DONE4 – April 2008 - Part One MEL/SYD/NRT

[Rae]

DONE4 – April 2008

Our 2-week break to Tokyo, London, Venice, Rome, New York

We both travel a lot for work, but rarely do we take a holiday. One 10-day break and one 4-day break in 10 years, so this is pretty exciting for us. Other than Italy, I’ve been to the other places many times, but it’s a totally different feeling to be going there, telling no one there that you’re coming, no meetings and full tourist vibe until the last 2 days.

PART ONE: MEL/SYD/NRT

April 05, QF400 MEL/SYD
I took advise from this board, and booked a 6am flight Mel/Syd so we had enough time to visit the Qantas First Lounge. On checking our bags through to Narita, we were told that we’d have to get our SYD/NRT boarding pass in Sydney. We got to the international airport, back to check in for a BP, through immigration (which was super fast thanks to the express ticket) and over to the JL area before realising that Qantas flights leave from the other side of the airport, therefore almost impossible time wise for visiting the Qantas Lounge. Guess we’ll have to wait til next time.

Went to the pretty coughpy JL lounge instead to wait the 20 mins for boarding. Regardless of not visiting the Qantas First Lounge, we were still happy we had the extra time to transfer in Sydney. The 1h20m the booking originally allowed definitely would have been too stressful for my liking.


April 05, JL772 SYD/NRT
Seated in 17A and 17C upstairs. We only got a few hours sleep the night before so we were looking forward to crashing out – not to be. This 9-hour flight had the old style seats – I think they’re called dreamtime or something. Not bad, but certainly not ideal for a 9 hour flight.

Dinner wise, Hubby chose the Barramundi, which I’m told was really good. The vegetarian offering was not so hot (literally). Semi warm fettuccini with semi warm bland sauce and vegetables. I forced a few mouthfuls down before giving up.

I can’t speak well for the service either; everyone seemed to have the trays down in front of them for about 30mins longer than necessary. No amenity kits though they did offer out toothbrushes towards the end of the flight. Um… plastic packs with the sort of headphones Qantas provide in economy and a pair of slippers were provided in the seat backs.

A snack before landing consisted of a ‘horrible’ ham and cheese sandwich, vegetarians fared even worse. I can’t remember what it was but even though I was starving, I didn’t eat it.

After clearing immigration (no fast track option here other than APEC) we were pretty eager to get to the hotel. We were planning on taking the limousine bus (approx 2,300 yen each) but instead got talked into a private taxi for a whopping 23,000 yen). Yeah we got screwed price wise, but we were happy. He sped like a demon and we were at the hotel an hour later. After a kinda coughpy flight we were relived to check in earlier than we anticipated. We booked a Junior Suite and it was worthwhile. The room is stunning and a good size, particularly for Tokyo

Of course we had to check out a sushi bar in Roppongi later that night. Got some ‘amazing’ sushi for hubby and vegetable tempura for me - and we were 16,000 yen lighter for it.

April 06, Tokyo
Although this is meant to be all about flying, I’ll throw in a paragraph or two each day on what we’re up to as this is one occasion it’s a holiday and days are not filled with endless meetings. Today we filled the entire day checking out Cherry Blossoms at the Imperial Palace Gardens, Shinjuku, Harijuku, Shibuya, Ginza (including a four story Apple store), and Akihabara (the electronics district).

Tomorrow we’ll focus on seeing more of the ‘old’ Tokyo via the Asakusa district. More soon…

April 07, Tokyo
Woke up this morning with sore legs from so much walking the day before – that will teach us! Looked out the window again - we’re on the 32nd floor and there are buildings as far as the eye can see. The BBC reports 9 degrees in London right now (our next destination) and I stupidly packed based on the typical weather of 15 degrees average I read online. Better get some warmer clothes today in Tokyo because it’s snowing in London. Lots of flights have been cancelled so fingers and toes are crossed right now. We’re on BA too – arriving into Terminal 5. There are still 10,000 missing bags from that debacle so there’s definitely concern. We’re only in London for one day (visiting family). Arriving Tuesday at 1455 into LHR and departing next day at 1840 from LGW. I think we’ll take a change of clothes with us on the NRT/LHR flight - if they lose our bags we’re well and truly screwed.

