All good things must come to an end and we had to go home today.
It had been a great holiday.
As usual we had to put our cases outside the room door for the Viking fairies to come along and whisk them away for us.
It was a very early start for us, but it was still a bit more civilised than the 0430 start that it had been for Michael and Cindy. There was a basic breakfast in the hotel lobby and then Carolina and Santiago got us onto the mini-coach that took us to the airport in plenty of time for our flight. Santiago came to the desk with us and made sure that our bags would be checked through all the way to Inverness.
Then it was onto the plane and off on the first leg of the journey home from Santiago to Madrid. This all went really smoothly and on schedule.
We had time in Madrid to aimlessly wander round the shops in the airport and to have a nice breakfast, before boarding the next plane to Heathrow. Again this all went well and we were a little early there. This was probably just as well as there was a degree of confusion as to where we were to go when we got there. Signage was poor and we seemed to end up going through all sorts of passport and security checks despite not having left the airside area of the airport. We were not alone in this and some people could not find their way out at all.
Once we had negotiated the maze, it was time to find somewhere to eat a late lunch/early dinner. Again, this was a bit confusing. The departure gates disgorged passengers directly onto the concourse next to the shops and restaurants, leading to congestion and confusion.
The restaurants were not all in the same place, so there was a bit of wandering about to find one that we fancied. We lighted upon Gordon Ramsay's Plane Food. It was busy, but not packed. We were by now in need of a drink, so we ordered two gins and tonic. Bob had the menu and chose the Williams gin, because it was one of Sharon's favourites. Had she known they were £12.50 each, she might have been instantly converted to Gordon's!
Bob ordered the short rib beefburger and some triple cooked chips and Sharon had a mushroom pasta dish. It was all very nice, but the burger was just that - no salad, slaw or even a sprinkling of parsley on the plate. There were about fifteen chips. All of this and a bottle of Morreti came to more than £76! Sharon was apoplectic.
However, we were fortified and ready for the last leg home to Inverness. Soon we were on our way, but not before some nice lady carrying out a survey on behalf of Heathrow airport picked Sharon to quiz. She was left in no doubt about what she thought of restaurant value for money.
We followed the sunset on the way home, which was pretty spectacular.
Elain was waiting for us at the airport. The baggage had made it all the way with us. All was well and we were glad to get home after a long day and a wonderful holiday.
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