Round The World and other travels
A frequent flyer's collection of trip diaries
This is: Quebec to Florida, by Sea (2019)
Epilogue
As
already alluded to, our respective homeward journeys largely
overlapped and were unorthodox in nature. Having said that, any
seasoned reader of this travelogue should know by now to expect the
unexpected! Both our tickets had been issued online to commence in
(and return to) the Egyptian capital, Cairo. I have only included
brief details here, as the journey is more fully covered in the
'Flights' and 'Hotels' sections. [See black menu bar above.
Photo (right) appears courtesy of Bruce.]
Friday 08 November
After hanging around DoubleTree The Gates until checkout time, we made our way to Miami International Airport and began this latest 'flying fest' with a relatively short hop on American Airlines to Dallas/Fort Worth. Following some quality time in the Admirals Club Flagship Lounge, we boarded a British Airways Boeing 747-400 for an overnight flight to London Heathrow, travelling in the upper-deck Club World cabin. Not for the first time, we wondered whether it would turn out to be our last such experience.
Saturday 09 November
We arrived into the familiar territory of Heathrow Terminal 5 around 1pm local time on Saturday and spent a few hours resting in a day room at the Sofitel. Later that evening, we returned to the terminal and boarded BA155 to Cairo. On this occasion, it was operated as a Titan Airways wet lease, using an Airbus A321. The front cabin was designated Premium Economy.
Sunday 10 November
As anticipated and prepared for, we arrived at Le Méridien, Cairo Airport at 4am local time, which obviously meant that the first priority was to get settled down for a few hours of proper sleep. Starting around mid-morning, it was then a lazy and actually very enjoyable day, lying by pool and making use of the hotel's facilities.
Monday 11 November
The journey was then completed with a joint return to London (again on a Titan A321) and for me, a solo hop northwards to Edinburgh.
And finally ...
This somewhat non-standard homecoming brought to an end another excellent trip and also a year where the long-haul focus had been firmly on North America. It began in February with a four-destination trip to Mexico, continued in May with an 'Amtrak Adventure' in the American Midwest and West, and now we had completed a visit to Canada and the USA, largely by cruise ship and with a definite east-coast focus. These three trips had included a Spanish-speaking country and a French-speaking province, and at no stage had anything felt boring or repetitive. Despite involving a total of just three sovereign states, the year's long-haul travels had once again illustrated that the North American continent is a massive, diverse and endlessly interesting place.