We began our COSMOS Best of Europe Tour. We booked this 18-day adventure with Caroline, of CAREFREE TRAVEL located in Templeton, CA.
Our self-paid shuttle ride from Pápa to Vienna, with MPPV Service Kft. (info@papasupport.com), was smooth, the driver was extremely polite and spoke some English.
After arriving at the Vienna Airport, we checked in using the Self-Service computer check-in and waited in line to check our bags. Then we made our way to our gate, where we showed our passports and received a Vienna, Austria stamp. Before going through security, we stopped for a quick bite to eat. Two slices of mozzarella pizza and water would have to hold us over until we reached London. The total cost of one slice of pizza and a small water was 7.10 Euros ($9.10). Unlike the pizza in Pápa, this pizza had marinara sauce on it!! (Pápa’s pizza, like I have said, is good but lacking in sauce).
After eating we went through secuirty without any problems. We removed our belts and put our computers into the plastic trays before stepping through the metal detector. In the Vienna airport, unlike many others, it is not necessary to remove your shoes.
We boarded our British Airways flight on time, and all sat near one another. Grandpa and mom sat together with Grandpa at the window seat, Dusty and I sat together with me at the window seat, and Rachel sat behind me also in a window seat. Immediately after finding our seats and getting settled in, the captain announced that there were landing conditions at Londow Heathrow that prevented us from taking off for at leat 40 minutes. He explained that all flights into Heathrow were on hold, so we waited. About an hour later we took off. The flight was very smooth with only the slightest bit of turbulance as we passed through clouds that were apart of a large storm in the Atlantic.
Grandpa and mom were seated next to a lovely young woman from Turkey whom they engaged in conversation with throughout the flight. Dusty and I attempted to take naps, and Rachel listened to her Ipod. For snacks, a small of bag chips or a small cookie were given to each passenger. For beverages, the choices included water, soda, wine, coffee and tea. Dusty and I prefer the snacks that were served on our AirBerlin flight, which was also a short flight but from Germany to Austria.
As our plane approached London Heathrow, the captain announced that we would have to circle the airport apporximately 4 times, before landing, due to delays on the ground. This part of the flight made me feel a tad ill, but we soon landed and disembarked from the plane. While on the plane, we had to fill out landing passes which we were to turn in at the immigration check point, before picking up our luggage. Landing passes include name, passport number, length of stay in Great Britain, address in Great Britain during stay, birth date, and city/country of birth. Immediately after exiting the plane and entering the airport we found our way to the immigration line for ”all other passports” (not EU of UK).
When it was my turn, I nervously walked up to the podium to speak with the immigration officer. I don’t know why I was nervous, I was not doing anything wrong! LOL But, I was nervous. I approached the podium and he asked me if I was traveling with family, I said yes, and he asked me to call them all over. He looked over each one of our passports and took our landing passes. The officer asked what we were doing in the country, how long we would stay and where we were going next. I told him we were on the COSMOS Best of Europe Tour, and we would be in the country for 2 days, traveling to Amsterdam next.
We all passed through without any problems, of course, and picked up our luggage without any problems. As we exited the baggage claim, our COSMOS tour guide was there to meet us, dressed from head-to-toe in red, and holding a COSMOS sign. She actually spotted me first because I had my COSMOS blue itinerary book in-hand. She lead us over to some seats and explained that we were waiting on another flight to arrive with passengers that would be traveling to the hotel with us. We were all very impressed that COSMOS was there to greet us when we arrived, seeing that our flight was one hour late! The COSMOS representative was very professional, and even pointed out the nearest restrooms before leaving us at our seats in order for her to find the rest of our traveling partners.
When she came back with the others, she lead us outside to an awaiting COSMOS bus to take us to our hotel. It was raining and the streets were very congested with traffic. The nuber of Mercedes and BMWs on the road was astonishing! About every third car was either of the 2 mentioned.
We arrived at our hotel in about 25 minutes. The Novotel London West is a very large hotel with nine floors. As soon as we entered the hotel, we found the COSMOS representitive that was waiting to meet us. She assisted all of us in marking our luggage with COSMOS tags, so the bags would be easily identifable. She told us to leave our bags downstairs and they would be brought to our rooms.
Next, we made our way off of the ground floor, and up to the 1st floor. I thought that was odd and different from the US. The ground floor was not the 1st floor, as it would be in the US, the 2nd floor was the 1st floor, and the 1st floor was the ground floor. So, after making our way up to the ”1st floor” we checked in with the front desk. The Novotel employee behind the desk was quite unfriendly, though we were able to get checked in and head up to our rooms. I must say that we dealt with an additional front desk employee later in the evening who was friendly and helpful.
Our 2 rooms were on seperate floors, 3 and 4. The Novotel London West Hotel has extremely long hallways and it took us all some time to get our bearings. The rooms are quite lovely and offer all of the necessary ammenities, including toilettries, blowdryers, iron and ironing board. In addition, the rooms are very clean and cute.
Though tired upon arrival to the hotel, we were hungry. Not wanting to go out into the rainy weather, we chose to eat at the hotel. The Artisan Grill is located on the 1st floor across from the front desk. Adjacent to the Grill is a beautiful bar and another section of the Artisan. The menu offers starters, chicken, steaks and deserts. None of us could see eating a steak at 8pm (though 9pm Hungary time-which we were still on). So, we all ordered the prosciutto, mozzerella, tomato wrap from the very friendly server. He warned us that the wrap was only a small snack, but he explained to him that we had just flown in and only wanted a small bite before bed. Grandpa ordered a glass of Dancing Bull Zinfandel, from California.
Our prosciutto wraps arrived and we all could not help but laugh! We were expecting acutal wraps, in a tortilla or flat bread. This ”wrap” was prosciutto wrapped around tomato, and fresh mozzerella with a single basil leaf sticking up from the center. The beautiful creation was drizzled with olive oil and balsamic. We laughed at the small size, but in all fairness we had been warned! The wraps were fantastic and we enjoyed them thoroughly. In addition, fresh bread was served to our table, and we all were able to choose which type of bread we wanted, from a selection the server brought over in a basket. Rachel and I chose the green-olive ciabbata which was fantastic! The others chose sundried tomato and plain types. Three different types of butter were also presented, plain, salted and paprika...the paprika was incredible!!
After lots of laughs, we all retired to our rooms for the evening. Tomorrow, we will begin to see London, after of breakfast provided by COSMOS.
Nincsenek megjegyzések:
Megjegyzés küldése