Category Archives: Airports

Monday, May 18 — Moving Day

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We woke at 6:00 AM. Too early? Well, for some reason it seemed rather easy to rise, perhaps because I knew we had a flight to catch.

We checked out and got our taxi easily, and then drove to the airport. I was surprised by the expense, but Dan said it was what he expected. The driver was quite nice and we understood most of what he said. There were times, though, when I was at a loss!

Getting into the airport there were a lot of people in lines. Many were school kids — we are guessing high school. They were all in matching sweatshirts with their names on the back. I wondered if they would all be on our flight. I also wondered how long it would take us to get through the line we saw since we did have to check our bags. Thankfully Dan asked at the help desk and we were told that our line was further up and there were only a few people in front of us. One of those in front had a very very red baseball cap on with someone’s name on the back of it.

For the first time on this trip we encountered a maga hat. Dan mentioned to the woman at the desk that it was the first time we had seen one and that we weren’t a part of that group. Her response? “I’m glad.” She was very friendly and clearly relieved that we weren’t maga folks. It just made me sad to see the hat. Even if one is maga it seems as if they should be savvy enough to avoid announcing it. Most countries aren’t too thrilled with the United States at the moment. Ah well.

We got through security in absolutely no time at all, and found a spot for coffee and a sweet roll. We had tons of time to wait. I’m always okay with that!

When we walked to the area where our plane was probably going to be (still not posted on the board), all those kids were there as well. I finally could see their sweatshirts and there was the name of an Aberdeenshire school, Westhill Academy, and “Valencia ‘26”. I didn’t manage to find anything else about it at the time, but I did see they weren’t going on our plane.

Finally it was time to board. This was one small plane. That group of kids probably wouldn’t have fit on to it!

We were in the second row and poor Dan’s knees were right against the seat in front — and then the young man sitting in front of him leaned his seat back. At least it was a very short flight!

I took a couple photos and Dan made a video for me since he had the window seat.

You can really see the bright yellow canola from the plane.

I pretty much spaced out and even snoozed a bit. We were on an Aer Lingus flight and even water would cost money, so never mind any drinks or food. Not that we needed them in any case.

And then we arrived.

Greetings, Ireland! Hello Dublin!

Our taxi driver was very chatty and gave us a lot of information abut the area. I could even understand most of what he said.

We arrived early to our hotel, so we dropped off our luggage and went on a walk in search of lunch. And not “not lunch” but real lunch which was fine by me since my earlier sweet roll was quite burnt. (Darn!)

We ended up in the Temple Bar area. Clearly tourist country. Our driver had told us it was a place to visit during the day even while drinks were more expensive than in other areas. He explained that there was live music and the extra cost was due to paying musicians. I’m okay with that! In the later hours it gets a bit wild and crazy (I’d already read about that as well, and one had to be careful about theft and all.)

We randomly chose a place and went upstairs (where we couldn’t hear the music at all) and ordered our meals. I had soup and Dan had fish ‘n chips. I neglected to take photos but no one really needs to see those — just use your imagination! Instead here’s a photo of Dan and his beer!

From there we did more walking in our typical random way. (The first shot is of the restaurant for lunch.)

We ended up in a shop with tons of gorgeous Aran wool sweaters as well as other wool items. Oh how tempted I was! I know it’s all about the tourists, but honestly the prices for such beautiful sweaters didn’t seem at all unreasonable and they were 100% wool. There was one long one that I drooled over. (Not literally, you’ll be relieved to read.) Still, I resisted. I wish I’d taken a photo of the green one I loved, and the men’s purple — a color I wished they’d had for women. I only took these two photos. One of the jackets and vests and the other of the fishermen’s sweaters. And who knows … maybe I’ll cave and return to buy something. They do say they are made in Ireland, and they are just so doggone beautiful.

From there we just ambled a bit.

I think we were both a bit weary from the early wake up. In addition the bag Dan was carrying was rather heavy (full of his photo gear, I think). Due to all of that we went back to the hotel to get our keys and luggage and up we went to our room. The room is spacious, and the bed is the first truly king size bed we’ve had, I think.

