Concerto

It's not really the fault of Hop! that this flight was an overbooked mess, but it was really something that Air France revenue management should have done a better job of managing. As a result, I had to shift seats to accommodate a dame and her kid and ended up beside some jock who wouldn't move his cans of soda and electronic rubbish off the neighbouring seat so I could sit down (I quickly took care of that and saved the FAs from a difficult task, no more to say). Then, the same dame with her noisy kid was instructed to take said kid on her lap so that one of two deadheading cabin crew members could sit down. The other crew member ended up on the jumpseat in the cockpit, which required a hammer and chisel in order for it to be erected, totally blocking the cockpit door. I think that Air France - hah, I mean Hop! - pushed the safety rules a bit in order that this flight could get out, albeit with 35 minutes delay.


Seville airport is unusually attractive landside


The lounge in Seville is good and it's definitely worth going a bit early to spend some time there


I found the food options to be more than adequate

Onboard service was nothing special and took ages to get started. Was I an upgrade, the cabin crew member asked me? I said "no", but couldn't quite bring myself to say that the ticket in business class cost me only 14 Euro cents once all vouchers and cashback were factored in! In the end, there was enough catering for everyone, a salad of couscous (it looked like Ebly to me) with cold chicken in a curry sauce, along with a small cheese plate and some sort of chocolate desert resembling a profiterole. Not bad, but far from the gastronomic possibilities that a country like France has to offer. After that initial service delivery, the crew disappeared towards the rear of the plane to serve the economy class passengers, only to reappear when we commenced our descent. This was a flight that got me from A to B, nothing more. I have had better flights with Air France operated by Hop! and the whole situation with the overbooked cabin was badly handled.


Prior to boarding the Air France operated by Hop! flight at Seville


I managed to snap this shot of row 1 before the plane filled up like a sardine can


Inflight catering Seville to Paris in business class


Disembarking at Terminal 2G at Paris Charles de Gaulle airport

Rating 6*
Seat 1F - 1C
Aircraft E90
Registration F-HBLQ

hugolover

Your descriptions of pax are funny .
Sounds normal when it comes to the Embraer JS, you sit right against the door basically and its rather cosy with 3 people in there.

Fabo.sk

Same can be said for most all narrowbodies, only the A320 family maintains at least a semblance of comfort.

And that's only considering the primary jumpseat. the second jumpseat in the 737, if installed, is a right little torture chamber. Might as well sit in the rear seat of a Porsche 911.

Concerto

This Hop! Embraer flight had 16 seats in business class and we went out with 18 pax technically in the business cabin. Someone went in the cockpit on what looked and sounded like an improvised jumpseat. The kid went on the lap of the woman who was clearly on the Friends part of the friends and family fraternity. Later on the child was allowed to wander all over the place and annoy everyone while they were eating their meals.

As for the jock in 1A who annoyed me, he refused to remove his junk from the seat (1C), arrogantly asking to see my boarding pass and demanding to know if I had reserved the seat. I responded, "no, you are not seeing my boarding pass. Now, move your stuff or you can talk to the flight attendant about it". This exchange took place in English and the FA deftly tucked herself away somewhere while it was going on.
I tell you, I will never ever again, on Air France, offer to change seats to help them out. They can démerder themselves next time.

Concerto

I had time for a brief stay in the Air France lounge at Paris CDG airport, Terminal 2G (a part of the airport which is on a different planet) and found it quite pleasant, despite the reports I had read about overcrowding. Given that I was connecting to another Hop! operated flight without leaving Terminal 2G, the transfer experience was quite nice and did not involve a transfer to other terminals in Paris Charles de Gaulle. And because it was late evening there were only a few people around because there were only a couple of European flights going out.


The lounge in Terminal 2G at Paris CDG airport was, surprisingly, not too busy


General view inside Terminal 2G at Paris CDG airport


Boarding the flight to Turin TRN

Onboard the Embraer E90 jet, I found myself to be the only passenger in Business class, unlike the 17 people in Business on the previous flight from Seville. As the only person in the single row which constituted Business class on the Embraer E90 plane, I thought, without hoping too much, that I would get exclusive service. Alas, that was not to be the case and the CSD did the bare minimum, serving the meal and a glass of Jaquart champagne before disappearing for eternity into economy class. The cold meal service was, however, really palatable, cooked prawns on a bed of purée de pois, served with a cheese plate along with a somewhat cloying chocolate dessert. No drink refills were offered or any other service items. The flight landed bang on time at Turin's quiet little airport and I was out of the terminal building in minutes.


I was the only passenger in business class so I could take my time with taking a photo of the seating


Inflight catering on CDG-TRN which tasted better than it looked


Some drinks helped me to chill out

Rating 7*
Seat 1C - 1A
Aircraft E90
Registration F-HBLA

hugolover

Do you not like to use the call bell? That's what it's there for .

