San Marco At Dusk; Tosca Leapt
Jul 11th, 2016, 04:45 AM
#1
Original Poster
San Marco At Dusk; Tosca Leapt
I have pretty much stopped writing trip reports since these days we travel for more or less esoteric interests which many do not share. We also do not travel for the sole purpose of fine dining and a lot of our more recent locations we've been to more thn once.
However, as I sit here in a Paris hotel room after a morning out and wondering if it is really going to rain along with wishing more museums were open on Monday, I decided to "share" a few musings. I realize they aren't nearly as interesting as other topics in the current "Top 25" but nevertheless.
When we fly to Europe, or anywhere for that matter, we usually leave from our "home airport" of Fort Lauderdale. However, the advantage and conveniece of flying non-stop is appealing so for this trip we opted to leave from Miami and fly to Venice via London on British Airways.
Some of the people over on FlyerTalk will tell you while tking a break from counting all their frequent flyer miles, that British is still using those "old" 747's and how the "product" just doesn't measure up. Girding ourselves for "inferior" flatbed seats we set off with a friend who agreed to drop us off.
MIA is about 35 miles from our home and despite the madness which I-95 in South Florida can be, the new Express Lanes made the trip pretty easy and fast. The airport approach was bumper to buper due to the presence of a whole bunch of Miami-Dade police vehicles complete with flashing blue lights and upon first look we began to wonder of some sort of "event" had occurred.
In fact, the police officers were standing on each side of each approach lane and eyeballing every approaching car and we noticed they had pulled several over and had the occupants standing outside of them. What were they looking for? Were they, in fact, profiling people? Looking for people dressed in camo gear with assault rifles at the ready in the front seat? Beats me.
We passed by without being detained and bidding our friend/driver good bye went inside to check in.
I know one reason people like to fly in First and Business is/are those dedicated check in lanes at airport counters and we new we were going to have to show our passports at some point so had not bothered to print out boarding passes at home.
Yes, we had arrived a full three hours prior to departure. No, it did not seem to help since it appeared that everybody else flying on this "legacy" 747 had also arrived early. There was no dedicated check in for anything but First (which was totally deserted since there aren't that many First seats anyway) and we patiently waited which we expected to do.
Over an hour later we got checked in and gave up the checked bags (another reason we like to fly the fewest number of segments possible) and headed to Security.
We were behind folks wih their little dog headed for Boston and he was fun to play with. TSA took a whopping five minutes to complete (we take every possible thing off and stuff it into our carry-on bags but I've had more than one totally empty pocket wanded in the past so who knows?).
Dedicated departure lounge with real booze you poured yourself was nice along with the hot and very bad for you (therefore, delicious) food helped to pass the time.
Mob scene aat the departure gate and despite a flight attendant practically yelling that, "We may be delayed but we have a fast flight plan" I am never reassured. Those public address system "announcements" made "from the podium?" Might as well be in a foreign language and despite this being Miami, the gateway to South America, those announcements continue to be made in English and they are STILL sometimes impossible to understand.
Needless to say, the service aboard in British Airways' 'business class' which they, of course, like to call 'Club World' was fine. The seat was flat so I got some sleep; the food was edible (had my first bacon roll for breakfast, too) and we only arrived an hour late since we were delayed by thunderstorms in Miami which I guess played havoc with that "fast flight plan" but it beats walking.
More coming...
However, as I sit here in a Paris hotel room after a morning out and wondering if it is really going to rain along with wishing more museums were open on Monday, I decided to "share" a few musings. I realize they aren't nearly as interesting as other topics in the current "Top 25" but nevertheless.
When we fly to Europe, or anywhere for that matter, we usually leave from our "home airport" of Fort Lauderdale. However, the advantage and conveniece of flying non-stop is appealing so for this trip we opted to leave from Miami and fly to Venice via London on British Airways.
Some of the people over on FlyerTalk will tell you while tking a break from counting all their frequent flyer miles, that British is still using those "old" 747's and how the "product" just doesn't measure up. Girding ourselves for "inferior" flatbed seats we set off with a friend who agreed to drop us off.
MIA is about 35 miles from our home and despite the madness which I-95 in South Florida can be, the new Express Lanes made the trip pretty easy and fast. The airport approach was bumper to buper due to the presence of a whole bunch of Miami-Dade police vehicles complete with flashing blue lights and upon first look we began to wonder of some sort of "event" had occurred.
