Author Archives: Steven

March 2018

I don't often get to travel for my day job. But when I do, my company sends me to some far-reaching places. The past March was one such opportunity. In December 2017, I found out I would be going to Africa, Tanzania, specifically. I assumed that someday I'd get the chance to go to Africa but had never really thought too much about it. Now was my chance.

Still, with finding out in December I had very little time to plan. I didn't know the exact dates until less than 30 days out. Fortunately I had some vacation time in the bank that wasn't already spoken for. This made for the possibility of adding on a few extra days after the official business to take an adventure. I'm so glad I did!

If you find this post too long and just want to head for the safari pictures click here.

Most of my time in Tanzania was spent in Dar es Salaam. What to say about Dar? Well, not much really. From what little I saw of it, there's not much reason to go there. It's a large, sprawling, urban traffic jam. There may have been some sites to see in the main downtown area but I didn't have the time or means to explore that area much as the office where I was working was out in the 'burbs' well over an hour out of downtown.

If you do plan a trip to Tanzania, especially arriving at the Dar es Salaam airport, here's my main pointer for you: BUY YOUR VISA IN ADVANCE! You can get a tourist visa upon arrival, but it's a messy process at least at this time (perhaps will be better when the new terminal is completed - was to be completed in October 2018, a year behind schedule. I don't think it's done as of this writing.). I was lucky. My seat on the plane was very near the front - still economy, mind you. So just 1st class and a few from business class were already in the visa queue when I got there. You wait in line to have your immigration form checked. Then you wait in line for a clerk, have your picture taken, fingerprints scanned, hand over your passport with $100 cash (for Americans, that is - less for almost everyone else). Then you wait. As I say, I was lucky! I only had to wait about 30 minutes (nowhere to sit in this crowed, cramped, and hot space) before another officer brought out a stack of passports and started calling names. I was the last called in this batch of about 20 passports. A lady that was on my flight - a Tanzanian national living abroad - she goes through this every time she visits and says it can take 4 - 5 HOURS! So - get your visa in advance and save yourself this trouble.

Now, back to the pleasantries.

I picked a hotel at the north end of the city, near the office where I'll be working. There are a number of beach resorts out this way. Many looked fine from the pictures but really so hard to know what you're really going to step into. I played it safe and chose the Ramada Beach Resort. Good location, nice beach, decent price. It actually turned out to be a good choice. I may do a separate post about this later.

What to do with my bonus days? I could either go up north to go on safari or head out to Zanzibar. I can sit on a beach in many places in the world but it would be fun to see the spice markets and go scuba diving. The chance to go on an Africa safari was much more alluring.

A little research made it clear that a safari could get really expensive, really fast. To make matters more difficult, I'm not going as part of an organized week-long or more tour. The logistics of doing this on my own, having never been to Africa, was going to be tricky. All of the airlines that actually fly into the Serengeti are ridiculously expensive for these destinations. Then you add on the hundreds of dollars for the park entrance fee. The nearest major airports are in Arusha and Kilimanjaro - too far of a drive to get to the Serengeti with the time I have available. At this late date, many of the lodges were fully booked.  I did speak with a well-known photo safari guide, Andy Biggs, who was good enough to offer some advise and warnings - specifically, that I should expect to pay about $1,000 per day for a quality experience - ouch! (Would have liked to have joined the safari he was leading a week later - maybe another day.) He also warned me of some guide companies to avoid. I finally zeroed in on a hotel that looked nice at a reasonable price and had offerings for various day-trips. Now booked, the hotel arranged for airport pickup/dropoff. I also had them arrange a tour in the nearby Arusha National Park. Great - all is sorted. I may actually be able to pull this off!

The day of departure arrived sooner than I was mentally ready. I hadn't packed a thing. Fortunately, I didn't need to be at the airport until 2:00 or even a little later. That gave me plenty of time to get packed with a last minute scurry to off-load a few pounds to make the weight limit.

Kevin got me to the airport in plenty of time. We said our goodbyes as I headed for check in.

