Trip 2
Day 1, flight 1 LHR-BRU 20.00
Airbus A320
Club Europe
Tier Points: 40
On your marks, get set, go. The picture is me (second from right) partaking in
of my hobbies, athletics. After nursing an Achilles injury for 3 years I
finally got back to competing the day before setting off on part 2 of this
trip.
My public transport curse continues, I board a national
express to Heathrow. (little moan – why is there no direct rail link to Heathrow
from the west?) Someone on a car forum I belong to actually came up with the
fantastic idea of developing Filton into an international airport with it’s
super long runway and then building high speed rail to Heathrow. Instead they
decided to build a housing estate on the airfield that Concorde was built on.
The Chinese are building airports at great rate of knots, we are tearing the
up.
Back on track, as we approach reading the driver gets a
message that the M4 eastbound is closed approaching the M25 due to a accident.
We divert to the M3 at rush hour and get to LHR 50 minutes later than planned,
to rub salt into the wound the new route means we drive through T5 but as the
bus is scheduled for the main bus stop it is literally a drive through.
I’m now a BA gold so my challenge for the day was to find
the Johnnie Walker Blue Label in the F lounge at T5. I had a quick dinner from
the buffet (I didn’t realise you could order from a menu until I was finished)
which was decent enough and then headed to the gold bar.
Low and behold here’s what I found. I’m not a big drinker so
a couple of tumblers of this had me well on the way.
The flight was 15 minutes late on departure and although it
was only 45 mins the cabin lady in Club Europe was one of BA’s finest. Very
courteous and went out of her way to reunite 2 separate groups of passengers
who’s members had been seated apart.
They are like buses these A380's (different one)
Very pleasant and short flight.
I get out of the airport at Brussels at 22.30 to find that
the last shuttle to my hotel was 22.00.
A 22 Euro taxi and 6 minutes later and I’m there. The driver
asked for a tip, not on a 22 EUR fare for 6 minutes my friend – ‘a bientot’ (roughly 'laters' for the non French speakers).
The hotel was only 60EUR for the night, it was a Ibis
Budget, my first room was literally full of mosquito’s, I ask for a new room
and am told the hotel is full but they have a room without a window blind.
Reception give me a table cloth to hang over the window which works a treat.
6 hours and I need to be up again.
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