Pleasure and Business – Pulling homeward

Pleasure and Business – Pulling homeward

In this adventure…

• Pleasure and Business Mixing things together (again)
  
• Off to Heathrow
• Cathay Pacific Lounge and the American Airlines Lounges
• AA47 London Heathrow to Chicago O’Hare, Main Cabin Extra aboard a 787
• US Immigration Adventures
• Intercontinental Chicago North Michigan Avenue
• Deep Dish Pizza fun
• Travel Technology: Canon 40mm F2.8 STM with a Canon 100D
• Hyatt Regency O’Hare
• Back to O’Hare, British Airways Terraces Club Lounge
• BA294 Chicago to Heathrow Airport in World Traveller Plus
• From pleasure to business, BA Galleries South
• BA962 London Heathrow to Hamburg in Club Europe
• IBIS Budget Hamburg
• Currywust Nacht
• Back to Hamburg Airport, Hamburg Airport Lounge
• BA967 Hamburg to London Heathrow in Club Europe
• Pulling it home
• My calf muscles hurt…

 

With me out of the plane, I headed through to the arrivals area. I cleared Passport control using the eGates and dropped down to luggage claim. With no luggage to claim, I exited the baggage claim and customs area, and was in arrivals.

And passing Marks & Spencer’s near Arrivals, I sense a British Airways missed revenue opportunity with this sales opportunity…

The reason why I was heading in this direction was to collect my luggage which I left four days before. £62 later, my luggage was released and back in my hands – working out at £31 per bag, or £7.75 a day for each bag to have a holiday without me.

The band back together – with some new additions.

With all my bags and everything else altogether, it was time to head homeward. And I chose the train to get home – mainly as I couldn’t face the joy of National Express to travel home with.

Heathrow Express
£15 Advanced Ticket

Admittedly this time, I chose an advanced ticket, so I wasn’t paying full whack to use the Heathrow Express – always a good thing to do when you can avoid paying the rip-off fares that the train service loves to charge.

Heathrow Express train at Terminal 5.

I found a seat near the doorway, and dumped my luggage in a spot for the 18-minute ride to Paddington.  This time of day, the Heathrow Express can be quiet – depending where you sit. I chose wisely.

Luggage storage

Into the cabin

Heathrow Express Headrests.

The train took its 18 minutes to get to London with a stop at Heathrow Central, whisking itself down the Great Western Main Line to Paddington Station.

I’ve written about Heathrow Express, it’s 2×2 seat layout and how it’s a con – but sometimes, you have to swallow the cost and suffer. Today was one of those days even though I was on a discounted ticket.

Exiting Paddington, there was a fair old hike to the taxi rank.

Hiking down Paddington platforms.

Heathrow Express Class 332 at Paddington.

This is where Heathrow Connect is actually better (as it arrives and departs from Platform 12 – so it’s a shorter hike). None the less, the spinny case and myself made past the trains, and across to the taxi rank – with comparative ease.

With me at the taxi rank – I was thankful that there was no wait to get one of the short ride to Marylebone, and my next step homeward.

What? South of the river? SOUTH OF THE RIVER?

And as it always seems to be – I got a talkative and friendly taxi driver. Never a bad thing. It means they’re nice enough to drop me a bit closer to the station.

Arriving at Marylebone, I was all set for the 21:30 for Birmingham and Stourbridge Junction. Thankfully, I had turned up at Marylebone at 21:00 – and if I was quick enough, I could catch the 21:10 home.

Luck was on my side – and after stopping to buy a train ticket, and I was on a Chiltern Mainline service towards home.

Chiltern Railways London Marylebone to Birmingham Snow Hill
£29 walk-up fare

Alas, even though it was 21:10 when I left Marylebone, it was still late-night commuter time – meaning I was standing to High Wycombe.

Late night commuting.

With the train arriving at High Wycombe – it emptied out.

Hello High Wycombe.

I found a safe place for my luggage, as the train continued towards Birmingham.

With the train taking a good 2 hours to complete the journey, both it and me were tired by the time it arrived in Birmingham.

The train had an onward journey to Stourbridge Junction… and I had the final leg homeward.

11pm at night is quiet at Birmingham Snow Hill with its concrete. But quiet will do me as long as I can find a taxi. Thankfully, there was one waiting across the station.

Yes, I could had taken the bus home, but even I’m not that mad after a long trip with lots of luggage. It might be a short ride to head homeward, but I rode it for the mile and a bit towards the flat.

With the taxi driver looking oddly at me giving me a new pound coin as part of my fare, I fumbled around for my keys, and finally made it into the block of flats where I reside…

And finally, to my front door. Home from another adventure, and from a long trip

Then began the part of the trip I was most worried about – backing up all the data and photos I shot.

But that’s another story.

Finally: My Calf Muscles hurt.

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