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  • Amalfi Coast Trip – They’ve Arrived

    It’s all happening now, the other three members of the party have arrived safely in Naples. So there are now four of us – Gordon, Steve, Bev and myself. But the real talking point is not a person, it’s a bag. Now, I’m not one to go on about anything, nor am I one for gossip, but Gordon’s bag is the smallest backpack arrangement that I’ve ever seen. With the attachment of his charms and trinkets it really may be the talking point of the day. And with that, I doubt I’ll mention it again.

    The plan for today is to go from Naples to Salerno by train and then get a ferry to our starting point of Amalfi. Hopefully this works out…..

    PS, the bag would be ideal for Dylan on a little day trip to the beach.

  • Naples – On fire…..

    Unfortunately, it’s clear Naples has a problem with vandalism and fire. I’ve seen several bins on fire over the last day, this one was by the city’s main railway station and had just been put out and was still smouldering.

  • Naples – Chinotto

    In Malta there’s an interesting drink called Kinnie, which is quite an acquired taste. This is San Pellegrino’s not entirely different drink, it’s not unpleasant….

  • Flights – Gatwick South to Naples (British Airways)

    This is G-GATM, the British Airways Airbus A320-200 aircraft which was flying from London Gatwick to Naples. Interestingly (well I think), this aircraft initially belonged to ACES Colombia and was operated by them in South America. They went bust in early 2004, just a year after they acquired the aircraft, and Wizz Air took it on as part of their initial fleet of planes. It remained in the Wizz Air fleet until December 2014 and it was repainted and came into use by British Airways in January 2015 as part of their new second-hand fleet to be used at Gatwick on short-haul operations.

    The boarding gate was spacious with plenty of seating and the screens were clear. The boarding process worked well and customers queued where BA wanted them to.

    On board, the flight was relatively full, although the seat next to me was left unfilled. These are exit row seats so they were spacious and the crew member reminded occupants of their responsibilities in the event of any incidents during the flight.

    There was a queue of aircraft waiting to take off, including easyJet and BA planes.

    Another BA aircraft joining us in the queue for take-off, which didn’t seem to take an overly long amount of time. Our flight ultimately actually arrived a few minutes early into Naples and it was a smooth journey with no turbulence of note.

    These look like clouds at first sight, but it’s the Alps. The captain made an announcement telling customers on the right hand side of the aircraft to look out, and as luck would have it, that was where I was sitting.

    Shortly before landing.

    Naples Airport is one of those where customers are shuttled to the terminal by bus transfer. There were two buses which left promptly and weren’t over-filled. I was slightly concerned when I saw that there were literally hundreds of people at the immigration desks, so I was anticipating a long wait. Fortunately those with passports were despatched to automated kiosks and so my wait transpired to be under three minutes from entering the terminal to leaving it.

    Overall, another smooth and successful journey with British Airways, who seem to me to be delivering some consistently impressive flights. The flight cost around £32 as a single fare in what is a crowded market as Ryanair, Wizz Air and easyJet all operate to Naples, along with numerous other international carriers.

  • Gatwick Airport – No.1 Lounge (South Terminal)

    I’ve written about the No. 1 Lounge at Gatwick before, but this was my second visit and I remain quite impressed by its offerings.

    The welcome from the staff member was friendly and professional, and I was offered the same menu as I had been given on my visit in early February (by same menu I mean that the contents were the same, it wasn’t the exact menu I had before). I went for the fish finger wrap, a basic item which isn’t going to overly excite in terms of the portion size or its presentation, but it’s a handy snack. I still wonder though for someone paying full price to enter the lounge in the morning whether they’d be entirely satisfied with the one item they can order.

    The main seating area in the lounge and there are power points below the seats which proved useful.

    In addition to the single item from the cooked menu that’s available, there’s also a variety of other food to choose from and this is unlimited. The mini muffins and pastries are decent quality ones, with a selection of fruits and yoghurt. There were a couple of different cheeses available, but it was the cheddar cheese which pleased me greatly, a rich and mature flavour.

    Everything in the lounge was clean and organised, although since I was the second person in, I’d have been surprised if it was all in a mess. The staff were visible and helpful, keeping the lounge clean and tidy, and I noted they were willing to help with a customer’s complex food allergens question. I was in the lounge for around 40 minutes before I decided to move on, but it’s a relaxing location in the morning to stay for longer.

  • Gatwick Airport – Grain Store (Visit 4)

    As I’ve posted about (three times before), the Grain Store is part of the Priority Pass scheme at Gatwick Airport South Terminal. I visited here this morning at around 5am and it was moderately busy inside with a staff member promptly acknowledging me on entry. There’s a choice of more cafe style seating or restaurant seating, but as usual, I went for the latter.

    I’m working slowly around the menu and since I haven’t had tea here before, I went for something new. I have next to no knowledge about tea, but it tasted fine to me and there were enough for over two cups full. It was nicely presented in a black teapot and the water was at boiling temperature.

