Dubai - Day 1 - A380 and the 7 mile high bar

I am very fortunate in having a wife, Mrs CT, who travels the world with work and gains many air miles. For my birthday she has combined these with a generous cash top up, to enable me to fly to Dubai with Emirates Business Class. We are rendezvousing there, she from Melbourne, me from London, for a week in the sun.
So onto EK8, the 9am flight from LHR to Dubai. Flying time 7 hours, real time I arrive at 8pm. This trip is even more special as it allows me to travel on one of the world's most miraculous aircraft, the double deck Airbus A380. And here she is, this one being special as it is painted in United for Wildlife colours.

Seat 23A towards the rear of the business class on the upper deck was more of a personal cocoon than a seat. All the tech you could wish for, 3200 different films, TV shows and sport, free Wifi (this would allow me to annoy my WhatsApp and Facebook friends whilst in the air), and three cameras mounted on the outside of the aircraft, one front facing, one pointing down towards earth from the belly and one mounted high up in the tail. I admit I am a bit of a techno geek and I was loving this already. The glass of Verve Cliquot whilst still on the ground, was welcome.
Ironically I was flying somewhere that boasted temperatures at this time of year of 34c, not so in good old London as it was so cold the aircraft needed a thorough de-ice before we went anywhere.

Back to these cameras. The forwarded pointing one was useless as the sun was so bright you could not see anything. The belly camera gave me a good shot of the tow vehicle and later on at 41,000ft a birds eye view of the mountains of Turkey.

The tail camera was good to look at the clouds as we flew merrily along.

The one feature of business class that I was keen to explore was the 7 mile high bar. Conveniently this was situated only 5 rows behind where I was sitting. No coincidence there. So after breakfast I went in search of beer. Now I can hear all the voices moaning at me that it is not right to drink this early in the day. One habit I have got into when flying is to set my watch to destination time as soon as I board. As far as I was concerned it was now 14:00. So time for beer and salty snacks which were of excellent quality and choice.

That is Annette from Paris retrieving a ice cold Heineken for me.

Suitably refreshed, back to my bed/cinema/IT centre to have a browse for anything worth watching. Alien Colony chosen or Alien 7 if you are counting the number of films in this franchise. Usual 15 crew in deep space to be picked off one by one in the most brutal and bloody ways imaginable. The ending "twist" is so predicatable it is almost laughable. 5 out of 10 at most.
Lunchtime! Prawns to start with an agreeable glass of Sancerre followed by steak and a lush glass of Margaux. No pudding as I was being good, well nearly, as I had the cheese and port instead.

I was offered a pre-lunch drink at my seat which I declined in favour of stretching my legs and paying another visit to Annette and her bar. G&T this time, no measures needed. My God Annette I wouldn't like to go to one of your parties. Extra tonic was needed by me and my fellow bar mates before we fell down. May as well get a few pics whilst I was there.

After prawns and steak, time to settle down to film number two. A cowboyesque production with Idris Elba entitled The Dark Tower, set in different worlds and time.

10 minutes of the film to run and the screen goes blank - time to land. Please don't anyone tell me how the film ends as I will catch up on the return flight.

Hello Dubai and the Rixos Premium hotel set in the JBR (Jumeriquah Beach Resort)

Time for a catch up with Mrs CT over dinner.

Laters

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Menorca 2017 Day 2 - A Fishy sort of Day

What a great start to the day as we found the only place in Es Castell that was showing the rugby - a little bar 10 minutes walk. Brilliant result for the Lions and the eggs and bacon were not too bad either. No beer consumed, only 3 litres of water and coffee. Needless to say the womenfolk stayed in bed.

The weather this morning was still not behaving itself which didn't bother us as we had always planned a trip into Mahon on the first Saturday to visit the fish market and to part satisfy half the travellers insaisable appetite for shopping. Not that we were going to buy any fish but more the fact of sampling the excellent cuisine and atmosphere. Got there just before it got really busy and bagged ourselves a table outside.

I really would recommend a visit here as you could sit all day long grazing on the numerous dishes available. From cockle popcorn through various paellas and onwards to little sausages, olives, tortillas and bocadillas. A few litres of Sangria were also consumed.

