My First TR: 21 Flights in 28 Days

[seanpodge]

I loved the hedges on the side of the road.


View attachment 44853

Looks like they were recently trimmed. They do look nice, but they can be a fair nuisance after they've been left to grow for a few months. If two cars pass each other, the branches will flick the sides of the cars. Around corners they can be a real danger by causing a blind corner.

 

[ellen10]

Loved the photos of Ireland.
We loved the rich green hills and it looks so scenic with the beautiful sunny days which was a bonus.

 

[exceladdict]

30: BHD, BA Lounge and BA1417


Unfortunately for us, the rain had just started up as we pulled in to the rental car lot, a good 5-10 minute walk from the terminal with our big bags. My big jacket came through though, and while my head was wet, neither of us were uncomfortable for a long time.


We arrived at the terminal and headed over to the BA desk - it's a small airport, but bigger than KTA, and waited in the priority line for a while as the gentlemen in front of us didn't seem to understand what was going on (though they had come from the priority queue). In the meantime, a number of pax passed through the general queue, though none that had arrived before we did.


Just as we began to regret the priority queue, we were called to the front by possibly the nicest check in agent I've ever met. Calling us over to the general line, she apologised to us for the delay and promised to process us quickly. I then proceeded to weigh our bags, ready to redistribute weight if necessary - before she reassured me that due to my OWS, we could have "up to 32kg before we needed to be worried". Reassured, we stood back as overweight stickers were slapped on all of our cases; and we were very glad we weren't facing the BA extra weight fees.


I took a stab at asking the agent if she could move us any further forward on the plane, having had a terrible row 6 experience on the previous flight. She managed to get us in row 5, so while we didn't get the extra legroom rows 1 to 4 appeared to have, we did get an air vent


The very kind agent also explained to us all the other perks of OWS - priority security, even at a tiny airport, which would turn out to be fantastic also; and the fact there was a BA lounge - which I didn't expect at this small airport - where there was direct boarding from the lounge to the gate. As you can guess, I was in a fantastic mood after this encounter.


I saw this on the way through and thought that perhaps they need these back home in some QPs.

 

[exceladdict]

Through security, we were very glad to be in the priority queue, and were through quite quickly. I can't remember what it was, but there was something different about not taking off boots / not taking things out of bags that was different to the US. As we blitzed through security, there was no one for the 'random' tests so my wife and I both had our documents double checked and bags tested for something or other. We passed with flying colours, and after quickly buying my dad an Irish souvenier, made our way through to the BA Lounge.


Expecting KTA style food, I had better food than I had in all AA lounges, most QPs and arguably, for the time of day, better than a QF Dom J lounge. We started with sandwiches and cheese.




My photo of the coffee machine was extremely out of focus, but there was one; opposite the biggest pile of fresh fruit I've seen in a lounge.





Some more of the sandwiches we so enjoyed. The chicken corn sandwiches were amazing, I helped myself to a few.





And a close up of the drinks on offer.





One more of the baps and some condiments for the soup.

 

[exceladdict]

There was an office table, but no one working,



and a nice work zone with a cool view of the boarding gates.



I then went back for some soup, thinking it was pumpkin, and then being thrown by the flavour and texture. It turned out to be carrot and anise.



As a side note, the service in this lounge was fantastic. Never before had I had someone come up to me in a lounge and ask if they could get me anything to drink, attentively clear the tables as soon as we'd finished, or kindly let us know when boarding was approaching. Super impressed. BA have got the regional lounge model right and I am sure glad I chose to avoid Aer Lingus.

And the view in the lounge was nice. There were lots of little flybe turboprop planes waiting to take off.

 

[exceladdict]

Boarding time came and as mentioned previously, the gate connected to the lounge directly so there was no rush, we strolled on to the plane along with a number of suits, who made me feel underdressed despite the fact I was wearing slacks and a nice sweater. It must be because they're in the 'executive club' and I'm just a 'frequent flyer'.
BA1417 BHD-LHR 1h:20m, Y 5A/B


After finding our seats, I was sure glad to find these vents. We were a bit closer to the engines in row 5, but the QC20s kept me quiet.





By now boarding seemed to have finished but it seemed that row 2 was completely empty. Perhaps it was reserved for OWEs and super-high exec club members?
The plane was being refuelled so we were asked not to buckle up at first. The man next to my wife then opened up another broadleaf paper....


I must say I'm not a fan of the BA safety video. The animation made me feel like I was being talked down to, and there was one point where I swear the cartoon lady's arm rotated 270 degrees in perfectly smooth motion. I was also uncomfortable when they showed us how to open the doors. I did, however, find the fact that it was now 'flight mode' as opposed to 'airplane' mode that we needed to activate on our phone. Although, the music at the end made it very hard to hear whatever they were trying to say.


