Friday Sept 21 - Sunday September 23 (Dubai to Eastbourne)

Friday

So it was time to farewell Rove and Dubai! I had discovered that Starbucks made sandwiches to order so I had an Egg Salad one for breakfast, it was toasted and delicious, plus a coffee of course, lol!

So, apart from the car being 20 minutes late to pick me up, checking in and security were a breeze. Emirates certainly knows how to look after their Business and First Class passengers! No queues, quick and easy!

Then it was on to the Business Class lounge, I decided to have a light lunch, of all things i found Shepherd’s Pie, lol! It was very tasty as was the Scottish Smoked Salmon. I washed it all down with a glass of Moët.

The lounge was right beside the gate for my flight, which was great, and the plane was already there being prepared for the flight as I arrived at the lounge.

Some observations of Dubai, the people are so very friendly, I know it is all about Tourism but....... The TV stations are interesting, there are a few English speaking stations with Arabic sub titles, it is funny when the ads come on, they are a mix of English and Arabic. There are also many stations from around the area, Kuwait, Abu Dhabi, Oman, Saudi Arabia to name but a few. There is so much construction (roads, hotels, airport) going on in Dubai but the pressure is on as there is an Expo in 2020.

As I boarded the plane, the first flight attendant I spoke to was from Sheffield, the nearest city to where my mother was born! We had quite a good chat.

There was another flight attendant and I kept thinking that I must have seen her before, then I worked it out, she is the splitting image of the lady who runs TinyKittens, lol! 

We left Dubai a bit late, due to the non-showing of a couple of passengers, so their luggage had to be taken off. It was a very hazy day in Dubai as can be seen from the photos.

We had a good flight, just a few bumps along the way, nothing unusual. 

it was iinterestng to follow the route mp from time to time. I was surprised we came in from the east over northern Europe.

I watched film and then I found that the plane had three external cameras for us to watch. I found the one facing forward, it might be attached to the tail strut. 

We were heading due west by this time and consequently straight into the setting sun. It was wonderful to see the clouds gradually turn pink and orange as the sun began to set. 

I had some great views of the north Kent coast as we approached England. 

Later, I saw the river Thames winding its way northwards. It was great to watch the plane line up with the runway from quite a distance out, land and then approach the gate. 

After going through immigration and the inevitable "Why are you visiting the UK" question, I was asked if I had a British passport, they decided to let me in, lol!

After collecting my checked baggage I was taken to a lounge t await my chauffer driven car to take me to Eastbourne. I did not have to wait too long and my driver was great, we had quite a chat on the 70+ mile drive. 

It certainly took the stress out of my travels. The drive to Eastbourne was good once we got passed a huge traffic jam not far from heathrow, it was due to an accident but, from the look of the cars, it was not serious! 

It was a gorgeous evening with an almost full moon watching us all the way!

I arrived safe and sound at my cousins, Linda and hubby Richard, about 9.30 pm and I had a surprise as one of my second cousins, Katy, was there. 

We all sat and had a chat over a cup of tea which I was hanging out for, lol! 

I did discover that one of the wheels on my suitcase was broken, grrrr. This is the second one of this braand it has happened to! Then it was time for a shower and off to bed.

Saturday

I woke to rain and it rained all day, lol! It was also rather cool. My other cousin, Mary, who lives in Eastbourne came round for lunch and we had a good catch up.

Sunday
It was raining with a cool breeze again in the morning but it did manage to clear away later in the afternoon. I went round for a lovely roast dinner with another second cousin, Claire, and her family, Ian, Poppy and Lily-Rose, who had a birthday on Friday. it was a great dinner and I spent a lovely afternoon with the family. Claire drove me back to base!