As I got to the counter, I overheard one of the other ticket agents mention a special: deeply discounted upgrade to Business Class. I asked my agent and she confirmed that they were indeed oversold in Economy and offering the reduced upgrade price. I was tempted, oh, so tempted. But this being the beginning of my trip and wanting to conserve funds (just in case) I foolishly passed up the offer. I was not so foolish on the return! - more about that later. The bag passed the weight check, just barely. Alaska Mileage Plan number applied to my itinerary (which took some considerable amount of keystrokes, several agents, and a supervisor) and I was off to the Centurion Lounge to await boarding.

The rest of the journey was basic, mundane, air travel on a 14 1/2 hour flight. Watched a few movies, tried to sleep, chatted with the couple next to me a bit (they were hay farmers from Central Washington on their way to Dubai to sell horse hay to the Emirates where it's no longer permissible to grow hay - who knew?), eat three times, etc. I know I watched a couple movies, but can't tell you now what they were. Fortunately, I had an exit row seat at the wall - no window, just wall - so was able to come and go at my leisure. Before I knew it, we were in Dubai. Left Seattle at 5:00pm and arrive in Dubai at 7:30pm, great only 2 1/2 hours have passed! So what if it's the next day. Overnight here in a hotel near the airport and back in the morning for the next leg.

The next flight from Dubai to Dar es Salaam was equally uneventful. Exit row seat again, but on the aisle. This flight was only 5 1/2 hours with breakfast and lunch and more movies. Before I knew it we were south of the equator and coming in to land.

I'll spare you the details about the horrors of trying to get a sim card for my phone and data card for the laptop. But that finally done with the help of the driver that had been arranged, we were off for the hour + drive to the hotel. Traffic was hell!

Let's fast forward through the time in Dar es Salaam to getting setup for the safari.

The trip from Dar to Arusha was fairly uneventful. Other than the fact that I got to the airport quite early for the flight as originally scheduled. I didn't get notice until at the airport that the flight time had been pushed back an hour. Trust me, this is not an airport you want to find yourself having to sit for an extended period!

Upon arrival in Arusha, I was greeted outside the small airport by the driver from the hotel I'll be staying at. Of course, I arrived during rush hour so it took a fair while to get to the hotel. Nice tour of the city and my first glimpse at Kilimanjaro. The hotel, Arusha Serena Hotel, was some ways from downtown Arusha situated on a former coffee plantation. The grounds were lovely and the staff friendly. I was greeted by the hotel manager, Jane, on arrival who saw me to reception and then to my room, insisting she drag my huge suitcase herself.

This hotel is setup with a large main building, the former plantation house. All of the guests rooms were in semi-circle sets of bungalows fashioned in the style of Massi villages.

Since we were out of the central core of the city, there really wasn't much available to walk about to explore. In fact, the hotel staff warned not to leave the hotel grounds without escort. But while on the grounds, I felt quite safe. 

The rooms aren't air conditioned. But that hardly seemed to matter. Arusha sits at a pretty high altitude at about 4,600ft (1,400 meters) above sea level so is much cooler than Dar es Salaam. It was warm and humid my first night here for which the ceiling fan was handy. There was a hole in one of the window screens, a bandage easily fixed that so mosquitoes didn't in. The bed was surrounded by mosquito netting which the staff carefully deployed at evening turn-down.  Night time average low temperatures can get downwards of the mid 50sF to upper 60sF (13-12C). I didn't notice if the room had heating, surely it must have.

One of my colleagues is from Arusha. I told him about the arrangements I had already made. He wasn't impressed, saying that, sure, I'll see some wildlife but that there are much better places to go. Though the Serengeti would be impractical, he offered to arrange a trip to Tarangire National Park through a friend of his, Charles, who runs a wilderness safari company. It's a little further from Arusha than what I had booked but was offering for the same $300 I was planning on paying anyway. This was all-in: car and driver, park entrance fees, and lunch. And the best part, it turns out, was that I would be the only one going. This proved to be of great advantage as I wouldn't be competing for vantage points while in the park. No one to get in my way of shooting. (I kept getting looks of jealousy from other vehicles in the park that were packed with upwards of 12 people each, all vying for the best spots to get their photos).

