Day 1: Flying to Madrid and on to Buenos
Aires
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An evening departure from Heathrow
to Madrid,
followed by an overnight flight to Buenos Aires.
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After a slightly uncomfortable
drive to Heathow Airport (one driver failed to turn up at
the appointed time and his replacement talked incessantly
whilst driving somewhat jerkily through the heavy Friday
afternoon traffic), we made it to Terminal Five a mere ten
minutes later than the meeting time given to us by our travel
company, but still well within the airline's check in time.
We were given a warm welcome by our tour rep Caroline, who
would be accompanying us for the first few days before we
boarded the ship.
Check in at the Iberia counter was smooth, as was security
and we were soon on our way to the lounge. We had reserved
seats for the flight to Madrid as well as the onward flight
to Buenos Aires. We were pleased that both flights would
be on the wide-body A350 plane. Bruce was especially pleased
because it was to be his first flight on an Airbus A350. |
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We managed
to get the "couples" seats in the centre and they were
very comfortable. |
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After departing on time
at 6:45pm, we were served a full meal during the 2 hour
flight to Madrid. Geoff had the artichoke ravioli which
he really enjoyed. |
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Madrid airport's terminal
4S (a satellite terminal for Iberia's use), is vast and
has beautiful architectural features. It took us a little
while to get to the lounge, which we liked very much. Bruce
seemed to blend in with the airline's corporate colours!
We only had about an hour before our next flight was due
to board, but we could see how it could be a really restful
and welcoming place for those who had longer to wait. |
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Before too long, we
were on another Airbus A350 for the second leg to Buenos
Aires, where we had reserved the same seats as on the previous
leg. It was now almost midnight (Central European time),
but that didn't put us off accepting a welcome cava. It
was a good one too! |
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Being so late and having
had dinner on the previous flight, we declined the full
meal service and settled down for a good night's sleep to
help pass at least a major part of the twelve hour flight.
In Geoff's case, a decaffeinated coffee and a brandy helped
him to drift off. |
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