SYD-BKK-xHEL-BCN-VLC-MAD-xHEL-BKK-SYD on QF, AY & Renfe Trains in J

[Pushka]

Thanks for the positive comments. One never knows if people are wanting to poke their eyes out with an blunt airline knife or are actually playing along at home as well.

1 full week. Could have spent 2 easily ... plus there were day drips we wanted to do that couldn't be done in the time.

And for Valencia 4 days is enough.

I know exactly what you mean when doing a trip report and the only posts are your own. But many of us are avid TR readers here. And sometimes you just don't want to post in case it spoils the flow.

Carry on.

 

[love_the_life]

Dont listen to the Dame (love_the_life) - she holds hands a lot.

Who with? Mr L_t_L is English - no hand holding there! I know which side my bread is buttered on - too expensive to go for two or three marriages :mrgreen: I must admit that does not sound good but we are compatible (most times). What's Lurv between a couple? like us??

And nonpop I'm really enjoying the read! To give the background to Pushka's use of the word "Dame" - she is Dame the Younger and I Older Dame from a trip report on QM2 last year (oh, how tragic, so long ago).

 

[OATEK]

43 years here and I would be in serious trouble if I booked us into the single seats.
We also like AY and Barcelona.

I'm with DrRon, SWMBO would be less than impressed if I cast her off to separate seats.

Thanks for the AY report nonpop. We are doing SYD-HKG-HEL-CDG//TXL-HEL-BKK-SYD in J March/April, and it was great to see how well you were looked after. I see you had the latest config J on AY for the BKK leg, whereas seatmap currently still has me on the old config. Hoping for an aircraft change, although have the new config HKG-HEL. We did our booking (as above)the whole way through AY, so got CX to HKG, and QF home from BKK.

 

[Pushka]

Who with? Mr L_t_L is English - no hand holding there!

Oops. I've let something slip. . Not really Mr L_T_L

It's interesting to read reviews of airlines I'd never considered before.

 

[love_the_life]

I really don't know what you mean

Now back the the TR.

Finnair is pretty good - so if you need to pay for J to Europe it's a good deal usually.

The walking tour we did in Barcelona was really interesting. There are a batch of them available through the tourist centre. We pre-booked online.

 

[craven morehead]

Thread subscription !!

 

[nonpop]

A few more shots of Valencia.

One day we decided to go down to the seaside.
So over breakfast we looked at the metro map. Easy.
Breakfast done, we head to the local metro and catch it to the end. We then connect to a tram which is timed to 'connect' with the metro.
The one ticket (from our 'metro-10' ticket) allowed us to connect to the tram with ease.

Hot tip: When you get on the tram at the other end to come home, you need to validate your metro ticket before you get on the tram via little machine at each station. An RFID tap-&-go type system. At first we didn't know this. So we got on the tram and I was expecting a validation machine inside the tram (like many buses have). Nope, nothing. And I watched others get on and just sit down. Mmmm something was right I told myself. Then at the next tram stop I quickly jumped out as there was a lot of people boarding ... blam that is when I saw it. I quickly tapped both our tickets and then jumped back on. All whilst SWMBO was thinking I was leaving her on the tram. Crisis averted. We had a good laugh.


Tram shot inside.
They were clean and safe with regular security at people hopping on and off as well as security at each metro train station.



Well we made it to the beach easily with a short 2 min walk from the tram stop to the beach from.
The sand was very fine. No chance of us swimming as it was a little fresh with the temp only being about 15 deg c.
The promenade had a lot of the restaurants where we had lunch. Prices were reasonable.
Valencia beach.

On a hot summers day this place would be packed and I reckon teaming with life.


After checking out the beach area we walked about 5 mins until we came to the main marina area. This is where some Americas yacht races were held. As I enjoy sailing I was looking forward to seeing this space. Port Americas Cup | Valencia

A Map


shot of marina area (with my back facing the building in the next shot)


The building built for the Americas cup races. It is impressive in the design up close and personal.


tbc

 

[nonpop]

More Marina shots


Team Kiwi


Th Marina was worth seeing and is easily knocked over in a morning.