The drive out to Tarangire took somewhere in the vicinity of 1 1/2 hours, maybe more. The scenery was stunning! The Great Rift Valley off in the distance and the mountains of the Ngorongoro Crater not far away. We passed many of the traditional Maasai villages with the round thatched mud huts in a circles surrounded by stick fencing (my driver offered to take me to own of these, but it just didn't feel right, so no.)

I don't recall exactly, but it think it took a few hours to get from my hotel in Arusha to Tarangire. Upon arrival Charles took care of park entry requirements. I wandered around the visitor center which had a few information displays about some of the plant and wildlife of the park, a treehouse-style lookout tower built into a baobab tree and, most interestingly, several elephant skulls. I wouldn't have thought a skull would be very fascinated, but then again, I never imagined what an elephant's look like. I had to get a few shots to show you. Plus, I have a friend who collects various small skulls and animal skeletons so I knew he'd be interested in seeing one.

 We were barely into the park before we begin to spot the wildlife. First up were the impalas and warthogs. Then the giraffes and more impalas, various birds. More impalas. And on and on. One sighting after another. It wasn't long before we came across a pack of elephants. Amazing animals! And who can get too much of watching baby elephants play?

There's not much more to say other than to just let you (hopefully) enjoy the photos.

Here are the photos

These next ones are not from Taragire Park. The left is Mt Meru which hangs above the city of Arusha, within Arusha National Park. On the right is Kilimanjaro. Both photos taken on the drive into Kilimanjaro airport (3°23'20.8"S 37°03'51.5"E).

Barcelona, Spain

November 2018

Here are a few more photos of the Oceania Riviera from our trip from Barcelona, Spain to Miami, Florida. November 13-28, 2018.

The Riviera has an amazing number of dining venues for a ship of its size. There's The Grand Dining Room, Terrace Café (the buffet), and the poolside Waves Gill. All are open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. No reservations needed. Additionally there are four specialty restaurants: Jacques (Pepin) Bistro, Red Ginger, Polo Grill, and Toscana - all open for dinner only by reservation but still without cover charge. On top of all that you will find Privée which seats 10 for private dining; $120 for the entire room, and La Reserve in collaboration with Wine Spectator. La Reserve offers wine pairing dinners for a nominal fee, by reservation as well as hosts wine tastings and other wine-centric events during the day.

If that is not enough, you'll find Baristas overlooking the pool deck for an espresso or other barista style beverages. At 4:00 you'll be able to attend Afternoon Tea in Horizons, the large lounge toward the bow. If you're booked in a Concierge Stateroom you will have access to the Concierge Lounge with coffee, tea, soft drinks and snacks. Guests in the various levels of Suites will be able to visit the Executive Lounge with similar amenities.

And of course you can dine in your room.

All these venues offer great food in beautiful surroundings. The staff usually attentive with senior staff being particularly helpful (Thank you Nino Lieassi and Maximilian!) even if their more junior staff at times could use a little more training.

All-in-all, we really enjoyed the food. Very few misses but many dishes hit out of the park! It's not revolutionary, for the most part, but excellently executed. The most adventurous we found was in La Reserve. We did not take advantage of Privée as we didn't have a large enough group, early enough in the cruise, to make it worthwhile.

We'll post more about the food in future posts - stay tuned.

The Bars

As mentioned above, Horizons sits at the bow on Deck 15 (highest deck without being outside). During the day, this is a open and bright lounge to just sit to read, chat with new friends, or enjoy and afternoon cocktail/mocktail. It features a champagne-starring Afternoon Tea at 4:00. Later in the evening you'll find dancing to live music, whisky tastings, and friendly bar staff. In all a great gathering place!

Martinis sits at mid-ship on Deck 6 with comfortable sofas and piano music in the evenings. This place was always full whenever we passed through after dinner. Next door was the Casino Bar (with it's original Picasso etchings!). Opposite this was the Grand Bar which was a favorite spot before dinning in the Grand Dining Room. During the day you'll get your G&T, Bloody Mary, or a beer at Waves Bar next to the pool.

