Well, Wadi ya know - Lausanne to Muscat 2018 Day 2 (travel to Oman)

BONZO · 7 Feb 18, 10:18 PM

Wednesday 17th January

Cast:
Me: Shaun
Alison (who edits and adds comments to these reports before I post them!)

We woke up early and had coffee in the room and stared out to Lake Geneva and looked at the grey skies and waves crashing over the quayside walls. The weather actually made the scenery more dramatic with low swirling clouds over the mountains in the distance.

Now that we had the metro tickets in hand we took the short walk down to the Ouchy-Olympique station to head into the town centre for breakfast. Much to Alison’s annoyance, the word “ouchy” tickled me no end although we never got to CHUV station. I only found out afterwards that it stood for Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Vaudois, CHUV), one of the five university hospitals in Switzerland.

There are no ticket barriers at any of the station entrances or exits here but if caught fare dodging the fines are really high! We spotted a couple of inspectors pulling people to one side so wondered if they were spot checks or had really caught someone!

As we exited the station at Lausanne-Flon (I just love these names), we noticed a McDonalds on the concourse, oh well, that’ll do for us. However, once inside the main counters were not open and they were only serving hot drinks and pastries, not quite what I had in mind to be honest.

I flicked through google to find somewhere local and reasonably priced for breakfast and came across the Cafe de Grancy. We navigated to it via a car park (honestly) and found it to be really nice beaux arts style place, local and laid back. Well, so laid back we had to call the waiter over to take our breakfast order.

Alison ordered a cappuccino and 2 croissants and I had a typical continental platter of salami and cheese, garnished with pickled gherkins and a bizarre tube of French mustard looking suspiciously like a toothpaste container.

A side order of really fresh crusty bread all washed down with some strong coffee and water. A really lovely local place and an interesting mix of people having working breakfasts and tourists.

After we paid up (about 30 CHF) and left, Alison had realised that for some strange reason she hadn’t enough socks with her and ones she was wearing from yesterday were soaking wet due to the rain getting in through her trainers. We looked for a suitable shop and found Co-Op City nearby. A strange sort of budget department store that looked out of place in this area with ramshackle displays of goods everywhere. After a short mosey around Alison didn’t find anything suitable as most items were pricey compared to back home.

Once outside we noticed that it had now started to snow, not heavy but enough for us to get a move on and get back to our hotel. We headed up to the room to pack our last few bits and pieces and brush teeth, then spoke briefly to DD Laura who told us she got the job she’s been interviewed for yesterday! We were really pleased for her!

Check out was quick and efficient and the only charge was the tourist tax of around CHF 2.50 per person per night!

Once again we took the short stroll down to the Metro station to head up to the main train station to catch the train through to the airport, all very slick but again not cheap but more cost efficient than getting a taxi. On arriving at Geneva airport we approached the empty check in desks to collect our boarding passes – for the flight back to Heathrow and the onward flight to Muscat. We had done online check in and had electronic boarding passes but it’s a handy back up to have the printed ones too.

We made our way up to the lounge and settled down for some snacks and drinks, mindful that there’s no boarding announcements made here so we made sure that we were at the gate in plenty of time.

At the gate we sat down for a while

then boarding was called so the great sea of humanity crowded the gate, all itching to get on board. Despite being quite a way back down the plane we managed to get our hand luggage into the overhead lockers just fine and it wasn’t particularly crowded either.

Once off the plane at Heathrow we went back landside through immigration and customs, then upstairs and straight through security again (we’ve found this quicker in the past than going through connections).

We settled down in the lounge for a couple of glasses of champagne before I heard my name being called out over the tannoy by the concierge staff. Thoughts rushed through my head, what could it be? An upgrade on the next flight? What should I do if it’s only me and not Alison? Do I decline or let Alison have it? As I approached the desk they said, “Here you go, your luggage label had fallen off”. Oh well, we can all dream about getting that elusive upgrade then.

We then decided to have some real food (in case the food on the plane wasn’t too good) and we enjoyed some amazing venison meatballs – really delicious!

Soon enough it was time to get going again and we made our way downstairs but there seemed to be a bit of a wait so we headed through the utilidors (underground tunnels connecting the 3 terminal 5 buildings) rather than waiting for the transit train which we beat once again.

After heading to the gate a short delay of 30 minutes was announced so we headed up to the lounge above the gates to wait!

We eventually boarded the plane and took up our seats. This time round we picked seats on opposing sides of the plane (deliberately so that we both had window seats – and it was an overnight flight!), much to the amusement of the Cabin Service Director. She asked me if we wanted to be seated next to other but I said that after 30 years of marriage I’m quite happy with the situation thanks very much.

Saying that, Alison had realised that the 2-way seat to seat chat facility was working although initially I could only respond by use of emoticons although I figured things out eventually.

For dinner, I had the Arabic lamb dish, followed by a coffee and brandy

and Alison had the vegetarian pasta which she said was delicious.

After watching a film and a couple of TV shows we crashed out for the short night flight to Muscat.

Melbatb · 8 Feb 18, 08:25 PM

Soggy socks - not good

What a let down re the luggage label

Looking forward to reading more - we had a daytrip to Oman last year and really enjoyed it!

Glee Fan · 7 Jun 18, 04:19 PM

Ugh at the luggage tag!