Anyway… no point worrying about it now. Time to get out and enjoy more of what Tokyo has to offer.

We went to Asakusa today. It’s the last Metro stop on the Ginza line, so about 20 mins out from central Tokyo. We’ve been getting the Metro everywhere and it’s given us a much better idea of the people and the layout than any taxis could – definitely worthwhile and we didn’t get lost once! Asakusa is more like the traditional ‘older style’ Tokyo. We visited the temple there, and spent a few hours walking around and soaking up the atmosphere – a completely different vibe to the revisited Shibuya later that day, which is an area crammed full of visual and aural stimulation.

 

[Rae]

Re: DONE4 – April 2008 - Part Two NRT/LHR

PART TWO: NRT/LHR

April 08, BA006 NRT/LHR
Took the NEX (Narita Express) train back to Narita from Tokyo station this morning. That was an easy exercise with good signposting. We arrived at Narita 3 hours before the flight only to discover that check in didn’t open until 2 ½ hours prior.

There were quite a few people waiting by the time BA opened the check in and the poor staff had difficulty organising the lines so there was a frustrating 20min wait to check in. No express area for immigration (that I can remember) but there was no line either and we went straight to the front.

BA shares their lounge with NWA. A pretty standard style lounge with nothing interesting to offer. Very limited snacks (nuts, ham and cheese croissants and soup) with self-help beer on tap and a couple of soft drinks on tap. I noticed there was also a closed off kid’s zone.

The flight was something else altogether. I’ve always rated Qantas as first preference for flying but after this flight BA takes top spot on my list. I’ve flown with BA before, but this 747 had new or upgraded seats, AVOD and those annoying privacy screens between the seats were a plastic lift up style rather than the blue fabric fan types. Maybe the JL flight previously had me looking through rose coloured glasses, but I don’t think so. The food was so good hubby took the menu so I could report it here - more on that in a second.

Pre flight drinks and amenity kits were handed out once we boarded. The amenity kits were the same for male and female and consisted of socks, sleep eye mask (can’t remember what those things are called), toothbrush/paste, earplugs, eyes-awake recovery gel, lip revive and hydration moisturiser.

I can’t really explain why the flight was so great, other than to say that the service was brilliant – attentive but not overbearing, fantastic food and the seats of course were the lie-flat ones with a much better foot-stool that is similar to the one in Qantas first class. For me, a vegetarian that gets special meals on every flight it was particularly better than usual food wise. The second meal offering was coughpy (rice with a couple of mushrooms on top) but the FA said it looked rather average and immediately offered me alternatives including a veggie meal offered in first class (which I took). It’s very unusual to have alternatives available and I have to mention here, that the same thing has happened on every BA flight I’ve taken. For some reason BA always has a standard meal that is vegetarian so the food options for me double in offering. Speaking of meals, here’s the menu for the carnivores:

DINNER

STARTERS
King prawn ceviche
Carpaccio of Portobello mushrooms with shaved Parmesan

Fresh seasonal salad served with vinaigrette

MAIN
Frilled fillet steak with caramelised shallots and garlic
Halibut in black bean sauce with steamed rice and bok-choy
Fried chicken with spicy lemon sauce

Main course Greek Salad

DESSERT
Creamy Mascarpone tiramisu
A selection of cheese with crackers
A selection of fruit

LIGHT MEAL

STARTERS
Parma ham, grilled goat’s cheese and basil salad
Grilled asparagus with lemon dressing and cracked black pepper

MAIN
Simmered port with sansho pepper sauce
Chicken with tomato and tarragon sauce

Potato, roast red onion and Parmesan cheese tart with watercress sauce

A selection of fruit

CLUB KITCHEN SNACKS
Salads, sandwiches, filled rolls and wraps.
Fresh fruit salads and fruit smoothies or juices
Choice of luxury cakes
Crisps and chocolate including organic