The Art

This ship is a floating museum! We didn't take many pictures of the art, but rest assured, this ship is well decorated. Most of it is modern art is from the 19th and 20th centuries, including the already mentioned Picasso etchings was well as pieces from Miró. In the spa you'll even find a couple of 12th to 13th century statues from Angkor Wat. The collection was curated and collected by the cruise line's founders and their wives. Read more about that HERE. One fun activity onboard was the art scavenger hunt. We were given a booklet with about 60 images. Each image was of a painting, photograph, sculpture, or sign, or just a minute snip-it thereof. It took several days of working at it off and on to find and identify (piece name, artist, and deck number). It was fun meeting other people about the ship wandering around with their sheets. Most people were happy to help others out with hints and pointers. The best part about it was just getting so many of us to actually look at the art. We noticed it, of course, but probably wouldn't have otherwise really lookedat it.

A book about Oceania's art throughout the line is available on Amazon: 

One thing you can't miss is the main atrium. You can't help but notice stunning the Lalique starcase!

Barcelona, Spain

November 2018

A House that Gaudí Built - Actually, his first

Gaudí’s First House: Casa Vicens,

Carrer de les Carolines, 20-26

Barcelona, Spain…er Catalonia.

Metro stop: L3 Fontana (Green line)

https://casavicens.org/

After taking the Modernist Walking Tour with Rainbow Tours, I got to looking up more about the works of Gaudí in our neighborhood, the Eixample. Our guide, Manu, mentioned we were in the most Gaudí-packed area of the city. It turns out he was right. There is a UNESCO World Heritage site just up a few blocks and a couple of streets over. So, on our last full day in Barcelona, we set out for a morning adventure to visit the newly opened Casa Vicens.

Oh, as for all the Gaudí buildings and most other attractions, go online and secure your tickets ahead of time. No need for a printed ticket, they are able to just check your e-ticket on your mobile.

Getting There

From our hotel, Casa Fuster, Casa Vicens is one stop up the Green (L3) Line, the Fontana stop. It was a glorious day - blue skies with a few puffy clouds and the temperature was just right for us Seattleites, about 60 F. Emerging from the subway, we headed basically north. I say ‘basically’ because I could never find the North-South symbols on our maps, which were all oriented to place the main streets as running true north and south. I guess it doesn’t really matter in such a well-planned city as Barcelona.

Let me add before going on, that if you’re in Barcelona you CANNOT miss the Casa Vicens. It’s a must. It’s the only Gaudí home that has had such extensive restoration. After years of research, forensic analysis of the home’s interiors and exterior spaces, and painstaking recreation of missing elements, the result is pretty amazing

The Property & House

The casa is located in what remains a lovely quite neighbor in Gràcia since it being completed in 1885 as a summer residence. For context, that was a mere 20 years after the US Civil War ended.

You enter the property through a side courtyard where you’ll go through a quick security check. You have to put all bags in the lockers provided, but take a Euro coin, you’ll that it to use them.  You get the coin back when you leave. From the bag area, you enter the garden area, which has been substantially reduced in size since Gaudí built the home for stockbroker, Manuel Vicens.

Gaudí was only 31 years old when he was commissioned by Vicens. It must have been quite the coup in the architectural community at the time, not to mention the house’s visionary design. As the guides (and excellent free guidebook) mention, the house set the bar for the new architectural movement we know today as Catalan Modernism. It combined Catalan, Japan, Islamic, and English styles, giving visitors – as well as the owner – a reference point for its many, juxtaposed elements.

The Garden

The original garden must have been spectacular. It contained a round fountain and large gazebo all incorporating the palate of textures, colors, and shapes Gaudí preferred. You’ll find a small coffee shop on the opposite side from where you exit the bag room. Nothing special about it, but it’s pleasant to get your café or espresso or cappuccino and take a seat to enjoy the view of the house before or after your tour of the house.

