SFO777

Great report wakesetter93 and happy birthday. What a wonderful trip, but OMG all that food. Good thing you have a young metabolism.

PoincianaKings

Great TR- thanks for sharing.

I see from your website that you stayed at The Westminster in London for the night. I stayed there earlier in the summer. Decent rooms. Breakfast poor. You should, however, have got the tube to Pimlico. The walk to the hotel was much more pleasant / easy and only about five minutes- tip for next time!

wakesetter93

I'm the same way. Love burgers but don't eat them much in the states.

Thanks SFO777! The metabolism is starting to slow but running helps me continue to eat and drink what I want (in moderation)

Trying to get back into fighting shape as we leave for Germany in less than a week.
Thanks PoincianaKings, we enjoyed the hotel itself but never ate there. Appreciate the tip on the tube, London is definitely on our list of places to return. Fingers crossed I can get a work trip there so someone else can foot the bill!

wakesetter93

Our week in Tuscany went by too fast and it was time for us to start the long journey home. The first part of our journey was a ride from Rome’s Fiumicino Airport to London Heathrow with British Airways. Before boarding, we headed over to the British Airways Lounge to check it out.

Location
The British Airways Lounge at Rome’s Fiumicino Airport is located past security in Terminal 3, in the E gates. After navigating your way through the duty free maze you'll find yourself in a multi level atrium. Follow the escalator for the Upper Level (Airline Lounges, Eat & Drink, Smoking Area, etc.) marked by a large orange sign.



Once at the top of the escalator, make a U turn and head towards the rear of the second level. You will see the British Airways Lounge on the left and the Plaza Premium lounge on the right.



Hours of Operation
The lounge is currently open between 5:15a and 8:30p, covering all British Airways departures, and the vast majority of OneWorld departures from the airport.

Entry Requirements
The British Airways Lounge at Rome-Fiumicino can be accessed to those traveling on British Airways and OneWorld First and Business class tickets as well as Gold and Silver Executive Club members. In addition, the lounge can be accessed by OneWorld Emerald and Sapphire members flying on a same day OneWorld operated flight, regardless of cabin.

There were two agents at the entry podium when we arrived and after a quick scan of our boarding passes we were welcomed inside. I also inquired with the lounge staff about moving to an earlier flight but was informed that the two earlier flights were delayed and would be departing after our scheduled departure time, which should have been a sign of things to come.

Layout
The lounge was shaped like a rectangle and was broken up into 4 distinct spaces. Immediately upon entry was a British Airways sign with the lounge opening up to the left.

The first room housed the bar, a number of high top tables, and the buffet. The bar wasn’t staffed when we arrived but someone came within seconds each time we went to order a drink. Later in the day, a bartender was working full time.






Further back in the lounge you will find three distinct seating areas. The first consisted of a mixture of barstool seats, café tables, and traditional lounge tables and chairs.




In the rear of the lounge, there are two rooms, each with large floor to ceiling windows overlooking the ramp. The room to the left housed a large marble conference table surrounded by barstools.



The room on the right had a mix of lounge chairs as well as built-in, personal booths. There was also a secondary beverage station in the rear of the lounge.




The entire lounge was fairly empty when we arrived and we found the space to be light and bright. The tall ceilings and large windows made the lounge feel spacious even as the crowds got larger throughout the day. The windows were also great for plane spotting and I caught some interesting departures.



The only real downside to the lounge was the fact that there weren't any restrooms located in the lounge and the fact that some of the seats were showing signs of wear.

Food and Beverage
Against the back wall of the first room, near the bar, was the lounge buffet. It had your standard European lounge faire and included cold cuts, a salad bar, fruit, pasta, finger sandwiches, and a selection of cheeses and meats.





The bar had a variety of mid shelf liquors as well as some beer and wine available.



As I was standing at the bar waiting to order, I had one of the more entertaining and confusing conversations I’ve ever had in an airport. An Australian gentleman was trying to ask the Italian bartender if the beers were cold. I had inadvertently ordered in Italian during an earlier visit to the bar (I can order cocktails in any language) and so she looked at me to translate. Somehow I managed to stumble through the facts that the beer was cool, but not cold and the Australian gentleman passed. It was the first time in my life that I’ve ever been mistaken for a European, let alone a translator.

