VorelNaCestach

I don't mind being a director of one 😁 you are all very welcome

VorelNaCestach

How far is the hotel from the airport? Is it a walking distance or is taxi better?

JapesUK

It is literally 3 minutes walk, you walk past arrivals, down into the car park, bear right at the end jnto a gravel type car park and the hotel is straight ahead, very, very easy to get to

T8191

Another great and mildly insane TR has me captivated! Looking forward to the Jersey element ... it's cold and windy here, though!

JapesUK

Eight rows in front of the curtain for today’s flight on this somewhat broken bus! Using the handset at the front of the plane for announcements results in excruciating feedback, the overhead panel for 1D-F doesn’t work, there’s no water in the toilet, and one of the front ovens is dead.

No surprise that the meal was the Kosher special again although interesting that all three meals on this trip have been different in some aspect. Standard trio of coffee, orange juice, and fizz to wash it all down with.





Lovely clear skies at the start of the trip and great views of the mountains.






Towards the end of the trip I got a pleasant little surprise.




Another very good trip with an excellent crew and the added bonus that we made up all the delay and landed pretty much on time.

Standard Transit from T3 to T5 and I popped landside and came back in for a change of scenery. First wing area at South security had a queue of around twenty people but I was through fast enough and now settled in the first lounge awaiting the gate information for my Jersey flight.




Drinks choice should surprise nobody…

JapesUK

Thank you kindly. I’m saving completely insane for the 15 segment tier point run to San Jose in September

JapesUK

A nice long walk all the way to gate A2 with a brief stop at duty free but nothing new there, still Toblerone and Makers Mark promotions

We are no way, no how, getting off the ground on time, it’s a complete crew change and the crew just left the plane with 15 minutes to departure



This will be four out of four for departure delays. At least I have no fixed plans for the rest of the day

JapesUK

Everyone is finally aboard and the doors closed 15
minutes late, better than I expected. Acres of leg room on this 319-131



G-DBCH today, another new one for me.



And it’s not often you see this seat in use, four on the flight deck.



It will be interesting to see how they manage service on this route given the eight rows in Business and the very
short flight time.

Next stop, Jersey

JapesUK

A very short flight where the crew really had to hustle and they were still serving as the ten minute warning came from the pilot, they got it done, just!

I’d chosen the Gluten free special for some reason and it was this, thinnest smear of hummus possible.



I have never seen this stair style for getting off the plane, I like it.



Straight into a taxi and over to the Best Western Monterey Hotel. I was under no illusions when I booked this, I guessed what it would be and it’s matched those expectations. Very much a “the seventies called, they want their hotel rooms back” sort of place




It has the old musty smell you associate with older properties.

I’m only here for 15 hours and hopefully sleeping for the largest part of that… hopefully!

And the most bizarre USB placement, in a completely blank wall away from furniture



And now it is time for a little exploration

Edit: just to add the weather is overcast and raining, unfortunately.

Tocsin

Ah, ha! I was wondering about the "3 minutes walk" to the HGI - I've always gone the long way around to the left following the road, which at least doubles that timing

To be fair, I've always arrived late at night and didn't fancy exploring what might have been a short-cut, or a dead-end!

JapesUK

Its virtually a straight line and although the last part is unlit there is a guard at the entrance near the hotel

Fabo.sk

AMS-FCO-ATH-FCO-BCN-FCO-LIN/LIN-FCO-BCN-FCO-ATH-FCO-AMS

Technically there's overnights in ATH, but with the stops being about 5 hours long only, I count them as long transfers instead...Looked at hotels near the airport but I can't make one work with more than ~2 hours of sleep, if that. And the lounges seem to be open 24/7 so that's what I'll do. Linate is a proper overnight.

VorelNaCestach

I saw something similar in Holiday Inn Edinburgh. It just doesn't make sense why they place it in the middle of nowhere.

this is handy, thanks for that. I will need it in few weeks.

JapesUK

Having stolen a couple of hours nap it’s time to check out the food in the hotel restaurant, which, well, we’ll see. I did take a few random photos of the hotel earlier before it hit the sack.

JapesUK

Having put my nose into the completely empty bar and restaurant I decided that self preservation was in order Earlier I had noticed the Hotel De France across the road and decided to take a wander up the hill and see what they had to offer







Nestling amongst the many old acquaintances was this stranger



which sounds very interesting and I may need to try a little later, but for now, a pint of the local liberation longboat lager