Holiday to Las Vegas in Dec 2013: Day 1 – Manchester (MAN) to Amsterdam (AMS)

The day has arrived. I’ve had two days at work in between my mileage run to Grand Cayman and this holiday, so I’m happy now that I’ve left things in a good state prior to being away for 3 weeks.

I was up at 5am and finished off prep of paperwork and equipment to fit into my hand luggage.

I woke Vick at 6:30am even though she had set her alarm for 7:00am so I was immediately in the dog house.

J was up around 7:00am as well and he was taking stuff back to his mum’s that he might need to take to the US when he goes to college over there in Jan.

We said our goodbyes to J and it was a bit tearful. Effectively he is leaving home, and he will be living his life without us in the US.

We are very proud of him though – he’s created a great opportunity for himself, and he passed his driving test this week as well.

Anyway, we reached the airport by 8:45am, dropped off the car and headed through security. We both reflected on the dopey people who don’t have any manners or any sense when they go through security.

In the lounge now. We will need to queue up relatively early for the LHR flight to ensure we get enough bag space – we have one full size carry on and I have a fair sized laptop bag as well.

Well we were about second on the plane after wheelchairs etc, so we were fine with space. Trip was fine – nothing much to speak about. However we ended up being bused from the plane to the terminal which ruins any enjoyment of flying for us.

Quick check on boarding cards and we were in to T5. Stopped to pick up our first Starbucks of the holiday and we were then into the lounge. Spoke to a BA lady about trying to get Vick checked in to our flights tomorrow, and this was a partial success – had to follow up later.

Lunch was good – Thai chicken curry, a chilli and some very good Pork and red cabbage. We also indulged in a glass of champers to celebrate the start of our hols.

In the end we were relatively rushed in the lounge, and before we knew it, it was time to head to gate A10 to prepare for boarding the plane to Amsterdam. Again we needed to be close to the front to avoid any problems with space, but this time it was Club Europe so only 2 pax either side of the cabin, and business class wasn’t quite full.

So all was fine with boarding the flight.

There was a bloke in row 1 with two very excitable kids aged 6 and 8 which was quite entertaining.

I had to experience the cream team served by the cabin crew: the scone, cream and jam was very nice; the finger sandwiches were less good.

We arrived on time to Amsterdam and quickly found the stop for the shuttle bus to the hotel, and we timed it perfectly.

Considering the bus is every 30 mins, we were waiting 1 min if that. It’s a bit nippy over here but probably not as cold as we are expecting in NYC.

Hotel checkin was fine, and we got a standard double bedded room on the top floor. We decided to wander out to find a restaurant and take in the sights.

WoodStone offered pizzas and Italian fare, and was not bad value for money. The walk back to the hotel was cold though.

Looking forward to LCY and JFK tomorrow now.

Follow the whole story here: Holiday to Las Vegas in Dec 2013