Atmosphere
After scoping out the lounge, we took a couple of seats near the windows. We had great views of the airfield and we grabbed some snacks and cocktails to help us pass the time. Though the lounge was empty when we arrived, it began to fill quickly thanks to the other delayed British Airways flights to London.



Also, while the food selection wasn’t bad, we found ourselves needing a real meal so we headed out into the concourse and grabbed a pizza in the nearby food court. We also ran into some of our friends who were flying home on the direct FCO-DFW American Airlines flight.

Summary
The British Airways Lounge at Rome's Fiumicino Airport is an above average business class lounge, especially for an outstation. The space is bright and airy and the massive floor to ceiling windows provide great views of the ramp. The food selection is ok but if you want something more substantial than a snack, heading out into the terminal may be a better bet. While it isn't one of the best business class lounges in the world, it definitely ranks in the top half and it's a nice space to relax before a flight.

For more photos and additional trip reports, visit ATXJetsetter.com or follow along on Instagram or Twitter!

wakesetter93

Our time in Italy had come to a close and it was time for us to begin the trip home. First up, a flight in British Airways Club Europe from Rome’s Fiumicino Airport to London Heathrow

Booking
Award availability to and from Europe has been in extremely high demand this summer as people return to the skies. I shopped around for a while before I found Business Class tickets on British Airways from Rome to Houston via London on British Airways. I booked our tickets for 57.5k American AAdvantage miles each plus a whopping $500 in taxes and fees. Those fuel surcharges when transiting London are steep but it was still a better deal than paying cash for our tickets.

American had availability on FCO-DFW-AUS but wanted over 200k miles per ticket so this seemed like a no brainer. Our routing did require an overnight stay in London, but we moved our flight up to allow us to spend some time in the city.

Pre-Flight
We arrived at Rome’s Fiumicino airport just after 11:30a and returned our rental car to Avis. Though our fight wasn’t until later in the afternoon, some of our traveling companions were on the 1:55p American flight to DFW so we wanted to make sure they had plenty of time as well.

We walked over the skybridge from the rental car return to the Terminal 3 ticket hall and found the British Airways desks at stations 226-229. There were a few folks in the Club Europe line who were trying to get some travel issues sorted out but we were able to check our bags and get our boarding passes printed within 15 minutes. We also asked about moving to one of the earlier flights but were told that they had been delayed and our regularly scheduled flight was due to depart before the earlier ones.




Boarding passes in hand we headed off to security and passport control and we were airside just before noon, only 20 minutes after arriving at the airport. We followed the signs for the departure gates and the British Airways Lounge to relax before our flight.

Lounge
The British Airways Lounge in Rome was opened in 2018 to great fanfare so I was excited to check it out. The lounge was quite spacious and had plenty of seating and natural light. It also featured some massive floor to ceiling windows that overlooked the ramp which was great for plane spotting. My full review of the lounge is in the post above.




While the lounge was nice, 3 hours is still a long time to sit in an airline lounge, we did venture out into the terminal to do some shopping and get a real, sit down lunch before boarding.




Boarding
Our flight was departing from gate 31 in the E gates, and the satellite at that, so we left the lounge at 2:30 to start our walk over. Some portions of the terminal were under construction so be sure to follow the signs.



On the tram ride over from the main terminal I managed to get a glimpse of G-EUYN, a 11 year old A320 that would be taking us to London.



Boarding began at 2:40p, a five minute delay from our scheduled boarding time, and there was a mad rush towards the gate. The British Airways agents called group numbers initially but everyone seemed to ignore it and swarmed the podium. We made it through the swarm only to be stuck on the jet bridge as the crew was still in the process of cleaning the aircraft.



British Airways
BA 547
FCO-LHR (Rome-Fiumicino International - London Heathrow)
Seat: 11C (Business)
A320-200 (G-EUYN)
Scheduled: 3:10p-4:50p
Actual: 4:00p-5:26p

Once on board, we made the long walk back to row 11 and found our seats. The Club Europe cabin on this flight took up the entire front half of the plane but we got lucky with the fact that the exit row was marked as Club Europe giving us some additional legroom.



