The cases were packed, we were up and ready, our lift to the airport had arrived. Passports, tickets and Albert, the class bear, were all collected up and we were on our way to California...or so we thought. A notification from Tripcase that our shuttle flight from Manchester to London Heathrow was on time, pinged up on the phone as we arrived at the airport. An easy check in, through security with relative ease (note to self: don’t put the selfie stick in hand luggage), the day had got off to a great start. We began with our usual ritual of eating breakfast at one of the airport restaurants. As we were flying from Terminal 3, our choice was limited, but the eggs benedict from Trattoria Milano were cooked beautifully and there was a generous serving of porridge and granola.
Then the fun started! We were booked on the 09.45 British Airways flight to Heathrow, which was due to arrive at Heathrow at 10.55. The plan was to then to board the British Airways A380 to San Francisco, due to depart from Heathrow at 14.05. So, with a 3 hour layover, we weren’t too concerned when another TripCase notification informed us that our first flight was delayed by 20 minutes. Even when more messages came through with an increased delay, we remained unconcerned, until the predicted flight departure time reached the 12.00 mark.
Finally seated on the plane by 12.00, with an estimated flight time of 35 minutes, plus a notification that the San Francisco flight was delayed until 14.25, we were hopeful there was a slight chance of making our connection. Settled in, eager for take-off, running shoes at the ready - then came the announcement that too many bags had been loaded onto the plane, so baggage handlers were now searching through the hold to identify and remove the 5 extra bags. The 10-15 minutes, we were told this would take, stretched to 30 minutes, 45 minutes - our hopes of making our connection were once again dashed. Finally, 90 minutes later, the offending bags had been removed and we were, at last, on our way to Heathrow. Connection missed, outcome unknown. We arrived at Heathrow approximately 10 minutes after our flight to San Francisco had departed, so were rebooked onto a flight the following day, issued with BA overnight packs and bussed to the Park Inn for the night.
At check in, we were handed vouchers for an evening meal, plus one for breakfast the next day. Although it wasn’t where we were expecting to spend the night, the Park Inn was surprisingly pleasant. The friendly receptionist, after much searching, managed to find us adjoining rooms. They were classed as accessible rooms, which had a wet room style bathroom, as well as all of the other amenities, such as: tea and coffee making facilities, flat-screen TV’s, hairdryers, in-room safes and, much to everyone’s delight, free Wifi. The rooms were clean and spacious, the beds were comfortable, the view kept the boys entertained as they watched the planes taking off and landing.
After dropping our overnight packs and hand luggage off in the room, we went in search of the bar, before making our way into the restaurant for dinner. We were seated in the restaurant and handed menus, which were quickly whisked away once our server realised we were on a ‘delayed flight free meal ticket’. Instead, we were pointed in the direction of the buffet. A selection of salads: green, bean, pasta and cous-cous, were served in one area, whilst the hot food consisted of a chicken casserole, fish in a sauce, potatoes, rice and cheesy pasta. The kids section offered chicken or fish goujons, then a number of cakes, plus fruit, served as dessert. Water was free, any other drinks had to be paid for. The day called for a bottle of wine.
After dinner, we headed back upstairs to change into our BA white t-shirts, watch some TV, then settled down for the night.
