Traveling Round Europe
As we are spending three months traveling, this blog gets resurrected as my own personal diary. I have a terrible feeling I will forget what we have done over time, and I want to be able to provide recommendations or tips if I have to, so here we go.
The flights were relatively easy. The only thing I would say to Singapore airlines is that your snacks during the 10 hour lights out period need to be improved - poor Dara was starving by the end of it, and whilst he's not fussy, dried peas are not his thing, nor are tuna sandwiches. He struggled to survive on one packet of pretzels.
We landed and got our luggage relatively easily. The process at Heathrow is far more pleasant than the last time we endured that airport! The only issue was trying to get a lift down to the bus transfer level. What a nightmare. Tip for next time - use the lifts inside the terminal that go between departures and arrivals and "group travel", the same level as bus transfers - no queues, and no stress.
The Ibis at Heathrow is fine, for what it is. The room is very small but okay for the couple of nights we are here. I will say that I think we timed breakfast very badly this morning - there were no clean glasses or spoons. I initially thought the cold bacon and hash browns were due to that as well, but when I saw the chef bring a fresh bowl of bacon out and went to get some fresh, that was cold as well. Now that is a skill, but not one I'm sure I'd celebrate!
Yesterday's trip to the Botanical Gardens at Kew was a great idea though. It got us out into the fresh air, picking up our Vitamin D levels, and increasing our steps after 24 hours of immobility. I especially enjoyed the blown glass sculptures that are there at the moment - absolutely beautiful and well integrated with the plants. The boys enjoyed the freedom to run, and the sky level walks in the hot houses.
It was great to go from there to seeing some good friends at a running festival. By the time we got back to the hotel, Dara was well past needing dinner, and slept the 12 hours through until about 5am. Today we are heading out to re-visit the running festival and get a pub lunch. A real pub.
The flights were relatively easy. The only thing I would say to Singapore airlines is that your snacks during the 10 hour lights out period need to be improved - poor Dara was starving by the end of it, and whilst he's not fussy, dried peas are not his thing, nor are tuna sandwiches. He struggled to survive on one packet of pretzels.
We landed and got our luggage relatively easily. The process at Heathrow is far more pleasant than the last time we endured that airport! The only issue was trying to get a lift down to the bus transfer level. What a nightmare. Tip for next time - use the lifts inside the terminal that go between departures and arrivals and "group travel", the same level as bus transfers - no queues, and no stress.
The Ibis at Heathrow is fine, for what it is. The room is very small but okay for the couple of nights we are here. I will say that I think we timed breakfast very badly this morning - there were no clean glasses or spoons. I initially thought the cold bacon and hash browns were due to that as well, but when I saw the chef bring a fresh bowl of bacon out and went to get some fresh, that was cold as well. Now that is a skill, but not one I'm sure I'd celebrate!Yesterday's trip to the Botanical Gardens at Kew was a great idea though. It got us out into the fresh air, picking up our Vitamin D levels, and increasing our steps after 24 hours of immobility. I especially enjoyed the blown glass sculptures that are there at the moment - absolutely beautiful and well integrated with the plants. The boys enjoyed the freedom to run, and the sky level walks in the hot houses.
It was great to go from there to seeing some good friends at a running festival. By the time we got back to the hotel, Dara was well past needing dinner, and slept the 12 hours through until about 5am. Today we are heading out to re-visit the running festival and get a pub lunch. A real pub.
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