Another Frequent Flyer Travelling to North America

[v1nce007]

subscribed. looking forward to it.

 

[NoName]

Looking forward to hearing about your experiences as I've just visited a few of these places.

 

[Albion]

Getting ready to leave home on the first leg of our trip, bus Forster to Newcastle then train to Sydney, have the weekend in Sydney with family before the trip commences. Getting slightly worried, the Australian Consulate in Washington sent us a Travellers Advisory warning about Hurricane Mathew and our friends we are staying with have evacuated to Jacksonville, staying with original plans at the moment.

 

[BriarFlyer]

Fingers crossed that it's not as dire as the predictions, Albion, and by the time you arrive next week that all is well and Florida remains in one piece.

 

[I love to travel]

What type of room have you booked at Leo House? I stayed in one where you shared a shower and to be honest it was filthy - so much sho it was better for me not to have a shower for the 2 nights I was there and just a washdown in my room.. Location is good though - when I was there last year construction going on out the front so it was a bit hard to find so make sure you have google mapped it. Also, if using subway, nearest one has lots of stairs of you have luggage - better to get off at 34th street and walk back.

 

[Albion]

Thanks for the information ILTT luckily we have a room with ensuite, recent comments gave been positive about Leo a House. As you said, great location and very reasonable prices.

Had a friendly phone call from Qantas this morning confirming our trip asking if we needed assistance with luggage at kurbside and would we like any spa treatments, booked for both myself and Mrs Albion. Can't wait for tomorrow.

 

[get me outta here]

I stayed at The Leo House last year for a week. I Skyped them speaking to the reception manager and requested a quiet room with an ensuite and 'redecorated'. I got a nice room with all new bedding etc and a view looking all the way down across the back gardens. Next door to me was a small cupboard that was never used, so I didn't hear any noise from next door. The only drawback for me was that every door in the hallway slams as people go in and out. Apparently, I was the only one there who was considerate enough to close it quietly. It is very handy if flying into JFK for the Airtrain and Subway.

Incidentally, it was very close to where those bombs went recently in Chelsea.

Thanks for the information ILTT luckily we have a room with ensuite, recent comments gave been positive about Leo a House. As you said, great location and very reasonable prices.

Had a friendly phone call from Qantas this morning confirming our trip asking if we needed assistance with luggage at kurbside and would we like any spa treatments, booked for both myself and Mrs Albion. Can't wait for tomorrow.

 

[Albion]

Received an Email from our American friends just before we left for the airport that everything was okay, only lost power for 12 hours.
After a ferry from Taronga Zoo to Circular Quay and then train we checked in and headed for the Qantas First Class Lounge. We arrived a bit early due to unsure of ferry and train times. First time either myself or Mrs Albion had had a massage but we were glad we booked in for it, then it was time for lunch.


Mrs Albion had the Beetroot Tart, Lamb and Pav whilst Albion had Salt and Pepper Squid, Lamb and Passionfrit Curd cake. I was quite happy with all my choices especially the lamb. Mrs Albion thought the Beetroot Tart was ordinary whilst the Pav was not as good as her last visit. Both of us agreed the cutlery looked like it was out of a picnic set and needs updating and you have to be extremely careful with the plates used as they easily tip if cutting food near the edge of the plate.
Finished off with an Expresso Martini.



Boarding was was chaotic as security was checking all tickets for passengers going to gates 8 and 10 before you actually got to check in (Qantas flight to SFO was departing from Gate 8)
Once on board was shown to our seats by John who looked after us for the entire trip.
As I made myself comfortable in seat 3A I thought wow, I am in first class (better make the most of it, it will most likely be my one and only first class flight)
The service provided by John was excellent, I ate lunch with Mrs Albion, we both glad the degustation menu
Tartlet of Caviar with creme fraiche soubise
Mushroom and tarragon croquette
Thai red curry pumpkin soup
Goats cheese, roasted cherry tomatoes, green bean and hazelnut salad with lemon dressing
Rack of lamb green beans, roast pumpkin, sweet potato and garlic yoghurt.
Warm Chocolate fondant with raspberries and creme fresh
Ginger cream crepes with caramelised pineapple and toasted coconut
The meal was fantastic, the lamb so tender and perfectly cooked, however the deserts were nothing special.
After lunch returned to my own seat which John had already made into a bed, to watch a movie but don't remember much of it. I believe i got about 6 hours sleep before I had a cup of coffee and then managed another couple of hours sleep before breakfast.

more to come

 

[Quickstatus]

Albion - urgent private message!!

 

[Atleastonce]

Subscribed. Sounds like an awesome trip.

