In Royal Footsteps-southern England and the long way home.

[VPS]

Beautiful gardens. I used to work near there and the rhododendrons were amazing

 

[OZDUCK]

A burst of Percy Grainger (his piano arrangement) would seem to be definitely in order. Lovely photos of lovely flowers.

 

[mrs.dr.ron]

Beautiful gardens. I used to work near there and the rhododendrons were amazing

It must have been a good year for Rhododendrons this year, everywhere we went they were great ! Wish I could grow them in QLD

 

[drron]

So now it was time to check in at the Sofitel T5 then drop the car back to Avis.No Accor status but still a reasonable room.
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Though not the best of views.
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We decided to eat in.Their French restaurant gets some good reviews but it is closed on sundays.So their everyday restaurant it was.
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Mrsdrron had a pork chop and i the fish and chips.It was reasonable.

However we were treated to an amusing performance.An older African lady arrived and sat down at a table just across from us.She had several plastic bags.She kicked off her shoes and ordered.A meal was brought to her which she complained bitterly about.She was the brought a soup and that was also the source of complaints.During all this she would get up and empty and repack a bag.A knife went into one.Then she would take off her cardigan and sit down but a minute later get up and put it back on.Then when the staff were all further away she got up and walked out.

 

[drron]

Unfortunately we had to get up early checking out at 0500 as BA had switched our 1100 flight to 0700.
We arrived at the BA F checkin about 0510 and we were checked in.The agent then said the priority security didn't open until 0530,in fact the F checkin isn't meant to open until 0530 as well.So down to the normal security though it did have a priority lane.There was a body scanner which I prefer but I was asked to take my shoes and belt off which rather defeated the purpose of picking it.At least I didn't have to be wanded.
No shops open much to mrsdrron's chagrin so off to the F lounge as we were travelling in J so no Concorde room this time.
Flight was on time.Another good BA crew and brekkie was surprisingly good.
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It was a bit hazy today so only 1 picture over Germany.
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Because of the early flight we now not only had to do the transfer between terminals at FRA but now had nearly an 8 hour layover.being on Asiana meant we had to pass time in the terminal until checkin opened.We were lucky to find a couple of seats.Fortunately checkin opened about 4 hours before the flight so we were able to spend the rest of the wait in the LH Senator lounge.
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OK for plane spotting.
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Good to see our lady come in.
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Walking to the gate we passed the desperates .
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Don't enjoy the security at the gate in Germany.Need to take just about everything out.Mrsdrron got a real grilling.They thought there was something unusual in her carryon-turned out to be nothing but they then went through everything.She carries our money.They wanted to know why we had so many different currencies.Well GBP because we have just come from there,euro because we visited Ireland,Yen because we stayed in Japan,baht because we are going there and Aud because that's who we are.
It was a relief to get on board.

 

[drron]

Once again this was a Lifemiles redemption.This time there was a good connection from ICN-NRT so we went straight through.The downside is that it was about 36 hours from waking at the Sofitel until going to bed in the hotel at HND.

OZ 542 FRA-ICN. A380. Seats 2D,G.
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It was a comfortable seat and the crew were good but a bit reserved.I would rank JL,NH and SQ above them on the F package.

 

[drron]

The menu.
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[drron]

And wine list.
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[I love to travel]

I got caught up in the downgrade to J issue but it doesn't look like I have missed out too much.

 

[drron]

I got caught up in the downgrade to J issue but it doesn't look like I have missed out too much.

I didn't think that their F experience was bad but just others are better.also talking to the FA serving me when I suggested they must be under a lot of pressure she admitted that many were scared of losing their jobs.That can't help.

 

[drron]

Now onto the food.Shrimp dumplings and ham.With a proper F setting.
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Caviar.
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The lobster dome,tomato soup and the leaves.
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Mains.I had the beef and mrsdrron the lamb but she ate it before I remembered to take a picture.The beef was good.
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I then had the cheese plate and mrsdrron the tart.
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all in all a good meal but not spectacular.

 

[drron]

As for wines I had 2 glasses of the Laurent Perrier then the French red which was very good.Mrsdrron naturally had the Sav Blanc.

After dinner I listened to some Rolling Stones whilst reading my kindle.As anticipated that made me a little sleepy.The FA made up my bed and I had a reasonable sleep.On waking they had started the breakfast service.I wasn't hungry and just had some fruit and a croissant.
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As our next flight was in J we had to be content with the J lounge this time.A little less in food offerings but very good showers with no wait.Just had to leave your BP at the front desk.That refreshed us so we were able to tolerate the rest of the day.

Some views from the lounge.
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[mrs.dr.ron]

Air Seoul - say that fast three times .........

 

[drron]

We left the lounge early to walk the terminal before another few hours being seated.There were a couple of free shows.The first was of a wedding parade.
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[drron]

There was a stage for musical presentations.We had just missed one and the next was at our boarding time.
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Not to worry a little further on was a shop with a woman playing a Korean instrument.
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[drron]

Arrived at the gate a couple of minutes before boarding started,
OZ 106. ICN-NRT. A359. Seats 2G,2K.
A good set up with a generous footwell unlike some other carriers.
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A clear day so some good views.
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[drron]

Quite a bit of developement happening.
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And good views of the airport and the port.
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But then the clouds appeared.
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[drron]

The menu was pretty poor.
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So only 1 main on the western menu which was spicy.The FA told mrsdrron the Ssambap wasn't spicy.Ho ho.
Wine list.
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So 1 champagne,1 white,1 red.I enjoyed the red but mrsdrron didn't fancy the white.
I had the fish and salad.
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So even the salad was a problem for mrsdrron-capsicum doesn't agree with her.

 

[drron]

The clouds rolled back as we approached Narita.The seas looked a little angry.
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And a solar farm.
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[drron]

About to land and taxi to Terminal 2.
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The last 2 pictures are a reminder of the problems when the airport was built.I remember well the stories coming out of Japan.In the visits to Japan before the second runway was built you always saw this.The farmers who didn't want to leave were allowed to keep their houses hence some of the long taxis you have at NRT quite often.It really was a major battle.

Sanrizuka: The Struggle to Stop Narita Airport

In December last year Susumu Hagiwara passed away at the age of 69. He had been one of the most senior figures in the remaining Narita protest movement, which even if people have heard of it &#8212…

throwoutyourbooks.wordpress.com

Narita International Airport - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

At the gate and the ANA A380 for their Hawaii service.
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We had a long walk to Immigration as usual but not very long lines.Bags coming out as we got to the carousel and ours were 1 and 2.
Bought tickets for the Limousine bus to HND and only a 10 minute wait.Unusually most busses were 1 or 2 minutes late leaving.

We stayed at the Royal Park hotel at the International terminal.This was our second stay there and I had joined their club-free.So instead of the worst room on our first stay we got one of their better rooms.Larger and on the second top floor.
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Despite being on a high floor still no view.
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Didn't worry us as we crashed and were in the Land of Nod very quickly.