Day 59: 7th May – That’s it Folks – Na rathaidean fada, lùbach tro Chuimrigh agus Alba

Today’s trivia is on Heathrow vs KSA airports:

London Heathrow:

Operates with four active passenger terminals (2, 3, 4, and 5).
Heathrow is one of the busiest international airports in the world, often handling over 80 million pass
Heathrow is well-served by the London Underground (Piccadilly Line), often called “The Tube,” which is the oldest subway
London is served by six major airports (Heathrow, Gatwick, Stansted, Luton, City, and Southend).

Sydney Airport:

Founded in 1919 by Nigel Love, Sydney Airport (SYD) is one of the oldest continually operating airports in the world.
During construction at Shea’s Creek, a dugong skeleton was found on the site.
A railway line once crossed one of the runways at Sydney Airport.
The airport is officially named after Charles Kingsford Smith, an early Australian aviator.
Unlike many major cities, Sydney Airport is located only 8km from the city center, nestled in the suburb of Mascot.

Comparison:

London Heathrow handles significantly more passengers annually (~80 million) compared to Sydney (~44 million in 2019).
Due to its high volume, Heathrow is known for long queues and passenger delays, especially during peak seasons.
Heathrow has dedicated handlers for the high volume of international cargo and pets, while Sydney has a more regional focus.

I’ve probably forgotten from our last trip, but things I’ve (re)learnt . . .

Star rating of a hotel is very different from region to region
WYSiWYG isn’t always as the photos show when you arrive at your room. A 5⭐️ may have a coffee machine or just instant coffee, a fridge or not, a face washer or no not, turn down service at night or not, bed make up each day or not, breakfast included or not, biscuits or not, water of any type or not, etc etc.
A 3⭐️ hotel can be better than a 5⭐️
Coffees are bad or badder than in Australia at most.places.
Nothing is free when it comes to being s tourist, not even putting air in your tyres.
400yr old hotel buildings can creak and groan all night like a poltergeis!
A room upgrade may be less desirable outcome for room layout, views and functionality.
Digital cameras are bad news. Took around 6,666 photos equating to 52GB of storage😱. Luckily camera has a 128GB SD card and phone has 1TB storage.

The best and worst . .

Kimpton Fitzroy London breakfast, mini bar.
Waterfront Southport Hotel for overall room size, layout and view.
200 Degrees Coffee Shop even thought it’s a chain. May only apply to Chester!
Gwesty Cymru Hotel superior suite(!) with sea view has major WHS and cramped layout!
Lack of 🇺🇲, 🇷🇺 and🇯🇵although 🇺🇲 made up for it in noise when 🇺🇲 around at start of trip, end of trip not so. Has less amenities, terrible movies.
Best airline not flown 🇦🇪.
Best airline flown🇸🇬 only for food and service. They pack you in tighter than our preferred 🇦🇪.

Ewes probably don’t know but behind the scenes, there’s a bit of planning in the day’s theme title. Also the photographs that need on the go discision, if to be portrait or landscape.

Sometimes the words come before the photos.

I used to select the photos then compress the selected photos before adding to blog. Now I compress all photos and then select, which is much simpler and less time consuming.

Our last super and sleep . . .

They had sardines but no Dover sole this time😥

I tried the 175 steps up from Russell Square Piccadilly underground, ignoring the constant PA warning that should use lift. I got up the top just as quick as 2IC’s using the lift, although a bit giddy as it is tighter than a castle’s turret stairs!

175 of the blighters, OK till encounter of someone coming down

We had a late breakfast and then went in search of Mr Soane and Mary Wollstonecraft Godwin . . .

Over at St Pancras Gardens . . .

Mary Wollstonecraft Godwin has moved to St Peter’s Church in Bournemouth in 1851. Although the pedestal still remains.

It was good bye to George and Tropea . . .

and then it was good bye to . . .

and . . .

The good old days . . .

So much has changed being 👬 24/7 from day 1 till day 59 . . .

That should be our airline and plane . . .

Why we don’t fly Qantas, broken down again . . .

We had the misfortune of hearing over Heathrow’s PA, could Mrs Annette Newell and Mr Gordon Newell please make your way to gate B42 and make yourself known to a Singapore Airline’s staff member 🤔😱😱😱😱😱.

Being at the window seat, I was lucky enough to . . .