In the same area there are some nice market stalls and a bit of architecture for the cultural types.

At last the ladies could not stop themselves and vanished into a multitude of clothes shops touching and cooing at everything in sight. This left the guys to ponder on the more important questions of the universe.

The only time we met up again was for inflatable toy shopping ( Don't ask!)

Enough was enough and us guys bade farewell and made our way back to the bus station and onwards back home. Worst discovery of the holiday so far - the lovely little bar inside the bus station that served ice cold cider had shut down - disaster!

So upset by this we had to stop off at the local "English" bar for reviving beers. Not only this but the landlady made her own scotch eggs and pork pies daily. Too good to miss - English tapas.

Later on that evening we were made more than welcome back at Bar Lemon, the finest cocktail bar in Menorca. They had only just opened last year and we visited every night. They remembered us of course. Mrs C got a bit greedy and ordered several drinks.

The other benefit of having a good relationship with the locals is asking for her recommendation on where to eat. Her tip was for a small restaurant at one end of the harbour with an unusual menu - it only had one main ingredient - octopus. Too interesting to resist.

Octopus served Galacian style or as a tail - no, we have never heard of that either. The wine was also served uniquely - out of a jug into saucers.

Okay, that was quite enough fish for one action packed day. The sun was due an appearance for Sunday so off to bed and up early for a full on pool day.

To finish off here is a picture of a sausage machine

Laters

 

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Menorca 2017 Day 1 - Death Plunge & Prosecco Showers

Yes, it's that time of year again when the Stanwick Six set forth to warmer climes, plenty of good food and accompanying drinks.

The same villa as last year had been booked. Es Castell just south of Mahon, the capital of Menorca. Flights courtesy of easyJet entailed a very early start onwards to LTN. Early, like 2:30 in the morning early. Wait for bus in car park 2 minutes, no queue at checkin, through security in 3 minutes. It was going far too well.

Upstairs in the bars and restaurants it was heaving with hens and stags on their way for long weekends in Magaluf, Benidorm etc. Fancy dress was something to behold. Naturally there would be none of this frivolity on a Menorca flight. 5 minutes later we were shown to our tables in Frankie & Bennies, yes that's correct, tables. Mrs CT and yours truly were banished to a corner on our own. Unsure what we I done to deserve this the two nice ladies on the next table offered to take me to Malta if my friends didn't want me. (Yes that is a pint at 4:15, please don't judge me).

So far so good. Boarding commenced and completed. Off the tarmac and airborne on time.

Now we already knew that the weather that morning in Mahon was a little unstable, for which read thunderstorms, lightning, hail and heavy rain. All the pilot said was that there maybe a few bumps in the climb up. Okay sounded fine.

OMG, 10 minutes before landing all hell let loose. Just prior to this the pilot whispered into the tannoy that anyone who still had hot drinks remaining should put the lid back on. Most passengers paid little attention to this. I, on the other hand, as a frequent traveller on these Airbus 321, read this as a coded message that we were in for a rough ride. I warned Mr C of my concerns but said not to mention anything to Mrs C who is not a good flyer at the best of times.

The cabin crew had vanished. They admitted later that all 4 of them had got caught in the rear galley when the urgent call from the pilot just for them, came through. Only having 3 seats between them, the youngest and smallest had to jam herself under a seat in front.

The aircraft came out of the bottom of the storm clouds after quite a few bumps and bangs and proceeded to drop 200ft in a second. Anything that wasn't strapped down went upwards towards the ceiling as the aircraft went down. The youngsters thought it great fun, the adults just screamed! I have to admit that in 40 odd years of flying this was the biggest unplanned flight movement I have experienced. Thankfully that was it and we landed safely 5 minutes later.

Now, I can tell you that the following photo was not taken after the sphincter and bladder loosening moment just described but some one hour earlier. "Can you get my cardigan out of the overhead locker" asked Mrs R of Mrs CT. This she did by throwing it from a height onto the remaining Prosecco that they both had been enjoying. Never has so little gone so far. All down Mrs R's trousers making it look like an unfortunate accident and then all over her own seat. To avoid further wet pant embarrassment, the nice Tracy produced an easyJet rubbish bag as a seat cover.

