Saturday, May 10, 2008
Arrived at LAX T4 American Terminal 3 hours before my scheduled 6 pm departure. Wanted to have a farewell drink with the boyfriend, but of course all T4 bars are past security. The ever-clever bf pointed out that there is actually a pre-security bar in the International Terminal, so we walked next door to grab a pint. And some spinach-artichoke dip and popcorn shrimp. Lugged my carry-on - loaded up with laptop, event binders and about a gallon of Purell - to the food court on the 2nd floor. Sat at the Daily Grill bar overlooking the airline counters and envied the people going on fun trips to places like Fiji and Rio and Auckland. Eventually it was time to go, so G walked me back and waved as I made my way through a surprisingly quiet security check.
Got to the gate and said hi to my boss. Checked with the counter people on my upgrade and was DENIED. Ah well. Managed to snag a bulk head window seat, so I wasn’t too concerned. Watched a movie, ate, had a couple Jack & Cokes, flipped through some episodes of “The Office” and “The Closer” (not exactly on-demand TV, but it’s pretty close – individual TVs at all seats – you can pick what you watch – better than expected), had a few more Jack & Cokes, fell asleep for a few hours. It was great! The time passed much faster than I thought it would. Next thing I know they’re serving us a warm croissant with butter (redundant much?) and my ears are popping from the descent into the London area.
Landing at Heathrow was really cool. I’ve never been to Europe before, so this was really big for me. The excitement took over and pushed the groggy aside (for a few moments) and I followed my boss and the client through security and over to Terminal 1 (via a bus and a very circuitous series of escalators, moving sidewalks and hallways) for the connecting flight to Nice.
I was unable to get on the earlier flight with my boss and the client, so I had to spend about 8 hours in Terminal 1. Not quite enough time to leave the airport – or even the terminal – but there’s enough shopping (Boots, Harrod’s, Duty Free, etc.) that I didn’t really have any problem with that. Plus I was a little out of it. Had 2 meals there... a Guiness with a crappy nicoise salad at one place, and a Pinot Grigio with a tasty proscuitto pizza at another.
Arrived at LAX T4 American Terminal 3 hours before my scheduled 6 pm departure. Wanted to have a farewell drink with the boyfriend, but of course all T4 bars are past security. The ever-clever bf pointed out that there is actually a pre-security bar in the International Terminal, so we walked next door to grab a pint. And some spinach-artichoke dip and popcorn shrimp. Lugged my carry-on - loaded up with laptop, event binders and about a gallon of Purell - to the food court on the 2nd floor. Sat at the Daily Grill bar overlooking the airline counters and envied the people going on fun trips to places like Fiji and Rio and Auckland. Eventually it was time to go, so G walked me back and waved as I made my way through a surprisingly quiet security check.
Got to the gate and said hi to my boss. Checked with the counter people on my upgrade and was DENIED. Ah well. Managed to snag a bulk head window seat, so I wasn’t too concerned. Watched a movie, ate, had a couple Jack & Cokes, flipped through some episodes of “The Office” and “The Closer” (not exactly on-demand TV, but it’s pretty close – individual TVs at all seats – you can pick what you watch – better than expected), had a few more Jack & Cokes, fell asleep for a few hours. It was great! The time passed much faster than I thought it would. Next thing I know they’re serving us a warm croissant with butter (redundant much?) and my ears are popping from the descent into the London area.
Landing at Heathrow was really cool. I’ve never been to Europe before, so this was really big for me. The excitement took over and pushed the groggy aside (for a few moments) and I followed my boss and the client through security and over to Terminal 1 (via a bus and a very circuitous series of escalators, moving sidewalks and hallways) for the connecting flight to Nice.
I was unable to get on the earlier flight with my boss and the client, so I had to spend about 8 hours in Terminal 1. Not quite enough time to leave the airport – or even the terminal – but there’s enough shopping (Boots, Harrod’s, Duty Free, etc.) that I didn’t really have any problem with that. Plus I was a little out of it. Had 2 meals there... a Guiness with a crappy nicoise salad at one place, and a Pinot Grigio with a tasty proscuitto pizza at another.
Hopped on the next leg - a 2-hour British Airways to Nice. Very pleasant. Much like the standard Burbank-Portland flight, except with free food and alcohol. Had a fun sandwich (cheddar, mustard and chutney - I don't usually like mustard, but this was the best airline food I've had in a while) and glass of (surprisingly tasty) red wine. Choice of french or spanish. I am always a Tempranillo fan, so I went with that. Deeelicious!
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