In fact, the police officers were standing on each side of each approach lane and eyeballing every approaching car and we noticed they had pulled several over and had the occupants standing outside of them. What were they looking for? Were they, in fact, profiling people? Looking for people dressed in camo gear with assault rifles at the ready in the front seat? Beats me.
We passed by without being detained and bidding our friend/driver good bye went inside to check in.
I know one reason people like to fly in First and Business is/are those dedicated check in lanes at airport counters and we new we were going to have to show our passports at some point so had not bothered to print out boarding passes at home.
Yes, we had arrived a full three hours prior to departure. No, it did not seem to help since it appeared that everybody else flying on this "legacy" 747 had also arrived early. There was no dedicated check in for anything but First (which was totally deserted since there aren't that many First seats anyway) and we patiently waited which we expected to do.
Over an hour later we got checked in and gave up the checked bags (another reason we like to fly the fewest number of segments possible) and headed to Security.
We were behind folks wih their little dog headed for Boston and he was fun to play with. TSA took a whopping five minutes to complete (we take every possible thing off and stuff it into our carry-on bags but I've had more than one totally empty pocket wanded in the past so who knows?).
Dedicated departure lounge with real booze you poured yourself was nice along with the hot and very bad for you (therefore, delicious) food helped to pass the time.
Mob scene aat the departure gate and despite a flight attendant practically yelling that, "We may be delayed but we have a fast flight plan" I am never reassured. Those public address system "announcements" made "from the podium?" Might as well be in a foreign language and despite this being Miami, the gateway to South America, those announcements continue to be made in English and they are STILL sometimes impossible to understand.
Needless to say, the service aboard in British Airways' 'business class' which they, of course, like to call 'Club World' was fine. The seat was flat so I got some sleep; the food was edible (had my first bacon roll for breakfast, too) and we only arrived an hour late since we were delayed by thunderstorms in Miami which I guess played havoc with that "fast flight plan" but it beats walking.
More coming...
Jul 11th, 2016, 07:26 AM
#4
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Hi Dukey:
Nice start to your trip report!
We've flown with BA on a 747 a few times... if you can get seats on the upper deck, it's preferred. Not everyone likes the yin/yang seating arrangement, though.
I don't need a lot of details on restaurants, but the names of places you particularly enjoyed would be nice.
Looking forward to more!
Nice start to your trip report!
We've flown with BA on a 747 a few times... if you can get seats on the upper deck, it's preferred. Not everyone likes the yin/yang seating arrangement, though.
I don't need a lot of details on restaurants, but the names of places you particularly enjoyed would be nice.
Looking forward to more!
Jul 11th, 2016, 08:48 AM
#6
Original Poster
I will try to continue shortly. Yes, we did manage seats on that upper deck which was nicely quiet, too.
It more or less "kinda" sprinkled here in Paris a while ago and we just returned from a sidewalk cafe meal which was, thanks to my VERY poor judgement, a lot less than ideal but stuff happens, even here.
It more or less "kinda" sprinkled here in Paris a while ago and we just returned from a sidewalk cafe meal which was, thanks to my VERY poor judgement, a lot less than ideal but stuff happens, even here.
Jul 16th, 2016, 10:54 AM
#8
Hey I'm following too.
Was in Paris last year so looking for more.
Thanks
Was in Paris last year so looking for more.
Thanks
Jul 16th, 2016, 11:04 AM
#9
Join Date: Feb 2003
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I like those 747's. They've taken me a lot of places. On my Qantas return flight to New York, 3 legs were on 747's and they were more comfortable than the one leg on A380.
Following along on your trip.
Following along on your trip.
Jul 16th, 2016, 04:46 PM
#13
Shhhh!
Dukey1 is sleeping now , so quiet
Dukey1 is sleeping now , so quiet
Jul 17th, 2016, 03:08 AM
#15
Original Poster
Sorry for the delay and will attempt to close this part out and get on with the real subject which is where to go next year.
We left Zurich using a TGV-Lyria service through Basel and Dijon. Trip was fine but delayed over the course of the anticipated 4-4.5 hours and we arrived in Paris about 30 minutes late.
We stayed near the Opera (Garnier) and it is a wonderful neighborhood for the most part IMO but with the many very high end retail outlets around the Vendome, on the Rivoli, etc., it isn't really my favorite place to stay in town but we got a "deal" at the Park Hyatt so took it.
