Giro d'...toddler?

[tassie6]

My first trip report, I enjoy reading them so hope this one stands up and thanks to all that go to the effort.

After accruing a fairly hefty QF points balance through Mrs6's business spending, we needed to do something with them, and a friends wedding in Tuscany provided the perfect excuse. The only complicating factor would be the (at time of travel) 14 month old who conveniently discovered tantrums about 2 weeks before we left home. On the plus side, looking for 2 premium redemption seats was much more possible than 3. I have only been to Europe in winter previously (snow is normally what I am chasing) while Mrs6 has spent a good share of summer time here, so I was excited to see what all the fuss is about.

Not wanting to move around as much as we would have previously done, because of Jnr6, we decided to spend the bulk of our time in Northern Italy and hire a car.

Flights were booked over Dec/Jan and after initially planning to roll everything into a 318k OWA, the ticketing issues that have stricken everyone nearly caused us to lose a key leg, so we had the points to do it without and so took the (slightly) easier option of just booking what we could when. This also let us book an EK leg where we didn’t have another option to connect the dots back home and not trying to fuss to get it all in the 318k. I think the benefit of QF restarting HK flights and Cathay reopening a lot of routes helped us find the seats we needed.

The itinerary, all redemptions:

HBA-SYD - Y on QF
SYD-HKG - J on QF

2 nights in HKG to break the trip but also just the flights we could grab

HKG-LHR - F on CX

2 nights in London, catch up with some friends, always enjoy London for a few days

LHR-MXP - J on BA

3 weeks in Italy, hiring a car for the bulk of the time and going Milan, Lake Como, the Dolomites, Liguria, Florence, Tuscany for wedding and a few spare days we haven’t decided on yet to finish up

MXP-DXB - J on EK

24 hours in Dubai

DXB-HKG - J on CX
HKG-MEL - J on QF
MEL-HBA - Y on VA, but a retiming of the incoming leg on QF means we are unlikely to make this one, will probably just book a cash fare on QF





These are our first ever premium cabin experiences (except a VA737 to Bali on a bid upgrade) and to say I have read/watched a few too many online reviews would be accurate! Total ended up being about 418k pts and $1150 in charges/taxes per pax (infant 0 points and some random taxes)

I know many have differing opinions on travelling with little ones, especially in premium cabins, but anyone can book the seats, so we did! No one worries about upsetting others more than (most) parents and we did everything to make him as happy as possible, but sometimes I just had to end up sitting in an F toilet in the middle of the night with an iPad and the little fella strapped to me to keep everyone sane :/ So far (we are part way through trip) everyone onboard has been wonderful. I don't think we would have booked the trip in Y.

After Mrs6 doing a great job getting the most optimised packing solution for us we were in 2 x suitcases and 1x backpack with 1x carry on sized pram, we were away (mind you, my carry on allocation at this point was 1x AirPods). Kids and the stuff that has to come... many wishful thoughts of a different time and 2 months in Central America with just a 20L carry on..

 

[tassie6]

An early start and thanks to a lift from Sister6 (can’t get an uber if you need a car seat) we were on the first out of HBA up to SYD in Y on a QLink 717, ground staff were great and got us a row to ourselves to give us a little extra room (somewhere around row 20) and cabin crew were great. The ‘Joey Club’ kit passed out had a mini etch-a-sketch included - great idea and not one we had thought of in our preparations, will be making its way for the whole trip. Not much else to report here, some average banana bread handed around.



10 mins early arrival to the gate and walked straight on to the QF transfer bus to T1, even though its generally a quick trip, I really dislike having to transfer in Sydney, give me MEL and a stroll between terminals any day.

Immigration/security was a zoo, and thanks to Jnr6 = no e-gates for us. About 40mins later we were watching a poor fella smash a bottle of liquor across the terminal tiles and we disappeared into the J lounge. Busy but not too bad, cracked a bubbles to celebrate starting the trip while Mrs6 tried to tidy up a few loose ends.



QF127 today was on the unrefurbished A388 VH-OQL. We originally booked on an A333, this then changed to the unrefurb A388, then switched to a refurb edition, then 3 days out back to the unrefurb. The F seats were being sold as J, covered elsewhere here, and in what was a stroke of luck, about 3 months out I set up a seat alert on expert flyer for the F cabin (showing as all blocked) and literally the next day, row 5 was opened up and I could select as a lowly NB, these held all the way to departure! I kept the seat alert active, and that was the only chance we would have had to grab any F seats.