Concerto

I have no problem with the call bell but the FA was so stressed out with the ridiculous Friends and Family nonsense that I just wanted to get it sorted, if possible, without her having to be involved. But calling the FA would probably have been the better thing to do.

hugolover

I meant on the second flight. You wrote the crew disappeared down the back and offered no further service.

lamphs

The jock in 1A...I am sure I would have had to count to 10 before I reacted!

Concerto

AH, that flight. I think that I actually did use the call bell to get a second drink.

Yes, it's better to try and take a deep breath, especially in a plane, because you never know how it will pan out. The worst thing about travel is the people you have to share your space with, but I really very rarely have any problems in that domain.

Concerto

This will be a short chapter that I believe is worth including on this trip, although I took very few photos at Turin airport and almost none at the Jet Hotel. This was my first visit to TRN airport, an airport that had somehow escaped a visit from me until now. My flight arrived from Paris CDG very late at 22h50 and I was through arrivals in a matter of minutes (I did not check a bag). It reminded me of Italian provincial airports in the 1980s, which appeared to be mostly empty of people and activity. I expect that TRN gets pretty busy when the low cost carriers come and go. There were several flights with Ryanair and other LCCs, just a few with Air France Hop! and Air Dolomiti, as well as a couple of BA flights. Not a huge amount of flights overall and the departure board was already displaying the entire flight offer for the following day.


An odd and eye catching advertisement at Turin airport


A look at the shopping area in Turin airport


From the business lounge there are great views over the airfield

I had booked the Jet Hotel just next to the airport due to my late arrival and, I have to say, it turned out to be better than any of the Lonely Planet hotels that I stayed at on this trip. I didn't stay at any of my usual hotel chains (IHG, Hilton, Accor) on this trip and I somewhat missed their consistency. Jet Hotel was friendly and welcoming, had spacious rooms and an excellent breakfast which was included in the rate. In addition, it was quiet and there was a real smell of the countryside (yes, cow manure as well as the smell of fresh grass). I highly recommend staying here if you are coming in late or leaving early. At reception I was told that I could have a decent discount if I called and booked directly with the hotel. So, in the light of the upcoming merger of hotels.com into the Expedia platform, I think I will do this in the future. I have to say, I am disenchanted with hotels.com due it's almost total lack of customer service.


I took almost no photos at the Jet Hotel, but it was one of the best hotels of the whole trip in terms of comfort


The breakfast was excellent at the Jet Hotel

Lastly, getting to and from the Jet Hotel. Well, you really should get a taxi and not attempt to walk like I did. It's technically only about 10 minutes walk from the airport terminal but it takes you along an unlit and busy trunk road with no sidewalk whatsoever and there's a bit of a road junction to navigate. There is a slight hard shoulder between the white line and the grassy embankment, only about 30-50cm wide at best, but it was a bit hairy and I used the flashlight of the smartphone all the way. In reality, the stretch along the road takes up about 6-7 minutes of the time if you walk fast. Coming back in the daylight the next day I cut through the fields beside the roads, which was not fenced and had no grazing animals (but it did have a large advertising board). The ground is totally firm and there are no boggy parts, but don't do it at night because there is an unfenced fast flowing stream that you could splosh down into face first!
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I walked across this landscape to get back to the airport bus stop and you can just see the stream on the right, which you could fall into if it were dark


The crowded bus from Turin airport to Porta Nuova main train station, which cost €7.50

Concerto

T​​his is another Lonely Planet recommendation and is an arty sort of place with different themes and art work in each room. To be honest, it really wasn't my style and I didn't like the pictures I found on the hotels.com site but I trust the suggestions of Lonely Planet and I thought it was good to try something completely different. Initial impressions were not good, the place felt aloof and pretentious and it had a cold atmosphere. In addition, the front desk staff were downright odd to begin with. I wasn't crazy about the clientele that the hotel attracted either but that might be more a problem with me than them. The room was impeccably clean, overlooking a very quiet street outside. The bed was firm (almost too firm) with crisp linen and a mattress that I suspect (forgot to check) was 190cm rather than 200. There was plenty space to move around and the room was a pleasant enough place to rest and relax in. There was decent desk space, adequate storage and a fridge which did not work (the front desk happily stored my purchased Italian cheeses and meats in their fridge). The bathroom contained a real bathtub and a shower with a slightly weak water flow, as well as the usual amenities and a decent number of good quality towels.