As you wonder through what’s left of the garden area, still quite lovely, you get a look of the exterior of the home. While standing in the garden, itself containing a wide variety of plants and trees, note the fan palm cast-iron grilled fence. Like all of the home, it’s a piece of art to take in over time. Apparently, the original design was intended only for the front gate, but over time the fencing was extended to surround the entire property.

Moving on, you climb a few stairs and enter the main floor of the house proper. But don’t go too fast. At the top of the landing to the front door look around at all the detailing Gaudí has installed here. It’s almost too much to take in.

The Entrance Hall & Covered Porch

Look up in the covered porch. The porch and entrance hall have been restored to their original state. You’ll see spectacular trompe-l’oeil ceilings replicating sky and leaves of the palm, an echo from the cast-iron gates. There are too many details to mention here, but take advantage of the docent’s knowledge. They pointed out many smaller details which we simply would have missed like the restored tiles and flooring. The hall connects you to the other first floor rooms.

The Dining & Smoking Rooms

Be prepared for an abundance of decorative and ornamental elements in these two rooms. According the guide, these are the most decorated off all the restored rooms. I believe it. The dining room has a hearth and a highly decorated beamed ceiling along with original furniture and paintings. But, in my opinion it is the smoking room that rises to another level.

This room has undergone what seemed the most renovation, including remaking many of the papier-mache pieces covering the walls. To be honest, we wouldn’t have notice this unless it was pointed out to us. Amazing colors, light, and proportion. Oh, and look up. The ceiling is crazy.

First Floor -

Heading up the stairs takes you to the bathrooms, bedrooms, halls, and a domed room, which is just above the smoking room and has another trompe-l’oeil masterpiece mirroring the turret that is just above, connecting the outside gardens to the interiors.

From the far corner of the blue room at the center of the first floor (2^nd floor to US folks), take a look into three interconnecting spaces. Gaudi made sure to keep each room distinct but tie them all together with specific decorative pieces, like leaf motifs, the passion flower and palm.

Leaving the blue room there is a temporary exhibition space. We were lucky enough to see the inaugural exhibit of model highlighting 14 homes designed by several architects working at the time as Gaudí. The models spanned European and American architects such as Americans Sullivan, Richardson, and Wright, along with Europeans Guimard, Makintosh, and Horta. Being an architecture enthusiast, I felt quite fortunate to see all these models in one place. These exhibits will change, so check ahead to see what is there when you visit.

When you ascend the staircase to the 2^nd floor, you’ll undoubtedly notice that the style is more starkly modern. This is because Casa Vicens was occupied by successive families that altered some parts and expanded others. It was a well-loved home transforming from a summer residence to full-time occupancy.

Leaving the 1^st floor, you enter the ‘modern’ Casa Vicens and exhibition space with access to the roof.

The Attic

Prior to restoration, the 2^nd floor attic was a jumble of walls and false ceilings – probably where servants were housed. The current space is used for a permanent exhibition of the history of Gaudí’s first house as well as examples of its constructive and decorative elements saved during the restoration.

The Roof

It was fortunate we visited on such a wonderful day. Climbing outside onto the roof terraces gave us a close-up look at Gaudí’s hallmark chimneys.  Each one a statement unto itself that combined craftsmanship and utility – even though highly decorated, they were working chimneys after all. Here are a few shots taken by Steven and me.

Do not miss Casa Vicens!

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November 2018

Montserrat

The train to Monserrat takes about an hour or so. But before you go, you need to decide which way you're going to get to the top of the mountain. There's a gondola-style cable car (Aeri) and a train option (Cremallera) called a funicular. The cable car, or Aeri, is the quickest way to get from the train stop at Aeri Montserrat to the top - not for those timid of heights! If you take the Cremallera funicular option, go one stop further than the Aeri stop, to Monistrol Montserrat.  The Cremallera will add another 23 minutes to your trip. We chose the Cremallera. Both options begin at Plaça d'España on the R5 railway line heading toward Manresa. We found Espanya station to be a bit confusing frankly. There are multiple levels and many entrances. The signs leading you to the Manresa-Montserrat L5 line are there, but you have to look up to see them and some are blocked by lights and arches. Finding the ticketing machines was another test of skillful observation and patience. Be aware that not all ticketing machines took credit cards. Be prepared to spend some time looking for the right train and the right ticketing machines. These are combined round-trip tickets, so follow the instructions carefully.

