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Published: October 1st 2017
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Melbourne Lounge
#wearereadytofly #letsgetthisshowontheroad The Big Day is Here. Monday 26th September - Adelaide to Dublin - lets get this show on the road. We woke up to SYSTEM FAILURE SYDNEY AIRPORT - nah we will be fine, we are leaving from Melbourne for the overseas leg. Might be a little delayed but she'll be right. Off we go to the Airport, super early, super organised. Drop the hire car off then over to the terminal to check in. Because Etihad don't have a counter at Adelaide, we go to the VIrgin Service Desk for info. Ask the lady where we check in and get asked, Are you the Cotters? Well yes we are? Straight away we know there is more to come. Lovely Virgin lady proceeds to tell us that due to the Sydney problem our flight has been put back a day for departure....SAY WHAT!!! Apparently we wouldn't make the connection in Melbourne to leave for Dublin. SO what happens now, as it literally had just happened they knew nothing, we knew nothing. First question was will we retain the seating we booked on Etihad.... SURPRISE Husband - I organised Business Class for the Abu Dhabi to Dublin Leg. Not the way I
Business Class
#Icouldgetusedtothis #foodcoma #wearenearlythere wanted to deliver my surprise but oh well. I submitted a super low bid for an upgrade and was successful. Virgin Lady (Sula) asks us to pop down for a coffee so she can organise some accomm for us and get further info. After a coffee we find leave Adelaide the next day (Tuesday) on the 11.35am flight and then on Etihad on the 3.50pm flight. Molly our awesome travel agent organises further info for us and a new itinerary. Molly has been fantastic throughout the organisation of our holiday. Our extra nights accomm is at Peppers in Adelaide (5 star). Off we go in a taxi to our accomm so we can come back again the next day to try again. Peppers was lovely the room, was lovely, we enjoyed a nice meal in the restaurant and went back up to relax and go to bed. That's where it got interesting. We are staying in a five star Hotel for a reputable brand, YES! So everything should be perfect.... well not so much It seems. We started to pull back our bed covers to get into bed after a long day. As we pull the bedding back I mention to Husband that there appears to be 'bits' in our bed. Yes bits, which were basically black long hairs throughout the bed, plus other bits. It was very very clear that the sheets HAD NOT BE CHANGED between guests. Super Gross and when you work in the same industry a BIG NO NO. So there is NO WAY I am sleeping in this bed. I call Reception and explain the situation. The Reception Staff were lovely. Clearly this is not there fault so we are very patient and understanding. Someone comes up and changes our bedding.... comments like GROSS and can I take photos were said during the change. Apologies all round. Are the Gods telling us something? Should we be doing this trip? Things that float through your head.
So after a big sleep on our super comfy bed with clean fresh sheets we get up and start all over again. Because we only get $50 each for all meals from the airline we decide to head off early and go to the VIrgin Lounge for breakfast. YAYYYY!!! No surprises this time at the airport, we check our bags in all the way through to Dublin and chill in the lounge. The Adelaide to Melbourne flight was great with no surprises either.
Upon arrival in Melbourne, we go straight through the priority departure gates and go to hang out at the Etihad Lounge in Melbourne. Love this lounge. Tried to get a comp upgrade to Business Class due to the muck around from Melb to Abu Dhabi, but no go. Oh well we tried.
Off we trot to our boarding gate, board early, meet a super lovely hosty (South African lady) and get ready to fly away. We paid extra for extra legroom seats, bit of a waste of money, because they are extra legroom the arms dont go up. So because the flight was half empty we move to other seats and get a row of four to ourselves. Much much better. The flight was long and it was hard to get comfy, but the service was great. We both got a little sleep and did ok I reckon for a 14hr flight.
We land in Abu Dhabi and its straight to the lounge for a refresh. Again a very nice lounge. After a shower in the Spa area, just enough time for a drink and light snack, then we are off again. This time we board our Business Class Flight to Dublin. So how was Business Class? Amazing, comfy seats, awesome food, great service and we got to sleep. I think I might have convinced husband this is the way to fly from now on!!!.
After a smooth flight which goes super quick we land in Dublin.... LOOK OUT IRELAND - THE COTTERS HAVE ARRIVED! It's off to pick up the hire car and drive to our little cottage.
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