My room in the Boston Art Hotel


Every room has a completely different art themed decor

The front desk staff didn't have any interesting suggestions as to where to eat or have "aperocena", but as time went on during my stay they seemed to warm to me and made regular jokes. They even offered late checkout which I was happy to accept because my train to Novara would leave at 13h54. At breakfast I nearly had a panic attack because it was so noisy and there were far, far too many people there, all milling around in the wrong directions and I truly HATE that at hotel breakfasts. I note that some guests had ordered room service, presumably to avoid the chaos and noise in the airless breakfast room. This, IMO, is always going to an issue at hotels where the breakfast is included in the price (think, Holiday Inn Express). However, it wasn't an issue at the Jet Hotel at Turin airport, which did offer breakfast included in the room price, presumably because I came down later to breakfast and there were fewer guests.


A look at the bathroom of the room in the Boston Art Hotel


Reception area on the ground floor

The rate at the Boston Art Hotel was really reasonable, a godsend given that most other hotels in Turin were ridiculously overpriced or far away from the center. It was also very clean and well kept. As for the ambiance, each to his own. To get there you need to walk about 15 minutes to the southwest of Porta Nuova railway station through pleasant enough but lifeless residential streets. Around the hotel there are very few restaurants so you would need to walk 20-30 minutes towards central Turin.


The streets just beside the Boston Art Hotel, a normal residential area just 2km from the center


Exterior of the Boston Art Hotel in Turin

Concerto

The Turin Shroud with the image of Christ just visible on it

I somehow knew that the Turin Shroud was in Turin but I didn't expect or plan to actually see it. I vaguely thought that it would require booking well in advance and would cost a large sum of money and offer access to lots of other museums which I didn't really want to see on this trip. But a chance wander into Turin's cathedral, San Giovanni Battista (St John the Baptist), led me right up to where the Shroud is displayed in a side chapel separated by a glass screen, with a prayer bench right in front of it. This incredible relic appears to be the real thing, according to an information pamphlet which explained how scientists had studied and tested the Shroud. I took a moment to stand there and contemplate, without the fatigue induced by the heaving and milling masses of people found elsewhere. The rest of the cathedral was interesting, but not awe inspiring like Seville cathedral, nor was it classically beautiful like Wells cathedral.


A wider shot of the chapel where the Turin Shroud is located
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Streets of Turin not so far from the cathedral


Small lanes in the old town of Turin that were busy thoroughfares in the past


A shopping gallery in Turin that reminds me of the famous Vittorio Emanuele gallery in Milan

While wandering around downtown Turin I had a look at the Teatro Regio, the modern opera house where in 2001 I had worked on an interesting production of "Wozzeck" by Manfred Gurlitt (as opposed to the better known version by Alban Berg). It was a depressing piece to work on, but Turin was somehow more fun back in those days and it feels different now. I am probably getting older and places inevitably change. The other main sight I spent some time looking at was the Porta Palatina, one of the original entries to the city. Otherwise, I meandered through the streets and alleyways, ending up at Piazza San Carlo and rubbed my shoe for luck on the bronze bull ingrained into the ground outside the Cafe Torino. The name of the city of Torino means "little bull" in Italian. Turin is full of lengthy covered arcades which protect you from sunlight or rain, many of which are quite ornately designed and presumably date back to the 1800s. There seems to be a lot of fine shopping that you could do in Turin and there some busy and wider streets which are dedicated to shopping only.


The main public entrance to the Teatro Regio opera house in Turin


The famous Caffè Torino in the Piazza San Carlo


The image of a bull is ingrained into the walkway just outside the Caffè Torino: in fact, "torino" means "little bull" in Italian


The Porta Palatina is the only surviving city gate of Roman Turin

On this trip I wasn't able to suss out Turin's food scene to my satisfaction. Once again I felt that the city had changed greatly and I couldn't really feel any good places using my nose navigation. Places have either gone sassy with a cocktail bar type of image which probably appeals to the current generation, or they have gone upmarket and priced themselves out of reach. I mean, I don't want to pay Swiss prices in a place like Turin. The traditional simple Italian trattoria seemed to not exist and it is probably now a thing of the past. One Lonely Planet place I put my head into snootily dismissed me because I didn't have a reservation. Totally fine, if they don't need me, I certainly don't need them. I didn't find much in the way of Italian bars at which you find only locals, something that was easy to find in Seville. I did manage to plonk myself down finally in a place called Da Lisa which had the air of an old Italian pizzeria but has been taken over by young somethings and redesigned with utterly ghastly out of place photo pictures on the wall. However, the marble floor, cheap fluorescent lighting and wobbly tables were still in use, which made it somehow authentic. The young couple were warmly welcoming and offered an aperitivo choice of cocktail (I had Aperol spritz) and a well loaded plank of cold food for €6. The pasta dishes were excellent (most around €12) and I had the Piedmont speciality of Agnolotti (little pasta parcels filled with meat).