So onwards to Es Castell. Couldn't get into the villa until 2 pm so down into the harbour to find coffee. This lasted until 10:45 (ten minutes later) when the ladies decided they could not hold off the rose wine any longer. Elevensies of more wine, beer, croquettes, anchovies, prawns, and patatas bravas followed. Cannot remember the rest of the day!

PS No, Mrs CT hasn't ripped the head off a local cat. That is kitty the communal purse.

Laters!

 

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Octopus tail. No seriously that's what the dish was called #octopus #menorca

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Tickets Booked - Micky Flanagan #mickyflanagan #LondonO2 #an'anotherfing

After a few months of searching, tickets finally booked to see the man at London O2 October 2017. Well done Steve C for the perseverance.

https://www.mickyflanagan.com/

Majorca 2017 - Day 2 - Pedalling Posers & Furniture Removals

Mrs CT and I have managed to get 5 days away together, squeezed in between ridiculous travelling schedules. Even then we couldn't travel together. She travelling from Luton at 6am and me joining her at the hotel at 11pm via Düsseldorf. An interesting 2 hour journey with CondorAir and 150 over excited German holiday makers.

So onto the Hotel Aimia, a quiet little boutique affair one street back from the promenade and only 20 other guests. We came here 10 years ago so knew what to expect - peace and no fights for the sun beds.

The hotel is in Port de Soller, nestled at the bottom of the Tramuntana hills in the NW of Majorca. Anyone who has been here will instantly recognise the transport below. An early 20th century tram that runs between the port and the main town of Soller.

As we are only here for 5 days, we had a busy schedule ahead - out and about in the mornings and retiring to the sunbeds in the heat of the afternoon. Just like the UK at the moment, the weather is unseasonably hot at 31c. So off on our first outing a shopping/cultural trip to Soller. Beautiful architecture and little streets to explore. Many interesting little shops and far too many ladies boutiques!

So after Mrs CT had bought several gorgeous floaty numbers, refuge was found at one of the several Tapas bars surrounding the central cathedral square. Preparations were underway for the Festival of the Orange. Beer, gin and tapas dishes were consumed.At this point my indifference to certain people and their behaviour sprung forth. I have several friends who are cyclists and even I have been known to mount my two wheeled metal steed and pedal forth. Majorca has become well known for serious partakers of this particular pastime and Soller a stop off point for a spot of lunch. Multi coloured jerseys, metres of stretched Lycra and fluorescent shoes are the uniform of choice

However, it is one thing to sit there in your scrotum stuffed cycling Lycra but to actually keep your helmet and gloves on whilst consuming lunch is ridiculous posing at its worst. What are you expecting, a dangerous head height flying ham baguette. FFS it's lunch, stop looking like a prat.

Any way, rant over. Back aboard the tram for a leisurely 20 minute journey back down to the coast via the lemon and orange laden back gardens of the town.

Poolside for the afternoon. Not a lot of other guests here, so chances for story telling a little limited. Maybe 20 other guests, 6 English, 6 Belgian and the rest Spanish. As you can see from the following, the pool is set in a 2000 sq/m decked area with lovely matching wooden beds and tables.

Only one day into our short little holiday and a fellow guest was exhibiting some annoying habits. Fiona the Furniture Fidget was a disturbing pain in the a$$. Every 5 minutes or so she insisted in dragging her sunbed into a new and presumably astromically aligned position. And when I say dragging I mean ear piercingly screeching wood on wood noise. Sit down, keep quiet and don't move would be my particular advice.

By the way, if you are wondering what happened to day 1, it was spent travelling. I could tell you a lot about my fellow German passengers aboard Condor 16514 but as I work for a German company this would not be an acceptable thing to do.

I will leave you with an image of dog walking Majorca style. Strap a handle and some wheels to a pet carrier and off you go!

Laters

 

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Chillin 😎 #sóller

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A few days at the wonderful Hotel Aimia in Port de Soller. Beautiful part of Majorca. #aimiahotel #majorca #portdesoller #soller