Montserrat is actually a monastery serving Catholic pilgrims wanting to see the Black Madonna, as well as a place for avid hikers and rock climbers. As you can see from the photo, the weather was wonderful, not something you can count on during the late fall and early winter months. We had intended to hear the boys choir, but there were massive crowds in the church that day and decided against it. As it turned out we were there on an auspicious day; the mass was being preformed by not just one, but two, Cardinals, not an every-day-occurrence.  We did squeeze our way into the church though and managed to catch a glimpse of the Black Madonna high above the main alter. There is another funicular (Funicular San Joan) at the end of the main plaza that takes you up to near the top of the mountain. Actually, there are several funiculars taking hikers to various peaks surrounding the monastery. It climbs up a very narrow crack between two sections of the mountain. Again, not for the faint of heart. We decided to take a stroll up to the Cross of St. Miquel. Breathtaking views, but a steep climb. Take your time, take is slow, stop off at one of the several overlooks, and you'll be rewarded with views of the entire region from Barcelona and the sea to the snow capped Pyrenees.

View of the Benedictine Monastery of Montserrat.	Another view looking back at the monastery from the path toward San Miquel overlook.
	Inside the monastery church. The Black Madonna is barely visible above the alter.

13 November 2018

Oceania Cruises - M/V Riviera

Embarkation Day - Here are a few photos of the ship as we started exploring this ship. Our home-away-from-home for two weeks. More details to come soon.

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November 2018
Barcelona
 
Or more fully - The Basílica i Temple Expiatori de la Sagrada Família
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What a perfect way to end our first walking tour. We managed to dodge the roaming showers around that day, coming out of the blue line subway stop to be stopped at the first sight of this magnificent, if on-going construction site. A bit of triva; Gaudi wasn't la Sagrada's first chief architect, nor its last; Gaudi was so involved in all the day-to-day details of the construction that he set up an apartment on the upper floor of a nearby residence he designed (i.e. the Dragon House) so he could oversee the project; most of Gaudi's drawings and models were destroyed during the Spanish Civil War by Catalan anarchists; 10 spires are planned, with the largest one rising from the core of the basilica, the Christ tower, just being started. The whole thing is hoped to be completed by 2026, the 100th anniversary of Gaudi's death. The interior spaces are almost overwhelming in their complexity and visual impact. As we were getting ready to go, the clouds parted bathing the interior in incredible light streaming in from everywhere though its stained glass windows. This should be on your bucket list. There's nothing like it anywhere.
 

Nativity Facade - East facing.	Passion Facade - West facing. A big contrast from the highly decorated Nativity facade.
Nativity Facade - detail.	Interior - Central naive.
View from inside the Nativity entrance.
	Light projected across nave.
	West aisle near Passion facade.
East aisle before the light show.	From Transept looking toward Apse.
Tower detail.

November 2018
Barcelona

Gaudí's La Pedrera (Casa Mila) exterior.	La Pedrera balcony detail.
Casa Lleó Morera by Lluís Domènech i Montaner. We voted this one as the most livable. It received the first award for Catalan Modernist Architecture by the city of Barcelona. Apparently, Gaudí's designs were considered a bit too out there!	La Casa Batlló, another Gaudí residence.
Casa Amatller, designed by Josep Puig i Cadafalch. The most symmetrical of them all.	Our fun troupe in front of La Sagrada Familia at the end of our tour; left to right, Steven, Kevin, & Manu our guide.

My trip to Ireland, as mentioned in my posts about Virgin Atlantic, started out in London visiting friends Darren and Ian. The next leg was getting to Dublin to meet up with Kevin. I booked British Airways CityFlyer from London City airport to Dublin. Even though it was a short flight (less than 1 1/2 hours), I decided to book in Business Class as it wasn't a huge difference in price.