We had been told the local Zoo was worth visiting.
http://www.valencia-cityguide.com/tourist-attractions/museums/bioparc.html

Now I'm not one for Zoos (may be because I deal with too many 'monkeys' each day) but SWMBO loves them and I wasn't going to stand in her way considering I dragged her to said Marina (where she did seem to consume a few glasses of Red with lunch to numb the pain I suspect).

We jumped back on public transport and away we went. Again the 1 transport ticket did the trick. They don't call it a Zoo, but rather a Bioparc (Bio-Park) and does in fact live up to its name. Parts of the 'old' Zoo have been transformed into a new more engaging park when animals are not caged in but rather separated by water moats etc. It works rather well allowing you to get up and close (or as close can be) to many of the animals. Though I still think keeping large game animals in relatively small areas is a challenge.

We purchased tickets on-line at the Marina using the restaurant wifi. It saved a few euro per head (or I saw it as buying us another glass or two of Red come afternoon coughtail time). When I got to the Zoo gate there was a 'skip the line pre-purchased tickets' line which we entered. At the booth I flashed my mobile phone, the lady gave me a disgruntled look and she printed out the tickets. I looked back her, smiled with one of those insincere smiles and said "thank you".

I wont bore you with all the pics we tok of animals, so here are two I found I liked:

Taken with a mobile phone, so no zoom. Was right in front of us at one of the exhibits.
Whatever he was doing, he just kept doing it and seemed to enjoy it. His companion then got up and just walked away in the background.


Boo ... We were walking between exhibits when all of a sudden a head popped over an embankment. I wasn't ready for it and was a little startled. SWMBO just started laughing at me. The Giraffe thought it was funny as well as when we left, he seemed to duck back down then pop his head back up and repeat the exercise to each new group. The person in the front of the group reacted the same as I did which made me feel better (protecting my manhood).


I admit it, the Zoo was worth visiting and should be very nice when it is finished.

After we left the zoo this was a stained glass window of a church. In the flesh it was very impressive.


Well that wraps up Valencia. Valencia is worth seeing if you know what you want to tick off your list.
3 to 4 days would cover it all provided you are not soaking things up i.e moving from attraction to attraction.
And yes the Paella was better in Valencia than Barcelona.

Now we head off to Madrid via train.

TBC

 

[nonpop]

... We are doing SYD-HKG-HEL-CDG//TXL-HEL-BKK-SYD in J March/April, ... I see you had the latest config J on AY for the BKK leg, whereas seatmap currently still has me on the old config. Hoping for an aircraft change, although have the new config HKG-HEL. We did our booking (as above)the whole way through AY, so got CX to HKG, and QF home from BKK.

Our seat map was showing the return HEL-BKK as an old A340, then about 2 wks prior it changed to a new one.

AY have 2 flights out of HEL-BKK and return a day for most days. The A340 flight was much cheaper at the time (about $500) so I selected it and just rolled the dice. Glad I did. I understand some A340s will not be refurbished as they have A350s coming online. So I'd be avoiding HEL-SIN.

Plus HEL-BKK earns at better SC rates on the partner SC earning vs HKG / SIN if memory serves me right.

I have yet to book a complete ticket with AY from Oz to EU as I just roll the dice with sale fares. But I think net-net pricing is similar. It does allow me to maximise my QF SC earn on the QF return legs.

I just wish AY had a real J intra-EU cabin. But the price makes it affordable so I see everything as a trade-off.

Re CDG ... 2 years ago we flew out of CDG with AY (flew in with RJ). The lounge AY use at CDG is generic as well. So don't plan to spend too much time there.

 

[get me outta here]

Where's my carrot?!

More Marina shots

Boo ... We were walking between exhibits when all of a sudden a head popped over an embankment. I wasn't ready for it and was a little startled. SWMBO just started laughing at me. The Giraffe thought it was funny as well as when we left, he seemed to duck back down then pop his head back up and repeat the exercise to each new group. The person in the front of the group reacted the same as I did which made me feel better (protecting my manhood).
View attachment 40873

 

[get me outta here]

Did you get the artichoke's name for this building? I do like the proportions.

A few more shots of Valencia.


The building built for the Americas cup races. It is impressive in the design up close and personal.
View attachment 40869

tbc

 

[amaroo]

Enjoying the TR. Looking forward to Madrid installments.

