Articles in Europe 2017

Today is our last day on the cruise. I can’t believe that the two weeks has come to an end. It has been a totally relaxing trip and the best I have done.

Our last day in Scotland started out with David cooking a Scottish breakfast. It consisted of link sausage, eggs, lorne, black pudding and haggis. It was quite tasty and a good way to start off the day.

After deciding not to have breakfast at the hotel, we checked out and thought we would find some food along the way. It was a long long time … We made our way to Dunnottar Castle.

We were up quite early (around 5am local time). We packed up what we needed for overnight and I went down to the corner store to get some milk and croissants for breakfast. After throwing stuff into the car, we set off. The end destination was Ballater, how we got there was going to be a mystery. We had maps and guidance, but what fun is that when you can just take random roads instead?

After arriving at Terminal 3, we needed to get to Terminal 5. The only way was to follow the throng of people through to where the bus transfers happen. Given it was around 7am, it was quite busy. We made our way through and up to have our passports checked. We had a good chat with the Border Force guy as he checked out our entry card – he wanted to know if the public service situation in Australia was similar to theirs – no pay rise in quite a while and less people.

After hopping off the plane, we joined the throng of people heading towards the connections area. I was surprised at how quick and efficient it was. We didn’t stop at all from that point and then tried to work out where to go next to get to the lounge. The airport was huge, but even more so the lounge.

Prior to our 13.5 hour flight to Dubai (departed around 4pm Sydney time, arrived around 6am Sydney time), we were lucky enough to spend some time in the Qantas International First Class lounge. This was a once in a lifetime opportunity to travel like this, and I was just lucky I could share it with my beautiful wife Ros.

It’s always hard saying goodbye to our puppies, but we know they are in good hands. So there’s that comfort and peace of mind there.

Two days prior and we are getting ready. We need to go and get a few bits and assortments and then start packing. It’s starting to get exciting!