chongl

Lesson definitely learned for next time ^

chongl

After getting through security and immigration, we came across this "gate area" where we awaited out flight. As I alluded to in the last post, thank goodness Etihad was right behind schedule





A bus took us to the plane once again, but this time, there was less separation between passengers. We just piled on and grabbed a seat right away. For the 4 hour journey back to Abu Dhabi, the menu reads as follows







I went with the prawn salad and shish tawook





Both were surprisingly decent. Finishing it off with a pineapple tart



After an uneventful flight, we trotted back to the first class lounge for another massage and meal before boarding the mother of all cabins. At T-10, we made our way to the gate area and sat in the premium cabin seating area. An attendant came through and made sure economy passengers vacated the area, and he specifically looked at us but didn't say anything. He came through a second time and made it a point to ask if we were in business, to which we responded "first." We weren't dressed the best after a week-long lazy vacation, and a pregnant wife will wear whatever the hell makes her comfortable, but what he did really wasn't necessary.

Boarding couldn't come soon enough, as the wife waddled down the jetbridge with me behind her. Regular paced walkers seemed to be blowing by us to get onto the plane. It's funny how you never notice your mobility until just walking around becomes difficult.

Taking our seats in rows 1 and 2









Some champers and dried dates



I love the colors on their pillows. It provides such a vibrant contrast to the beige and brown



Staircase



The menu













A snack after takeoff, with some Chivas 21 to wash it all down



Getting up to get changed







We did not indulge in a full dinner and opted to maximize our rest instead. A quick Etihad steak sandwich that I missed out on earlier hit the spot.



And with that, beds were made



I awoke after a deep slumber with a little bit of time before landing. I had scheduled my shower before the snooze. My wife had the slot before me, but she had some technical difficulties getting the shower to work. After calling the attendant and some resets, it still wasn't working properly. I walked back to the lounge area to snap a few pictures before the crew informed me the issue was resolved.





As we all know, showering on the plane never gets old, except in the case where you are undressed and pushing away at the button to start the water at 38,000 feet and nothing happens. The FA asked me to just keep pushing the button and she would do manual resets to give me the allotted time. It all sounded great until the water stopped coming after 5 to 6 sprays of 5 seconds each. I didn't want to do anymore button mashing so I got dressed after the quick rinse instead. As I emerged from the failed attempt, I notified the crew and they apologized profusely for the inconvenience, and began to fill out some sort of incident report. In the end, we received $25 each that could be used for duty free shopping, which was credit towards an Etihad A380 model



A fruit plate for breakfast



Approaching CDG



A family traveling in F had booked the residence, with their 2 teenage kids in an apartment each. Their luggage came out immediately and they were on their way. Talk about ......' passengers. We had to wait a bit longer like the first class peasants we were.



A direct EY flight never opened up to LHR, so we booked a short hop across the channel on BA. The overweight baggage struck again and we left 75 Euro poorer. After clearing security, a CX 777 was parked directly in front of us.



After some duty free shopping and Laduree, we head towards the gate





Finally in London



By this point I was manning all the bags by myself as the wife had to take baby steps while walking, and even taking stairs 1 step at a time. A few transfers, some expletives, and roughly 45 minutes later, we exited St. James Park



And walked across the intersection to the Conrad





Some sort of upgraded room. I asked about getting a stuffed animal at check-in but was informed they were out of stock...ah well







Next up: London with whisky, tea, and more tea

chongl

This installment isn't quite as dramatic as the opening of the Singapore GP, but here it is anyway!

The first order of business once we got all our bags upstairs was to head to The Whisky Shop, where we purchased a bottle 2 hours ago on our honeymoon. We were hoping to find another bottle of the 8th limited release of Blue Hanger. To our delight, there were 2 bottles, so we grabbed one and returned the next day for the 2nd bottle (for our friend). There were some pretty significant markups on the J whisky though









Once that order of business was completed, we crossed the street for our reservation at The Wolsoley for afternoon tea.









Happy wife who booked afternoon tea for both days in London



I was able to indulge in some oysters



...until the towers arrived











We returned from our short field trip to find a gift from the Conrad. Too bad we were too stuffed with scones and sandwiches!



Once again, due to mobility problems, we thought it best to rest and stay in the room. As much as we wanted to explore more of London, it wasn't prudent to do so. The next morning, breakfast was served downstairs with a buffet and made to order omelette selection

















It wasn't quite Conrad Maldives level, but we'll admit we were significantly spoiled by the selection there

After scarfing down food to feed the baby, it was off to Westminster for all the touristy spots. We really got to appreciate how awesome it was staying at County Hall two years ago and having Big Ben and the Thames literally a minute from the front door.







With the amount of sweets he's been ingetsing, the baby definitely wants cake! The mileage tally continues to increase...





Now for an unplanned tangent where we decided to grab a larger luggage than our 20" cabin carry on in hopes of ducking below the weight limit for the Y leg home from Dallas. So we look online for an authorized Rimowa dealer and head over for a medium sized Salsa. It was a quick transaction and we were a few hundred dollars poorer in a matter of minutes.