It was noticeably warm on board the aircraft and one of the flight attendants was running around with his shirt untucked and it was covered in stains, they must have had a wild ride down from London earlier that day.

Seat
As most people know, intra-Europe business class consists of nothing more than an Economy seat with a blocked middle. Aside from the bulkhead, all of the seats have the same legroom as Economy with the exception of the exit rows.



Most of the business class seats had a small tray table in the middle seats but it seemed there weren’t enough loaded on this aircraft. The last few rows of Club Europe were missing them, though we didn't find that to be an issue.



Legroom was decent and the seats had a tray table that folded out from the seat in front. Power outlets were also located underneath the seats.



Unfortunately, these seats were the newer slimline versions that have become popular for many airlines. There wasn't much padding and support and my back was starting to hurt towards the end of the flight.

Menu
During boarding, flight attendants came around with the menu for today’s flight which you can see below.




The British Airways buy on board menu was also in the seatback pocket and had a wide variety of snacks and drinks available.




Departure
As the final preparations for departure were being made, the captain came out into the front of the aircraft to do preflight announcements and also informed us that we had been given a one hour slot delay into London Heathrow. He promised to keep us up to date as he got more information.



A few minutes after his initial announcement, he came back on the radio and told us that our delay had been shortened to 35 minutes. At this point, flight attendants handed out water to both the Club Europe and Economy cabins.



The doors closed at 4:00p and by 4:15 we were airborne and climbing out of Rome. We flew west out over the Tyrrhenian Sea before turning northwest towards London.



In Flight
Beverage service started 15 minutes after takeoff. I had a glass of champagne which was accompanied by a bag of Socca nut mix.



Unfortunately for my appetite, the person in 2D decided to kick his shoes off and prop his bare feet up in the aisle. At least I was 9 rows back and didn’t have to smell it.



A little over an hour after departing Rome, the flight attendant reached our row and took our order. Both Mrs. WS93 and I had the pea and barley risotto with grilled prawns or, as the kid in front of me kept calling it, the Shrek pasta. The full meal service was served on a single tray.



The meal itself was ok, though the shrimp was overcooked and had a consistency closer to a chicken breast. After the meal I headed to visit the lavatory. Though this plane was only 11 years old, the lavatory was showing some signs of wear and there was a significant stain in the front sink. (Are they pouring coffee down this thing?)



Back at my seat, I spent some time talking with Brian, the purser on our flight. He wanted to hear all about our travels and provided us some recommendations on places to see and things to do while in London. Brian spends part of his time as cabin crew and part of his time working with VIP guests at Heathrow, so he had a lot of interesting insights to share with us.

Towards the end of the flight, I was getting thirsty and decided to order the Speed Bird OG IPA. This beer was a partnership between Brewdog and British Airways and was specially created to be enjoyed in-flight. This is similar to the partnership Delta and Sweetwater Brewing have in the states. The beer was good, though I couldn't tell a noticeable difference between this beer and one on the ground (which is probably the point).



Arrival
We began our descent just before 5:00p local time and at that point I was able to see London off in the distance.



We touched down at London Heathrow just before 5:20p local time and taxied over to Terminal 5 B.



We parked at the end of the terminal which made for a long walk to the terminal train.




Immigration was a breeze and we found ourselves at baggage claim 20 minutes after arrival. From there, we headed off to the tube station to catch our train into London.



For more photos and additional trip reports, visit ATXJetsetter.com or follow along on Instagram and Twitter!

offerendum

That's exactly what they do. I've seen stewardesses pour drinks into the sink before landing.

wakesetter93

Makes sense, only reason it would be stained that color

PoincianaKings

And tea. And on flights where they use full size bottles of wine - like into the US- often the half drunk bottles of wine.

wakesetter93

I'd be happy to take that wine off their hands

offerendum

And champagne. Can be quite a fortune for the sink.....

wakesetter93

That sounds like alcohol abuse to me

wakesetter93

Initially when planning our routing home, we had a later British Airways flight from Rome to London with a short, overnight, connection before flying on to Houston. By shuffling our flights around, we were able to leave Rome earlier which would give us some time to actually head into the city. Since we wanted to maximize our time in London, I cancelled our reservation at the Renaissance London Heathrow and decided to book a hotel in town.