FOR ALL YOU WINE BUFFS… HERE’S THE LIST (but I can’t comment, don’t touch the stuff)

Charles Heidsieck Brut Reserve Champagne
Tim Adams Semillon 2005 Clare Valley (white)
Divinus de Chateau Bonnet Blanc 2007 (white)
Tyrell’s Rufus Stone Heathcote Shiraz 2004 (red)
Beronia Reserva Rioja 2001 (red)
Barbera d’Asti, Cipressi della Court 2006, Michele Chiarlo


After watching a few films and grabbing a couple of hours sleep we arrive into Heathrow on schedule. They played a video explaining the new Terminal 5 but I’d already read up on it in a glossy 20 page magazine they had provided – and boy did they talk it up in there! No express cards were handed out so hubby asked the FA but she said they weren’t giving out due to there being only a few flights landing mid-afternoon.

She was right and the lines were short once we arrived at immigration. Hubby is English so we get to go through the British citizens line. That’s amusing as they almost always say ‘welcome home Sir’. This trip is no exception and he looks though my passport for a non-existent Visa, assuming we live in the UK.

From there we walked down a few escalators to a train that takes us to arrivals. There’s bad signposting there though. The trains depart from both sides of the platform but it’s not clear which side goes to arrivals vs. perhaps one that goes to other terminals or something. It’s definitely one for the suggestion box – every one of us is looking around in confusion but we all tentatively board the first one to arrive (which does take us to arrivals thankfully).

Now the scary bit – will the bags arrive? We were amongst the first people to arrive at the carousel and arrived about 2 minutes before the first bag reared its head. Naturally there were about 50 bags that were not tagged with priority tags out first but after that low and behold out come both our bags. No problems whatsoever. Phew!!!

With nothing to declare we were outside in a couple of minutes and looking for the signs to the Heathrow Express. I love getting the train into London – so much easier and faster than any other method of travel.

One mistake. I pre-paid for our express tickets on visitbritain.com.au. Not something I needed to do and I bought them because it seemed easy at the time - I’d been online to buy tickets for the London Eye (to avoid the ticket queues).

The first sign we spotted on our way to the train station (near the escalators) was something about taking the elevators, as it’s much faster. So we did. The train is waiting at the bottom but I need to find a fast track machine to get our pre-paid tickets with our credit card. Not one to be found – anywhere. No ticket office either, so we board the train assuming we can sort it on board.

Not to be. The ticket inspector has a go at us and tells us there are 12 ticket machines and an office. No we cannot authenticate the pre-bought tickets with him, we’ll have to buy two new ones and get a refund at Paddington. Looking back there probably ARE that many ticket machines – just not if you take the elevator directly to the platform like we did! They’re probably scattered on the level above near the bloody escalators for all we know!

On arrival into Paddington we try getting a refund on the other tickets only to be told we have to write in for a refund because the tickets were bought online. Lesson learned!

We are staying at the Holiday Inn in Kensington this time. It’s below average and the so-called HS internet is actually via the TV. I got this room on PC points though so I’m not too bothered. We got upgraded to an executive room. Gee – I’d hate to see the standard rooms! The room size is quite good for London but that’s about it. It’s a great location across the road from the Gloucester St Tube.

We’re in London for just one day – a quick catch up with hubby’s parents. We take them to the London Eye, which is that big ferris wheel type thing built in around 2000 I think. A bit of an eyesore on the landscape to some I’m sure. A slow half hour ride gave as brilliant views over London and in particular a good look at the houses of parliament and Big Ben. Personally it didn’t float my boat and there’s a dozen tourist things I’d prefer, but highly recommended for older people as it feels safe and secure, even though you’re sitting in a tube at the highest point in London.

After dinner we settled in to watch Liverpool vs. coughnal (of course). There were plans to go to the Tower of London tomorrow but I think my party are happier having a long breakfast and a good catch up before we take off to Venice tomorrow night. Fine with me – luckily the tickets I bought for that have 12 months before expiry. It’s too damn cold to want to do too much anyway.