A block away from the shop, former residence of H.G. Wells



Solely to help carry the whisky and distribute the weight coming home. Since I'm not covering the Y leg, I'll just say that the larger bag didn't help since we saw on the scales that the bags were still a few kilos over on the regional J leg from LHR to FRA. Then when on the leg where we would have had to pay from DFW to SAN, the re-check agent didn't even bother with the weight and just tagged our bags...so much for thinking ahead. But at least we have a nice Rimowa now



After rolling it back to the hotel room, we did some packing to move the heavier items over to the Rimowa before heading out for lunch. When in London, fish and chips is a must.





Cod for the wife and haddock for me. The housemade tartar sauce is amazing!



Back to the tube for another afternoon tea session at Fortnum and Mason





A few varieties to choose from, but only showing the two we selected





While there's more space, I liked the setup at The Wolsoley a little more





The lobster omelette with lobster bisque and truffle...nothing too special and was extremely heavy



Sandwiches



Sweets





On the way out, with many cakes unfinished



Tube stop



Come dinner time, the wife didn't think she could handle walking up and down stairs anymore so we took a cab over to The Berkeley Hotel in Knightsbridge, where we had a reservation for a 2 Michelin star restaurant, Marcus. The restaurant is interesting in that you have to walk through a bar first, before the entrance. The two don't have any affiliation under than being under the same roof of the hotel



Menu



A la carte menu



Amuse bouche and appetizers first. There was a cumin cracker with hummus and black sesame...simplistic but delicious



Follwed by a potato cracker with beetroot and basil



Forgot to note what this was, but it was very tasty. Washed everything down with some Glenmorangie 25



Starter of perfectly cooked scallops



Main being a tender filet



And some sort of oxtail in a quiche-esque wrapping



Dessert of strawberry, custard, tarragon



And one on the house for celebrating our addition to the family



Next up: departing London, wheelchair service, and dirty looks

JohnRain

See chongl, starting a family must not necessarily mean the end of premium travel...

injian

ofcourse not. i just leave my kid at home with the grandparents when premium travel is involved.

offerendum

Marcus is one of my favourites in London

JohnRain

That's of course the other alternative...

offerendum

As I do with my pets

Sorry for this..... If I remember correctly staying with my grandparents was often the best vacation Also from time to time my grandparants joined us on vacation.

chongl

Oh I'm sure we'll leave them for short periods of time to jet around. However, I'm not a big ...... like the residence family here, so maybe I can get some revenue tickets in Y

Marcus was fantastic and a great way to sunset the trip. What are your other favorites there? I would love to add a few onto our "to-do" list.

offerendum

Many good choices. Ledbury comes to my mind, Harwood Arms is a restaurant I often recommend. Have also some to try.....

chongl

^ I remember looking at The Ledbury. The Fat Duck was also on the list, but just too far away for our short stay.

Annalisa12

Great report. All that food is making me hungry. Wonderful pics.

chongl

The next morning, we checked out at the front desk. I followed up on my Monty dog inquiry and was asked to leave my information with the front desk. They eventually shipped one out to me on their own dime, roughly 2 weeks after I returned to the US. Talk about going above and beyond expectations! Anyhow, the remaining balance on our oyster cards stayed unused as we hopped onto a cab. Mrs. ChongL's condition was worsening by the day, so it was a godsend that we were headed home.



Heathrow









After taking care of some VAT refund, we skipped to the check-in counter



Followed by waiting for a wheelchair. It allowed us to clear security much more efficiently...thank goodness for these services! We then headed towards the LH lounge for some food before the short hop to Frankfurt.











Some of the food offerings













Beer on tap



With a massively failure of a pour



Just prior to boarding, an attendant came by with a wheelchair to pick us up. Walking through the terminal towards the gate







Classic LH livery



Boarded and taxiing





Another breakfast



As we arrived in FRA, things took a turn for the worse. There was either no jetbridge operator available, or a broken jetbridge. Luckily we didn't have a connection to make until the following morning, but others were not so lucky. They were stuck as the cabin doors opened at the rear of the plane, and passengers de-planed via a flight of stairs. As I mentioned earlier, Eve was in no condition to walk, but she sucked it up and slowly made her way down, tears flowing down here face by the end.





We entered a waiting van and were taken to a special area for those requiring assistance. After some judgemental looks in my direction, we requested to be taken to the hotel where we would be spending the night. The wife stayed in the room, which meant I would be blasting around in the Porsche alone. While this seemed like fun at first, I was missing the companionship and being able to share the sights and sounds. We also canned our plans to see Römer, which we added since we didn't make it on the last time out either.

At least I got a drop top?





Once I got close to the allotted mileage for the rental, I head back towards FRA. And as usual, I got lots of looks when returning the Porsche as everybody else is unloading a minivan or some compact car, and I roll up with the top down and exhaust valves open. It's especially apparent when the Avis rep comes to check the mileage and fires up the car, letting the crackles and bangs echo through the garage

With a nice drive behind me, I realized I returned it to a different terminal and had to take a tram to get back.

Walking through the terminal to return to the Hilton.





Next post is the last: Lufthansa FCT with a special ducky, and the flight to DFW

chongl

Thank you for reading, Annalisa12. I had a ramen craving the other day and just wished I was back in Tokyo for a quick bowl

offerendum

That´s the point with sportive cars. Everyone knows when you arrive, leave or do something else. Wonna control your employees? Give them a Porsche