We wake at 3am to catch the 5:30 flight to Abu Dhabi. Tony picks us up at 3:30 and it’s a 15 minutes drive to the airport. Tony has been a fantastic guide and mine of information about all things Omani. We can't recommend Arabesque Tours highly enough.
After we arrive at Abu Dhabi, we find there’s a flight leaving at 8:30 and manage to transfer to this flight – our scheduled flight top London was at 1pm, so we pick up 4 and a half hours extra time in London. So, after a large cappuccino and a mocha, we board our flight.
I must mention here that Etihad booking staff have been great and the flights & food fine. In economy class you can’t expect too much from the flight staff or seat comfort, but they’re adequate.
We arrive at Heathrow after what seems like an interminable time circling the airport – probably not that long, but long enough for me to feel decidedly queasy and very happy to land. A pleasant surprise is that our bags made the same flight. Catching a train to Paddington Station was much more confusing than it had to be, but eventually we did catch the train and get our first glimpse of London suburbs on our way to the city.
The complexity of negotiating the underground to use 2 different lines to get from Paddington to Lancaster Gate was too daunting. So, after checking the map we decided to walk (with suitcases) to the Lancaster Gate Hotel, after finding a way to exit the station. It wasn’t far, and we got to check out the many restaurants on the way. After booking in, and resting, we headed back and had dinner at a nice Italian restaurant, Villa Rosa. We crashed early that night.
After we arrive at Abu Dhabi, we find there’s a flight leaving at 8:30 and manage to transfer to this flight – our scheduled flight top London was at 1pm, so we pick up 4 and a half hours extra time in London. So, after a large cappuccino and a mocha, we board our flight.
I must mention here that Etihad booking staff have been great and the flights & food fine. In economy class you can’t expect too much from the flight staff or seat comfort, but they’re adequate.
We arrive at Heathrow after what seems like an interminable time circling the airport – probably not that long, but long enough for me to feel decidedly queasy and very happy to land. A pleasant surprise is that our bags made the same flight. Catching a train to Paddington Station was much more confusing than it had to be, but eventually we did catch the train and get our first glimpse of London suburbs on our way to the city.
The complexity of negotiating the underground to use 2 different lines to get from Paddington to Lancaster Gate was too daunting. So, after checking the map we decided to walk (with suitcases) to the Lancaster Gate Hotel, after finding a way to exit the station. It wasn’t far, and we got to check out the many restaurants on the way. After booking in, and resting, we headed back and had dinner at a nice Italian restaurant, Villa Rosa. We crashed early that night.