Missed priority boarding so not sure what happened there, business lane was open and we strolled through maybe 1/3 through boarding. That A388 boarding area at Gates 8/9 in Syd is horrible, hate to think what it was like before we got there as QF11 was boarding only a little while before 127. PDB was some sparkling or some other option.

Seat was great if honestly a little hard, so much room, even to put little fellas on the ground semi-contained.



One thing I have found very hard to come across on the internet for some cabins: Where is the bassinet and what does it look like? Given our little one is a fair chunk bigger than a newborn, we didn’t even know if he would fit in some of them. Airlines give generic baby sizes and weights but in reality its whether its big enough to keep him in there. We did eventually find a picture of the bassinet in the F cabin (which was luckily in Row 5 and one seat we could select) but not with it open as shown below, normally there is a cover there and it doesn’t look like its hiding anything behind. Interesting one that I have never encountered before, the netting shown below, fixes across the top and actually counts as a seat belt so you don’t have to remove the little one if the seatbelt sign comes on, this can be horrible when you get the little one finally to sleep, and all of a sudden you need to pull him and and pop a seatbelt on them for a little turbulence.

The bassinet in F is used so often, the first flight attendent didn’t even know how to open it up!




Not particularly sleepy here…

We took turns attempting to eat in one seat and keep Jnr6 entertained in the other. As mentioned previously, he is at the age where he now knows what he wants, but can’t quite understand why he can’t have it at all times, so taking anything off him/moving him/picking him up creates quite the... fuss.




The dumplings, tasty and bigger than they look


The beef, butter was fantastic but beef a little dry but still good. Mrs6 had the soup, beef and cheese, nothing major to report. I never saw Dessert, but I was probably wrestling Jnr6 so not a worry. Crew was good, some standouts over others.

Eventually got Jnr6 down for 3 hours and some respite. On waking our activity was crawling up the steps at the front of the A380 probably about 20 times, he crawl up, I carry him down. Prior to arrival had the noodles, pretty average honestly and I just remember it tasted pretty much like celery. For the last two hours Jnr6 was really bad and just couldn’t be kept happy with whatever we put in front of him: favourite toys, etch a sketch, iPad, phone… you name it. Eventually we landed in HKG on time but I resolved to have some new tactics before the next flight, I couldn't do that for 14hrs.

Bags arrived in the first few out, immigration very quick and we were in to Hong Kong Island just as it was getting dark. A 15min walk sounded easy enough, but a couple of wrong turns with 2 suitcases and bub in a pram in a sweaty 30deg meant it took us a little too long but arrived eventually. Hotel details to follow but we all just crashed and burned.

edit: punctuation

 

[craven morehead]

Dialling in to follow this TR

 

[TomVexille]

Ah the joys of travelling with toddlers

I'm maybe a little surprised you didn't find our TR from 2019 showing the F bassinet

 

[Pushka]

Ah the joys of travelling with toddlers

I'm maybe a little surprised you didn't find our TR from 2019 showing the F bassinet

The memory of travelling with a feisty two year old still lingers after 36 years! In Y though, all the way through to Europe.

Sounds like a fab trip. Italy especially.

 

[blackcat20]

Well done on surviving the flight. We did SYD-LA in F last year with Mr 17 months old and it was a looooong flight. That lounge upstairs was very handy (though the guy in front of me would disagree).

As TV alluded to, I posted a TR in 2019 when we travelled F with Miss 4 months with a few photos of the bassinet, because like you, I found there weren't many great pics of it available online.

 

[kookaburra75]

Looks like it will be a great trip - once you get to Tuscany at least. I can relate to you both, as MissK was a very feisty toddler and travel was always interesting. We'll be interested in your experiences in northern Italy, as MrsK and I are starting to rough out ideas for a month long grande tour through Italy in a couple of years time.

 

[NoName]

Looking forward to this trip report.

 

[I love to travel]

This looks great thanks for the effort.

 

[tassie6]

Well done on surviving the flight. We did SYD-LA in F last year with Mr 17 months old and it was a looooong flight. That lounge upstairs was very handy (though the guy in front of me would disagree).

As TV alluded to, I posted a TR in 2019 when we travelled F with Miss 4 months with a few photos of the bassinet, because like you, I found there weren't many great pics of it available online.