That summer "carnival" was again in operation in the Tuilleries. The reviews of the thing are interesting to read on sites like Trip Advisor which included one that hated the whole idea but not enough that they couldn't resist stopping by long enough to get a "slushee" which sounds like refugees from 7-11 but what do I know?
It was fun to watch the kids on the "bumper cars" and such and we even forked over some Euro to ride in the "fun house." I suppose those people who paid plenty to stay in the adjacent Meurice hotel are horrified at the riff-raff making noises just across the street.
For the Roman Catholic husbear we visited the Chapel of the Miraculous Medal as well as the nearby chapel of St. Vincent dePaul. Both are beautifully decorated and in good shape. These trips of ours now are becoming more and more "bucket-like" given his health and age and we don't even have a bucket list. We have a plan in place if "something" happens and I suppose there are worse places to die than in Europe.
Highlight of the three nights was the Batille's fabulous production of "Aida." The place was pretty much sold out and the whole thing was beautifully staged and sung.
Unlike some venues in Europe in which standing ovations appear to be frowned upon and stamping feet on the floor sometimes substitutes, in the Bastille when the final curtain fell the entire audience was soon on its feet and cheering wildly. Verona's production was elaborate and huge; this thing was a close second and we're glad we stopped off in Paris (we were originally going to Dijon) for this alone.
On to London for the final three nights and a show on each. Stayed at the Savoy where the service, particularly in the eating venues, remains, IMO, incomparable. The folks are wonderfully attentive and certainly not stuffy and we like the location for its nearness to Covent Garden and the West End theatres.
"Funny Girl" was lots of fun; Michael Crawford was good, we thought, in the complicated "Go Between" and "Show Boat" was nicely done as well.
Spent some time at the National Gallery and enjoyed the Painter's Paintings special exhibition.
Home yesterday without incident and now trying to catch up with email, laundry, snail mail, the usual chores.
<B>But to the important part</B> finally which I will address in the next entry.
We left Zurich using a TGV-Lyria service through Basel and Dijon. Trip was fine but delayed over the course of the anticipated 4-4.5 hours and we arrived in Paris about 30 minutes late.
We stayed near the Opera (Garnier) and it is a wonderful neighborhood for the most part IMO but with the many very high end retail outlets around the Vendome, on the Rivoli, etc., it isn't really my favorite place to stay in town but we got a "deal" at the Park Hyatt so took it.
That summer "carnival" was again in operation in the Tuilleries. The reviews of the thing are interesting to read on sites like Trip Advisor which included one that hated the whole idea but not enough that they couldn't resist stopping by long enough to get a "slushee" which sounds like refugees from 7-11 but what do I know?
It was fun to watch the kids on the "bumper cars" and such and we even forked over some Euro to ride in the "fun house." I suppose those people who paid plenty to stay in the adjacent Meurice hotel are horrified at the riff-raff making noises just across the street.
For the Roman Catholic husbear we visited the Chapel of the Miraculous Medal as well as the nearby chapel of St. Vincent dePaul. Both are beautifully decorated and in good shape. These trips of ours now are becoming more and more "bucket-like" given his health and age and we don't even have a bucket list. We have a plan in place if "something" happens and I suppose there are worse places to die than in Europe.
Highlight of the three nights was the Batille's fabulous production of "Aida." The place was pretty much sold out and the whole thing was beautifully staged and sung.
Unlike some venues in Europe in which standing ovations appear to be frowned upon and stamping feet on the floor sometimes substitutes, in the Bastille when the final curtain fell the entire audience was soon on its feet and cheering wildly. Verona's production was elaborate and huge; this thing was a close second and we're glad we stopped off in Paris (we were originally going to Dijon) for this alone.
On to London for the final three nights and a show on each. Stayed at the Savoy where the service, particularly in the eating venues, remains, IMO, incomparable. The folks are wonderfully attentive and certainly not stuffy and we like the location for its nearness to Covent Garden and the West End theatres.
"Funny Girl" was lots of fun; Michael Crawford was good, we thought, in the complicated "Go Between" and "Show Boat" was nicely done as well.
Spent some time at the National Gallery and enjoyed the Painter's Paintings special exhibition.
Home yesterday without incident and now trying to catch up with email, laundry, snail mail, the usual chores.
<B>But to the important part</B> finally which I will address in the next entry.
Jul 19th, 2016, 07:24 PM
#18
Thanks for taking time to do a Report.
I like following your "expeditions !
I like following your "expeditions !
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