 

[nonpop]

Where's my carrot?!

I found one more from another perspective.
They just seemed to like popping out from behind the rock and sticking their heads over embankments ... then after they'd do it a few times they'd go over to a tree (which is covered in a plastic meshing) and they'd rub their faces .. they'd rinse and repeat. Like they were actually having fun or part of a candid camera set-up

 

[nonpop]

So it was time to head from Valencia to Madrid. Again rather than fly I'd elected to catch the train.
Centre of city to centre of city is very attractive. Though no QF SCs is still disappointing.

Again we booked about 2 months out and secured 1st class seats at great prices from Renfe.
Paid in Euro using the Bankwest mastercard. Once we entered the SMS from Bankwest the transaction went through fine.

We jumped on the local Metro using the last of our travel 10 ticket which took us to the high speed station.
Getting on the local metro with suitcases seems no issue unless the carriage is full. In which case we just push in as it seems the euro way. Just push and keep pushing.


Local Metro


We arrived at Valencia high speed station and waited. Valencia is a much smaller station vs Barcelona. So about a 30 mins pre-departure is plenty. (this is a shot from when we arrived but was exactly the same when we arrived to depart to Madrid).


Check-in then opened and lines formed for X-ray of luggage (which didn't happen at Barcelona). 3 trains were departing simultaneously.
The line moved very quickly. No laptops needed to be taken out etc. And there was no security check of what was on your person i.e don't put the gun in your bag, put it in your jacket you are wearing.

We got through this faux security quickly then joined the line for the train on our platform.


The boarding pass is then scanned as you get near the train. If yuo have a discounted ticket (student, pensioner) this is where you prove it.
After scanning our BP, we found our carriage and boarded.


Our F carriage in a 1-2 config vs Y at 2-2. F also seemed to have more space between you and the seat in front. recline also seemed greater.


TBC

 

[nonpop]

Cabin shot - the front of carriage has 1 bank of 2 & 2 facing each other. Good for families. Otherwise everything else is facing forward.


Our seats - very comfortable and reminded me of AA domestic F


Tray table down ... these are huge and solid. Easy to drop your laptop on and tap away.


Seat with tray table down and footrest extended


Bathroom - 1 at front and 1 at rear of carriage. Everything fully auto and worked well. Strange taking a tinkle at 300+ klph.
The train was sooth and therefore I didn't need to write my name on the toilet wall.


TBC

 

[nonpop]

Another bathroom shot


Seat power options + entertainment.
Free headphones were offered so you could watch the overhead move which was in Spanish. Even though the movie was dubbed into Spanish from English and with Spanish subtitles, there was no option for English on the channel selector button. Oh well.


Yes over 300klm per hr and very smooth. The train would average about 300 klm p.h at then at other times around 275 ks as it approached other stations (not stopping) or bridges / tunnels. You can also see the TV monitor where the movie was played.


Scenery along the way to Madrid


Starting to come into Madrid


The trained stopped to pick up at a few stations along the way. At last pick-up it was 99% full.
Tea / coffee and snacks could be purchased from a roving cart.

It was a pleasant train trip.

TBC as we now arrived in Madrid ...

 

[love_the_life]

Great TR - some of the First class ones we've been on include a snack/meal. Not these ones?

 

[Pushka]

Bump. . Are you stuck somewhere?

 

[rogerkambah]

Thanks nonpop, a great TR with lots of info.

Did a similar trip last year with AY from BKK-HEL-BUD//LHR-HEL-BKK, with BUD-PRA by Hungarian rail (F booked online on Mav Start website at about a third of the cost of buying tx in OZ) See How To Buy Hungarian Train Tickets? - Budapest Travel Guide.

Did you manage to book your open jaw AY on the Finnair website? I couldn't see how to do that so had to book through a TA which meant I lost control of the booking which was a worry if things went wrong (they didn't).

While we had the old config A340 BKK-HEL-BKK in Sept/Oct it was very good for the cost. Especially liked the daylight BKK-HEL leg.

 

[knasty]

The AY website has multi city option which allows you to do open jaw, as well as seeing 4 different fare class buckets which is helpful when crediting to partner programs.