A drive through north-west France

[RooFlyer]

A year ago, I was wondering whether or not I should go to the UK in June for one-of-best-mates significant birthdays. Then the AFF LHR lounge crawl came up and that nearly sealed the deal, as I will be then able to visit Windsor Castle to view some art items in the Royal Collection. Then said mate and family said they were going to be in Normandy a few weeks later and that settled it. I've been seeing more and more of France over the past few years and it was time to get stuck into Brittany and Normandy.

So the trip has ended up being rather badly timed (too close to my last trip) and has blown out to a week too long, but .



Flying into LHR on an Oman Air ticket (was keen to try them - regretting it a bit now) - Qantas to BKK then WY BKK-MCT-LHR. Damn WY has subbed BKK-MCT to a B737 which has really pissed me off.

Visit Windsor Castle the day after arriving to have a look at an album of sketches by 19th century Tasmanian artist and poet Louisa Anne Meredith that made its way to the Royal Collection. So now I am an art expert. Not.

Train up to Manchester to see my mate and also visit the John Rylands library. Booked tickets on Trainline. This worked well, but gee, trains are expensive!

Back down to London for the LHR T3 lounge crawl.

There are a set number of flights out of LHR T3 where the lounge crawl is, and I was originally going to fly to Toulouse to start my driving tour of NW France, but BA cancelled that long ago, so now I'm doing LHR-BUD (with a bunch of other AFFers), then BUD-AMS-CDG, all of these flights on points of various shades. Why fly direct when you can connect etc.

Pick up car and 18 days driving from CDG, first west to Angers, Vannes and Quiberon and then an arc to the NE across Brittany and Normandy as far as Amiens in Hautes de France, and back to Paris. A day in Paris.

Overnight stops in double circle (except Chartres - just a stop). Side trips not shown.



Getting back home on a Oman Air ticket was a real PITA. Not every day ex CDG and then not a lot of days that would also connect through to Bangkok. Finally wrangled it, with a day stopover in Muscat and a day in Bangkok on the way back.

Will be visiting the WW2 beaches in Normandy and the WW1 battlefields on the Somme. There is probably going to be some cathedrals

Have been using this site to book a lot of tickets.

Home

tickets.monuments-nationaux.fr

Off in a week.

 

[VPS]

Sounds great

Have you read Birdsong by Sebastian Faulks - very interesting book about WW1

This is about a 10 minute walk from Rylands (which I really enjoyed) and is a bit quirky The Portico Library

Have a great trip

 

[RooFlyer]

Thanks @VPS . I'll visit the Portico. I went to become a member so I could have a gawk at the Reading Room but - 175 quid!!! Or a temporary readers pass - 10 quid. Maybe not.

 

[Flyfrequently]

On board @RooFlyer Bon Voyage

 

[GDSman]

Looks good @RooFlyer - I was a tour guide for 5 yrs after Uni (a long time ago) and my tour followed almost exactly the same route except we turned south from Rennes to Angers and then hugged the Loire (to visit the chateaux) to Blois before turning north to Chartres and Paris. It's a great part of the world - I wish I could give you some tips but too much time has passed. Looking forward to reading about it now

 

[Human]

Thanks @VPS . I'll visit the Portico. I went to become a member so I could have a gawk at the Reading Room but - 175 quid!!! Or a temporary readers pass - 10 quid. Maybe not.

Chetham's Library is also worth visiting in Manchester.

It was highly recommended to me and I would have visited, but I was in Manchester on a weekend and it was closed.

Chetham's Library

The oldest public Library in the English speaking world

library.chethams.com

 

[RooFlyer]

Thanks @GDSman - I spent a few days in the Loire admiring the châteaux a couple of years ago.

 

[VPS]

Thanks @VPS . I'll visit the Portico. I went to become a member so I could have a gawk at the Reading Room but - 175 quid!!! Or a temporary readers pass - 10 quid. Maybe not.

Here's a little glimpse of the reading room

 

[VPS]

Chetham's Library is also worth visiting in Manchester.

It was highly recommended to me and I would have visited, but I was in Manchester on a weekend and it was closed.

