Dreamliner

It was the longest day, or in this case night, but finally we landed in Brisbane. I don’t remember my first trip to NZ being so grueling, but I think part of it has to do with the “Dreamliner” airplane, and I say that disparagingly as there was nothing dreamy about it. The seats were hard and narrow, my elbows barely fit in the seat - we were really jammed in. Luckily my seat neighbor was pleasant: a young dancer excited to be moving with her boyfriend to Brisbane. Ah, young love. Her stuff was pretty disorganized though and often fell into my area, sometimes leaving no room for my feet.

I managed to get some sleep over the 14.5 hours, but it seemed anytime I shut my eyes a baby a few rows back started crying. I was grateful not to be in that row!

Once I was free from my seatbelt I made my way to the international departure area, passing through a totally empty security checkpoint before getting into the enormous area with shops etc. I noticed on the departures board that Virgin had a flight leaving almost right way so beetled down to the gate, but i was too late (and they might not have switched me anyway).

So I got myself a giant coffee, had a shower, talked to Carm on the phone (Fonego app) and here I am. Thinking about those giant bags of M&Ms that I saw in one of the shops… it’s 10:45am now and I don’t leave until 5:55, so that’s a long time to hold out. I suppose at some point I’ll have to have something real to eat.

Oh, one point to remember is that Air Canada does serve food on its long haul flights. Not sure if this is standard, but we had a hot supper (airline food has taken a far tumble since the days I traveled with my parents), a sandwich part way through the night, and a hot breakfast before we landed. So we were well fed. Plus I nibbled on some beef jerky to pass some time.

It is nicer traveling with people. Things like running to the bathroom or going for some supper are just easier when there is more than one person. Bags can be taken care of and don’t have to be schlepped at every move.