t wait to share our adventure with you all.-
AND…
REGISTRATION FOR OUR MARCH 2026 JOURNEY OPENS JUNE 15!!!
Nine spots will be available.
I’m not quite ready to share where I think we are traveling, but if you message me to let me know you might be interested, I’ll give you a hint! :)
Watch this space.
Happy Travels!
Amy