My Italian Holiday Begins!

After a long absence, and the internal struggle for inspiration, I am back – and with a purpose (not a porpoise).  I am on my way to ITALY! 
 

This trip has been in the works for nearly a year.  My friend Annie (whom I used to work for as a tutor) is staying in Rome for a few months for an immersion program and rented an apartment.  She’s invited friends and family to visit, so when she offered – and I knew she wasn’t kidding – I jumped at the opportunity.  I am grateful for her invitation and generosity.  Many of my best vacations have been by invitation, so I am sure this will be one hell of a trip.

 
My trip started last night when my boss dropped me off at LAX Tom Bradley Terminal after work.  I worked a full day since I was taking a late flight.  Because  this is a once in a lifetime trip, and I got a hell of a deal, I sprang for a Business Class ticket.  So I had the opportunity to have access to the One World Lounge at LAX.  They are currently revamping the Bradley terminal, but British Airways and the Lounges are located in the newly refurbed part.  The loung was HUGE, and quite plush.  I even had the opportunity to take a shower.  The bathroom (they are all private) was as big as mine at home, only nicer.

 

After a nice, relaxing hot shower, I partook of some beverages and snacks.  It’s mostly self-serve, but they do have a full bar.  I opted for the champagne/sparkling wine they had open.  I wound up having several glasses, because if you are going to leave an open bottle around, I AM going to keep refilling.  I also had some snacks:  a nice roasted garlic-tomato soup that was tasty and filling, and some deli meats and cheeses.  I probably ate more than I should have, since I knew I was getting a meal on the flight too.

 

When it was time to board, I made my way through the new terminal to my gate.  I have to connect to Rome via London, and I chose British Airways.  My seat was in the hump of a 747…very private and very quiet.  The upper deck had three flight attendants.  That’s a lot for such a small cabin.  The staff was very friendly and sweet.  I started off with a pre-flight drink of champagne (again).   The seats are very comfy, and it stretched out into a lie-flat seat.   My seatmate was a lovely woman named Maggie.  She was on her way back home to Sussex after a seven month holiday to Hawaii and Australia with her husband.  We chatted quite a bit. 

 

 

Dinner was served about an hour after take off.  It’s a three course meal.  I have the Salmon Terrine as my first course, and enjoyed it very much.  The second course, I chose the fillet of beef.  It was good, but a little disappointing since the meat was a tad overdone, but that happens with beef on an airplane.  The taste overall for the entrée was a little on the bland side.  Hopefully on the return trip it will be better, or I’ll not pick the beef.

 

 

For the dessert round, I went for the chocolate mousse cake.  Very creamy, good chocolate flavor, but nothing special either.  It was an average dessert.

After the meal I stretched out to try and get some sleep.  I dosed off, but never fully got to sleep.  Part of it was being in an unfamiliar environment, part a little noise, and part just plain insomnia.  It hits me when I go on vacation sometimes.  I was afraid to take anything to dope me up too much since I had a window seat and if I had to get up for the restroom, I’d have to navigate over the legs of the guy in front of me.  Needless to say, it left me rather fatigued.  Eventually I gave up and read.

Eventually it was time for breakfast as we were a little under two hours out of London.  The starter was a fruit plate, choice of roll and juice.  I wasn’t overly hungry, so it was enough for me.  They also offered a bacon roll after that, and even though I love bacon, it just didn’t appeal to me.

 

About mid-day we landed in London.  My overall take on my flight is:  good, but not WOW.  Service was excellent, the cabin comfortable, but the food was nothing exciting.  The Salmon Terrine was excellent – I could have eaten several of those – but it barely balanced out the less exciting courses. 

 At Heathrow, we pulled into a gate at the satellite terminal, so I had to wind my way down to the train to take me to the main building, then work my way through customs/security for connecting flights.  They failed to mention I could use the expedited lines, which I figured out after customs.  GRRRRRR.  Oh well.  It took me about as long as I expected it to.  Signage in terminal 5, however, is not terribly helpful.  It took me a while to finally find the signs pointing me to the lounges, but even then, they aren’t clearly marked – and when you’re in a terminal teeming with people from all over the world jockeying to get from gate to gate, it’s basically a gauntlet to run.  I finally figure it out and made my way to gigantic South Lounge for BA. 

 

Once I got checked in, I checked out the food and drinks.  Pickings were slim as far as choice goes.  The lounge at LAX had more on offer.  They had a couple of soups, three types of finger sandwiches, chips and some desserts.  That was it.  The offerings for drinks (alcoholic and soft) were far better though.  They had bars set up all over the place.  Maybe they figure they’ll get you drunk so you don’t think about the lack of food. 

 

Oh, one note on BOTH lounges I visited:  they were overrun by families traveling with toddlers, infants and sundry kids.  I understand they have as much right to bring their families to the lounge, but considering the sheer volume, it would behoove airlines to dedicate space to families so they have a place geared towards their needs, and the rest of the adults have a place that can be quiet and not have to worry that some kids is going to knock you down.  At LAX, the family that sat close to me had their children well managed and engaged in quiet activities.  Coudoes to them!  But a few others let their kids run rampant, and the staff  just ignored it.  :/

 

Okay, so back to Heathrow and my lounge experience.  I didn’t have a lot of time there, but I did get to relax some and start this blog.  I snacked, boozed a little and just checked things out.  But unfortunately, since a gate hadn’t been assigned to my connecting flight yet, when it finally was about an hour before it was to leave, I wound up having to hoof it all the way to the other end of the terminal.  It was NOT fun.  Had they told me sooner, I would have moved to the lounge on that side.  Oh well.

 

Now I am on my flight to Rome, drinking a nice Gin & Tonic and waiting for dinner to be served.  We shall see what’s on the menu.  The flight attendant, Jeremy, has been very friendly.  He can identify with my fatigue.   

                          

And I am happy to report that this meal was far better than my transatlantic meal!  For a two hour flight, they serve pretty much a full meal – reminiscent of the meals I’ve had on Alaska and Virgin.  We had a choice of Prawns in Curry, or a Chicken Caesar Salad – I opted for the salad.  It was nicely presented, and accompanied by a wedge of Stilton cheese, some crackers, a roll and handmade chocolates for dessert.  The chicken, while well done, didn’t come across as overcooked at all and was seasoned nicely.  It was one of the better caesar’s I’ve had.  The cheese was sublime.  I love a good stinky cheese, and this one was flavorful and creamy.  And the chocolates….one was a truffle with a raspberry-ish filling; the other a coffee macaroon.  I don’t know if it’s that the catering is better out of Heathrow, or it’s hard to screw up a salad (but people do, believe me), but I definitely rank this over the meal on the long haul flight.  Maybe BA will redeem themselves on the return flight.

So in about an hour I land in Rome.  Tomorrow morning Annie and I get on a train to Bologna and pick up a car to tool around Parma and Luca for the weekend.  It should be a lot of fun.  I may not be able to post while I am on that trip, but will if I can.

 Update:  I am in Parma and off to Luca in the morning.  Hopefully I will have time tomorrow to update on the trip thus far.  It's been an adventure, but I need sleep tonight, so will have to get to this later.

Ciao!