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The gate was very quiet right now and I didn`t think we were very early getting down here tonight, but we waited and it did fill up a little more before too long, but not as crazy busy as it usually is.
A couple of year ago VA started using a boarding system which works well although you do always get folks who are not due to board till the end stand at the front getting in everyone`s way, never really understood the thinking behind it, but we soon see the folks who need extra time to board and those in wheelchairs, and the families of those needing assistance too.
Once they board, Upper Class and Premium are next, so we are the second boarding group which is nice and timing wise it felt early as it was around 9.15 but I wasn`t complaining. There were no passports tonight as the facial recognition was being used, so we were straight on and warmly welcomed by the lovely cabin crew and some of whom we do recognise from previous trips.
Straight down to the front row of Premium and we popped our bags in the cabins above leaving out my phone for pictures and my glasses in a few moments we were settled in our very comfy and spacious seats and this is one of the reasons we do love any premium seat.....the legroom.
The ambient lighting is not conducive to taking pictures I admit, that pink/purple hue does affect the quality somewhat.
The CC immediately came round with the usual option of fizzy or orange juice and of course we opt for the fizzy, it`s a nice way to start the flight.
(Must learn to look at the lens)
I`m 5`7 and my legs are outstretched with plenty of room for later when everyone reclines to try and get some sleep hopefully.
The Premium cabin is maybe only half full which is surprising as Orlando flights are normally always at capacity, but there were maybe 10 or so empty seats we noticed once the doors were closed, the pilot also announced that we were just over half full and we were surprised and the reason the gate wasn`t overly busy. He also told us our flight would be fairly short tonight at 7 hours 20 minutes which was down to the wonderful Jet Stream on our tail, always appreciated.
We pushed back from the gate at 9.55 and usually it takes us 5 minutes to get to the runway we leave from, but tonight we all thought we were driving back to Manchester, we seemed to do a circuit of the airport, but we assumed he knew what he was doing. Then at 10.15pm we took off and as always it`s a very smooth take off despite the dreadful weather and we glance out of the window and see the last of the lights showing us Orlando and surrounding area then within a few minutes we are straight out to sea and we see nothing at all.
We put out the tv screens which are pulled out from underneath on the front rows, then the first drinks service comes round and I get a white wine as I had white earlier, I can`t mix them so always stick to one or the other and I have to say the white was not as nice as the red they have but it was fine for a change.
Still not fond of wine in a can!!
We go various routes on our flights, most times we hug the eastern Seaboard which I find strangely comforting as we only have two engines now with these planes which I am confidently told is more than enough, but for me, four engines are
better.
Yes I do still yearn for the now defunct Jumbo jets!!!
Tonight we are headed straight over the Atlantic, weather obviously plays a big part in the flight plan but it is a bit boring not being able to see anything although we can see the stars which is fascinating and they do look remarkable from up here too.
On the night flights they tend to serve the meal fairly quickly so folks can get their heads down for as long as possible and tonight was no exception and we do like they do it this way as we can sleep on planes fairly well with no disruptions.
We ordered our meals a few days ago, you get an email with the options and it just means you get the meal you want rather than being possibly served last and left with the veggie option no one really wants. I think it`s only upper class and Premium that pre order unless you have special requests and if you haven`t pre ordered there are no guarantees what you`ll get.
We were both watching a movie by now, I forget what I had on but I soon turned it to the skymap permanently as nothing took my fancy, took the headphones off when the food appeared and although it`s never exactly the best food on planes, it does help pass some time on these flights that can feel very long. It doesn`t matter how much I love flying, there comes a point I want to land.
We both get water, another white wine along with a small salad, little bread roll, a hot meal, cheese and crackers and a dessert.
Again, the lighting isn`t always the best for pictures so the food looks a little worse for wear, but it was actually ok tonight.
Tom opted for the lemon cod and I had the pork stew with parmesan mash and we do tend to get different meals so if I don`t like mine, Tom will always swap with me 
as he can eat most things with no issues.
It was decent tonight and I swapped my dessert which was chocolate mousse cake for Tom`s cheese and crackers, seemed a fair swap to me.
They came round with tea and another drinks service, I`m sure it`s to help us all drop off quicker, and it works too!!
We love flying and it never worries us when we hit turbulence which was coming up in a little bit according to the pilot, so we both visited the bathroom before they locked them off and returned to our seat, strapped ourselves in and I got my blanket, eye mask, neck pillow and the little pillow they give you and got ready to settle down for a few hours.