I did miss that one! You would think it would be something that is more readily available. I did encounter from QF F pics but CX I don’t think i saw any in F and not sure about J

 

[tassie6]

We stayed at the Akvo Hotel in Sheung Wan for two nights, seemed a decent price and on the larger side for a hotel room to stick a cot in. Great room and furnishings, Mrs6 impressed by the Dyson hair dryer in the bathroom, but the aircon was a little noisy. Really liked the area.

Our time in HKG was mainly spent eating and shopping. I was last in Hong Kong in 2018 and don’t remember it being quite so expensive but it’s fairly off the chain now. As an example Starbucks coffee is 44-48HKD, so ~$9-10 at current rates, but maybe that’s just me. Had some dumplings, Vietnamese and thai over the couple days. Didn’t do a whole lot of sightseeing as have done a lot of that before.


Jnr6 catching some Zs he refused to get in the cool dark hotel room..


just a few typical HKG shots


Early morning got stuck in a park for about 30mins as a thunderstorm rolled over



Whilst I have only been there a couple of times, Hong Kong Island didn’t seem markedly different from last I was there, if only the airport a bit quieter.

 

[randompunter]

Interesting TR so far, enjoying this as we have also recently done a few J flights with an infant/ almost toddler and it can be quite trying at times. Going to squeeze in one last go on the lap before she turns 2 later this year with some sale flights to HND on ANA J. After that I am at a loss because she may be too young to be trusted in a J seat by herself for the takeoff/landing and I have read some airlines wont allow on the lap after 2, prob hit and miss depending on the crew though.

But being an older dad I have become accustomed to long haul J for the past decade and I am too soft to go back to Y!

 

[tassie6]

Apologies for the delay in updates, I will have some more time this week!

 

[tassie6]

Apologies on the lag on this one, the trip unfortunately ending up getting cut very short, but there is some content to add, so let us resume...

After two nights in Hong Kong we checked out and made our way to the Airport about 7 hrs ahead of flight time, just how things turned out with the late flight and the in-city checkin still closed at the time (major bummer as such a convenient service, although I have seen somewhere it is reopening soon). Checked in at First desks for CX to LHR, is quite nice how there is not traditional bag belts, they just kind of wheel them off and weigh elsewhere, but would be nice to have a special immigration/customs through lane, but was quiet anyway. Then through to a bit of a lounge crawl to fill in the time!

CX Wing First was the first cab off the rank, and straight into the Cabanas to get rid of the sweat from a muggy Hong Kong day. Such a great facility, especially to give Jnr6 a bath ahead of a nap. After enjoying our 90mins in there we had lunch in the a la carte restaurant which was fine, but nothing else that exciting about the lounge to be honest, kind of sterile vibe. Service was good but not amazing.

From there off to the Qantas lounge which was by far our favourite of the day. Lots of space, very uncrowded ahead of the evening flight back to Sydney, an unofficial kids/family area at the end which we had all to ourselves and the staff basically did table service and seemed annoyed at me for bringing my own drink back to the table! Was fantastic, but alas had to leave when the outbound QF128 was boarding so decided to hoof it down to CX Pier Business to kill some time. Nice lounge also, plenty to eat and do with table service for F customers until Pier First opens. At this stage we were starting to get tired so slowly walked back down to the other end of the terminal, with the plan to kill the last bit of time in CX Wing Business, but didn’t really have the time, before for our flight to London.

These 2xF seats had actually dropped out of our booking due to ticketing issues back in Jan (after a change to the reward booking), but luckily Mrs6 noticed at the time and the seats miraculously went straight back into inventory and were still sitting there, lucky again we had enough points so she rebooked them before they disappeared and would have had to fight to get back. This was before the new email for ticketing problems so we were not sure they would ever come back. Rather miraculous to even have 2xF seats available to book I would think. At the time HKG was still in some form of covid restriction but we took the gamble it would open up enough by the time we flew, which turned out to be right.

Boarded on to CX251 777 First Class cabin for the ~14hr flight, we had 2D and 2K across the aisle from each other and bassinet in 2K. Welcomed with some sparking cold tea, nuts and Krug. Great seats and pretty comfortably fit two adults in the width. 2 Cabin crew in the full F cabin and were very good. New tactics for Jnr6 on this flight, restrained at all times in the front pack on me, unless asleep, definitely was better for everyone! Also every other airline overseas had no problem with him in the frontpack for takeoff/landing if still using seatbelt (one carrier later on didnt even give a seatbelt to use with it), compared to Australian airlines which make you take him out of front pack, not sure why cant stay in if seatbelt also wrapped around him?

