HMPS

As they say back home : " it was something in the water and air that caused the unexpected change ' !

Go there often ! Your final test will be if she agrees to go back to India .

SFO777

Ha! She has actually never been to India, just full of preconceived notions (or nonsense IMO).
I think she figured that Colombo airport was close enough.

But... did you feel the earth move this week? Amazingly, she agreed to consider India, but "only the 5 star parts". LOL. Hey, at least it's a start. Seems like a travel agent friend convinced her. I figure Delhi and Agra will not be on the itinerary. Perhaps Mumbai and then a 5* Oberoi or similar palace-on-a-lake... accessible by helicopter.

Any suggestions?

oneworld82

Can't wait to try LH F yet again soon. I really think that CX F and LH F are the best all-around F products in the World!

worldtraveller73

The Oberoi Udavilas in Udaipur appear to be spectacular. We haven't been ourselves but it's likely a close side trip from Mumbai. It's also a AMEX FHR property if I'm not mistaken.

I can certainly endorse The Leela Palace in New Delhi. We recently stayed in a Royal Club Room. The rooms and service were over the top. It was among the top ten stays I've had anywhere in the world. The Leela Palace has other locations around India - although I can't attest if the high levels of service and room furnishings are consistent from property to property. The food on the Leela properties was outstanding.

We also stayed at the Taj Hotels in Jaipur (Rambagh Palace). I was a bit let down by them. It seemed more faux luxury than real polished service in my humble opinion. They have a completely isolated (on an island) property in Udaipur but I don't know if it would enough to convince me to visit one of their properties again.

HMPS

miracles never. Ease, I have to acknowledge your powers of persuasion.

Ideal for first timers is of course the Golden Triangle of DELHI, Agra (The Taj Mahal) and Jaipur, etc in the State of Rajasthan. GO DURING WINTER ONLY .

Mumbai is good, not too many " tourist" spots to visit but vibrant . If you want to stay by downtown Taj Hotel is great. The Oberoi is too as is the IC.
Good shopping of textiles (nothing like the Western wear in Italy ) but 22carat gold handmade jewelry along with diamonds ! ( See I want to get in the good books with the lady
If you don't want the bustle of downtown you can pick J W Marriott on Junu Beach. 20 mins from airport, 1.5 hrs from downtown. Lots of good restaurants all over.
If you like UNESCO type sites, a half day outing to Elephanta Island, depart from across the Taj (original) at Gateway of India.

Don't forget the Taj Faluknama in HYD !
More if you want to know. I will be in BOM Jan Feb.

SFO777

Thanks worldtraveller73 and HMPS for your suggestions. Striking while the iron is hot, Mrs. SFO has agree to... "5 days, no more" although I forgot to get it in writing. And I used some AA miles to book EY's A380 F Apartment suites available in early February from JFK-AUH connecting to BOM.

Thanks worldtraveller73. I think this will be an Oberoi or similar trip and the Oberoi Udavilas looks amazing.

Thank you HMPS. Great ideas.

greg5

I'm headed to Florence in the near future and had to drop by this report again to find out the name for All'Antico Vinaio, where you had those awesome looking sandwiches. I'll definitely be headed over there.

Thanks for writing this excellent report!

brg

I agree
I would have been upset if it was the 420 and not the 550

brg

I wish my luck in domestic F was this bad with the flat bed and wine.

SFO777

Thank you greg5. Enjoy your visit to Florence.

I believe most of the LH S classes I recall seeing are actually 350s series.

LOL. Wouldn't that be nice.

greg5

Just got back. We had a great time there. The sandwiches at All'Antico Vinaio were great! We also had some decent steaks (for Europe) at Trattoria Dall Oste (Trip Advisor link) by the train station. I should have gone for a bottle of the Banfi Summus though. Half of the fun was watching people eat these enormous steaks there. The Wild Boar salumi was amazing.

It'll be nice when they finish the new Gotthard rail tunnel and this becomes a potential lunch trip for us from Zürich.

Jermyn

Great TR as always! ^

LH F is still a glaring omission in my 'repertoire'. Something I intend to fix soon.

Florence is a favourite city of ours, we go at least once a year as it's where I have my shoes made (I'm sure Mrs SFO777 would approve of this sort of behaviour ).

Your TR has made me look forward to our next visit, all the more. There are so many great places to eat and drink there but I'll throw my favourites into the ring, in case you return:

Le Fonticine
Fuori Porta
Zeb Gastronomia
Trattoria Cammillo
La Terrazza (at Continentale Hotel)

pdinsure

You flew first class into Frankfurt and then, I assume business class to Florence. How did you arrange for the vehicle to take you to the Florence flight? We flew 1st class in March from LA to Frankfurt and were pretty much left on our own to get to the business class flight to Paris. I'm trying to figure out if we missed something. thanks

AA_EXP09

Did you make your way to the FCT after your LAXFRA flight?

SFO777

Thanks greg5. So glad you had a wonderful time.

Thank you Jermyn. Yes, Mrs. SFO777 would definitely approve.
And grazie mille for the resto recommendations.

Yes, First to FRA and then Business to FLR. As we always do, we walked to the FCT upon arrival. From there, you get the limo ride to your connecting flight, regardless of destination and class of service. Sounds like you went to the Schengen A FCL where there is no car service.