Booking
Since we were changing our plans last minute, hotel prices in London were through the roof, coming in at over $500 a night for something decent. Therefore, I turned to points for this booking. Checking both Marriott and Hilton, Hilton won out and I used 59,000 HHonors points for our one night stay at The Westminster London Curio Collection.

Location
The Westminster London is located in Westminster just a few blocks from the River Thames.
It is within a mile of major attractions including Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, and Buckingham Palace. This made it a great location for us as we were able to cover a lot of ground in a very short time. The only downside to its location is the rail connectivity, especially coming from the airport. We took the London Underground to the Westminster Station and then walked the 3/4 of a mile to the hotel.



Check-In
We arrived at the hotel around 7:15p and headed straight for the check-in desk. The lobby was bustling as people got ready to head out for the evening and I found the space to be well appointed, albeit a little dark. Later I would learn that dark corridors and spaces were by design as the hotel leans into its "spy" history. Vauxhall Cross, the headquarters of MI6, is visible from the upper floors of the hotel.




One of the check-in agents greeted us, verified our documents, and handed us our room keys. She also informed us of the breakfast time in the morning and told us about the on-site steakhouse, though we wouldn't be utilizing either during our short stay.



Room keys in hand, we headed through to the rear of the lobby and the elevator bank. We rode up to the 10th floor and caught a glimpse of Vauxhall Cross as we stepped off the elevator.



Room
We booked a Queen Guest Room online and with a completely full hotel, that's what we got at check in. We headed down a long, dark hallway to our assigned room on the 10th floor.



Upon entry, my first thought was that the room was on the small side. However, hotel rooms in London are notoriously small and we were planning to spend the majority of our short stay out exploring. The room was essentially a small box divided in two, with the bathroom and closet area near the door and the sleeping area towards the rear.The bathroom featured a sink with a small vanity that was big enough to hold our toiletry kits but not much else. Next to the sink were two tinted glass doors that led to the shower and toilet.



Across from the sink was a rather large closet space given the size of the room. There was a safe, iron, and space for a suitcase and hanging clothes.



The toilet and shower were clad in floor to ceiling black marble and both felt dark, though this was likely intentional. The photos below are with the lights on and backlight from the room.



The shower was spacious and featured a handheld and rain shower heads. There were also reusable toiletries that were hotel branded.




In the bedroom, I found the space to be small but well thought out as there was a chair and a desk occupying two corners of the room, making up the divider between the bedroom and the bathroom.




In a corner closest to the window, there was a Nespresso machine, water kettle, and a sign with instructions on where to find the items you would typically see in a mini-bar.



A queen bed took up the middle of the room and was fairly close against the window. This didn't leave much room to maneuver on that side of the bed but it wasn't an issue for us since it was just a quick overnight.



Also, while we didn't have a view of Vauxhall Cross, we were high enough up that we had a view of some of the surrounding apartment buildings.



Property
Since we were just here for a brief stay, we didn't have much of a chance to explore the property other than the lobby. However, I did find the lobby well appointed with some fun and funky furniture and art. While it was packed when we arrived, it was virtually empty when departing.





Also, if you're hungry, the hotel has breakfast available in the morning along with two restaurants. The first being a full-service branch of the STK Steakhouse chain which seemed to be packed during our one night stay. There is also a more casual bao restaurant called Bao Yum. In addition to the restaurants, there are meeting rooms as well as a fitness center on-site.

Summary
This hotel was perfect for our needs on this trip as we just needed a clean room near many of the major attractions. While the hotel was walking distance to many of the sights, the surrounding neighborhood was almost completely residential and didn't have much in the way of shops or restaurants. If I was spending more time in London and wanted to be able to explore more, I'd likely pick a hotel closer to one of the major rail stations or Underground stops, though it was more than sufficient for this trip.

For more photos and additional trip reports, visit ATXJetsetter.com or follow along on Instagram and Twitter!

wakesetter93

Just got back from 10 days in Germany and Switzerland which has delayed my finalization of this TR, hope to have the final installments up in the next couple of days.

wakesetter93

We arrived at London's Heathrow Airport shortly after 5:15p and by 6:00p we were on the Underground's Piccadilly Line into the city. We left our checked bags with British Airways and only had backpacks for our short overnight in the city.



