Detained in London

“My dog ate my homework!”

A slight variation of that statement “My roommate’s dog ate my passport” is what I heard Frazon say to the security officer at Heathrow Airport as we attempted to make a connecting flight to France for the Christmas holiday a few years ago.

When the details of my Christmas holiday with my exchange family in France became a reality, Frazon obliged my invitation to come with. Layover number one was in London. When going through security to board our next plane Frazon was stopped and questioned about the condition of her passport. She explained that her roommate’s dog had eaten part of it. Her passport was quickly deemed “mutilated” and not acceptable for traveling and the airline we flew from America was fined for having allowed her to travel with it in such a condition. Both of our passports were then stamped with indicators to not leave the country and it became clear that we were not leaving London. We were next on a mission to save our luggage from its course to France.

Luggage finally in tow, the result of our following mission was contacting the consulate to get a new passport. With the approaching holidays (Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, and Boxing Day) the consulate was closed and that meant being detained in London even longer. Not only was the consulate closed, but public transportation was either closed or on strike for the holiday, so we did not have that to rely on.

Photo Credit: Stephanie Frazon @fernwehfrazon

Neither Frazon nor I had ever been to London and, fully realizing that we would be missing Christmas in France, we decided to make the most of our time there. We bought a couple of Big Bus Tour tickets and used them to see the sights as well as a transportation service. We ventured across Abby Road, explored the Sherlock museum, journeyed through a Harry Potter walking tour of the city, snacked on roasted nuts outside Westminster Abby, and posed for pictures in front of Buckingham Palace and Big Ben. On Boxing Day we ogled all the shoppers and ate a hearty helping of fish and chips with our Big Bus Tour guide.

The drizzle and people in the queue outside the consulate the next morning did nothing to dampen our hopeful spirits of getting Frazon a new passport and making our flight out of London. At some point I lost track of exactly how many trips Frazon made to and from the consulate as I waited with our unwelcomed belongings. Eventually her new passport was in hand and ready for travel.

Warm greetings welcomed us to France along with gifts and riz au lait as my host family recreated their Christmas just for us. Somehow being detained in London did not ruin the Christmas holiday. I was on the first, of many, foreign adventures with my best friend and had grown and learned a considerable amount from it.

Here’s to the things travel teaches us and to keeping your passport in a travel acceptable condition!