At the corner of Collins and Spencer

There were so many titles for this entry floating around in my mind:

• Melbourne - off to a shaky start
• Drama Follows Her
• What do you mean CANCELLED????????
• Don't worry, Angie, just drink more champagne... etc

In fact, as is my life motto, things just always work out. I am not sure why I am so blessed, but I always believe that things will work out, and they do, in the end, with maybe a bit of a nudge here and there.

After a leisurely morning of laundry and packing and puttering, we head out to the airport. We are there shortly before 1:00, and are told that we are at the wrong terminal. But the right Terminal is a very short walk away. Great, we head out and walk over. (Just as the rain starts and the wind picks up...)

On arrival at Terminal 3, we try to use the e-check in service, but it does not recognize our reservation. Hmmm. We wait to speak with an agent, who claims our reservation was somehow cancelled. My sister then asks about the original reservation (considering that we were trying to check in with the updated Qantas booking number). Oh! Yes, we have that reservation! Straight on through, the flight leaves at 2... Lovely.
(Remarkably lax security surprises Angie and I - liquids were kept in your bag, shoes and sweaters kept on, only the laptop needs to be scanned separately.)

We deplane in Melbourne after a short flight , book our bus into the city and grab our luggage. We arrive at Hotel Enterprize and the place is a zoo, tons of people coming and going, and three front desk clerks passing keys around and checking people in and out. We state our names and wait. Nope, no reservation. My sister hands over her booking email. The desk clerks tries to tell us that we don't have a reservation. My sister's eyes get just a little bigger. She explains that she has the confirmation from the reservation manager that states he has changed the booking. She points it out. The current clerk defers us to another gentleman. He looks, finds our cancelled reservation, reads the email from the reservation manager, looks at us, looks at his fellow staff member, looks at the computer.
He explains that he is going to see what he can do, but our reservation had been cancelled in error and they are fully booked. He asks us to have a seat.

Deep breathing. My sister, I can tell, is panicked. Within moments we are provided with a room for the night, and the front desk manager promises to get things straightened out overnight. (My VISA was also declined, interestingly, but so were other people's who were checking in at the same time, so I will investigate right after I publish this...)

Our room is minuscule, you can't actually walk into the room directly but you need to shove your luggage into a corner in order to be able to close the door. I commit to not loosing my mind right then and there. The important part of Melbourne is that my sister goes to the conference and we have a place to sleep, at least for one night. My sister is still freaking out, but as we head out to get her checked into her conference, I promise to speak to the front desk person.

It seems he has managed to move people around and has us booked in for 4 nights, so at least until Friday, and is still working on the other nights. We will move tomorrow morning, to a room with internet, as originally planned.

And so, here I am, in Melbourne, Australia, waiting for my sister's plenary session to end so we can grab dinner. Thankfully, Gloria Jean's - Australia's Second Cup clone, at the corner of Collins and Spencer, offers free wireless when you order a coffee. They also have good chocolate muffins.

(Oh, Sydney, I miss you already...)