After making a quick train change at South Kensington, we found ourselves emerging from the Westminster station and getting our first look at Big Ben at 7:00p sharp. Since this was my first time in London it was pretty neat to step out of the station and come face to face with one of the most iconic landmarks in the world.



We strolled around the area for a few minutes and I grabbed some photos of Big Ben, the Houses of Parliament, and the London Eye.





Leaving the Houses of Parliament behind, we strolled south on Millbank towards our hotel for the night, The Westminster London Curio Collection, where we checked in and dropped off our bags. Free from our bags, we left the hotel just before 8:00p and headed along Horseferry Road and Buckingham Gate towards Buckingham Palace, passing a number of fun looking pubs and impressive buildings along the way. There was also a Corgi statue which Mrs. WS93 loved.




We arrived at the gates of Buckingham Palace just as a light drizzle started to fall. We walked around for a few minutes and I grabbed some photos of the Palace and the Victoria Memorial.





From Buckingham Palace, we started our walk along The Mall and the light drizzle turned into a full blown summer thunderstorm.




It was dry(er) underneath the trees lining The Mall so we scurried beneath those and pulled out our phones to formulate a plan. I did some searching on Google Maps and found some open pubs on the nearby Pall Mall. With the rain continuing to fall we decided to just make a run for it and arrived at The Red Lion, Crown Passage, soaking wet.



We enjoyed a pint and struck up a conversation with a group who were in London for the weekend from Liverpool. We talked about our various travels and they declared, in no uncertain terms, that San Antonio was the worst place they have ever visited in a way that would have made Charles Barkley proud.



After 30 minutes or so in The Red Lion, the rain had stopped and we bid adieu to our new friends from Liverpool. We walked through the streets of St. James and eventually made our way to Piccadilly Circus.



The intersection was packed with people taking photos of the large electronic displays and watching the various street performers. It felt like a more subdued version of Times Square in New York.




Crossing through Piccadilly Circus, we walked along Shaftesbury Avenue through the Theatre District and past the entrance to Chinatown. By this point it was after 9:00p and we were starting to get hungry so, we made a left on Dean street and strolled through Soho in search of something to eat.




We looked up a couple of highly rated fish and chips shops but all of them had an insanely long wait, which is what happens when you try and get dinner in London on a Saturday night. Ultimately, we found a small shop on a side street called Hobson's that had available seating.



We ordered at the counter and our food was brought out to the table a few minutes later. I'm not sure if we just got the last of a batch or what but it wasn't particularly fresh. The fish was fine but the fries were lukewarm and lacked crisp. Though Mrs. ATX Jetsetter said that the onion rings were very good.



Full from dinner, we started slowly making our way back towards the hotel. We went the long way and first went through Chinatown which was bustling with people, even more so than in Soho.



At the south end of Chinatown we found ourselves in Leicester Square. Mrs. ATX Jetsetter stopped here to grab a snack of mini churros from a street cart which she snacked on as we walked around The National Gallery on the way to Trafalgar Square.

We stayed in the square for a few minutes and did some people watching which was highly entertaining. The best was the couple, who were there with friends, that decided to go swimming in the fountain. They were in the fountain for at least 5 minutes and nobody seemed to bat an eye.



It was almost 11:00p by the time we left Trafalgar Square and made our way down Whitehall towards Parliament Square and our hotel. We passed by the entrance to Downing Street and the King Charles Street Arch before finding ourselves face to face with Big Ben, where we had started only four hours earlier.



We decided to take the back streets to our hotel and passed in front of Westminster Abbey which was lit up in red.




Mrs. ATX Jetsetter was still holding on to her cup from the food cart as we hadn't seen a single trash can since leaving Leicester Square. We made it all the way back to our hotel before finding one which I thought was odd, though the city didn't seem especially dirty. I would later research and find out that all trash bins in central London were removed due to the IRA bombings in the early 90's and only a few of them have been returned to service.

