Barcelona to London as day trip?
Jan 31st, 2016, 10:54 AM
#21
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" thanks to those who tried to help me figure out a plausible solution"
Why is this either outrageous or implausible?
It's obviously impossible to see an evening play and get back to Barcelona that night: you must have known this before wasting everyone's time.
It's perfectly possible - on days when there are matinees of whichever play you want to see - to see the play and get back to Heathrow for the last flight back. Not easy (the last flight's 2010), impossible from LCY (whence no flights to BCN), probably impossible from LGW (too far away and flights too early) and just not possible from LTN, STN or SEN.
Not remotely odd: London's modern economy is largely built on its position as Europe's pre-eminent commercial and cultural capital, and same-day commuting from Europe's lesser cities is as commonplace (and as cheap and easy) as daytrips to New York from Chicago. Slightly tricky, because you've got to get to LHR T3, with your boarding pass, by 1920 - which isn't possible from some suburban theatres, or from some fashionable auditoria in the edgier inner city. The Almeida, for example, is probably out of range.
But from any West End theatre, a brisk walk to Piccadily Circus tube, some discreet use of sharp elbows to get onto a Bakerloo to Paddington and equally ruthless sprinting to the next HEX will get you there on time.
Be wary of Saturdays this spring (less frequent HEX's), avoid Sundays (few theatres open, and several of those that do have VERY late matinees), remember there aren't matinees every day and don't even think about any other transport method between the West End and LHR.
But all those chaps and chapesses pushing me aside at Paddington around 1815 are doing exactly - without thinking and every working day - what the poster for some unaccountable reason is dismissing as "outrageous" and "implausible"
Have Americans stopped travelling to meetings recently that such a straightforward journey is causing such angst?
Why is this either outrageous or implausible?
It's obviously impossible to see an evening play and get back to Barcelona that night: you must have known this before wasting everyone's time.
It's perfectly possible - on days when there are matinees of whichever play you want to see - to see the play and get back to Heathrow for the last flight back. Not easy (the last flight's 2010), impossible from LCY (whence no flights to BCN), probably impossible from LGW (too far away and flights too early) and just not possible from LTN, STN or SEN.
Not remotely odd: London's modern economy is largely built on its position as Europe's pre-eminent commercial and cultural capital, and same-day commuting from Europe's lesser cities is as commonplace (and as cheap and easy) as daytrips to New York from Chicago. Slightly tricky, because you've got to get to LHR T3, with your boarding pass, by 1920 - which isn't possible from some suburban theatres, or from some fashionable auditoria in the edgier inner city. The Almeida, for example, is probably out of range.
But from any West End theatre, a brisk walk to Piccadily Circus tube, some discreet use of sharp elbows to get onto a Bakerloo to Paddington and equally ruthless sprinting to the next HEX will get you there on time.
Be wary of Saturdays this spring (less frequent HEX's), avoid Sundays (few theatres open, and several of those that do have VERY late matinees), remember there aren't matinees every day and don't even think about any other transport method between the West End and LHR.
But all those chaps and chapesses pushing me aside at Paddington around 1815 are doing exactly - without thinking and every working day - what the poster for some unaccountable reason is dismissing as "outrageous" and "implausible"
Have Americans stopped travelling to meetings recently that such a straightforward journey is causing such angst?
Jan 31st, 2016, 11:51 AM
#22
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Well it's not straightforward for an evening performance - it's just no possible.
And perfectly possible for a matinee as I described.
Not sure why the OP could not just google and figure it out - it only takes about 5 minutes - unless s/he thought there were some magical middle of the night flights not showing up on search engines.
And perfectly possible for a matinee as I described.
Not sure why the OP could not just google and figure it out - it only takes about 5 minutes - unless s/he thought there were some magical middle of the night flights not showing up on search engines.