7 Feb 18, 10:18 PM	#1
	7 Feb 18, 10:18 PM BONZO Imagineer
BONZO Imagineer Join Date: Mar 02	Well, Wadi ya know - Lausanne to Muscat 2018 Day 2 (travel to Oman) Wednesday 17th January Cast: Me: Shaun Alison (who edits and adds comments to these reports before I post them!) We woke up early and had coffee in the room and stared out to Lake Geneva and looked at the grey skies and waves crashing over the quayside walls. The weather actually made the scenery more dramatic with low swirling clouds over the mountains in the distance. Now that we had the metro tickets in hand we took the short walk down to the Ouchy-Olympique station to head into the town centre for breakfast. Much to Alison’s annoyance, the word “ouchy” tickled me no end although we never got to CHUV station. I only found out afterwards that it stood for Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Vaudois, CHUV), one of the five university hospitals in Switzerland. There are no ticket barriers at any of the station entrances or exits here but if caught fare dodging the fines are really high! We spotted a couple of inspectors pulling people to one side so wondered if they were spot checks or had really caught someone! As we exited the station at Lausanne-Flon (I just love these names), we noticed a McDonalds on the concourse, oh well, that’ll do for us. However, once inside the main counters were not open and they were only serving hot drinks and pastries, not quite what I had in mind to be honest. I flicked through google to find somewhere local and reasonably priced for breakfast and came across the Cafe de Grancy. We navigated to it via a car park (honestly) and found it to be really nice beaux arts style place, local and laid back. Well, so laid back we had to call the waiter over to take our breakfast order. Alison ordered a cappuccino and 2 croissants and I had a typical continental platter of salami and cheese, garnished with pickled gherkins and a bizarre tube of French mustard looking suspiciously like a toothpaste container. A side order of really fresh crusty bread all washed down with some strong coffee and water. A really lovely local place and an interesting mix of people having working breakfasts and tourists. After we paid up (about 30 CHF) and left, Alison had realised that for some strange reason she hadn’t enough socks with her and ones she was wearing from yesterday were soaking wet due to the rain getting in through her trainers. We looked for a suitable shop and found Co-Op City nearby. A strange sort of budget department store that looked out of place in this area with ramshackle displays of goods everywhere. After a short mosey around Alison didn’t find anything suitable as most items were pricey compared to back home. Once outside we noticed that it had now started to snow, not heavy but enough for us to get a move on and get back to our hotel. We headed up to the room to pack our last few bits and pieces and brush teeth, then spoke briefly to DD Laura who told us she got the job she’s been interviewed for yesterday! We were really pleased for her! Check out was quick and efficient and the only charge was the tourist tax of around CHF 2.50 per person per night! Once again we took the short stroll down to the Metro station to head up to the main train station to catch the train through to the airport, all very slick but again not cheap but more cost efficient than getting a taxi. On arriving at Geneva airport we approached the empty check in desks to collect our boarding passes – for the flight back to Heathrow and the onward flight to Muscat. We had done online check in and had electronic boarding passes but it’s a handy back up to have the printed ones too. We made our way up to the lounge and settled down for some snacks and drinks, mindful that there’s no boarding announcements made here so we made sure that we were at the gate in plenty of time. At the gate we sat down for a while then boarding was called so the great sea of humanity crowded the gate, all itching to get on board. Despite being quite a way back down the plane we managed to get our hand luggage into the overhead lockers just fine and it wasn’t particularly crowded either. Once off the plane at Heathrow we went back landside through immigration and customs, then upstairs and straight through security again (we’ve found this quicker in the past than going through connections). We settled down in the lounge for a couple of glasses of champagne before I heard my name being called out over the tannoy by the concierge staff. Thoughts rushed through my head, what could it be? An upgrade on the next flight? What should I do if it’s only me and not Alison? Do I decline or let Alison have it? As I approached the desk they said, “Here you go, your luggage label had fallen off”. Oh well, we can all dream about getting that elusive upgrade then. We then decided to have some real food (in case the food on the plane wasn’t too good) and we enjoyed some amazing venison meatballs – really delicious! Soon enough it was time to get going again and we made our way downstairs but there seemed to be a bit of a wait so we headed through the utilidors (underground tunnels connecting the 3 terminal 5 buildings) rather than waiting for the transit train which we beat once again. After heading to the gate a short delay of 30 minutes was announced so we headed up to the lounge above the gates to wait! We eventually boarded the plane and took up our seats. This time round we picked seats on opposing sides of the plane (deliberately so that we both had window seats – and it was an overnight flight!), much to the amusement of the Cabin Service Director. She asked me if we wanted to be seated next to other but I said that after 30 years of marriage I’m quite happy with the situation thanks very much. Saying that, Alison had realised that the 2-way seat to seat chat facility was working although initially I could only respond by use of emoticons although I figured things out eventually. For dinner, I had the Arabic lamb dish, followed by a coffee and brandy and Alison had the vegetarian pasta which she said was delicious. After watching a film and a couple of TV shows we crashed out for the short night flight to Muscat. __________________ http://www.thedibb.co.uk/forums/sign...igpic534_1.gif 1988 ~ Contemporary ~ Honeymoon 1989 ~ Off site 1994 ~ EuroDisney ~ Santa Fe 1999 ~ Off site 2001 ~ CBR (Aruba) ~ Poly (Tahiti) 2003 ~ WL & HRH 2004 ~ Pop Century, RPH, CSR, PBH, Contemporary 2006 ~ DLP ~ Newport Bay 2007 ~ POR ~ HRH ~ GF 2008 ~ All star sports, BCV, RPH, Vero Beach, VWL 2010 ~ OKW ~ BCV ~ HRH ~POP Century ~ Vero Beach ~ VWL 2013 ~ AKL ~ HRH ~ BCV ~ Vero Beach ~ VWL Edited at 04:36 PM.