 

[Rae]

Re: DONE4 – April 2008 - Part Three LHR/VCE

PART THREE: LGW/VCE

April 09, BA2586 LGW/VCE
After spending way too much money buying clothes we don’t need (something we do every time we’re in London), we headed out to Gatwick via the express train from Victoria station.

Check in takes 2 mins though the baggage belt has malfunctioned and we have to take our bags to another counter. At the gate we spot the Iron Maiden plane out the window. There’s a first class BA lounge so we wait there prior to boarding – it’s the nicest lounge so far with meals available but we don’t try them. The staff at the counter had told us they didn’t make boarding calls and too engrossed in reading, we have to run to the gate as we almost miss the flight.

And from the best flight to the worst – flying BA on this 2-hour trip was like flying Virgin domestic economy class. The seats were similar to that and there were no headphones, music or TV. Some cheap looking framed pictures were located where the TVs should be. We were quite tired and looking forward to dozing for an hour but that was impossible as there were no pillows or blankets anywhere in sight. On Qantas domestic flights there are always a few stowed in the luggage compartments. I’m sorry Qantas – I’ll never rate you second again. At least you’re consistent! There were also no footrests and I spent the entire flight freezing cold.

All that said, BA did deliver a brilliant meal again. I can’t even remember what it was now, but it was good.

We arrived into Venice on schedule in the pouring rain. It’s a tiny airport so it doesn’t take too long to grab our bags and make our way through immigration. As part of the EU we didn’t need to fill out any forms – simply show our passport on exit. Hubby has a British passport and therefore did not receive an arrival stamp in his. Obviously part of the EU agreement.

I’d read on Trip Advisor that getting a water taxi from the airport into Venice was the only way to go and well worth the 90 euros cost for the view alone. So we did that, and although I looked as hard as I could, camera at the ready, there was no exceptional view to be had. Still, the water taxi was definitely the most convenient way to go although due to high tide, the driver (is that what they’re called)? Was unable to drop us off directly at the hotel, dropping us at the closest point possible and directing us instead.

Even though it was pouring rain, nothing could quell the awe of Venice. Although the walk from the taxi to the hotel was short, in that time we were completely blown away by the gorgeous architecture and tiny little shops filled to the brim with interesting and unique curios. Everything is closed as it’s past 10pm now, so exploring will have to wait until tomorrow.

We check into the Hotel Splendid, which sits on a gorgeous little canal. We’d opted to not get a hotel on the Grande Canal, figuring it would be too noisy. So far it seems we made a good choice. This hotel is perfect. It’s a nice clean hotel - modern but purely Italian in style. The rooms are on the small side, but there’s a desk, mini-bar and everything you need including HS internet for 22 euros a day! The rooms cost 315 euros a night, which is nearly $600AUD but it seems nothing in Venice is cheap, as we’ll further discover tomorrow.

April 10, Venice
This hotel is well located, situated halfway between the Rialto Bridge at the Grande Canal and St Mark’s Square and it takes just 5 mins to walk to either. Jetlag has us up at 6am so we grab the complimentary breakfast downstairs before heading out early to see Venice come to life.

With no set plans, we simply spent the entire day walking around and taking it all in. It’s a breathtaking and unique city. We visited Peggy Guggenheim’s collection of Modern Art, but with constant rain we decided to leave other things until tomorrow.

I’d read a lot about the ‘day trippers’ – people that come into Venice on the train in the morning, rush around to view the main sites, create a lot of litter, don’t spend any money and take off by 6pm. Being here, I can understand why Venetians don’t like it. Groups of 20-30 people standing together and crowding the tiny Venetian streets, umbrellas all up and yelling at each other – not pleasant.

It’s very expensive here, particularly around the tourist trap areas. Our pizza and spaghetti bolognaise café lunch cost 30 euros - or $60 AUD based on our coughpy exchange rate at Melbourne airport. I don’t mind paying for good food, but keep in mind this is just a lunchtime café. For those wondering, no – the pizza does not compare to some of the ones I’ve had in Melbourne. Too doughy for my taste, but I’m willing to try some more to test it out further of course

After walking in the rain all day, we’re exhausted so we retired to the hotel for an early night in, skipping dinner.

