Tag: Travel

Errrr Not Yet

Travels

From my Inbox:

Cheap Flights: Dallas to London, United Kingdom $647-$683 r/t [Sep-Oct] – American Airlines / British Airways / Iberia / Finnair

Ordinarily, this little deal would cause my ears to prick up like a Kardashian’s at the sound of rap music, because:

 

…or more likely:

…and:

…etc.

However:

Heathrow Airport chaos: Passengers fume at ‘utter carnage’ with queues ‘outside terminal’

…and:

British Airways ask for passengers to scrap summer holiday plans

…and:

Heathrow imposes daily passenger cap and tells airlines to stop selling tickets

…and then there’s this:

And those silly people who think that all this will be resolved by September should heed the words of one of my Brit friends on the topic:  “September?  In which year?”

Not to mention that at any time, the Brits could panic over some trivial health issue and lock the whole fucking country down again (and with my luck, I wouldn’t be in a pub when they did).

Sad, really.  So… no.

Not Nice

Travels

…nor Cannes, nor even Monte Carlo.  The best place to be on the French Riviera (the Midi, if we’re going to be travel snobs) is none of the above, but at the gorgeous Juan-Les-Pins.

Here’s its location:

You need to get there in late March / early April, because when the season starts, the place fills up with celebrities (they know a good thing, the bastards) and the prices shoot up accordingly.

It is probably my #1 Lottery Destination (depending on when those bastards get their act together and realize that I am a Deserving Winner).  But out of season, even the Hotel Belles Rives is amazingly affordable.

…and that’s the ugly side.  Imagine staying for a week or so in this hotel room:

…with this sort of view:

…with this restaurant (one of two):

…offering this kind of food:

Oh, and did I mention the terrace bar?

Of course, you’ll be wondering if there are any sights to see.  If you can drag yourself off their private beach, you’ll see lots of the following:

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Speed Bump

Behind Enemy Lines, Travels

I saw an article about how expensive car rental has become in Yurp, but in fact it seems to have become more expensive in Britishland.

A cursory look showed me that a 7-day rental in Vienna would run about $450 (base cost before add-ons), whereas at Heathrow the same car would cost $800.  Seriously?

Unlike a lot of people, I have no problem with driving in Europe or the U.K., so a rental car is always preferable to waiting for trains or buses.  (Not in the cities, of course, but around the country to small towns and villages.)  Even Britain’s perennial parking problems don’t really worry me, and I really prefer the freedom of the open road.

When I stayed at Free Market Towers back in 2017, I rented a car which, if memory serves, cost me about $320 per week, fully loaded (insurance etc.) and I fondly imagined that the next time I get Over There, I’d be able to afford the same.

Fat chance, at those prices.

And train travel has become prohibitive too, not just in Britishland but also in Yurp;  but I’m not interested in just staying in cities (ironically, other than maybe Vienna).

So here I sit:  proper fucked, as the Brits say.

Return Of The (Non) Native

Travels

Took off…

…and landed safely:

…all on the same day, after a 60-hour flight*.

“Now,” she asks me, “…exactly what day is it, and what’s the time?”  Always with the difficult questions.  She’s lucky I recognized her walking through the Customs gate…

*I know, I know… she says it just feels like it took sixty hours.