I glanced behind us to see if they had reclined as I`d wait to make sure they were settling back too, the man behind me was already laid back and out for the count by the looks of him, the lady behind Tom touched Tom`s shoulder and said she was off to stretch out in an empty four seat row in economy as it was half empty too so feel free for him to fully recline. Nice of her to say as Tom never completely reclines, but he would now.
It was now midnight Orlando time, but 5am UK and we had switched our watches back so now we were on our own time frame and at that point, I reclined and hoped to sleep for maybe 2 hours if I was lucky.
We both slept like babies which surprised us, especially Tom who tends not to sleep as good as me on flights, but I awoke before he did and it was just before 9am, we had slept for almost four hours. Tom was still asleep and I opened the blind, he never moved, I got my camera and grabbed a picture of the gorgeous daylight above the clouds, not sure Manchester would be the same.
We had indeed come straight across the Atlantic with a slight nudge over the tail end of Canada. Seems I slept through some turbulence again, Tom said it lasted maybe 20 minutes and I never even flinched during it, he always wonders how on earth I do it 
Tom slept right up till they came and asked what we`d like for breakfast, we both said the cooked option which we very much doubted would be edible, neither of us were very hungry to be fair but as always it passes some time.
We ate our words too, this was actually really nice, a peppery chunky sausage, nice potatoes and those eggs were actually buttery so we had no reason to complain at all. The fruit was ok and I didn`t touch the yoghurt as I don`t like it, orange juice was nice and overall this had been a very nice breakfast. A decent cup of tea would wait till we got home but it was refreshing at least.
After we visited the bathroom we buckled ourselves back in and waited to land but it was getting closer, we had already passed over Ireland and now over mainland UK and we were glad to see it seemed to be a nice enough day down there.
That last hour did pass quickly and soon we were trundling down through some cloud and we landed very quickly but still fairly smooth and came to a rather abrupt stop this time which is unusual and yes we had landed very early.
Far too early as it turned out as there was still a plane parked at our gate and the pilot didn`t know when it would be ready to move!!
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I forget how long we sat, it was maybe 20 or 30 minutes or so, by now everyone just wanted to get going and get off the plane.
We did move and slowly passed by the regular landmarks at the airport. There is a pub and restaurant by the runway that we`re told is very popular, we`ve never been but it`s wonderful for plane spotters and you can normally see loads of people here.
When certain planes land or take off this viewing area is mobbed, I remember watching on Youtube the last take offs of all the Virgin Jumbo jets, they very emotionally did a wing wave as they disappeared for their last flight and the crowds were huge here as well as the folks that have regular channels showing flights coming and going, popular hobby apparently.
Not too many today but in the days of the 747`s there was always a massive collection of folks to get images of planes.
And seeing other planes waiting was a reminder folks would be setting off somewhere lovely from here today again and of course thinking of all the excited folks that would be on this very plane returning to the USA later today, not necessarily Orlando but lovely wherever it was.
We were parked at the new terminal which was nice, but it meant a 3 day hike back to Passport control, last thing we really want to do after a night flight, but it did mean we could stretch our legs finally.
And glad to see no issues with the airbridge today, it was attached in seconds and we were heading off thanking the Cabin Crew on the way out and then heading down that loooooong walk to passport control.
And a last look at the plane and pilot that had got us back safely once again.
Eventually we got to where we go through passport control and again, facial recognition, so took all of 30 seconds and then we went down to collect the luggage which could be a short wait, or a very long wait.
Which would it be today we wondered.
We are all tired now, it shows on everyone`s face and no one really talks to anyone else but I had stood back so the belt wasn`t overly blocked with people and one woman started chatting to me, I tried not to be rude but inwardly I was willing her to just stop, it was just inane babble, nothing of relevance at all and she would have kept going but for me moving forward as Tom gestured one of our suitcases was through, might we be lucky today and get them all?
Yes!!!!
All four more or less came out together, we got them on a trolley and headed out to the main terminal which was still the older part of the airport, it looks dreadfully dull compared to the new area, but we wouldn`t be stopping today, a quick bathroom visit and we called our car service to say we were heading to the pick up point and would be there in two minutes.
She was waiting and we got in and chatted for a little bit, then we both dropped off apparently and slept most of the way home, almost three hours, when we woke up we only had about 25 minutes to go. It was a good journey home.