April 11, Venice
Our last full day in Venice. We went straight to St Mark’s hoping to get in for a look but even at 9am (45mins before opening time) the lines are ridiculous. Bah. It’s the inside of a church. I’ll see better in Rome probably anyway. I’d booked something called the ‘Secret Itineraries’ tour at the Doge’s Palace next door to St Marks. To kill a bit of time while waiting for that, we grab a coffee and OJ. Just one of each and we’re suddenly 30euros worse off. The price you pay for sitting down to drink your coffee in Italy.

The tour was worthwhile (something we didn’t expect) and after that of course we took a gondola ride (when in Venice, how can you not try it once huh)? We LOVED it - peaceful and serene. We spent the rest of the day looking around and buying a few gifts for family and for ourselves We wouldn’t come back here, but it’s definitely a place worth visiting once in your life.

 

[JohnK]

Re: DONE4 – April 2008 - Part Two NRT/LHR

Very nice trip report. Sounds like a lot of fun.

sleep eye mask (can’t remember what those things are called)

Eye shades.

It’s very expensive here, particularly around the tourist trap areas. Our pizza and spaghetti bolognaise café lunch cost 30 euros - or $60 AUD based on our coughpy exchange rate at Melbourne airport.

I have not been to Venice for 14 years but I can just imagine it is still the huge tourist trap it was then. Nice place though.

I would never buy foreign currency in any money exchange in any airport in Australia. Travelex and the like remind me of the mafia run cambios in Prague.

 

[Alanslegal]

Re: DONE4 – April 2008 - Part Three LHR/VCE

So far a V nice report Rae

Are the canals drying up as what I am reading in the papers??

I've never been to Venice but will do on my next *ONE* trip V soon. So I guess the closest I get to being at Venice is visiting both The Venetians @ Las Vegas & Macao

 

[Travel Guru]

Great trip report Rae, keep it coming.

I've been to Venice 4x, and wont visit anymore, the tourists make it unbearable...i've got family I stay with an hour north of Venice and each time I visit im tempted back to Venice only to be reminded why I was so happy to leave on the previous visit.

Its the sort of place you need to see once, but its far from an accurate representation of Italy, and given that 1 hr drive from Venice you can get the worlds best pizza (without exaggeration) for 6 euro, its no wonder im just as happy to let the tourists have Venice so i can have the countryside to myself.

TG

 

[simongr]

Great reading Rae

I am really interested how you "coped" in Japan. Given my lack of Japanese speaking skills I found it challenging - especially getting cabs. It is somewhere I would like to visit with mrssimongr but it is a little daunting.

S

 

[Evan]

Great reading Rae

I am really interested how you "coped" in Japan. Given my lack of Japanese speaking skills I found it challenging - especially getting cabs. It is somewhere I would like to visit with mrssimongr but it is a little daunting.

S

It gets easier, i love it. But taxis can be a little complex but then again i dont take them much. Getting out of Tokyo is the best advise i can also give.
I have been there a few times but know only a couple of words in Japanese and get by usually ok

E

 

[Keith009]

Agree that practise makes perfect when it comes to TYO, and I know zero Japanese. With cabs it's easier if you get the hotel concierge to provide a translation of the desired address into Japanese characters to show to the driver, just like in China.

 

[Rae]

Thanks for the feedback guys. I'll continue the trip report next weekend. We didn't have net access in Rome and NY was too busy. Home now and had a brilliant time.

To the previous questions:

I had no problem getting around Tokyo or using the subway even though I can only speak 3 words in Japanese. The subway was colour coded and with the help of a tour book we were set.

Venice - yes it's a tourist trap but definitely something to see once in your life. We were lucky it was raining most the time and we were up and about hours before the stores opened in the mornings, thus having it to ourselves for a few hours a day.