Takeoff and we were knackered so got Jnr6 to sleep in bassinet and we crashed ourselves. Bassinet kind of clips in and sits above your feet when laying down, still plenty of space for your legs, quite a good setup and decent sized that could fit a bigger bub. Then the other fun one with bassinets...turbulence. Had to get him out a couple times but luckily he stayed asleep for about 6 hours. Then it was mission keep him quiet for about 3 hours before getting him down again, including some time in his own seat! Can very much recommend these little kids deckchairs as somewhere to put them if you have space on the plane, we strapped it into the companion seat.










Finally got him down again and it was time to actually enjoy some of the F life! We had a hybrid caviar/breakfast service with caviar, eggs benedict, and a mix of mimosas, cathay delights, breads and fruits. Before we knew it it was descent time into LHR for an early landing at about 5.20am local time. Great time to arrive as I think we were the second or third flight in, immigration etc all completely deserted. Bags beat us to the turnstyles and before we knew it we were out of there. Had prebooked Heathrow Express tickets well in advance for a good price, but we happened to land on a day of train strikes, they did make it quick to get a refund though before we left. So on to the new Elizabeth Line into Paddington (TFL not on strike), dropped bags at Hotel and it was 7.30 and had the full day in London ahead of us.








 

[tassie6]

Now in London, we headed to Monmouth Coffee in London Bridge area to catch up on a few memories from Mrs6's previous times in London, from there we walked across the river to Shoreditch to look at a few other old haunts, stopping around the place for Coffee. From there we spent the day just floating around London, after a cold grey start it turned into a really nice sunny day. Regent St then lunch in Hyde Park before meandering to the Hotel for a 3pm check in. Jnr6 had a good 3 hour nap in the pram, in whatever timezone he was in.

Hotel was Pilgrm just near Paddington Station, it was in an older building so had some quirks, fantastic deck above the street for a drink. Stayed near Paddington as we only had two nights for easy airport access, but wouldn't be in a rush to stay in the area again. Room was fine and space for cot was good, bathroom was nice. Got some supplies, I had had grand plans to go and see the musical Hamilton once the team was settled, but the long flight and day was catching up to me, and I had a sneaky feeling Jnr6 would not adjust to timezones immediately so I would really not get alot of sleep, so it was early bed for us (suspicions were right with a 2am wakeup).

Next day cool start but clear and cracking day. Big walk to see some of the sites from Paddington, through Hyde Park, Buckingham Palace, along to Westminster, South Bank, Covent Garden and up to Coal Drops Yard near Kings Cross, with stops along the way. Then met a mate back at Paddington who lives in Reading, went to the pub for a few drinks and an italian restaurant for dinner before crashing at the Hotel.




Hyde Park



Canal near Coal Drops Yard



Crossing the Thames

 

[RooFlyer]

Love those visits where there is no urgency to see the major sights and you can just cruise along and take in the wider city.

I would have expected anywhere in Paddington to be quite noisy?

 

[tassie6]

Love those visits where there is no urgency to see the major sights and you can just cruise along and take in the wider city.

I would have expected anywhere in Paddington to be quite noisy?

Noise wasn't too bad in our room, we were above an alley so not main road, main road would be pretty noisy in an old building like that I think

 

[tassie6]

Today travelling from LHR to MXP in Euro-Business on BA, Elizabeth Line back out to Heathrow, if you dont get advance pricing on the Heathrow Express, definitely worth catching this line at only 10-15 minutes longer and about 12 pounds each way, can just use contactless like any other TFL service to tap on and off. T5 fairly busy but Business Check in was quick, security about 20 minutes. Departing from A Concourse so used the Galleries Lounge South as had heard is a bit quieter. Still pretty busy in the morning rush (arrived airport about 10am for 1230flight) but just verging on not too busy. Offering fairly decent, although a constant lines for toilets because no urinals only cubicles for the gents.

