Good drive down to Heathrow to stay overnight. Knew the way, no need for SatNav. Go to the big roundabout before the tunnel where the replica Concorde is displayed, turn right onto the Bath Road and the hotel would be there. Wrong!
Sign said turn left for Bath Road. What?! “No, keep in this lane, we turn right at the next roundabout. I know the way”. In nose to tail traffic we limp along at a snails pace. “Are you sure?” “Yes, I know the way”. Fifteen long minutes later, “that’s the roundabout, Oh! they've taken Concorde away. Oh! they’ve blocked off the right turn” I groan as the traffic shunts us into the tunnel. We helplessly have to crawl around the terminals, out the otherside, and finally onto the right road. Good start!
Next day was more successful. We (the other half of the we is my mad mate and neighbour from Switzerland), had opted to spoil ourselves in Business Class where fortunately for us, and unfortunately for them, they served champagne. On arrival in Istanbul we were well and truly sociable.
The Orient Express experience began at the Istanbul baggage reclaim where a representative greeted everyone and porters reclaimed the luggage for onward transport. We were being so sociable that we missed him, reclaimed our own baggage, forgot to pass Go and collect £200 and went straight into the arrivals hall. As the guide hired to accompany us on the coach said, looking directly at us, “we are in for an interesting three days”. I don’t know what he could have meant.
At the hotel we were taken directly to the Orient Express hospitality suite No need to check in like normal mortals, that had already been taken care of by Orient Express. And what a hotel! It was wow! WOw! WOW!. 6* standard, reputedly the best in Istanbul, in a location to die for overlooking the Bosphorus. Things were looking up.
The photographs were taken from my bedroom window overlooking Asia.
1 comment:
Fantastic view, fabulous photos. Hope you can retrieve the rest of them as your audience awaits with great anticipation!
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