With our flight departing
at 7:10am on Monday morning, we decided to spend the previous
night at the Hilton Hotel at Gatwick Airport. For dinner,
we ventured into the Japanese steakhouse just off the
hotel foyer. It was a decision we soon came to regret.
The restaurant was remarkably quiet, especially compared
with the rest of the hotel, which perhaps should have
been our first warning. The food was mediocre, the service
was no better, and by the end of the meal we were left
wondering why we hadn’t thought to check the reviews
beforehand. We shan’t be making that mistake again!
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Despite the comfort
of knowing that we didn't have to travel to the airport
on Monday morning, neither of us slept too well knowing
that we had to get up at 4:30am. At least it was only a
short walk to the terminal, where we checked in quickly
and by 5:30am, we were relaxing in the BA lounge. It is
one of our favourite lounges, with excellent views of the
planes and the runway. The food is also very good, not that
we felt like eating at such an early hour. |
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It was an hour at least
before we there were any planes arriving or taking off due
to the airport's night time curfew. |
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Bruce spotted the plane
(the third one along) which would be flying us to Bari this
morning. |
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Boarding was done efficiently
and after a bit of a delay, due to so many other planes
arriving and departing, we pushed back almost 45 minutes
late, but we were soon airbourne after that. Breakfast was
really quite good, as airline breakfasts go and we even
got champagne! |
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We were lucky to have
a really clear day and got some excellent views along our
route, including these over the Austrian Alps. |
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The place on the left
bank of the pointed inlet is Grebaštica, Croatia |
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A new industrial zone
dominates the landscape near Šibenik, Croatia. |
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The island of Šolta
closest to us, with Split across on the mainland. |
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Another magnificent view
of Split. |
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The curious shapes making
up the island of Hvar and the even more curiously shaped
Pakleni Islands off its coast. |
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A lovely view of the
port at Bari, as we made our approach to Bari Airport. |
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A look back at our plane
after we disembarked at Bari Airport. |
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Despite leaving Gatwick
forty five minutes late, we somehow managed to arrive on
schedule. Arrival formalities were surprisingly quick, and
our taxi driver appeared after only a five minute wait.
He apologised for keeping us waiting, blaming the traffic,
but we were more than satisfied with how smoothly everything
had gone. The drive from the airport to Trani took around
thirty five minutes and we were soon at our hotel. See next
page. |
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