I wasn’t sure how to document our third day in London, since it wasn’t the day we had planned at all.
Our original plans were a day trip to visit Windsor Castle, Stonehenge, and Bath. I was looking forward to this day trip most of all, and we had an early morning wake-up since we had to be at the bus station by 7 a.m.
Unfortunately, Mom woke up in the middle of the night feeling terrible. She had chills, nausea, and a general feeling of malaise. She tried to rally by taking some ibuprofen and drinking a Coke, but she was in no shape to spend 12 hours on a bus, zooming around the U.K. We canceled the Uber and the day trip.
In those groggy early morning hours, I thought she just needed some extra time to rest and we could still find some fun things to do in London for the afternoon and evening. I quickly went back to sleep (and since I was exhausted, I wasn’t too mad about the extra sleep!) and then spent the morning playing on my phone and reading my book. At some point in the afternoon, my mom was feeling well enough to venture out for lunch.
We first stopped at a bookstore that I had spotted during our first day in London when we were waiting for our tour bus. It was a small shop a few steps from our hotel, and it was very cute. But surprise! I did not buy any books. I just didn’t see anything that grabbed my attention, so I left empty-handed.
I probably should have bought this book, tbh. Everyone is always mad at me all the time, right?!??!!
Then, we walked over to the pub that was near our hotel for lunch. The menu at this pub was rather lackluster, and my mom didn’t have much of an appetite, so she only ordered a basket of fries, but only ate a few. I had a burger that was fine, but not extraordinary.
My mom was feeling pretty terrible at that point, so we went back to the hotel. I was able to stream the latest episode of Survivor (my mom watched some of it before she fell asleep), so that was fun! And then I took a nap, too.
We didn’t do much for the rest of the day! I was chatting with Amber about my mom feeling ill and not being able to do our excursion, and she recommended that we call our travel insurance to talk to a doctor. This would a) get my mom some much-needed prescription medication and b) give us documentation for any future travel insurance claim we would make. (Which we did have to make, as we wanted to get our money back for the day trip—it was too late to cancel it when we decided not to go.)
So, my mom had a telehealth call with a doctor in London who gave her a digital prescription card. She could go to any nearby pharmacy to get the prescriptions filled. Luckily, there was a Boots pharmacy right near our hotel, but our navigation woes continued as I could not find it using Google Maps. We walked around for way too long as I tried to figure out which secret entrance would lead us to this magical pharmacy. (I’m assuming that’s the reason I couldn’t find it?!) I finally gave up and ordered an Uber to drive us to a different pharmacy.
We got another Uber back to the hotel (these Ubers were costly, too—close to $80 round-trip, but there was no way my mom could take public transportation) and I ordered room service for dinner.
It wasn’t the Friday we thought we were going to have, but luckily, my mom was able to rally for the rest of the trip, even though she continued to feel poorly.
You may be wondering why I didn’t go on the day trip by myself or do some adventuring on my own. It didn’t even cross my mind to leave my mom alone for the day trip. I would have been gone for 12+ hours, and I didn’t want her to be on her own if she got really sick as the day progressed. Plus, I get anxious that something has happened to my mom if she doesn’t immediately answer her phone when I call her. Do you think I could have handled being away from her for a whole day and not knowing how she was doing?! I would have been way too anxious to enjoy myself.
And while I probably could have wandered around the city for an hour or two, it was the one rainy day of the whole trip (we got so lucky with the weather!). It was actually the perfect day to stay inside, napping and reading.
Have you ever gotten ill while on a trip?
I am so sorry your mom got so sick! I am super independent but I would not have gone on that excursion alone either. It would be hard to leave your mom behind and worry about her all day! Plus an unexpected quiet day to just be isn’t the worst thing sometimes?
I got quite sick on a trip to Germany back in 2004. I had some sort of cold and lost my voice and then I got a UTI! We did not speak German so figuring out how to explain that to a pharmacist was tricky. I was able to get something for it OTC but it was kind of a miserable trip at times. And my poor friend had to deal with me being so spacey from all the cold meds. We did come home with a lot of funny stories of random things I would say, though. I should find the notebook with the list of funny experiences/things I said. It would give me a good laugh.