I looked outside our window as well.

A bit of snoozing may or may not have taken place. Just guess!

Eventually we decided to head out in the rain in search of a light bite. I did find one spot we passed rather humorous.

I had done a search on restaurants, and then pubs, but finally I realized the best way to search was to plug in FOOD. That way I’d see even more suggestions. We walked to the closest place but it was burgers and that didn’t grab us. Then we walked a bit further to a small pub but it was so crowded and we didn’t see that they served any food at all. Another place, just a short walk away, was nearly empty and looked okay, but Dan said the one he saw on my map that was only a block or so further down was rated higher so we went to check that out. And that was the spot! It was incredibly noisy, but it seemed more like a local place and we really wanted that. They had all of one food option: toasties. Well, that was something I wanted to try in any case, and it was the small bite kind of thing we were hoping for. PLUS the prices were much more reasonable. The place was full of, primarily, younger people — perhaps college aged. I’m certain we were the oldest people there the entire time! The video I shot doesn’t really show the crowd so much: many arrived just after we did, and some of the slightly older guys had left. (Older as in older than college aged, not nearly as old as us!) You might want to turn your sound way down!

Then it was time to make our (short) way back to our hotel. I did have to stop for this little guy, though:

I mean how very encouraging is that?!

We aren’t sure what’s up for tomorrow. Maybe the immigration museum. Maybe a Guinness tour. Maybe something else. So check in tomorrow to find out! I’m really hoping we get a day without rain, but I’m going to bet that won’t be the case. S’okay — we are having a great time no matter!

And now …

Oíche mhaith!

If what I just read is true, that is pronounced “ee-hah wah” … I don’t think I’ll be speaking Irish any time soon.

It means “goodnight”!

Here We Go!

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Yesterday afternoon I played my final opera performance as a tenured member of Opera San José.

Thanks to Bill Everett for this From The Pit photo!

After the concert I was honored at a reception, and then it was off to Il Fornaio where we had dinner. (MANY thanks to Pam Hakl for arranging this!)

Today we board a plane and fly overseas. What a time!

This morning I paid a hefty fee to our accountant, for his tax prep. I changed the bed sheets, washed all the towels, cleaned the toilets, straightened things up around the house, took the recycling and compost out, showered … all the stuff one must do before a trip, of course. Dan did a lot as well. Still, we were ready ahead of schedule.

My sister drove us to SFO … thank you, Carolyn! It took a few minutes to check our luggage (more on that later), and NO time at all to go through security. We are now comfortably seated in the Polaris lounge.

After our champagne we had a somewhat light meal, and now we are sitting back in some comfy chairs, waiting for boarding time.

Rough life, eh?

The Rest Of The Story

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After packing was complete, Dan went to buy a couple of croissants. We both wanted almond croissants, but quality control must have been missing this time: one looked lovely, with powdered sugar on top and one was browner than it should have been, which no powdered sugar at all. Strange. I ate the latter one, but actually couldn’t finish. Not because it wasn’t any good, but these things are just so huge! We finished up breakfast, spent some time on the 27th floor since we had a lot of time, and eventually wound up back in our room where I checked out of the hotel.

Downstairs we simply hand in our keys and that’s that. This hotel seems to prefer no hands on: you can check in on a kiosk (although I couldn’t figure that out when we arrived) and you check out online. No personal touches there if they can avoid it!

Dan called a car and we waited outside for its arrival.

It is not inexpensive to get a car to Newark, but we simply didn’t want to deal with the train this time. It did take a while to get to the airport, but checking our luggage was as speedy as can be, as was security. So to the lounge we went. We both had second breakfast (I was sort of craving eggs). And then a lot of hanging out since we had over two hours before we would board the plane.

OH … and when we were walking through the airport we could see if was absolutely pouring outside. I don’t know what it’s like in New York now, but we did notice it got terrifically dark in New Jersey.

And speaking of NJ: as we drove to the airport the billboards were nearly all about personal injury attorneys, and there were lots of “injured in New Jersey?” mentions. Hm. I guess people are likely to get injured in New Jersey? One wonders.

