Invisible Kangaroo on the A380

Last night was the flight I was looking forward to - the business class seats on the A380. The boarding of the flight occurs from 2 different gates, 1 gate for the lower level seats and 1 gate for the upper level seats. This I am sure greatly expedites the boarding process. Everything for boarding went smoothly we pushed back from the gate, started to taxi and then stopped. The pilot came on to say that something wasn't right so we needed to go back to the gate. They thought it would only take 30 minutes but 3.5 hours later they announce that the plane is getting powered down and powered back up as everything they have tried so far isn't working. Luckily that did the trick and we were able to take off. If this hadn't worked we weren't going to be able to leave as the crew was approaching their time limit.

Thankfully Ike and I were in business class where the seats are twice as wide and much more comfortable.

Ike wasn't sure whether he wanted to share the seat with me or sit on the footrest.
Once the video programming started Ike decided since the screen was much larger than usual he would sit in the seat with me.
By the time the flight took off it was about 2 AM, all I wanted to do was sleep but I forced myself to eat, I was paying for business class I was going to enjoy all the perks of it. The dinner menu was:

• Gooseliver terrine and duck rillette with fig and mixed salad
• Braised chicken in mustard vinegar sauce with green beans and celeriac-potato puree
• Gourmet Cheeses
• Vanilla creme brulee

Yummy!

The only good thing about the flight being delayed 4 hours is that I ended up arriving at SIN (yes that's the official airport abbreviation for Singapore) at the same time as my friend Michelle so we were able to share a taxi to the hotel. After a quick drink on the patio of the hotel bar I managed to sleep - hopefully jetlag won't set in again, once in a week is enough for me.

Ready, Set, Go

Next week is a big week. In 12 hours I'm jetting off to Singapore and just found out I get a side trip to Jakarta! Not to worry I'll take loads of pictures to document this starting in 12 hours when I board the fancy new A380. The other big thing next week is my 2 year anniversary, my how time flies. I've already been compiling information for a special post to commemorate the occasion - stay tuned.

Something New

I've decided to try something different this year and see how many flights I can take without flying BA. They do have a monopoly on UK flights so I might have to be creative. In the spirit of this I was booked on a Lufthansa flight to Munich. They have this neat new technology where you can get your boarding pass emailed to you. You do the on-line check in bit and instead of printing out a boarding pass they email you details and a little bar code. You then pass your mobile phone over the scanner and when it beeps you can board. It saves time and the environment - I like it.

All Good Things Must End

My nice long vacation has now come to a close. I arrived back at Heathrow at 12 PM today after 19 days away. Not that it matters all that much as I'm only here for about 24 hours before I'm jetting off again. Spending so much time back home I realized a couple of things:

1) ATMs in the US are designed for people to lose their cards, money comes first then the card. In the UK the money isn't dispensed until the card is removed from the machine.

2) I miss the snow. I really love the look of fresh fallen snow on trees, especially when I don't have to drive.

Splish Splash

After much drama the bathroom remodel is complete. Here are some photos of the finished product as well as the requisite before shots so you can see how much more pretty it is now.


BEFORE

AFTER

Here I Go Again

Today marked the first flight of the year. I left my hotel in Boston at 5:30 AM and arrived at Whistler at 5:30 PM. Keep in mind there is a 3 hour time difference between the east and west coast so I was travelling for a total of 15 hours. I think it would have been just as long if I had flown directly from London, but then I wouldn't have had the pleasure of spending time with family and friends over the past few weeks. The other pleasure I had was seeing my completed bathroom yesterday before I left. A few finishing touches and an inspection this week but it is basically done and signed off on. Will post the pictures tomorrow am too tired right now to figure out how my camera works :)

Happy New Year

It's a new year so I figured it was time for a new look for the blog. Let me know what you think of the new template. The new list of the places I've been has been started. This year I will also be tracking the miles I've flown, I'm wondering if I can hit 100K miles.


Since my last post I've been catching up with friends and family in the states, checking on the progress of my bathroom remodel (no I don't want to talk about it), and relaxing.

Ike on the other hand has been rather excited he had his first Christmas:

and his first snowstorm (he loves making snow angels).

January is going to be a busy month for me with trips to Whistler, Munich, and Singapore, not to mention the second anniversary of my expat adventures. There should be much to blog about.