Round The World and other travels
A frequent flyer's collection of trip diaries
This is: Shanghaied in Tuscany!
España, por favor!
Due to the early departure of my
flight and the distance from the airport, I needed to get up at
0530. I'd got everything organised the previous evening, so it was a
case of creeping around in near-darkness trying not to disturb
Bruce, although I did of course say a proper goodbye before leaving!
I was soon on board a taxi and heading, in spirited fashion
,
towards Pudong airport. Like all my Shanghai taxi rides, it cost
very little by Western standards.
Check-in
was easy and I was soon the only occupant of the First Class
Lounge. Had my wits been a little sharper at that time of the
morning, that fact would have told me something about my flight. I
left in good time for the long walk to the gate and was able to walk
straight up to the First & Business Class boarding fast track.
(Link to flight log in side panel)
As I'd hoped, there was no need to find my way to the Transfer Desk at Zurich. I was met by a limo driver and taken directly to the First Class Lounge, where all my revised travel documentation was ready and waiting. I managed to relax for ten minutes and down a glass of water before being accompanied to Security to ensure a trouble-free passage. There was a lengthy boarding queue for the Madrid flight, consisting mainly of oriental faces. My Shanghai-Zurich flight had a group of 120 heading for Madrid, which is why the Madrid flight was held back and I now had a viable alternative route to Palma.
(Link to flight log in side panel)
The Star Alliance terminal at Madrid seemed very quiet and it was an easy job to make my way to the Spanair VIP Lounge, where I was able to use a computer to brush up on driving directions to my next hotel, on Mallorca.
(Link to flight log in side panel)
After a less than stellar end to a long day's flying, the vast majority of which had of course been first-rate, I was pleased to see that my suitcase had made a quick appearance on the belt, despite its unexpectedly complex journey from Shanghai. I quickly found the Hertz desk and made my way out to my allocated Opel Corsa, where finding the location of all the various switches and controls proved a little difficult in the darkness. Soon enough, I was on my way and, following to the letter the directions that I'd looked up in Madrid, I arrived at the Hilton Sa Torre. The check-in agent was amazed that I'd found the hotel in the dark - it's up a narrow, country road in the middle of nowhere! Little did he know that it was also over 24 hours since I'd last been in bed! I was shown to my latest quarters, a fabulous and spacious suite decorated in traditional style where, not surprisingly, I quickly fell into a very deep sleep.