Okay … we are now home … nothing much of importance happened on the plane aside from horrible food and service from United. They need to up their game or we need to switch airlines. We shall see.

When we picked up our backpacks mine had been opened and they sent along an explanation. TSA selected my bag for inspection. Fine. They didn’t take the chocolate so I won’t complain!

Now, my cold is in full swing and I’m thinking it is more than a cold so I’m going to bed to recover. At least it waited until the end of the trip.

I’ll try and write more tomorrow if I find the energy. Thanks to all who followed along!

Goodbye Europe. I Miss You Already.

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We woke nice (?) and early. Dan, in fact, woke up before his alarm went off. I was nearly packed, so that took no time at all. Dan was quite speedy in his packing so I think he’ll get some sort of medal at a later date.

We checked out, went outside, and our Uber car was already there. (Turns out ordering it a day ahead meant we paid about 5€ more, however.)

When we reached the station it was too early to even see our train listed. We bought coffees ad croissants, and sat for a bit. Travel days are a lot of sitting.

The train was a speedy one. I snapped some photos from my nice big window, as well as some videos.

We only stopped in one place before heading to CDG. At that station a woman came in to the train and I could tell she was confused about her seat. Or, perhaps (could it be?) I was confused earlier. One of us was in her seat and ours were in front of the pair we took. Oops. I’m going to blame the early rising. (Why not?!)

We left Brussels at 7:17 and arrived at CDG terminal 2 at 8:59.

Then it was navigating: first we dropped off our checked luggage which took a bit of a walk. Then it was a walk to border control. And then there was quite the line. You have to have your passport scanned by a machine, then you walk in a small space and have your face scan, and finally go up and have your passport stamped. That took much longer than we had expected. From there we hiked (okay, maybe walked. Maybe even strolled.) to security. That, too, is a distance.

After security we again had to navigate to the Star Alliance lounge. But after about 1 1/2 hours from getting to CDG we were in the lounge and able to sit back, relax, and charge our devices. Oh, and a glass of champagne because we are, after all, in France. For all of about three hours, perhaps.

While the inbound plane was nearly an hour late, we received a text saying our boarding was on time. Until it wasn’t. In truth we boarded about 25 minutes late, I think. But on the plane we went.

The flight was fine. No Polaris for us this time, but we had decided that we really didn’t need the lay flat seats during a daytime flight. I did, however, decide that ordering the gnocchi for lunch was a huge mistake. Really not great food on this flight! Later I had some biryani and it, too, was only mediocre at best.

And then we landed. Pretty much on time, which was nice. A bumpy landing, which wasn’t scary, but definitely a bit of a hop at one point. Exiting the plane the heat and humidity hit us hard. We’ve been so used to the cooler climate in Europe. But hey, here we are …

Hello New Jersey. For a short time anyway.

We collected our luggage and headed to the Air Train, and then to the New Jersey train station where we caught our train to our final destination on this vacation. The train — ack! — was so slow I could barely believe it, and the high school kids who were talking so loudly at the front of our car made the ride pretty rotten. Welcome to America …?!

But, finally, we ended up where we had our hotel.

Hello New York City!

We got up to our room (24th floor) but I neglected to take photos. No biggie. It’s not anything spectacular, aside from the view. But it’s clean and it’ll do just fine.

After freshening up we went out to meet our “kids”. I know they are no longer children, but they will, after all, be forever our kids! We met up at the Grand Central Station Oyster Bar and Restaurant, and had some very tasty food.

But here we are back in the USofA. It feels a bit strange. I feel more than a bit sleepy. And now I’m cutting this short: I’m too weary to write more at the moment.

Ciao for now!

And now we wait

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Waking very early at our hotel, we opted to give the “free breakfast” a go. Um. Maybe not. But the place was so inexpensive I won’t complain. Then it was free shuttle time and we arrived at the airport nice and early — an hour earlier than we had planned, in fact (and even that original plan would have gotten us here mega-early!). I’m always an early bird, but this was even odd for me. Not a problem for a person who always worries about time!

