Trip to Nice

Sunday 27 July
The Emirates plane left Melbourne at 6 pm for the seven hour flight to Singapore where we were offloaded while the plane refuelled and changed the crew and we then had to go through security again. The plane then continued to Dubai where we arrived at 4.20 am (their time).

There were lots of young children on the plane including a family with a five month old and a three year old in the row in front of us, a four year old in our row plus another child in the row behind. It was not a quiet flight. Fortunately the entertainment system on the plane was good with a wide selection of films, music and television programs.

As we had a five hour wait at Dubai for the connecting flight we had time to explore part of this incredible airport.

In one area there is a water feature surrounded by plants.

Another section has rows of imitation palm trees.

Even at 5 am the terminal was quite busy but as flights from the airport did not begin until 7 am there were many people trying to sleep on the seats or, in some cases, on the floor. As well as the extremely large duty free area we passed the Prayer Room (segregated) across from the Smoking Lounge which was full of men puffing away. Outside the door to the Smoking Lounge was a line of trolleys each containing items purchased by the patrons of the lounge. Another well patronised venue was McGettigan's Pub.

The decorations in the airport were elaborate.

When exploring one needed to keep out of the way of motorised buggies constantly ferrying people from one area of the terminal to another.

One area contained a display on the history of aviation in Dubai.

When we arrived at Dubai we were told that the temperature outside was already 35 degrees Celsius. Any hopes of seeing a sunrise were dashed by the grey haze outside. The wifi at the airport would not connect to the Internet so we set off to find a hot chocolate revival.

We were aboard the plane to Nice at 9.25 am when we were told there would be a delay as the vehicle that had towed the plane into position could not be disconnected. We watched the slow progress via the pilot's video and an hour later the plane left Dubai. This proved to be another eventful flight. In the row behind us there were six young men who made their presence known as we waited for the plane to leave Dubai. Fortunately they quietened don once we were in the air. However once again there were several families with young children in our section including two school age boys who kept moving around the plane making a noise - case of boys can do no wrong. There was another child several rows behind us who squealed every few minutes throughout the trip plus another young child who kept disturbing the people near him. By the end of the trip even the cabin staff were becoming a little exasperated with some of the passengers in our section. Otherwise the flight was good.

However we were glad to finally arrive at Nice Airport where we were met at the airport by our APT Tour Director, Anya, and so the holiday could really really begin.