We took off from Seattle on British Airways heading to Venice via London. We left in the evening o August 18. The flight itself was not a long as we expected but the seats were worse than we imagined. We flew British Airway’s equivalent to Economy. The seats were tighter than I remember. Much more cramped. I think it was the first time I had flown with them since they introduced their intermediate seating level, which is World Traveller Plus. It’s a high-breed between the economy class and business class. Still the service was British Airways and the food very good. The plane was unusually warm, especially considering we flew over the North Pole to reach London. That route can get very cold at night. Not the case thise time. It was very close. I had noticed that all the individual air nozzles (per seat) were closed up. Not that I use them (I usually shut them off because they recycle the air) .
We arrived in London in good time and as usual the British Airways terminal (these days the brand new Heathrow Terminal 5) was painless to pass through. We caught the National Express bus line to Gatwick Airport, which was a pretty good transfer option. You catch it right outside of the Terminal 5 Arrivals entrance. Just before you leave the building there is a kiosk to purchase your bus pass. It takes about 40 minutes to get to Gatwick Airport’s North Terminal from Heathrow Terminal 5.
The weather was fairly warm for England and the bus air system didn’t seem to work either. But the transfer was very good and we drug our luggage (a lot as usual) off the bus to get in line to check in for our flight to Venice. I had gotten overheated again. But by the time we arrived at the Departures gate after grabbin a bite to eat and stopping by the Priority Pass Lounge to cool down, we were both good as new.
To our great surprise we entered the plane to see the seats were in the older configuration. There was tons of leg room and the seats were reasonably wide. At this point we were both exhausted and our thermostats were screwed up. But at least the plane was cooler.
I was not in the aisle seat but I could see the landscape below. Once we were over the Continental Europe we flew over hundreds of miles of flat plain and farmland. The farmland turned to hills and then all of a sudden of the starboard side of the plane the Alps appeared. I have flown over many mountain ranges and each of them before, that first time, had taken my breath away. This time was no different. They were nothing less than spectacular.
The flight was short and we arrived in Marco Polo Airport on time. The airport is not very big but it was very efficient and immigration and customs was relatively easy. We were both so hungry we stopped and got some food. We ate our first pizza (Forrest had something similar to a calzone). The crust was very thin (Forrest’s very thin bread) and neither was messy with only the freshest of toppings and ingredients. They were SOOOOO good and very light but satisfying.
From there we got our tickets for the Water Bus. We were a little confused and of course neither of us knew even elementary Italian even though we had promised ourselves to learn that asap. We got on the right line and were dropped off at the correct stop. The city is an island just off the coast and is a labyrinth of canals and waterways. Venice’s distinct character and famous buildings were intact and recognizable, even to two weary travelers such as ourselves and at night.
The city was extremely humid. But the magic of Venice hit us and we were more enthralled with its beauty at night to worry. From the bus stop there was just a short walk to the hotel which was lit up at night along the dark canal. The owner was waiting for us and checked us in despite our lack of Italian and his limited English. But then hospitality and gratitude are languages on their own and can be universal.
We got in our room, let everyone know we arrived and crashed after a long couple of days of travel.
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