Flight left about 20mins late but got to gate at about on time. Lunch was offered, I had a creamy chicken pasta which was really good. Good crew and regular drinks run, good view over the alps on approach to Milan. Not a lot else to say about that flight. Hit by what I now realise is a real negative when travelling with kids: can't use any e-gates. Sometimes family options for a quicker immigation line but sometimes just lumped in with anyone that cant use e-gates, probably cost us a 30minute lineup on arrival.

Into Milan on train to the city, staying in an Airbnb apartment in Lazzaretto, north of the city. Really nice renovated apartment and nice to have a kitchen again. Had a relaxed dinner in the apartment and listened to a thunderstorm overnight.

Spent our only real day in Milan exploring, walked to the Brera district and found a cafe for coffee and croissant, very pretty area. From there walked down to Duomo area, very impressive. I took Jnr6 back for a nap while Mrs6 went for some retail therapy. We met back up and went to Obica mozzarella bar for a late lunch, recommended for the view of the Duomo, you are on Level 7 of a neighbouring department store and look across to the Duomo. Food on the expensive side but worth it for the location and atmosphere, covered outdoor and indoor available.

Inter Milan were playing in the Champions League Final that night in Istanbul, so plenty of fans around chanting and starting the revelry.

Walked from Duomo down to Navigli for apertivo on the canal before catching the subway back to the apartment for the night. Jnr6's sleep finally getting on to the right timezone, after gradually adjusting by waking an hour or two later every night.

Milan seems to get a bad wrap, but I liked it and would have liked another day or two there definitely.


Streets around the apartment


Brera District


Navigli


View out apartment window




View from Obica Mozzarella Bar

 

[tassie6]

The next morning we got the train back to to Malpensa airport to pick up the hire car. Not a top tier firm but this was the only reasonable price I could find for something to fit a baby seat in (ended up with VW T-Cross, auto). Few teething issues with the car, severe pressure to buy the insurance, telling me I had no coverage if didnt get it (despite having excess insurance over their max limit of 3000eur through our own insurance) so that was frustrating, she was good at it though! Door handle only semi functional on rear door, needed to pull really hard to open (ended up fully breaking the next day, but could open from inside) and the child seat they offered was woefully inaquequate (twice) we were not happy and finally the boss came over and said wait 15mins and they will bring one from elsewhere, which turned out to be ok. Another Aussie gentleman at the counter with a bike tour group had only brought his international driving permit (didnt even look at it for me) and not his physical licence (thought he didnt need it)! He was not having a great time, but I think there was enough of them that someone else could take over. In the end when we did drop it off, they didnt try to charge anything extra and deposit refunded quickly.

Eventually we were on the road to Lake Como, destination for the next 3 nights. Stopped at Lecco for groceries before heading to our Airbnb on the east side of the lake at a town not far south of Varenna - Lierna - fantastic house and directly on the lake for a reasonable price with heaps of parking across the road, would stay there again. Owner/host lived in a bigger house next door. Unfortunately the road and train line from Lierna up to Varenna had received damage from the rain events in May before and were closed, which was not ideal as did plan to visit Varenna, but there were still ferry services from Lierna to access if needed, or could drive 45 mins around to get there. Wandered up to the main town and 'beach' and had apertivo overlooking the lake. The town was small but I loved it, none of the manic hustle of Como or Bellagio and still 3-4 restaurants and awesome swimming spots.

The following day the inlaws were arriving into Como station so I drove the ~1hr to pick them up. They booked last minute and of their own choosing had caught the bus from Frankfurt to Como, with a 5 hour transit in Basel starting at 4am! Flixbus half an hour late but they got there eventually. Went to the same spot near the beach for a swim, apertivo and pizza, nothing special but good price and great location.

The next day, we played the rather annoying ferry timetable and headed over to Bellagio for a couple of hours, damn it was busy! Arrived about 3pm and it was hectic. Walked out to the top of the peninsula and had a sit on the grass, but otherwise just strolled around the main waterfront before catching the last ferry back to Lierna, the inlaws had explored a little further and underestimated how far they had gone, they made the last ferry but were cutting it close! Bellagio, at least at that time of day, too busy for me. Dinner in the house tonight before leaving Lierna the next day



Shore at Lierna



View from House, terrace is for your use



View from Terrace back up to the house


Lierna Apertivo


Bellagio Boardwalk

 

[RooFlyer]

fantastic house and directly on the lake for a reasonable price with heaps of parking across the road,

Wow! Triple jackpot! I'm interested in deals like that, but not a house - care to mention how you found this?