    The chorizo, avocado and poached egg on toast. There was an interesting variety of temperatures going on, with the egg, chorizo and toast being hot and the avocado, feta cheese and the plate all being cold. The presentation was just a little odd as well with some random elements around the plate, it’d have probably looked better on a slightly smaller plate. Anyway, that sounds like I’m overly concerned about the plate used, which isn’t really the case.

    The egg was cooked perfectly so that it was runny when I cut into it, with the portion size of the chorizo in particular being generous. The avocado was evenly spread and had a decent flavour, although it had made the toast quite moist. The toast and chorizo did though both add texture and the chorizo had a firm but pleasant taste to it.

    There was no check back during the meal and the service seemed a little scripted, but it was efficient and the food and drink was brought over promptly. The restaurant was clean and seemed organised, with the pricing being reasonable given the quality offered. The meal price came to £14, which was within the £15 allowance which is provided for by Priority Pass.

  • Naples – Streets

    Just a few photos of streets in Naples, with the city being surprisingly busy with tour groups.

  • Megabus (Heathrow T5 to Gatwick)

    Today I’m going from Heathrow T5 to Gatwick, ready for a flight tomorrow. Usually I’d get the Underground Piccadilly line up from Heathrow and then get a train to Gatwick from Blackfriars with Thameslink all using Oyster. However, since it was early morning that would mean that the prices to do that would cost getting towards £20 and it would also take a couple of hours.

    I checked the National Express price, and that remains at a ridiculous £26 for a single journey.  Although it’s a convenient service to take, I find it unfortunate that a company price gouges like that, it’s not a great image for tourists. The price is so ridiculous that for any group of two people, it’s just as cheap to take an Uber.

    Fortunately, the wonderful Megabus have taken an interest in this route. If booked ahead this ticket can be under £10, although mine was £15 booked just before the journey. This is more expensive than going from Norwich to London with Megabus, but at least it’s a chunk cheaper than National Express and I’m sure they have some high overheads to operate to and from airports.

    The bus arrived on time, at 10.00, with a scheduled journey time of 70 minutes. It was clear from the ticket details where to wait for the bus, although the actual information at the bus stop could be clearer as it was nearly all for National Express. I was confident that I was in the right place though and there were Heathrow staff nearby to offer assistance to anyone who wanted it.

    The driver looked at the ticket on my phone seemingly confused, although he must have seen hundreds of them before. He looked at his watch, looked puzzled and so perhaps he thought it was a different time of the day to what it actually was. Who knows…. The driver didn’t exact engage like the American Megabus drivers, but that’s not unexpected.

    I got the seats at the top and there were plenty of working power outlets and there was also wi-fi available.

    I had a lovely view of the sweeping countryside. Well, the motorway.

    This photo doesn’t really show it, but there were an alarming number of chips and cracks on the bus’s windscreen. I can’t imagine that it’ll last too many more journeys. The driver seemed competent though and his driving was professional and smooth throughout.

    Anyway, the bus arrived into Gatwick early, so the journey took just 50 minutes. For the price I think this is a really decent service and hopefully it’ll take some trade away from National Express who I think are over-charging quite heavily for such a short route with such a captive market.

  • Los Angeles – Laguna Art Museum (Tangerine by David Simpson)

    “Simpson began experimenting with interference paints, soon becoming fascinated with the mercurial characteristics of the medium. Interference paints, which have only six pigment variations containing micro-particles covered with titanium oxide, reflect and refract light, giving rise to nuances of color and optical illusions of depth.”

    I’ve pinched this text from Wikipedia and it was written about David Simpson, who created this artwork in 2018. I have to say, it was in my very inartistic opinion, the most abstract artwork the museum had on display. The viewer is meant to look at the various tones of what looks to me like nearly the same colour. But, each to their own, I’m sure it’s a masterpiece to some people.

    I’ve come to the conclusion though when the information panel by a painting manages to describe solely how the painting was created and doesn’t mention any meaning or relevance that it might have that there’s one obvious conclusion which can perhaps be drawn. And that’s the art gallery hasn’t got any clue what it is either. But perhaps art isn’t meant to mean anything.

  • Los Angeles – Laguna Art Museum (Therapy by Dan McCleary)

    Dan McCleary is a Californian artist and he has been spending some time trying to promote art to communities in Los Angeles. This oil painting seemed to have some clarity, and the information panel noted that “this seems to highlight the sometimes absurd complications in one human being’s attempts to understand another.”

    McCleary, who was born in 1952 and is still painting, has the honour of having an artwork in The Met in New York, which I consider to be the best gallery in the United States. It’s called McDonald’s Number 1, but The Met has decided not to put it on display. That would irritate me if I’m being honest, if such a great gallery had a work of mine and then they left it out the back….

    Anyway, I know nearly nothing about art, but I like the style of this artist’s paintings.