Finally. Finally I have reached the point in my life when I can fly international business class. AAAAAAHHHH… Okay, we started last summer when we upgraded to business on Air New Zealand. No shade on the Kiwis, but the business class on their tired aircraft was nice, no doubt, but it was showing its age. … Continue reading American Flagship Business Class LAX – LHR
Sitting in bed early this Sunday morning, I was looking at the website for the local parish church (we’re visiting family this week). They said their 9am was “a short, traditional service with a ten minute sermon and familiar hymns”. Ooooooookay, that is MY kind of event. Short, traditional with hymns I’ve known since preschool … Continue reading Well. Not my style, really.
Beloved and I took a kayaking safety class - how to deal with tipping over, salvaging your kayak, helping someone else in, getting in by yourself, etc. Held in Redondo Beach harbor, I was amazed at the clarity of the water. I was comforted by the reviewer of the REI class who said the instructor … Continue reading I used muscles I haven’t used in decades. If ever.
What a hideous time to start traveling. You can hardly keep your eyes open, waiting to board that damn airplane. Boarding time, 5:25 am, came and went. Finally, the gate agents admitted the interior emergency lights weren’t working. Unnngh, it’s a 6am flight from LAX - Chicago… if there’s an emergency, how much light do … Continue reading It all started at 4:30 am at LAX.
Avelo (ah-VEE-low) Air is spreading - it’s another of the super-cheap airlines flying point-to-point between second-tier and out of the way airports. Perfect for me, living 25 miles from the Burbank airport and wanting to get to Eureka, CA on a regular basis. Avelo is very cheap unless you want to bring anything more than … Continue reading So we tried Avelo Air…
Once again, the cheapo airline has the most violent colors. Not orange, though, Vueling uses neon yellow. The inside of the plane is yellow-er than the outside. Vueling is owned by Iberian Air as well as British Airways, and they use the Jetstar idea of pay for your carry on to minimize overhead bin space. … Continue reading “SIT. DOWN.” growled the flight attendant.
We went to see Sagrada Familia (Holy Family), the basilica in Barcelona planned and partially created by Gaudi… it’s insanely beautiful. The altar. I think it rather looks like Jesus was crucified on a merry-go-round, but I didn’t think the tour guide would appreciate that observation. Started in 1882, they’ve been working on it ever … Continue reading The longest construction project in modern history…
We made it to Barcelona, typically early morning as the cruise ships tend to do - and they clearly wanted us to bug off. So off we went to sit in the shade, surrounded by luggage, to wait until 11, at which point we could deposit our stuff in the AirBnB, then check in at … Continue reading Dark History of Barcelona
We started off the day early, for which I was grateful, given the almost 11,000 cruise ship passengers in port for the day. At around 8am, we were hustled off to the bus to be whisked away to the land of ancient pervy people. After a brief introduction, the tour guide (again, unsurprisingly in heavily … Continue reading Advertising the unprintable in Pompeii and other stories…
And now, Sicily. Specifically, Messina, the port that just about kisses the toe of the Italian boot. It’s a very short hop over to the mainland… which is why Messina has the dubious distinction of being the conduit of the Black Plague into Europe in the 1340s - well, that and the idea this place … Continue reading Muzzles and Clamps
Examining Misadventures 