Portugal, Paris, Sicily and Florence

[Lat34]

Loving your trip report @ellen10 - both writing style and gorgeous pics. Some wonderful memories for Team Lat34

 

[ellen10]

Loving your trip report @ellen10 - both writing style and gorgeous pics. Some wonderful memories for Team Lat34

Thank you @Lat34. I must say I am limping towards the end. But determined to finish

 

[ellen10]

And so the packing at the end of the trip began. Four bottles of wine carefully wrapped in clothes. Two bottles of very nice 20 year old balsamic, one bottle of Chianti classico olive oil, one bottle of tawny port from Portugal, one bottle of limoncello, one large jar of pesto from Tuscany, 2 kg of chocolate from Modica, various biscotti and treats. And also the other many momentoes and gifts for family and friends.
We managed to pack it all into our existing suitcases. Put our bright green straps around them and we were ready for the long haul home.

We had heard that they are doing renovations at Bologna airport, so in my true form (much to MrEllen10's grumblings), we headed off early in the morning. We were too early for breakfast at our B&B, no problems we would eat in the lounge. Our young taxi driver picked up up and proceeded to drive like a formula 1 race car driver to the airport. Abusing a poor young girl on a vespa that got in his way. I could not look at the road ahead for fear of a heart attack. I instead held on to the door and looked out at the roadside as it passed in a flash!

Arrived at the airport in breakneck speed and walked straight up to the Turkish airlines business class checkin. Bags checked all the way through to Sydney, we walked to the lounge which is on the land side, which is quite different. I had read not so impressive reviews of this lounge, but it was not too busy early in the morning and food and drinks were good, no hot offerings. Mr Ellen10 enjoyed his last Italian espresso and I passed on the red wine on offer at 8 in the morning.

What is good about this lounge is there is a very nice fast track to security at the rear of the lounge, so we managed to avoid the building crowds and were through to airside once we went through immigration. Bologna airport is serviced by Ryanair and Easyjet, Ryanair certainly dominates the departures board. Our Turkish airlines A321-200 was on time and we walked across the tarmac to board the steps. This flight BLQ-IST is 2hrs 45mins, I really liked this flight's the seats, they were wide and comfortable, a friendly crew and good food, we were served lunch.

Our flight left a little late and I was concerned that we would have a short transit in Istanbul of 1hr 25mins and Istanbul airport is huge! And we would need to go through security again. With a little over an hour before the next flight, we walked and walked the long passage ways of Istanbul airport, no time for a stop in the impressive lounge. Our only stop was to pick up some Turkish delight for our friends who were picking us up at Sydney airport. Of course our gate was at the far extremities of Istanbul airport and by the time we got to the gate the hordes were already lined up to board. Even the Priority line was long. But before too long we were heading down the shoot to our impressive A350-900, business class board through a seperate entry. This flight is IST-KUL (10hrs) for a stop for refuelling in KL.

I was greeted to my seat with a welcome drink of my choice out of fresh orange juice, lemonade, mixed berry juice or water. No alcoholic beverages are served until take off. It was nice to have a hot towel provided to refresh myself before the flight. The Turkish Airlines business class menus were handed out menus and orders taken before take-off. My meal order was taken by the dedicated onboard chef. It’s their sole job to just be the chef, rather than being a part of the regular cabin crew. He discusses the menu and alternatives. This allowed for a more efficient and speedy service. I was also pleased to have a hot towel provided to refresh myself before the flight after that long, long walk through the terminal.
This aircraft features 8 rows of seats in a 1-2-1 configuration. The seat had a universal plug socket, as well as a USB port for charging all devices. Within the seat, there were a couple of different angled reading lights so you could read while reclined or flat.

There is a Lanvin parfum amenity kit provided on this flight. It featured the classic items like an eye mask, ear plugs, socks and a dental kit, and also extras like a lip balm and hand cream. This Turkish Airlines business class cabin features a 21-inch HD IFE touchscreen display. There’s plenty of English options and the latest movies, TV shows, plus live news and sport available to watch. Good Denon noise-cancelling headphones provided, also free onboard Wi-Fi available for business class passengers.

After takeoff, the entree trolley came through with plenty of options, and there was a good wine list from Turkey and other European varieties along with beer, spirits and soft drinks. You can also have dining on demand, the staff were very attentive and friendly.

The food is very impressive and lots of it, you won't go hungry and of course there are lots of snacks on offer. After meal service it was lights out. Mr Ellen10, said he did partake of a few whiskeys to to relax and took a sleeping tablet and slept for 5 hours, I aimed to get some decent sleep on this flight but only managed 1.5hrs

I will post a few photos and finish our next leg later.

