Last night I didn’t mention the flight back. I noted on Thursday I really like that moment when you break from the clouds and see your destination unfold before you. It’s not just new or foreign places that still manage to give me a buzz as we come into land. There has been little cloud cover as we flew from Rome. I saw snow-covered mountain tops and mile upon mile of French farmland. There was, however, a little cloud as London came closer and then at around 6.30 last night we came in over London from the East. We broke cloud cover into lovely bright sunlight glinting from the Thames flood barrier looking particularly sunning from above. Nearby was the Dome which, despite all the bad press it’s received, looks amazing when viewed from above. I had great fun trying to spot the Greenwich Observatory and follow the roads to the Greenwich tunnel leading across to Docklands. Coming back down the river we flew by Tower Bridge and then banked to see the London Eye and Westminster before heading West. I had never before appreciated the long snake-like roof of the Eurostar terminal at Waterloo station. It really does stand out. It’s always at this point that I try to follow the winding tracks from Waterloo, Vauxhall to Clapham and heading South towards my home. Of course, I tend to lose it quickly – especially if I notice Victoria station as I start to do the same thing from there too. Eventually the plane making its final approach and I follow the M4 past the Glaxo SmithKlein headquarters and see Sky Television, the Gillette Tower and the large Isleworth branch of Tesco before we really start to see the hangers of Heathrow and the large British Airways buildings. London is a very different place when viewed from above. I love it!

On this day…

2004: Eurovision 2004

Rome was quite good. If you have read this site at all you may recall that I visited Rome a few weeks ago but I didn’t actually see any of the tourist sights (and my entry was entitled ‘Where Was The Colosseum‘). My Italian colleague comes from Milan and it turns out that he has never been to The Colosseum so, after our meeting we tried to work out how to use the metro service. For once I can say that I saw something of the city and that makes the journey worthwhile. Sadly, we didn’t have time to get inside The Colosseum (the queue was far too long for the amount of time we had) so instead we headed to St Peter’s Square to have a look there.

Both were stunning. I thought the people dressed as Roman Centurions outside The Colosseum were very amusing. I would certainly like to go and see it properly at some point. In 1506 pope Julius II laid the first stone for what was to become the Basilica on Vatican Hill which was to become the largest in the world. Again, the queues meant that we could not get too near but I did manage to see where people would sit for a view of the Pope. I imagine the atmosphere is incredible.

Rome, I think, really does need to go on my list of places to visit for pleasure at some point.

On this day…

No other posts on this day.

I’ve been trying to work out how many flights I have taken in my life. It’s more than I ever thought I would and must now be running into hundreds: the vast majority of them have been undertaken as part of my work. I work with our customers all around Europe and, sometimes, you have to be there in person.

Despite the fact that I have – most likely – been on more planes than buses in recent years I still can’t help get excited. As long as there isn’t a great deal of turbulence it would appear that I am getting over my nerves (unlike my visit to Dundee this time last year) and can enjoy the experience. However, I will never get over the thrill of that moment when you pass through the cloud layer and start to see the ground getting closer and you can start to see the people and the places. Landing in Rome earlier it was dark and almost didn’t notice the landing – which is strange as it is, by far, my favourite part of flying.

On this day…

2004: Traveling from Rome Fiumicino Airport to Central Rome
2004: Traveling from Central London to Heathrow Airport
2004: Heading Away Again

As a reminder to myself the easiest and quickest way from the airport in Rome to the city centre is by using the Leonardo Express. It takes about 30 minutes and, when I was there, trains were running every thirty minutes. It costs – more-or-less – ten Euros. The trains are large but there were also a good number of people on the train. For some strange reason tickets were being issued by one man who had to hand write each ticket. It wasn’t the fastest way to issue fares. The train arrives at a platform towards the back of the station and the walk to – what I think was – the front was a lot longer than I imagined. There were plenty of taxis and most of them don’t take credit cards.

On this day…

2004: Fly Away Again
2004: Traveling from Central London to Heathrow Airport
2004: Heading Away Again

This is a note to myself. I must remember that for a journey from Central London (in my case Piccadilly Circus) to Heathrow you should allow a good 45 minutes. Heathrow is in Zone 6 which means I need an extension to my travel pass for that (thank goodness for Oyster as the pre-pay option which means you don’t have to think about buying a ticket while you are rushing for a train). The Piccadilly Line was quite a pleasant journey.

On this day…

2004: Fly Away Again
2004: Traveling from Rome Fiumicino Airport to Central Rome
2004: Heading Away Again

I will be heading from Rome later today. Thinking about it a little bit last night I realised that these short trips are no fun whatsoever. I will be rushing off later this afternoon so that I can make a plane this evening which will get me into Rome late tonight. Then I will not be able to sleep. The first night in any hotel I find very hard to rest right through. Then, I will be up early Friday morning for the meeting followed by, I hope, a little bit of time for some lunch in a cafe somewhere before I will head back to the airport. Luckily, my parents will be picking me up from the airport as they are heading for London to spend Saturday with us.

On this day…

2004: Fly Away Again
2004: Traveling from Rome Fiumicino Airport to Central Rome
2004: Traveling from Central London to Heathrow Airport

Rome is supposed to be a very beautiful city. On Wednesday night I left London for Stansted where I grabbed a few hours sleep and some food in a hotel before heading to the airport for the 7am flight. Arriving at Rome Ciampino airport means a bus trip to somewhere central and a taxi to the office where I was to spend the next two days.

Thursday night I managed to wander around the suburb I was staying in and found a nice local restaurant who cooked the most fantastic pizza. Then it was back to the hotel to catch up on some of the sleep I missed before heading back to the offices for another day’s work and then a metro ride to the bus station to take me back to the airport.

And so, yet again, I got to see nothing of one of the world’s most fantastic cities. I really must learn.

On this day…

2006: Ten Years Of The Palm
2003: Don’t Hide Your TrackBack

And right now I am off on another of my business trips. This is a nightmare as I have to be at London Stansted airport by 6am tomorrow morning so I am off to a hotel nearby right now. The nice relaxed state I have been in since returning from Florida is about to go out of the window.

On this day…

2004: Live From The Red Carpet
2004: Riding The Top Coasters In The World
2003: Geneva, 12 August 1949

I have just read on about.com that Dueling Dragons and Hulk at Islands of Adventure are two of the top ten roller coasters. So, given that I wouldn’t have thought I would be ride them a week a go I am now going on some of the best in the world.

On this day…

2004: Here We Go Again
2004: Live From The Red Carpet
2003: Geneva, 12 August 1949