We checked our bags (and the woman at the desk was really sweet and quite funny) — pretty much no line — and then headed to security. Again, barely a line. Nice!

Next up was the Polaris lounge.

And their sweet little restaurant area. Even at the early hour I was hoping for lunch, as I want to move my brain to the time we will encounter after the flight, but nope, only breakfast served. Such is life. I did, though, have champagne to celebrate our trip and my “big day” tomorrow. (Yes, another birthday poem will be posted … I’ve already set it up for my other site, the pattyo.)

And more sitting. And relaxing.

And getting locked out of Venmo. ACK!

Yes. Locked out. Turns out I did too much too quickly and they deemed it suspicious and decided to suspend my account until I share my photo ID and change my password. Then it takes up to seven days to get me back in. How annoying is that?

But still, that’s not a huge issue, since I won’t use it in Europe anyway. But I had one more payment to make and now I am unable to do it. Rats!

Soon we’ll head out to fill our water bottles (I’m determined to not use the plastic water bottles in the airplane — or elsewhere for that matter) and search out a few things (if available at a reasonable price).

Stay tuned for more … but I can’t be sure it will be today. Only time will tell.

And Now We Are Home

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We began our morning quite leisurely since checkout was at 11:00 and there was no rush to get to the airport. Packing is usually more difficult at the end of the trip, even while we never purchase souvenirs. This time, though, I had no issues at all. I suspect it’s because I had to unpack and pack so many times I knew where everything would fit.

When we checked out we called a car to take us to Paddington Station. Normally we’d just do the tube — the cost would be MUCH less and the time wouldn’t be much more. But with our extra luggage we opted to spend the big bucks.

Well … getting out of our area took quite a bit of time: traffic was rotten. We finally got over the Thames and our driver took us near Buckingham Palace. Who knew there would be a bunch of horses and riders in full regalia going up the street ahead of us?! More delays. Finally they headed straight and we turned a bit.

Only to find they were again in front of us!



We could only laugh.

Eventually we did make it to Paddington, but it took quite a bit longer than the tube and it was, oh, perhaps $50 more! But on a trip like this I suppose that’s a drop in the bucket. (That being written, one drop can make a bucket overflow … right?)

Next up was getting to the Heathrow Express. Again, this was a bit of an extravagant expense. But it was only a 15 minute ride compared to the longer, less costly way to go.

Except there was a delay!

This delay was nothing like the “horse delay” though, and we did get to the airport. From there we walked (and walked) to the United area to check our luggage. Easy peasy.

Next up was security. Being in another country our TSA pre-check doesn’t do much good, but we were able to get through via a speedier lane. Well, I had a good pat down at Frankfurt’s airport, and this time I set off the alarm again. No pat down this time … just had to remove my shoes. And yes, those were the culprits. I wonder if there’s a way to research and find out if a particular brand and/or style of shoe sets off the alarm. It sure would be nice to know. But if I wear these again (doubtful), I’ll just remember to remove them and put them in the tray, even if they say not to bother.

But wait, there’s more! We then had to navigate to the United area where our gate and the lounge were located. Signage made it somewhat easy, but when we got to one spot it said to reach the gates including ours was a mere (okay, they didn’t use the word “mere”) 15 minute walk! I can’t remember in which order we did escalators but there was some up and down and maybe down and up … or something. Clearly there were people who had arrived thinking they could just get to their gate quickly and arrived a wee bit late … lots of running going on! But of course we did make it, with no running, and we entered the rather full, and in need of an update (ripped seats and all) United lounge.



When it was time to get to our gate that was quick ‘n easy. Close to our arrival we were able to line up and get ready to board. The plane was not close to full, so boarding went quickly.

Taking off did not.

While we were ready to take off, the captain said that we were delayed due to other planes ahead of us, making our arrival time a bit later than we had expected, even while we would have arrived early had we been able to take off on time. We settled in, readying ourselves for a 10+ hour flight.