With this being such a short flight, I normally wouldn't worry about writing a full post about it. But the service on-board surprised me! I hope somehow this makes it's way to the inflight catering group at Alaska Airlines. This service on BA just blows the socks off of anything I've ever seen on Alaska and gives a run for the money on other US carriers.

Getting to London City Airport was too challenging. Darren and Ian saw me off from Clapham Junction. At their suggestion, I grabbed the Overground to Shadwell where I could catch the Docklands Light Rail. The journey took about an hour, which really isn't bad for getting all the way across London nearing rush hour on a Friday. The trains got increasingly more crowded as we neared the airport. Luckily, the train terminates right at the terminal. A quick walk from the train puts you right in the terminal.

The security lines keep moving and everyone is expected to know the routine. There is no time here for novice travelers; this place is streamlined and efficient. It was mostly business people making what looked liked their normal commutes. No families fumbling with strollers and trying to keep kids in line. Of course I got secondary screening for something, I don't recall what, but was soon on my way.

The terminal was a mad house. The passenger volume has long-since outgrown the capacity. I did manage to find a seat in the packed bar area and settled in with a tonic & gin while awaiting my flight.

It wasn't long before my gate was posted, which turned out to be only feet from where I was. After chatting with the gate agent and finding my passport, which I didn't think would be needed at this point, she almost forgot to scan in my boarding pass - this could have been trouble had I not caught that! The actual gate area was down a flight of stairs. A dark, worn out room where we all waited a few minutes before boarding. My carry on bag was too big for the overhead bins so had to leave it at the door to be loaded in the cargo bin. These are small planes, but they are jets, Embraer E-170.

Once in the air, the efficiency of the inflight service became apparent. As soon as we hit 10,000ft, the young flight attendant was on his feet. First drink orders taken; then served with 10 minutes. Last time I was on Alaska Air (in First Class), it took over an hour for the first drinks to be served - and that was with two attendants working the cabin! Dinner orders were soon taken - yes, Alaska, here that? - there was a choice of two entrees! The whole cabin - all 12 of us - we enjoying a nice dinner within 20-30 minutes from wheels-up. Plenty of time for a second round of drinks before relaxing through the second half of the flight.

We made good time and actually landed at little early. Quickly off the plane and through immigration. Kevin was waiting in the baggage claim area for me having arrived from Prague on an earlier Aer Lingus flight.

The return to London at the end of our Ireland tour was also no BA in Business Class (Club Europe). The service on the flight out seems to have not been an anomaly. The service was just as quick and efficient this second time as well.

To Alaska Airlines if you're listening - get yourselves over to the UK and learn a thing or two about on-board service and step up your game!

July 26, 2017

In my prior post about the Virgin Atlantic Upper Class Experience, I talked about the trip to London from Seattle. I also want to give a little more details about our return, from London Heathrow to Seattle.

We booked into Upper Class for our return home at the end of a whirlwind trip around Ireland - which we'll write about in coming posts. But I thought now would be a good time to write this followup. There's only a few things to add so this should be brief.

We were looking forward to is the Drive-in Check-in and the famed Club House. You can find all about it on their website.

Here are some finer points to help you along if you have a chance to experience Upper Class travel through Heathrow.

If you pay for Upper Class rather than using miles, Virgin will provide town car transfers for you upon departure from or arrive to London and select destinations around the world. If you're on miles you can arrange your own transport and still use the drive-in check-in. You will need to make a reservation however and provide the registration (license plate) of the vehicle in which you will be arriving. Call at least an hour before your anticipated arrival. You can book your time slot in advance but then call back as soon as you know the registration. If you get a representative that will not allow this, as happened to us, just hang up and call back. Because we were originally misinformed, we found ourselves arguing with Virgin while on the way and telling our driver to slow down.

Virgin promotes the security screening as "private."  It's more, "exclusive" than "private." You just happen to go through one of two dedicated queues off to the side of the general security screening area. There was certainly no waiting. When we came through there was just one other small family present. The general security lines looked to be a mad house.