The sun had come out by now, so while we taxid to the opposite end of the runway to take off, we were quite uplifted.





They appeared to be installing solar panels on the Bombardier factory.





And then we were uplifted literally, and with fewer clouds in the sky we had a fantastic view of Belfast suburbs as we climbed, banking heavily towards the East on a very steep angle that gave us a great view.





The suburbs were in a very cool pattern.

 

[exceladdict]

The flight over towards the isle was beautiful as we rose through the clouds.




I really need to spend some more time here.





And perhaps some more time on BA. I mean, who has coathangers on their economy chairs? I liked that for sure.




Still shaking ourselves off from American Y, it was an abnormal occcasion when snacks - Chips (crisps) and nuts were offered along with drinks, and those drinks included a slice of lemon. I just had coke, but it felt special nonetheless. We were warned that the flight may be a bit bumpy but we had blue skies most of the way and while there were some clouds about, we had nice views of the water and I don't think we climbed too high. Perhaps it was just because I wasn't exhausted from an overnight transatlantic, but I thought that this flight was overall a thousand times better than our flight over to Belfast.





The pilot again came on call and advised that there'd be a 10 minute period of turbulence but even then it wasn't too bad. Eventually we approached London, where the sky was a bit more gloomy.




We weren't sure if we would be going through border control again, so we had to quickly wolf down the caramel slice our aunt had packed for us. It felt a shame eating it so quickly, but then again, it was sooooo good.

 

[exceladdict]

Gooj (our flight from the other day)'s older and younger siblings (G-EUUF and G-EUUH) were waiting at the gate as we approached.





LHR has it's own ramp support unit; something I hadn't encountered (knowingly) in the past. I wonder if it's like IT support off the IT crowd; "Hello, Ramp support. Have you tried turning if off and on again?"





And after not long, we were off the plane, had our bags and were waiting underground for a train into London.





Next up: London and the IC Park Lane

 

[JohnSydney2000]

[

After finding our seats, I was sure glad to find these vents. We were a bit closer to the engines in row 5, but the QC20s kept me quiet.

Your journey continues well.

4 flights, 3 countries, in 2 days, all in the front cabin, including an A 380. Screaming , shouting children, and obese LOFTAP citizens in their 30's in Row 1, speaking at over 80 decibels for 5 hours. Flight attendents were aghast at this behaviour!!! I am glad your noise cancelling headphones worked!!!! John. Happy Travels.

 

[JohnSydney2000]

has it's own ramp support unit; something I hadn't encountered (knowingly) in the past. I wonder if it's like IT support off the IT crowd; "Hello, Ramp support. Have you tried turning if off and on again?"

Perhaps the ramp support unit might better have been allocated been supporting the executive club software, where over 100k members had their avios points totally removed with the notation "ex-gratia" for 3 or 4 days. And this is a few weeks before avios points worth are being devalued by at least 30% on April 28th. Hello , is the Qantas thread???? Happy points devaluation (past loyalty devaluation)! John.

 

[Jim Walsh]

As we got in to town, we saw some buildings you'd never really see back home:




And a huge crane.


View attachment 44877



Next Up: BHD & BA1417

Harland and Wolff Shipyard, they built the Titanic as well as many other famous ships

 

[exceladdict]

31: London and the Intercontinental Park Lane


We arrived off the short flight energised and excited to be in another city, in my case for the first time. We made our way, in what felt like a very quick fashion, down to the Underground station attached to LHR Terminal 5, and waited a few minutes for the next train on the Picadilly line.


Our stop was diagonally opposite our hotel, the IC Park Lane, across a roundabout. Now, I couldn't tell from Google Maps that this roundabout had no overland crossings, and that I'd have to carry our three bags up and down stairs to go via an underpass. However, the sum we saved on taxi fares was worth it, which we later used to treat ourselves on dinner


Intercontinental, and I assume the IHG group, call this their flagship property, and, given the levels of service of the staff, I can see why.





I considered myself underdressed the entire time I was in the hotel, even in my room. I could count on one hand the number of males, service staff or otherwise, not in a full shirt and tie or tux; and one of them was me. Regardless, we were well looked after. For the first time on the trip, we had the bellboy take up our bags. Sometimes, you have to treat yourself. TV and cabinetry were nice.




We were welcomed to the room with mandarins - very tasty, as we would later discover - and a complimentary bottle of water that if I remember correctly was normally 8 pounds on the minibar price list.




Ah, the amenities. Here, they even include a travel charger!