About eight hours into the flight I put the flight map back on: I love seeing where we are. Well, apparently the internet was down (a reason I rarely bother to spend any money on purchasing WiFi — and never on an international flight as it’s tremendously expensive) so while the info was provided (2h 19m to destination) the map showed the UK only and was pointless. Ah … but when I clicked on it it showed us over South Dakota. Hello USA! I guess we really were going to get home.

(United has updated their map and their safety video since the last time we flew. The map is better, I think. The safety video is definitely not (yawn). FYI … because you know you want to know.)

At the start of our flight we were served a rather substantial dinner. Then lights were dimmed and it was clearly time to rest. I’m not sure how airlines determine whose time to use, but I’d much prefer adjusting to the time ahead of me rather than the one I just left. When I get on the plane (or sometimes even right before) I set my watch for the destination time. What can I say? I guess I like to think ahead.

The flight was pretty uneventful, although I did end up with my restless legs and a bit of a stomach issue toward the end: the legs are no surprise, and the stomach was, I think, simply due to eating too darn much!

My sister Carolyn picked us up after we easily breezed through customs (thank you, Global Entry!), and she drove us straight to our house. THANK YOU, Carolyn!

And now we are home. Not unpacked, because of the time, but home. Tomorrow will be a washing, grocery shopping, and house cleaning day, for sure.

Over ‘n out.

Soooo … time to plan the next trip …?!

Hello, UK!

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After our long sit in the Frankfurt lounge, we headed to Glasgow via Lufthansa. Easy flight. More food.


We went through customs. I managed to do the wrong thing on the scanner — I think I scanned the wrong page of my passport! — and had to see a person instead. He asked me where I came from. I said California. Heh. Then he said, “No, where did you just fly in from?” Oh. Right. Frankfurt! Old Brain!

From there it was collection luggage time. I think our bags were maybe the 2nd and 3rd out! Dan didn’t recognize his but thankfully I said, “But isn’t that yours?” and he quickly went after it.

Our hotel (Holiday Inn) is directly across the street from the airport. As in about a three minute walk, max. So we are now in our room and we will see how we sleep tonight. It does feel like it’s night to me, although not quite 11:55, as the clock says. We have, um, quite the view … of a parking garage!

Tomorrow onward to Oban!

The day(s) so far …

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We easily boarded our flight and, for the first time in a while, I could put my backpack right above my seat. For a while, in fact, I thought the bin would only be visiting with my backpack, but close to when we departed a woman crammed her larger suitcase in. She couldn’t quite get it to fit so her husband pulled my bag out and fit hers first. I was a bit concerned that they were going to move my pack, but they did manage to shove it in. (I’m glad my camera was in a protective case, though!)


Being in Polaris seats one first has to figure out how to deal with two blankets and two pillows. Oh the suffering! (JOKING, I promise.) We were in row 9, though, which are bulkhead seats (and I’m now realizing I use that word but don’t even really KNOW what a bulkhead is. Hah!). And since they are lay flat seats you still can store your personal item in front of you, and there is MORE room both for our feet and for things to store on a bit of a shelf and pillows and blankets went there for a time. Some people say row 9 is bad because it’s close to the bathrooms and kitchen. I actually like it and would happily choose the row again. So hooray for us.

I was surprised, though, to see signs on the bathroom on my side:

I figured INOP meant “inoperable”. The door was locked, and I thought, “So much for THAT bathroom.” Welllllll … what it really meant was, “You can’t use it, but all the flight attendants will.” Go figure. Still, no worries using the bathroom on the other side, and Dan implied they deserve their own bathroom. (I just always figured they HAD their own somewhere on the plane.)

Dinner was served. It was “meh”. We’ve decided that, from now on, we might just eat a good meal at the lounge before we leave and skip the flight’s meal. It’s always too much food anyway.

Then it was time to rest. Seat turned to bed, and I managed to sleep. (This photo is from a bit before I got back up, as you can probably tell since the plane image at the bottom shows us close to our destination.)


The flight went quickly. Breakfast came about 1 1/2 hours before we landed. I really wish they’d serve the meal according to where we were going, rather than where we came from. Ah well. Breakfast at 2:00 PM … whatever. And too much food. Again.