Chetham's Library

The oldest public Library in the English speaking world

library.chethams.com

another one of my list and I've stayed here which was excellent

About the Library - Gladstone's Library

When visitors speak of Gladstone’s Library they are often referring to the Reading Rooms – our beautiful silent spaces that house over 150,000 books and

www.gladstoneslibrary.org

Sorry roo - back OT now

 

[RooFlyer]

Chetham's Library is also worth visiting in Manchester.

I’ll put it on the list, thanks

 

[RooFlyer]

Got an e-mail from Oman Air inviting bids to upgrade from biz o their 'business studio' on the MCT-LHR leg. The business studio used to be their first class product, but re-badged to 'premium' business.

I offered USD700, the lowest possible. After the 6 hours in a recliner and then only a short stopover, I reckon I'll need it.

 

[Human]

Got an e-mail from Oman Air inviting bids to upgrade from biz o their 'business studio' on the MCT-LHR leg. The business studio used to be their first class product, but re-badged to 'premium' business.

I offered USD700, the lowest possible. After the 6 hours in a recliner and then only a short stopover, I reckon I'll need it.

Is the First Class Lounge at Muscat still open and will you have access to it if you upgrade? I read a review and it looked like an amazing lounge. I’d be tempted…

 

[RooFlyer]

Is the First Class Lounge at Muscat still open and will you have access to it if you upgrade? I read a review and it looked like an amazing lounge. I’d be tempted…

I think the lounge is closed, but I'd have accesss to it as OW Emerald.

I've just been looking at the Chetham's Library. Oldest library in Britain! On the list, although GBP12.5 for the tour.

 

[Human]

I've just been looking at the Chetham's Library. Oldest library in Britain! On the list, although GBP12.5 for the tour.

And if I recall correctly, taking a tour is the only way that members of the public can visit the library.

 

[Major]

Plenty of time to try different "Moules" recipes and

 

[RooFlyer]

Before my trip, I went to Hobart to a friend who is looking after my car and woke to this view the next morning.



Took Qantas to Sydney and stayed at the Sofitel Wentworth, both good. To the airport where security and immigration were both quick. The terminal was packed! To the Qantas First lounge for brekkie. Wait for table or have service in any of the lounge chairs (like many were doing - lounge was also packed. Not a long wait and got a table by the window. I knew we had a bus gate. What I didn't realise was that out plane was right down the far end.



Decided on something different - egg and bacon roll. A bit of garnish would have killed them? Pretty ordinary.



So to the bus gate. 24F or something like that. never had one at SYD before. Basically, they held everyone for out flight on the pier above while 2 other flights wend down the escalators to the bas boarding level. Great crush.



Agent at the right got very stroppy as everyone who arrived, to board, asked - do we go down there? "NO. NO. NO. I told everyone before - we aren't boarding your flight. WAIT HERE!!" What the heck do they expect - boarding at Gate 26, so people go to Gate 26 expecing to board, or to be near the scan point.



Downstairs, no Group numbers to scan and go through, just priority and ordinary at the same time ... to board the bus at the same time, of course.

Then, long drive to the plane, doors open and its a free for all to and up the stairs. Not priority boarding.



QF23 dep SYD 12:50 arr BKK 16:40, A330-300, seat 2A. Departed 20 mins late, then long taxi out to end of N-S runway. The timing on Flighty was wrong -this was taken 30 mins after scheduled departure







Guess.



Mushroom soup was very nice.



I ordered the green curry but missed the tofu bit Curry was nice but tofu got left behind.



Cherry cheesecake.



Lunch was very nice and the crew ditto. CSM checked in only briefly. But the wines ... Only chardy as the white (they are still calling rose a white wine, so there is a choice of whites). FA offered to see what there was in economy - so I had 2 mini bottles of Pinot Grigio from Economy. Sorry, chardy only for Business white isn't good enough.

Mines in the north-west. Flight was incredibly smooth all across Australia.



Later in the flight ginger and soy chicken with noodles. Also nice, although the chook a bit dry.



Arrived BKK about 20 mins late. Parked near the end of a pier notwithstanding the whole airport was pretty deserted.