The room itself was arguably a traditional fashion, but our view partially overlooked Hyde Park.

 

[exceladdict]

But now, it was time to get some serious eating done. In an effort to soak up some local culture in our short stop, we found a bar called the 'Punch Bowl'. On our way there, we saw two police guarding a seemingly inconspicuous building. Interesting,. We were hungry though so we continued without asking questions, and sat down to a Cider.





Being hungry, we were glad with the choice available.





I ordered the Punchbowl Pie, my wife the Londoner Sausage. Both turned out to be amazing.






We enjoyed the meal thoroughly and the bar staff even narrowed our accents down to either Aussie or NZ, not wanting to guess in case he offended us. I didn't mention to him that for the last three weeks in the US, we were asked if we were British most of the time. Anyhoo, back to the hotel.

 

[exceladdict]

When we got back to our room, it had been turned down (if that's the right term?). Bed prior (forgive the panorama crop):




Bed on return:





Complete with a card advising us to know what to expect tomorrow.




I was wowed. Also, but not pictured, were towels next to the bed on both sides. A quick google suggested that not many hotels do this anymore. After not long we were out cold, ready for a blitz of a day in London.

 

[Flying mermaid]

We've got tickets to see Chicago when we visit the US.
Planning on catching another show as well.

We also have tickets for Chicago for 11 May - just love the music!

 

[Flying mermaid]

Thank-you for sharing your travels - an interesting combination of destinations - loved the photos of Ireland!

 

[exceladdict]

Thank-you for sharing your travels - an interesting combination of destinations - loved the photos of Ireland!

A pleasure. Still a bit to go!

London Day Two

In the morning, I had to head down to the business centre to print a document and request a late check out, which was granted at 2pm. Here, even your newspapers get their own special bag:




The Business Centre has its own special access card system, I started the day with some complimentary sparkling water they had there. The printer didn't work in the end, so the desk attendant helped me with the printing anyway, but I did enjoy the bubbly water.




We were off to be tourists today. We caught the underground, about 10 minutes walk along Green Park from the hotel, and after two stops were close to our destination. We grabbed a starbucks on the way and found that, yet again, the cappucino did not come with chocolate dusting (we had to add it ourselves after the fact). Then, we got to where we were going.





Can I just say this place was phenomenal. I've been to a number of places in the world that had the wax museums but never ventured inside. My wife remembered how much fun she had here on a past visit and was very eager to show me through. I must say though, the feeling of such lifelike models standing so still in a room near you is unlike anything I'd experienced before. Especially when there's other tourists in the room, you quickly forget which objects in your periphery are real, and which fake.

 

[exceladdict]

Now, we'd read on tripadvisor that the lines were quite bad, so we bought tickets online the day prior (which also saved a few pounds) and arrived about 10 minutes prior to opening (we'd reserved the first slot). The line had about 20 pax when we arrived, and when the doors opened we were through in a matter of minutes. Inside tip: very early in the morning, the photographers who man the exclusive (read: charge extra) booths weren't on duty yet, so we were able to snag pictures with a number of the high-price attractions.






Some other of the models we thought were particularly cool:

 

[exceladdict]

I wish I could have showcased more, but my camera was being silly and not focussing very well on this particular day.



As a sidenote, some that we were unimpressed by were the One Direction group - they seemed rushed and with little facial detail - as did some of the other pop performers, including Miley Cyrus.





The politicians and activists were particularly impressive though.





While we felt like we beat the system by sneaking into the Obama and Royal Family scenes, getting in early did mean that the actors for the Scream exhibit were not yet ready.





As such, we were held up for about 15 minutes but took the chance to take some more of the earlier posted photos.

 

[exceladdict]

After waiting and almost being tempted by the smell of amazing popcorn, it was time to head in.




The next section focussed on London's torture-culture of Medieval times and was difficult to picture - other than the below - due to poor light.





After a walk through an area describing some of London's most notorious criminals, and their methods of punishment and execution, we lined up for about 5 minutes before being welcomed into a haunted-house style maze where actors jumped out at you from around corners to make you, well, scream, as promised. No pictures, naturally, but I am pleased to report that it was fun. My wife wasn't allowed by her parents to visit it as a child, and I can understand why.


Following Scream it was time for the Spirit of London, a short historical car-ride that was significantly tamer than Scream.





While a bit light on detail, given the duration, it did showcase some cool faces and significant times of Britain.


After that it was through to the Super Hero zone and the 4D Cinema. A number of Superheros including Wolverine, Iron Man (in suit), Captain America, Spiderman and the Hulk (angry) were on display and my inner child enjoyed the section and the 4D movie.