I am here to support you 100% for not going on the excursion by yourself. There a few “rules” for travel which are (1) pivot for unforeseen circumstances as necessary and (2) have fun. Going to a bookstore, watching Survivor, and exploring Boots sounds like a pretty good vacation day.
I was never one to care about travel insurance, but I have it on my fancy credit cards. The one time that I had to cancel a trip for weather I was more than willing to lose the $300 non refundable Airbnb in exchange for not making a hazardous drive, but I didn’t have to make that choice. I just put in a claim and got my $300 back.
Oh how frustrating for your mom to get sick! That’s such a bummer. And to miss the day trip you were looking forward to stinks. I love that it turned into a day of rest, though — those are almost non existent while traveling so it sounds like an unexpected silver lining.
I have never been ill while traveling (yet. knock on wood…) but I spent a summer in Prague with a writing group and one of my classmates got kidney stones while we were there and ended up in the hospital! It was scary for me to witness as a friend, I can only imagine how terrifying (and painful!) it was for him as the patient!
I’m really glad you had a friend who suggested the doctor’s visit and prescription. I would not have thought of that!
Oh man what a bummer. I am sorry that special day did not happen after all the planning and excitement to do it.
My mom would probably have kicked meow telling me to go and enjoy myself and that she is ok being on her own.
As for being sick. I had food poisoning the night before I had to travel from Durham (border to Scotland) to Heathrow airport. Let’s just say that busied was no fun.
Another time the husband and I were sick during our anniversary trip. Also no fun but not bad as we got to relax but it was some expensive relaxing we did.
Oh, what a bummer your mom got sick! That’s a shame but it happens. Rob got sick on our trip to Morocco (as did everyone in the group except me and another woman) but he was able to manage it with Imodium and Gravol, so he didn’t miss any activities. I once got sick on a trip to Egypt and let me tell you, I tried to keep up with everything and ended up running for the bathroom more than once! Hope your mom was able to rally for the rest of your trip.
I’m so bummed for you both that you missed such a fun day! Glad you made the best of it, and found time to relax. I remember getting a stye in my eye in Montana as a kid and driving a really long way to urgent care with my dad. As an adult, I got altitude sickness in Cusco, which is very common but still sucked. I was traveling with my friend and her family, and so I felt very miserable and out of place. Luckily it passed within a day or so, but was awful in the moment.
Ugh, what a bummer. I can totally see why you didn’t go on that excursion alone- that’s way too long to be away when your mom was sick. I might have headed out on my own for some local exploring- but also, maybe not since you said it rained. Well- a rainy day in London, inside reading a book isn’t the worst thing in the world!
There’s no way I would have left a sick person alone either. Like you, it just wouldn’t occur to me. I’ve had food poisoning on several trips, which has really put me off eating out. I don’t trust restaurants to cook for me! I’m so glad she could get some medicine!
Your poor mom, poor you, I’m sorry. I hope your travel insurance reimburses you for the excursions you had planned. I would have done the same thing and stayed with her.
When I went on my cruise to Mexico last year, we were going to go snorkeling in Cabo St. Lucas one day, and I pulled the scene from Pretty Women on her. “If I forget to tell you, I had a really great time.” NOT. It was horrible, she was stung by a jellyfish. So yeah, trips always have something that goes wrong. I’m glad you were able to stick with her when she needed you and just chill.
Great idea to do tele health! I would not have gone by myself, either, FWIW
Aww, too bad about your mom! I got TERRIBLE food poisoning a couple years ago on a trip to Austin, Texas from a fancy hotel dinner at an awards ceremony for my husband. Thankfully, I guess, I got sick overnight on our last night when we were supposed to be flying home the next morning. We were in a very nice hotel and my husband went and explained and the event rep was able to get us to stay in that nice room another night and they paid to change our flights! I could NOT have traveled in that state- it was so bad.
Aww, I am so sorry she was so ill! That’s horrible. But you got to sleep in, you got a nap, and had a chill day (minus trying to find that pharmacy). It sounds like it worked out like it was supposed to! I can’t imagine leaving someone behind feeling that ill and going on the day trip!
I often get a cold when we travel. Like my body knows it’s finally my time off and my immune system can crap out. I hate it. But I still do all the things. Steven got sun sick in Aruba, the first time we realized he had issues with the sun and his skin. We had a hotel day too.