We got everything in and emptied the cases immediately, laundry in the laundry room and souvenirs and gifts all laid out on the kitchen worktops, wow, we did well!!! And another trip where we had no breakages at all.
Washing machine on first then the kettle for that wonderful first cup of real, freshly brewed tea!!!
We went through all the post we had, a few birthday cards from folks I hadn`t seen before our trip and not much else. I miss real letters too, I love writing letters to aunts and so on, but sadly, it`s a lost art today for most people. I did howl with laughter once when my friend`s granddaughter saw me write a letter a few years back when she was around three and she very innocently asked if my computer was "broked" lol...
As we had slept on both the plane and car we didn`t feel too bad, we both had showers and changed, sent off some emails to our American friends, had another wonderful pot of tea and waited for Kyle as he was coming to us tonight and it was wonderful to see him when he did come in. His office is only 7 minutes away from us so it`s handy and we had huge hugs, had a good catch up and shared some stories from the last few weeks while we waited for the Chinese takeout to arrive and it was lovely, mine was very spicy!!
Kyle left to go home around 8.30pm and by that time we were both fighting to keep our eyes open, but we had a glass of wine and managed to hold off going to sleep till around 10pm which is what we hoped to do and we slept soundly till around 7 next morning, perfect end to an amazing trip.
Almost 
We did have another amazing trip and loved every second of it as we usually do.
The hotels are consistently amazing, they look after everyone so well and I`m always astonished at some of the issues they have to deal with but do it with aplomb and feel sad that some folks do try to make issues.
RP is our home hotel but Sapphire is very close and I cannot imagine us wanting to stay anywhere else as long as we continue to visit Orlando. We know so many people there and have done for many years so it does feel like a home from home and we definitely feel like family here.
The Club Lounge at RP is somewhere we enjoy spending time, they look after everyone and it is a lovely atmosphere to sit and relax in as well as some lovely offerings for food. We don`t often indulge for dinner as we do like to wander around Orlando and surrounding areas but it is very nice and size wise it`s perfect as it`s not too small nor is it too sprawling which can lack that intimate feeling. The staff are the ones who make it what is though, they really do care.
Restaurants including the wonderful Strong Water Bar, Orchids Lounge, Jake`s and Amatista are all perfect places to visit when staying at either hotel, we missed Islands this time but plan to give it a try next time.
There are going to be some changes in the hotels this coming year as many move to Helios and the other new hotels, but they`ll still be the homely places we know so well and love.
We always thank everyone before we leave as they are truly wonderful people who we truly adore and for them we are so grateful.
The parks I have to admit are maybe getting a little too familiar and I can see us spending less time in them going forward, there are of course exceptions like Velocicoaster and Hagrids which are still like new. We never spend a full day in the parks anyway, so spending a couple of hours a day is enough, and again not every day. They are still fun but I think we may spend more time outside of the parks going forward.
We deliberately chose our dates for the next trip to avoid the madness of Epic opening, but we can look forward to September where we have a couple of nights in Helios booked within our trip and hopefully some park time there, but that might be more of a focus in the future, but it looks amazing and definitely much anticipated by so many folks.
We always enjoy different restaurants outside of UOR and will continue to do that of course, we love to experience proper family run places as opposed to chains, but there are still some decent chains out there that we do still like. We visited some gorgeous places this trip but the standout to both of us was Lee & Rick`s Oyster Bar, that was incredible and on my list of places to return as soon as possible.
There are so many options and a mix of old favourites and new finds are perfect for us on a trip so I`m already researching a couple of places, I just need to run them by some friends to see if they`re ok, I trust their opinion on that.
Our next trip is April into May, we are excited for that and already we have some plans in place for that, but we do need to get a wiggle on as we haven`t booked a rental car yet nor have we sorted our overnight hotel, but we have renewed our ESTA`s which is always something we have to do, that lasts another two years then both that and Global Entry will need renewed.
But, I`d really like to thank each and every one of you who have read and commented along the way, it means the world to read such lovely comments and another apology for this running on far too long, life gets busy at times even for this very happily retired lady who has all the time in world, most of the time!!!
It is lovely to read such kind comments!
Hope to see you on the next TR coming very soon 
It might look a little rough and ready, but it was amazing, can`t fault it at all and staff were so nice, I hope you love it too!!
Well, alright…
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