After deplaning, in the Z area of terminal 1, we headed to B. But how to get there? We went to the help desk and he verified what we thought we saw … we had to leave the secure area and walk walk walk … then took a tram. There was B. But then we had to go back through security. Slow security, even while barely any people were going through. We had to take out all electronic devices, liquids, and our cameras. Heh. My camera was at the bottom of my very full pack! But finally through things went, and I had the full body scan. I guess something showed up so a woman gave me a pretty darn thorough pat down. You’d think she might have said, “You are so fit for a woman of your age!” But no. Nothing. Gee …. Of course I was then able to move on.

But then?! I couldn’t figure out how I managed to fit everything in my backpack when at home. It was pretty hysterical. Dan helped and, yes, HE managed to get it all in. Oh, and I left my phone in the tray. Someone saw it … whew!

Now we are, finally, in the lounge, where we sit around for another hour or so. We thought we’d have tons of time here at the airport, but with the getting so confused about how to get to B and the slow security I’m rather glad we had all that time.

Still, our flight doesn’t leave until 10:05 and it’s only 5:30. Lots of time to waste.

Flying Home

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After my quick cappuccino at the hotel I scheduled a Lyft to take me to EWR. I knew I’d arrive (too?) early, but there wasn’t enough time for a walk and staying at the hotel seemed boring.

The driver arrived a minute after I scheduled the “longer wait” right. Heh. I’ve learned that one rarely needs to get the immediate car that costs more. As we were dealing with a ton of traffic in Manhattan he asked how soon my flight was and I assured him I had plenty of time. But then, even further out, we hit nearly standstill traffic. Turned out there was an accident that was impeding …

<Wait! Side note: the person behind me just closed MY window blind in the plane. Hello?! The same person who put his — or hers, I haven’t checked — blanket plastic wrapper on my arm rest. Heh. Boundaries be gone!)

… our progress. But we got past that and, for the most part, did okay from then on. We did pass another accident with two cars on their sides and another damaged one as well. Eek!

Security was a breeze. Barely a line and very very quick. I then walked over to find my gate, before heading to the United Club lounge. (I like to know how far it is from the lounge.)

I really didn’t end up having a ton of time in the lounge. Or maybe I did and it went quickly because I was playing all my games. Hm. (HUGE fail with “Connections” today, though.)

I stood in the line for Boarding Group 2 until, as I expected, we were told the plane was full and if anyone was willing to check their carryon bag they could do so. Knowing the bin above me would be full by the time Group 2 (really Group 6) boarded I went for it. Too bad they don’t reward us with a meal or something. Oh well.

And now I’m on the plane. I’ll be curious to see if I can post this! (Yes, I paid the $8 to have a connection on the plane.)

Here I Go!

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I like to get to airports plenty early, so now I sit and relax. It’s only 5:21, and I’ve already had some breakfast: this is normally something I don’t have until after my walk, so my body will probably say, “WHAT are you doing?!” But hey, I’m in the United Club lounge and what could I do but grab some eggs and a cappuccino, right?

It’s very quiet here. A 7:00 AM flight is great if you want a less busy airport. In addition, it appears we don’t have a full plane, although business class and the extra legroom seats (the latter of which I chose to pay for) are full. In economy nearly every middle seat is empty at this point (I was just looking at the seating chart — something I do for every trip. I can get obsessive about checking, in fact.) and part of me wonders if I should have just stuck to economy for this, but too late now. Once you pay to move up, you can’t ask for a refund and move down!

I will probably head to the gate on the early side, so I’m not in a huge line for boarding group 2. I am hoping my luggage can be right above me, and frequently people grab the bins that are closer to the front. I’m in the second row of extra legroom seats. Sadly the middle seat, but it’s all that was left, aside from the front, emergency exit row. I’m no longer allowed to sit there according to the rules, due to my deaf ear. Ah well!

So anyway … “see” you in New York! (Well, New Jersey first, but I doubt I’ll take any photos there.)