Day 1 (ish) a day of travel
30 July 2019
We had 4pm' flight from London Gatwick to Denver to catch today.
Those flights are just so nice to have, as you still have time to get up when you wake and there’s no mass panic.
We arrived in good time, ate and topped up with water and boarded the Norwegian Airlines DI7171 to Denver. It was being run by Wamos Air. They are a Spanish carrier and I think it is probably the worst service I have had on a flight. They were disorganised and rude, kept missing people out for food and drinks and just generally not very helpful. Plus a crying baby three rows back, made this a rather uncomfortable journey. Still, we watched a few films and read, and we had taken out our snacks as the food on Norwegian isn’t great (you get what you pay for). I watched ‘Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri’ which I had wanted to see when it was originally released and it was brilliant. Very violent and lots of swearing but it suited the subject matter. I also watched a kids film called ‘Home’, which was sweet.
So a few naps, and snacks, and we landed in Denver, Colorado at 7:15pm local time.
We flew through customs, collected our bags, and made our way to the train station.
We bought our tickets and waited for the clean and shiny train that would take us to Union Station, the main station in Denver town. It is stunning. It has been completely refurbished in recent years, and shiny and luxurious.
It was originally built between 1868 and 1881, but was partly destroyed by fire in 1894, it was reconstructed with more grand arches and entrances, but by the 1950s train travel was in decline, and by the 1980s very few routes stopped at the station. The California Zephyr is the train run by Amtrak that runs from Chicago to San Francisco (which we’ll be catching on Thursday) was still running through here.
In 2001, it was purchased by RTD (the main transport provider, bit like TFL) and extended and renovated the whole area and terminal. By 2014, the main station concourse had been transformed and a luxury hotel, The Crawford, made use of the upper areas of the original building. I have to say, even after 15 hours of travel, it was a most welcome sight.
We took a taxi to our hotel, which is slightly outside of the main town and checked in - The Days Inn. A motel chain which is a bit old and shabby, but clean, has a shower and the room is huge, with air-con. We showered and dropped into bed.
Looking forward to tomorrow, and a full day to explore Denver.
Night night xx
