Fast Forward to Travel Day!
British Airways. Direct flight from ATX to Heathrow. Our flight was scheduled to leave at 6pm, arriving in LHR at 10am, connecting to Geneva at Noon, Queen's Time.
We dutifully arrived at the airport 2 hours early, checked in and hunkered down. Ok, maybe a beer or two was involved. Slowly the crew dragged in to the airport. Last person in was the Doctor. Our group's version of the free radical, the Doc is no slave to schedule. Nor has he ever missed a flight. Just ask him!
Fun fact: when the German gets excited, his blood must run a little thinner. At the airport his nose was packed like a prize fighter in Round 5. We got a bleeder!!
Boarding time! The Brits can pack a flight. Like sardines. No empty seats, and no air conditioning on the tarmac. No big deal, right? Wrong. This is ATX in July. The tarmac made Dante's Ninth Circle look like an Alaskan Spring day. Combine this with a two hour flight delay. Oh, and let me now remind you again about the sardine situation. And unfortunately, some of the passengers smelled like cousins of the canned fish. Europeans and their soap could be better friends.
As to the flight delay - Cap'n British Guy gets on the PA and announces a mechanical delay. For some reason the engines won't start. They are trying to sort it out, and hope to be underway shortly. In the scheme of flight delays, this one is kind of a confidence shaker. International flight, engines are wonky, A/C doesn't work. Are we doing this thing in an airborne version of a British Sterling?*
After aforesaid two hours, Cap'n informs us it's all been sorted out. Apparently the mechanics have some tools purchased at Ollivanders. Off we went. From that point the flight over was flawless. BA service was great, the Cap'n found some soft air. The A/C never really worked, which is more a reflection on the difference between A/C in Ammurica vs the Euro definition.
The two hour delay led to a mad dash through Heathrow. Interestingly, there was a very kind and helpful gate agent that guided us through the maze of that airport. In hindsight, these agents are a must. Without such assistance, passengers would wander through that place in perpetuity. Seriously, I have never witnessed such a labyrinthine shit-show. Anyway, we made our flight.
Arrived in Geneva ON TIME! Bikes didn't.
As we waited in the airport for our payload most precious, we quaffed our first euro espressos, or beer and watched a stage of Le Tour. It was actually on the TV at the bar. So cool to see how the peoples of that area react to cycling. This was the first indication that I may be French.
The team split, with Ullrich and the Big Fella headed to car rental. We had two vans, one seating 7 (VW) and one seating 9 (Ford). Both stick shifts, which is apparently still very popular on that side of the pond. I guess they don't like to eat burgers while driving. A note here on the driving situation. Think Alps, cart path roads, no guard rails, insane euro-drivers, stick shifts, and multiple eager to share back seat drivers. Ullrich and Todd drove the entire time. Those poor bastards did a great job right until the very end of the trip [foreshadowing].
Finally got our bags!! On the the hotel, which was 20 minutes away for about an hour. Toni burned through her monthly data allotment while GPSing this tiny commute. "recalculating"...... Hotel N'Vy was phenomenal. Super cool motif, very helpful front desk. Highly recommend it. Not cheap though. Everything in Geneva is expensive.
Dinner in Switzerland at this cool English pub, where we ate pizza shipped over from the Italian restaurant across the street, while drinking Belgian beer all the while. Menu was in French. Talk about supporting the EuroZone! Food was great. Learned that the Yeti has a thing for spices. Or his tastebuds are all dead. never seen someone consume so much red pepper. The ways of the Yeti are a mystery.
Next Up - One Night in Grenoble, I Know, I Know It's Serious.....
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sterling_(marque)
British Airways. Direct flight from ATX to Heathrow. Our flight was scheduled to leave at 6pm, arriving in LHR at 10am, connecting to Geneva at Noon, Queen's Time.
We dutifully arrived at the airport 2 hours early, checked in and hunkered down. Ok, maybe a beer or two was involved. Slowly the crew dragged in to the airport. Last person in was the Doctor. Our group's version of the free radical, the Doc is no slave to schedule. Nor has he ever missed a flight. Just ask him!
Fun fact: when the German gets excited, his blood must run a little thinner. At the airport his nose was packed like a prize fighter in Round 5. We got a bleeder!!
Boarding time! The Brits can pack a flight. Like sardines. No empty seats, and no air conditioning on the tarmac. No big deal, right? Wrong. This is ATX in July. The tarmac made Dante's Ninth Circle look like an Alaskan Spring day. Combine this with a two hour flight delay. Oh, and let me now remind you again about the sardine situation. And unfortunately, some of the passengers smelled like cousins of the canned fish. Europeans and their soap could be better friends.
As to the flight delay - Cap'n British Guy gets on the PA and announces a mechanical delay. For some reason the engines won't start. They are trying to sort it out, and hope to be underway shortly. In the scheme of flight delays, this one is kind of a confidence shaker. International flight, engines are wonky, A/C doesn't work. Are we doing this thing in an airborne version of a British Sterling?*
After aforesaid two hours, Cap'n informs us it's all been sorted out. Apparently the mechanics have some tools purchased at Ollivanders. Off we went. From that point the flight over was flawless. BA service was great, the Cap'n found some soft air. The A/C never really worked, which is more a reflection on the difference between A/C in Ammurica vs the Euro definition.
The two hour delay led to a mad dash through Heathrow. Interestingly, there was a very kind and helpful gate agent that guided us through the maze of that airport. In hindsight, these agents are a must. Without such assistance, passengers would wander through that place in perpetuity. Seriously, I have never witnessed such a labyrinthine shit-show. Anyway, we made our flight.
Arrived in Geneva ON TIME! Bikes didn't.
As we waited in the airport for our payload most precious, we quaffed our first euro espressos, or beer and watched a stage of Le Tour. It was actually on the TV at the bar. So cool to see how the peoples of that area react to cycling. This was the first indication that I may be French.
The team split, with Ullrich and the Big Fella headed to car rental. We had two vans, one seating 7 (VW) and one seating 9 (Ford). Both stick shifts, which is apparently still very popular on that side of the pond. I guess they don't like to eat burgers while driving. A note here on the driving situation. Think Alps, cart path roads, no guard rails, insane euro-drivers, stick shifts, and multiple eager to share back seat drivers. Ullrich and Todd drove the entire time. Those poor bastards did a great job right until the very end of the trip [foreshadowing].
Finally got our bags!! On the the hotel, which was 20 minutes away for about an hour. Toni burned through her monthly data allotment while GPSing this tiny commute. "recalculating"...... Hotel N'Vy was phenomenal. Super cool motif, very helpful front desk. Highly recommend it. Not cheap though. Everything in Geneva is expensive.
Dinner in Switzerland at this cool English pub, where we ate pizza shipped over from the Italian restaurant across the street, while drinking Belgian beer all the while. Menu was in French. Talk about supporting the EuroZone! Food was great. Learned that the Yeti has a thing for spices. Or his tastebuds are all dead. never seen someone consume so much red pepper. The ways of the Yeti are a mystery.
Next Up - One Night in Grenoble, I Know, I Know It's Serious.....
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sterling_(marque)
2 comments:
I feel like I was there! Oh that's right I was. Great stuff. Please consider extending this to one blog post per day outside the U.S. You got talent kid. I tell you talent. Ullrich
Interestingly enough, we also had 2hr delay but had the heads up and did not have to suffer the July TX heat!!
Hot sauce, not!! Gimme more, but include American AC next time!
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