 

[Major]

You might want to remove your FF number

 

[Quickstatus]

You might want to remove your FF number

And name/barcode - Pm sent to albion

 

[samh004]

I have altered your photo. In the future, please consider placing something over the barcode and the FF number when taking a photo of your boarding passes, as the barcode especially, but the FF number/last name combo could be used to gain access to your booking and make changes to your tickets you are not aware of. This was highlighted recently in a news article where a member of another site had their booking information flashed across the internet by a travel writer.

 

[mmchow]

Looking forward to reading this Albion. Enjoy the trip!!

 

[Albion]

Thank you for fixing my photo, wasn't thinking when I posted it

 

[Albion]

Well the sun rose again on Oct 10 only this time nearing the Mexican coast. John made my bed back into a seat whilst I changed back into clothes. Then, pretty quickly he was back with breakfast, starting with Cranberry Juice and Fruit Salad. Chose the Waffles with rhubarb and strawberry compote, ricotta and maple syrup which good but not great. Continued with toast vegemite and strawberry jam. The butter was possibly the nicest butter ever tried. All was washed down with a very good flat white. Mrs Albion had the same except she the omelet instead of the waffle and said the omelet was very good.
Time passed very quickly and we soon landed at DFW, Customs and Immigration was painless and our bags were rechecked onwards to Orlando.
We found the American Airlines Admirals lounge and made ourselves comfortable for our 4hr wait. The lounge was adequate but nothing special, only one free alcoholic drink each but it had wifi. We also had invitations to the International dining room, sounded great but in reality not so. The best think about was the free wine, it was a smorgasbord of not very tempting food, so if you find you can't get in don't worry you haven't missed much.
Time went quickly and we were soon on the train shuttle to Terminal C for our American Airlines flight 1688 to Orlando. This flight was in an A321 and time passed quickly. The seats on leg were also First class but ( I feel) equal to business on a Qantas 737. We had warmed nuts and champagne prior to take off and once in the air dinner. Chicken and Mushroom Paella with bread roo plus a warm chocolate cookie but no coffee, the food and service was really good.
After landing in Orlando it was a lot of walking plus a shuttle train to get our bags, then a short wait outside for our American friends to show up and wish us away to their time share. After sitting and talking for a while we finally went bed, it was 0030 and we were stuffed.
it was 1130 before we were awake, couldn't believe could sleep for so long. After we got our act together we were taken to Disney Springs for the afternoon. Nice place to visit, like a big shopping and restaraunt precinct, plenty of places to spend money. We had dinner at Bongos, a Cuban restaraunt, different but good food. Sorry no photos of Disney Springs.

 

[samh004]

Thank you for fixing my photo, wasn't thinking when I posted it

It's no problem at all, and now that I've seen where you're travelling to... I'm looking forward to your TR too

 

[Albion]

In my previous post I said we visited Disney Springs on our first day in Orlando. Firstly it was an easy first day after 11 hours sleep and we needed to buy Disney World Tickets.
We purchased a 4 day 4 Park pass, no need for the added expense of a park hopper ticket. We waited on purchasing these till we arrived in Orlando due to Hurricane Mathew. We also downloaded the My Disney World App. We then set up an account and added my card number then added Mrs Albions' number. This enabled us to start booking fast passes, we could book up to 3 for each day which was very handy as this reduced the waiting times on shows and rides by at least 50%.
Disneyworld Day 1.
Our first day was at Epcot, we used our fast pass to book Soar, Spaceship Earth, Living With land. We also did The Circle of Life. Soar (a must see video from a hang glider) stood out as the best with the rest being quite good. The rest of our day was spent the different countries in Epcot plus the Food and Wine Festival. A full day (0900 till 1800) was enough for us to see Epcot comfortably although we chickened out on the Mission Space Ride.
Disneyworld Day 2.
Madgic Kingdom
Our Fast Passes were used on Splash Mountain, Haunted Mansion and Pirates of the Caribean. With use of the Fast Passes we had completed our three chosen rides quite quickly. We had two rides on the Walt Disney World Railroad. Lunch was at Pecos Bill Tall Tail Inn serving which served Mexican food and was quite good for fast food, service was quick too. During the afternoon we visited The Enchanted Tiki Room, Country Bear Jamboree, Hall of the Presidents, Peter Pan's Flight, Carousel of Progress and Monsters Inc Laugh Floor. all very good but it was the old past favourites from Disneyland we still loved, Splash Mountain and Haunted Mansion. Once again a great day and we had seen everything we wanted to see comfortably before we walked out the door around 1800.

 

[ellen10]

Sounds like a great couple of days, you made the most of them.

 

[Muppet501st]

We stayed at Quebec City Fairmont Le Chateau Frontenac in Feb this year, will look a little different this time of year, but such a beautiful place.
Looking forward to your report