Round The World and other travels

With the late start to boarding and the use of buses, it was 1900 before we pushed back and, although we were relatively close to the northern runway, we were about eighth in the queue. We finally took off at 1924. Again, there was very little to see.

The Euro Traveller food service started quickly after the seat belt signs had been turned off. It was another deli-box, but with rather different contents this time. Additionally, there was a very nice heated ham & cheese ciabatta roll. (Plain cheese was also offered.) The box itself contained a carton of water, a fun size Kit-Kat, a blueberry muffin and a small tub of fruit cocktail in juice. I had a glass of white wine - the New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc that I had sampled many times on BA and always enjoyed - and a cup of coffee, in the All Day Deli paper cup.

In an unexpected touch later on in the flight, CSD Michelle came and introduced herself in person and asked me if everything had been alright. It was a nice gesture and I appreciated it. I think she was selecting the names of the lucky few from the passenger manifest.

I was nicely positioned to enjoy the spectacular night-time approach into LIS, sweeping over the river and then the city centre, with the historic buildings floodlit below. I had been tipped off about this by a visitor to this website - cheers, Mark! We touched down nice and smoothly at 2131 and arrived at our remote stand at 2140. The temperature outside was 17C, but it was soon apparent that there was a stiff breeze to contend with.