The lounge

Last land sight of Italy

Our chef

 

[Flyfrequently]

And so the packing at the end of the trip began. Four bottles of wine carefully wrapped in clothes. Two bottles of very nice 20 year old balsamic, one bottle of Chianti classico olive oil, one bottle of tawny port from Portugal, one bottle of limoncello, one large jar of pesto from Tuscany, 2 kg of chocolate from Modica, various biscotti and treats. And also the other many momentoes and gifts for family and friends.
We managed to pack it all into our existing suitcases. Put our bright green straps around them and we were ready for the long haul home.

We had heard that they are doing renovations at Bologna airport, so in my true form (much to MrEllen10's grumblings), we headed off early in the morning. We were too early for breakfast at our B&B, no problems we would eat in the lounge. Our young taxi driver picked up up and proceeded to drive like a formula 1 race car driver to the airport. Abusing a poor young girl on a vespa that got in his way. I could not look at the road ahead for fear of a heart attack. I instead held on to the door and looked out at the roadside as it passed in a flash!

Arrived at the airport in breakneck speed and walked straight up to the Turkish airlines business class checkin. Bags checked all the way through to Sydney, we walked to the lounge which is on the land side, which is quite different. I had read not so impressive reviews of this lounge, but it was not too busy early in the morning and food and drinks were good, no hot offerings. Mr Ellen10 enjoyed his last Italian espresso and I passed on the red wine on offer at 8 in the morning.

What is good about this lounge is there is a very nice fast track to security at the rear of the lounge, so we managed to avoid the building crowds and were through to airside once we went through immigration. Bologna airport is serviced by Ryanair and Easyjet, Ryanair certainly dominates the departures board. Our Turkish airlines A321-200 was on time and we walked across the tarmac to board the steps. This flight BLQ-IST is 2hrs 45mins, I really liked this flight's the seats, they were wide and comfortable, a friendly crew and good food, we were served lunch.

Our flight left a little late and I was concerned that we would have a short transit in Istanbul of 1hr 25mins and Istanbul airport is huge! And we would need to go through security again. With a little over an hour before the next flight, we walked and walked the long passage ways of Istanbul airport, no time for a stop in the impressive lounge. Our only stop was to pick up some Turkish delight for our friends who were picking us up at Sydney airport. Of course our gate was at the far extremities of Istanbul airport and by the time we got to the gate the hordes were already lined up to board. Even the Priority line was long. But before too long we were heading down the shoot to our impressive A350-900, business class board through a seperate entry. This flight is IST-KUL (10hrs) for a stop for refuelling in KL.

I was greeted to my seat with a welcome drink of my choice out of fresh orange juice, lemonade, mixed berry juice or water. No alcoholic beverages are served until take off. It was nice to have a hot towel provided to refresh myself before the flight. The Turkish Airlines business class menus were handed out menus and orders taken before take-off. My meal order was taken by the dedicated onboard chef. It’s their sole job to just be the chef, rather than being a part of the regular cabin crew. He discusses the menu and alternatives. This allowed for a more efficient and speedy service. I was also pleased to have a hot towel provided to refresh myself before the flight after that long, long walk through the terminal.
This aircraft features 8 rows of seats in a 1-2-1 configuration. The seat had a universal plug socket, as well as a USB port for charging all devices. Within the seat, there were a couple of different angled reading lights so you could read while reclined or flat.

There is a Lanvin parfum amenity kit provided on this flight. It featured the classic items like an eye mask, ear plugs, socks and a dental kit, and also extras like a lip balm and hand cream. This Turkish Airlines business class cabin features a 21-inch HD IFE touchscreen display. There’s plenty of English options and the latest movies, TV shows, plus live news and sport available to watch. Good Denon noise-cancelling headphones provided, also free onboard Wi-Fi available for business class passengers.

After takeoff, the entree trolley came through with plenty of options, and there was a good wine list from Turkey and other European varieties along with beer, spirits and soft drinks. You can also have dining on demand, the staff were very attentive and friendly.

The food is very impressive and lots of it, you won't go hungry and of course there are lots of snacks on offer. After meal service it was lights out. Mr Ellen10, said he did partake of a few whiskeys to to relax and took a sleeping tablet and slept for 5 hours, I aimed to get some decent sleep on this flight but only managed 1.5hrs

I will post a few photos and finish our next leg later.
View attachment 476343
The lounge
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Last land sight of Italy
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Our chef

Chef and the food @ellen10 - impressive!

 

[ellen10]

Unfortunately I forgot to take more photos of the food. Too busy eating it!
The chef was lovely and very proud of his food and served it with pride.
Being allergic to fish, I ate the lamb shank which was fall of the bone delicious!

The wines were very good also, there was a good list of Turkish and other European varieties. But again I failed to take a photo.