There are endless sidewalk galleries in Turin


Rather than being a specialist delicatessen, this is a typical display of cheese in a downtown supermarket in Turin


Some of the eating places in Turin look supposedly trendy but have little to do with traditional Italian cuisine


I quite rarely drink Aperol as an aperitif, but it is nice from time to time

Concerto

Somehow these regional train trips across Northern Italy are quite fun and extremely cheap. To get from Turin to Domodossola, quite some distance with a change in Novara, cost me €13.30 The trains ran more or less on time, although the small hopper train left Novara 15 minutes late (it arrived at Domodossola on time). From Domodossola I was onto the Swiss train network and my General Abonnement got me home to Montreux at no extra cost.


Interior of the Torino to Milano regional train


Changing trains in Novara


There was quite a lot of construction work at Novara station when I was there

It was a miserable cold and wet winter's day, with snow falling in Turin. Thanks to the omnipresent arcades I made it to the station without getting wet. Torino Porta Nuova railway station is efficient enough but has no particular charm. Like all stations there were a number of dodgy people floating around. It is a good idea to get to these big stations really early because there is often a lengthy walk to get out onto the right platform. I strode down the endless platform and boarded the second but last carriage. The trip to Novara was efficient enough, the huge north Italian plain enveloped in greyness and wet. The windows of the old regional train were so dirty it was impossible to get a good view, although there wasn't much to get a view of. There were no staff or controllers and once again there were dodgy people roaming up and down the central aisle.


The regional train to Domodossola had an unusual interior


A little station somewhere near Lake Orta


And here is Lago d'Orta itself

From Novara the trip became more interesting and there were few people in the small single carriage train. This time I managed to get good views of Lago d'Orta, thanks to the lack of leaves on the thick growth of trees which border the lake. Oddly, as we headed north the rain ceased and it became a bit clearer. The trip up the main Ossola valley from Gravellone Toce was as dreary as usual. Even by car this part of the country has little charm to it. You need to go up the side valleys and go into the mountains to see the real beauty of the Ossola region.


Lago d'Orta with the town of Omegna in the foreground


I made it finally to Domodossola

Concerto

The object of this trip was to see my old art teacher in Wells, Somerset, who had just reached her 95th birthday. However, she died just before I could get there and the funeral was arranged on the day I was scheduled to arrive. So, I didn't bother changing my flight which had cost CHF19.95 (the change fee was CHF62.00), instead I bought a new ticket leaving one day earlier for CHF16.95 and abandoned the original booking. With up to 6 easyJet flights a day and peanuts prices, Bristol has become very accessible from Switzerland.


Intercontinental and non-Schengen flights leave from Terminal C at Geneva, including easyJet flights to the UK; it is cheaper to buy food from the BoB menu of easyJet rather than use the outlets in Terminal C


The easyJet flight to Bristol left from gate C61 and the boarding process was very calm and civilized


My easyJet Switzerland plane waiting at the gate at Geneva airport

I reached Geneva airport early, but not ridiculously so. 1 hour and 40 minutes margin was more than adequate because GVA airport is well organised with efficient security checks. The nightmare of airport meltdowns last summer now seems to be in the past. UK flights leave from C gates, a swanky newly designed terminal with lots of natural light, plenty of seating with power ports and food outlets. Boarding through the airbridge was punctual and relaxed because the flight was not full.


Looking out at the Mt Blanc Massif in France just after take-off


I took the menu deal which included a Brewdog Punk IPA beer


The warmed Ciabatta was pretty decent

Once onboard crew were pleasant and welcoming and the entire flight turned out to be excellent. The booking engine allocated me a window seat on the right of the aircraft, so I could enjoy some quite spectacular views of the Alps and Mt Blanc. These days easyJet seems to offer an incredibly reasonably priced onboard menu, which is a good deal for flyers from Geneva because the airport catering is far too expensive. It's also a smart move in order to pull passengers from the legacy airlines, which have crappy, stupidly overpriced onboard catering along with understocked trolleys which run out once they reach row 2. I have not been a fan of easyJet in the past, but good for them: their offering, low prices and uncomplicated booking system have pulled me back into the fold.


A look down the cabin of the easyJet flight, with a lot of empty seats visible


Flying over Weston-Super-Mare on the Bristol Channel while approaching Bristol airport


Arrival at Bristol airport

I ordered a meal deal with a hot roll of Serrano ham and Iberico cheese, a box of Pringles and a Brewdog IPA beer for CHF12.50. While not a replacement for a real meal, it was pretty good and kept me going during the process of picking up a rental car and driving around looking for parking in Bristol later that evening. We landed 25 minutes early but had to sit on the apron for ages because no stand was available.

Rating 8.5*
Seat 10F
Aircraft 320
Registration HB-JXP​​