Tuesday 10 July 2012

Day 1: A Long Expected Journey!

So, here I am at the dizzying height of 34,000ft flying at a speed of 500mph somewhere between Iceland and Greenland! We have been airborne for three hours and the two oldies seem to be surviving well! Perhaps it is something to do with the extra legroom and those damned kindles which they pinched from me that are helping!

Anyway, I was rudely woken at 5.50AM and we didn't get off till about 6.45! Luckily Neil took them into the airport and they hoped they would get their seats all booked in Aberdeen before departure! However, no such luck and they would need to wait till they gotta Heathrow before getting their other sets finalised!

However, for once the plane was quiet and the back 10 rows or so seemed to be filled by us, a guy fast asleep behind us and one other girl! It soon became apparent why the guy at the back was singled out or his seat as he was obviously very nervous about flying if the odour was anything to go by! Just as well I was in the bag in the overhead locker! But, no such luck, as it was so quiet you can see that I too got a seat too and enjoyed the comfort for once - although they did wait till after the trolley dolly had been and gone so i did not get my packet of pretzels!

I think they must have had words as they sat at opposite sides of the plane to each other when they landed and just stared out of the windows, although cloudy the views were good and A managed to get a great view of the new Arsenal stadium, the tower of London, the Eye and of course the great new landmark The Shard! It seems to have been designed by a toddler with a set of bricks following the rule of thumb that the higher you go the narrower it needs to get to make sure it won't fall over! However, it was very impressive and looked a little like a vast perfume bottle! I bet it would be very pricy even in duty free!

We landed and so it was back into hiding for me! It old be easier if I got my own passport so at least I could see where I was going to! Having walked for what seemed an interminable amount of time I old hear them at the United Airlines check in desk!

'Yes, just two of us!' I heard him say as I held my breath! But then it got a little more interesting and I thought we were going to have another Hong Kong Airport moment! They had two seats....that was fine....but they were in rows 23 and 32! So where would I be I wondered?


They then tried to see if they could get two seats TOGETHER! But no, this was not possible at t is point!

'But if to tickets are bought at the same time under ONE name surely it makes sense to assign two sets of together?' I hear A say.

'You would think so!' came the reply from the check in guy!

Great, so thy were told they would nee to see about it at the gate!

They went for a wander and it wasn't long before L got lost in the perfume section of the duty free and Lund a perfume she HAD to buy! So, not to be outdone he joined in and two different lots of CK were in the obligatory clear bag! Sorry L and K - just two bottles were picked up!!

So after a stop at 'Pret' they were off in search of Gate 33 and the showdown with the gatekeepers! L reminded A that it would pay to be extra pleasant if they were to get sets together and if required she would play the 'Silver Wedding' card and look all upset! If I had been her I'd have taken the two different rows and enjoy the peace!

Anyway, after psyching themselves up for a showdown they got seats together quite easily! Mind you, it seemed as if half the plane were in the queue saying they were not in seats with friends and family! Perhaps they should invest in some new software that assigns seats for people travelling together! There MUST be an APP for that somewhere! Mind you I secretly think a lot of seats had been booked by a dating agency and this was part of their introductory activities for their dating tour! However, I didn't think much of A's potential next door partner when we saw the seats,...he seemed rather large and hairy!

However, they did end up in Economy plus and the leg room is very generous! A sys it feels very strange to be able to stretch his legs right out and sit comfortably!

So as I write they are kindling together! The 'Lost Symbol' and '50 shades of Ted' is a very diverse reading shelf! Sorry Iain, no Bronte and Dickens here!

So, I better sign off for now! The turbulence is kicking in and typing with little paws on an apple device is making me conjure up some interesting vocabulary!

More from San Fran later on!

 

No comments:

Post a Comment