And once again to sleep
Not immediately apparent from this sneaked photo, but our crew would best be described as ‘experienced’!
We’re back! What a wonderful few days we had in our beloved Spain. We had great company, enjoyed fantastic food, great drinks and wonderful weather. So, to conclude our story and put Rudy back to sleep, we should close where we started – on the journey. We arrived in the airport at Seville in plenty of time for our flight. In fact, too much time because the check-in wasn’t open and we had to wait before we could drop our bags. Having done this, we proceeded through security (Gorgeous got searched and ‘S’ had to go through twice because they didn’t like where he had put his iPad in the tray) and briefly into the Duty Free Shop. Now, not being one to complain, I must just shout IT IS NOT DUTY FREE!!!! It is exceedingly irritating to be presented with signs that say ‘Duty Free’ when it is not. It is Duty Paid because we are travelling within the EU. In fact, since you cannot fly anywhere outside the EU from Seville airport, there is absolutely no excuse for having any signs that say ‘Duty Free’. The prices were not that great either – it is often cheaper in Spain to buy any booze you want from a supermarket rather than pay the inflated airport prices.
It will come as no surprise to those that know him that ‘S’ took forever in the Duty Free Shop. Of course, he didn’t know that we had arranged lounge access, but how long can a man stare at some bottles of vodka? It wasn’t even that we couldn’t predict exactly which one he would buy (which he did)! Eventually he appeared and we made our way towards the departure gates. We had already been told that we would depart from gate 1, so Gorgeous and ‘S’ were a bit confused when we walked straight past it. When we stopped outside the door to the ‘VIP Lounge’ they still didn’t guess. We were welcomed into the lounge by a very helpful host and, having established some seats, drinks were obtained for all. It was with great amusement that we watched as couple after couple arrived saying, “Is this the BA lounge?”, and being told, “No, there is no BA lounge in Seville”. This was usually followed by a very snooty, “But we’re Club Class”, to which the host responded, “There is still no BA lounge in Seville”. All very amusing as we sat there enjoying our complimentary drinks and snacks!
Unfortunately, on checking the inbound flight, I discovered that it was coming in about 30 minutes late. This would inevitably lead to a slight delay but a delayed inbound flight usually means that the turnaround is completed as quickly as possible to get the flight away as near to on-time as they can and help to make up any delay on the return. We waited for the flight to be called and, once it was, made our way to the gate. After only a few minutes we boarded the plane and took our seats. Gorgeous was looking out of the window and noticed that there seemed to be some discussion about a suitcase. One person would put it on the plane and the next would remove it. This went on for quite some time until it was eventually removed. (Captain Clarke noted that it was marked ‘Standby’ and, as it was a full flight, assumed that it belonged to a standby passenger who would not be on our flight.)
Eventually, we left but with a delay of one hour to our flight. The flight back was uneventful and only took 2 hours 15 minutes which is very good. We did arrive late though be about 45 minutes and, having then waited for our luggage, we found ourselves standing waiting for a taxi at about 11.30 at night. Once the taxi arrived we discovered that the motorway was closed, so we had to take the back roads. The driver seemed to know what he was doing though and we eventually arrived home at about midnight. All in all, not a bad trip home, although somewhat later than we had planned. For now though, another adventure is over. A gallery of photographs is below but it is time, once again, for Rudy to return to his slumber. He only awakens when another adventure is to commence, in the mean time, he must sleep. We did some walking on this trip – 32.9 miles in four days – far too much for any sane person. This is, of course, RudyMenTerry!
Photos from the ‘Catedral de Santa María de la Sede’ in Seville
Photos from the Real Alcazar in Seville
So glad you are home and ready for the show tonight. I was collecting other son’s partner from Oxted station at midnight – and it was 1.00 am before I got to bed so feeling a bi weary. Hope we win this evening..