Heading Home

Our view at breakfast.  There is a horse out there.

We had a ride arranged to the airport, and pickup was at 10:15, so the morning had to be managed a bit.  That turned out to be easy when we both awoke before 6AM (unplanned).  We showered in that little tub with no curtain or walls, and a hand held hose, which was a bit of a feat.  We then enjoyed our last breakfast (at the Waldorf…not ever), and enjoyed the visual spectacle that the dining room was.

A rather "French" breakfast!

Our ride shows up, and it is a Honda HR-V, a bit of a step down from our Mercedes a couple of days ago.  But the ride was uneventful.  At the airport, there was a line for check in, and then…they made us each check a bag.  ☹

Off to the lounge…which was a bit simple…but still better than sitting out in the terminal .  We had help-yourself drinks, and a small buffet (not that we needed it).  Bill worked a bit (something due by Monday, and not likely to get done waiting until Monday to start!).  Then it was time to head to the gate. 

Nnnnot quite the same level we've be accustomed to!  ;-)

We flew a British Airways A320, so another airline and another aircraft type.  The “Euro Traveler” (Business Class)  is just regular coach triples, but with the center seat blocked out.  And they had TWELVE rows!!  (For comparison, AA has like 3 rows for 12 seats in that type, not 48!)

As the flight attendants got ready to serve lunch…the galley cart door wasn’t secure, so meals slid out of the back side and crashed on the floor.  And another cart did it again.  The lunches were kind of sad (raw salmon, or mozzarella and tomatos), but we weren’t really hungry anyway.  The beer was good, though!  We barely finished lunch and it was time to get ready for landing.  For some reason, the police met us at the gate, and spoke to the Captain, but we have no idea why, as they didn’t seem to do anything.  Then we all left.

The last hotel room!

A couple of train rides, and a couple hikes, and we were at our hotel, the Hilton at T4.  It was…perhaps the lowest hotel thus far.  But, at this point, that’s fine.  We hit the lounge for a little light dinner, and a couple of free drinks.  Bill reviewed another document for work while Theresa wrote the blog.  And then…off to bed!

The hotel lounge had these rum soaked coconut.

A rather British breakfast!!

We planned to get up at 6, but both woke up like 4:55, so we got going early, and by 6:45, we were having a nice British breakfast, before heading to the Terminal.  The thing we LIKE about the Hilton at T4, is that you can easily get there and back (there is a shuttle train, and whole lot of walking).  The thing we DON’T like about it, is there is a train to catch, and a whole lot of walking, and with Bill’s Wobbly-Wheeled-Wonder suitcase…So we found a luggage cart which made things a LOT easier.

I mean...we gotta watch them fuel....right?

RIGHT???

A ratehr Chinese breakfast!!

We were through security in like 30 minutes from leaving our hotel, and then went the one place we ALWAYS go in Heathrow…the Cathay Pacific First Class Lounge!!  They have a nice little dining area, and really good Asian food, so we have made it a habit.  But all too soon, it was time to head to the gate for the LAST flight of this trip.  We decided the BEST way to wrap this up was a First Class trip on AA, direct to DFW!!  From Paris home, we changed plans a number of times, but when this came available, even though it was a LOT of AA miles, we decided it was a good splurge.  It got us directly to DFW (no pesky domestic legs, no overnights).  And AA is ceasing First Class service next month, so it is our last time to enjoy AA FC.  So, it just seemed the right way to wrap this trip up.

Plane spotting...a fine pasttime!!
(This is the type of plane we flew to Paris.)

Our ride home!

A little conferring before departure!

One of the first things we noticed on board is how similar the seats were to the first time we had flown First Class on AA.  The furniture around it was a little different, but the seat being able to swivel and face each other, was the same.  We had “dinner”, a few drinks, watched a movie, Theresa took a nap, and another movie.  It was a little surprising how fast a 10 hour flight could go.  But by the time we made it back, we were pretty much ready to be done, and spent the evening trying to stay awake! 

Someone was chilly!!!