7 & 11 August, 2014
Aaahhhh …. 7th August
2014, Business Class – where it’s civilised and you’re treated
like a human being! It was so lovely from Melbourne to NYC. It was
full. I had ex-SBS newsreader Mary Kostikidis sitting next to me from
Sydney. We made a few comments to each other at various points along
the way. An excellent travelling neighbour. And she looked as elegant
as always, even in casual travelling clothes. The neighbours across
the aisle were not so good. Children! Their mother (or was it a
nanny?) slept right through their games and racket which kept a lot
of us awake. Who can afford to travel Business with children. They
shouldn’t be allowed!! Takes away from the civilised bit.
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| The Flying Kangaroo |
But then, back to the real
world – cattle class from JFK to Boston Logan. Thankfully such a
short flight that only half the aircraft got served drinks.
That was four sectors:
Melbourne > Sydney > LAX > JFK > Logan. Cleared Customs
and Immigration in Los Angeles – a lot easier than last trip when I
went into San Francisco. Boarding flights was a different matter: all
suitably US-fashion paranoid, including full body scan.
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| The Nevada Desert ... Not called a desert without reason! |
But the fifth sector, Boston
Logan to Keflavik in Iceland. The usual nonsense with security checks
on boarding but as casual as you like on disembarking. What a relief!
Only to be one of about 20 whose luggage didn’t appear, didn’t
appear ….. until 30-40 minutes after everyone else. Already tired
from lack of sleep (9.30pm departure, 5¼ hour flight, landed at 6.30am), it
was a scratchy start to the day. But things looked up later.
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| Manhattan ... The glimpse from the air that I didn't get last time - because in 2011 I arrived in NYC by train! |
