EZY 6036 MAD-BRS 29th Oct 2009
Posted: 30 Oct 2009, 22:03I know I've grizzled about the cost of living in Madrid but it really didn't get any better during our stay.
3 x small steak with fries, another small beer , a small coke and a vino tinto (tasted like paint stripper) in a non -flash establishment near the hotel came to just short of 70 Euros [:0][:0].Ouch.
Anyway, we'd had a nice time in the Intercontinental and the room and Club Lounge were a pleasant respite from all that Madrid had to offer (hookers, heat etc).The 4 PM check out ( done from the lounge)was also useful. Having checked out at 4 PM I had one last final glass of Rioja (the nicest I'd quaffed in the city) before we headed back to the airport.
As we had luggage to check in we couldn't check in on line and as the traffic situation was at gridlock (it doesn't seem to be anything else in Madrid) we opted again to use the Metro (150 metres from the hotel). 25 minutes after leaving the hotel we were back at the airport. Why do us Brits get public transport SOOOOO wrong??
Rant over... There was no queue at check in and the bags were whisked away promptly (one of the bags accrued a 'HEAVY' tag at a mere 21kg which made us smile [:D])
Through a busy security and into the departures lounge - duty free was a scandal with items (perfume and tobacco in particular) being much more expensive than duty paid in the city [V][V].
Boarding was a bit of a mess with the same long queue we'd experienced on the way out. I like having a seat to go to - IMHO it saves the aggressive sprint and queue to get aboard.
Despite being at the back again (strangely reminiscent of being at school [:D]) Mr DL and I managed to bag a set of 3 empty seats to ourselves. DB chose to sit elsewhere, resolutely refusing to join us so we had plenty of space [:D].
Take off was on time and (as on the outbound leg) the crew were pleasant cheery and helpful doing several rounds of food / drinks. Aircraft was again clean and tidy (including the loos) and I forgot to mention that the crew uniform seems to changed for the better - gone are the horrid orange polo/ t-shirts [:$]. The crew (all female) were attired in dark grey trousers and waistcoasts with either white or orange shirts. All looked [y].
Another Airbus 319 spirited us back to a cold BRS and again I listened to my itouch revisiting albums I hadn't heard in a long time (Spanish Train is such a classic [y][y]).We arrived on time and were were parked remotely (bussed back to the terminal). The emachines (a sort of poor mans IRIS) were out of order neccessitating a queue for a manual perusal of passports. Mr DL had sprinted off the bus to retrieve the car and DB and I were through the line in about 5 minutes.
Baggage was coming out as we entered the reclaim area with our 2 bags virtually first off. Having grabbed these we were outside being collected by Mr DL 5 minutes later.
Our trip back to S Wales was arduous as a couple of junction of the M4 had been closed due to the ongoing expasion of the carriageways (which poor Mr DL experiences twice daily on his commute accross the bridge to Corsham. We were home however acouple of hours after landing.
So in summary, two good flights. Easyjet did what they said they would, with happy cheery crew and a clean aircraft.
No complaints from me [:)].
DL