We arrived back at The Westminster and fell asleep just before midnight. After a few hours of sleep we were out of the door at 6:30a and in our Uber towards Heathrow Airport. We didn't want to mess with the Underground that early in the morning and the Uber cost a reasonable $45. With that, our time in London had come to a close.



For more photos and additional trip reports, visit ATXJetsetter.com or follow along on Instagram and Twitter!

wakesetter93

After a great evening in London, and before flying across the pond on our British Airways flight to Houston, we stopped at the British Airways Galleries Lounge North at London Heathrow.

Location
The Galleries Lounge North is conveniently located just past security at Heathrow Terminal 5. After clearing security, before taking the escalator down to the concourse level, the entrance to the lounge will be on the left. The lounge is easily identifiable thanks to the large, blue backdrop with the British Airways logo prominently displayed.



Hours of Operation
The Galleries Lounge North is currently open between 5:00a and 10:00p daily. This covers the majority of British Airways and OneWorld alliance member departures from the terminal.

Entry Requirements
The Galleries Lounge North can be accessed by passengers flying on a same day First or business class flight (both Club World and Club Europe). In addition, British Airways Executive Club Silver and Gold members can access the lounge when flying a British Airways or partner flight regardless of cabin. Finally OneWorld Emerald and Sapphire members can access the lounge when flying British Airways or a OneWorld partner regardless of cabin.

The lounge was very crowded when we arrived and the line stretched out into the terminal. Fortunately the line moved quickly and we were in after a short wait and a quick scan of our boarding passes.




Layout
The British Airways Galleries Lounge is absolutely massive, which should be no surprise since this is the airline's home base. The lounge is broken up into multiple different areas and spans the entire north side of Terminal 5 A. Immediately upon entry you're met with a large coffee and champagne station located in the middle of the lounge. The main buffet station is also located here.



From the entrance area, the lounge fans out in two directions. To the right are some café tables as well as the terrace which is open to the concourse below.



With the lounge being full, the whole place was quite loud. This increased on the terrace as it was mixed with the terminal noise, though the views out over the ramp were great for plane spotting.



On the terrace, there was a variety of seating areas and we managed to find an empty table here.



Back inside, on the other side of the lounge, were a variety of partitioned off rooms with tables and chairs. Because of the walls, this area of the lounge felt darker and more compact than the terrace. A second bar was located here as well.



This side of the lounge also featured some workstations that overlooked the tarmac as well as a kids play area that wasn't being used.




Individual washrooms were also located in the rear of the lounge. I'm not sure if this is something they do all the time or just during peak times, but there was an attendant at the entrance to the restrooms assigning them to people as they became available. The individual stalls were spacious, clean, and stocked with Elemis products.




Food and Beverage
Since we had a morning flight, breakfast was on offer in the lounge. There was a large buffet in the center of the main room that had fruits, cold cuts as well as a variety of hot dishes.





Along the wall there was a selection of fresh pastries, yoghurts, and warm porridge.



In addition top the food, there were multiple beverage stations set up round the lounge. Near the main entrance, there was a large coffee bar that was Union Coffee Roasters branded. It featured a variety of coffee machines as well as a selection of teas. Since it was early on Sunday morning, the coffee bar was very popular and the lounge staff did a great job of keeping everything stocked.



Next to the coffee area was a large champagne station. The brands on offer change from time to time and during this visit it was Bottega branded. These bottles were also constantly being refreshed by the staff, keeping the champagne cold and fresh.



We knew that we were going to be eating on the plane, but the food on offer in the lounge looked good so we got a couple of items to split while we waited for our flight.




Atmosphere
The morning departure bank is going to be busy at almost every European hub as that is when most flights to the Americas depart. Because of that, the lounge was packed full and it was far from relaxing. The staff were doing their best to keep everything stocked up but there weren't enough tables to keep up with demand. This made for a chaotic and loud environment but it still beat the chaos out in the terminal.

British Airways operates two other Galleries lounges at London Heathrow's Terminal 5, one on the south side of T5A and the other in the T5B satellite. Next time I'm flying through London I'll likely head to the T5B lounge as it seemed much quieter when we passed on the way to our gate.

For more photos and additional trip reports, visit ATXJetsetter.com or follow along on Instagram and Twitter!