The Upper Class website gives the impression that you would directly arrive into the Clubhouse Lounge straight from security. This is not the case, far from it. You're dumped right into the duty free shops with little guidance on where the lounge actually is located. Once past the bulk of duty free, we began seeing signs pointing the way - it wasn't much further.

The Clubhouse really is something to see! It's massive by comparison to other lounges we've seen. There are seating areas to suit anyone's tastes from quiet reading rooms to a giant "man cave" with overstuffed recliners and a wall full of large screen TVs. Stairs lead up to the billiards and rooftop viewing terrace. There were a number of different food areas, both buffet style as well as table service. After having our second breakfasts and a couple Bloody Mary's I got a haircut (yes! I still have enough to need them cut - thank-you-very-much) while Kevin enjoyed a face and scalp massage.

The rest of Terminal 3 is a dump! Once you leave the lounge and shopping areas the terminal is just a worn-out and dark excuse for a world-class airport. When we left the lounge, our gate hadn't even been announced on the departure monitors but the concierge in the lounge had informed us the gate. Somehow most of the rest of the passengers found out as well as there was already quite the line to get into the gate sitting area. No special line here though we did get priority boarding once boarding began.

A note about the duty free here in Terminal 3 (perhaps other terminals as well): Even if you don't have lounge access, there's a cheap way to get a buzz on before your flight. All the booze sections of the duty free have at least one counter offering free tastings. I swear we were already tipsy by the time we found a whiskey worthy of coming home with us (without breaking the bank)!

Wouldn't ya' know...it's the same exact plane as I came over in. I'll be going back in exactly the same seat. What are the odds? (I suppose 1:14 since they only had 14 of these 787's at the time).

The flight back was just as nice as the flight out with friendly service and a comfortable seat. This time, however, the pajamas were not offered right up, but readily provided upon request. With this being a daytime flight, more people congregated at the bar and was quite lively. Some fellow passengers spent nearly the entirety of the flight there. Kevin & I, on the other hand, chose to get some sleep and catch a movie after a short visit to the bar after meal service.

Dinner started with a little antipasto.

I tried the pot roast to see if they did any better with it than British Airways managed (see our prior post about BA First Class). I was sorely disappointed again. Perhaps it's a British thing about the ideals of how beef should be cook (someone please correct me if I'm wrong) but it really was inedible to anyone who likes beef. I politely asked if there was any of the mushroom risotto left, to which our attendant obliged. This was much better.

Dessert was delicious!

Afternoon snack was apparently a burger. I don't remember this really, neither does Kevin, but there it was in our photos.

Overall, we could hardly have been more pleased with the experience. Virgin's Upper Class, as I stated in the first post, is meant as a business class level product. As such it compares very favorably to BA's Club World, but certainly more fun. It's not the level of service as BA's First Class, which really is a step up for those who can afford it or has the frequent flyer miles to burn.

We will absolutely look toward Virgin for future trips to Europe and beyond.

Cheers!

July 11, 2017

Another new airplane adventure! Virgin Atlantic, just this year, took over Delta's route between Seattle and London. After years of flying exclusively British Airways on this route, I thought now was a great time to try something new for a change. Besides, I could snag an Upper Class (they're version of Business Class and First Class rolled up into one) round-trip using American Express points. I also got Kevin's return flight with me. He went over on BA using points - I'll let Kevin do his own write-up on that if he's so inspired.

I've long-since wanted to try out Virgin Atlantic, looking all hip and cool as it does, but have never had the opportunity as they're an entirely newcomer to Seattle. I mostly knew what to expect in terms of services onboard and had seen plenty of video reviews online. I had nearly nine months of anticipation from booking to travel. Yes, we do book early!

The day of travel finally came. The day started off as any other, except for a huge sleep deficit from being up late finalizing the packing and getting the house setup for being gone and a clean return. Off to the office with camera bag and carry-on suitcase in tow so I could head straight to the airport from work. Departure at 5:50PM.

Entrance to Delta Sky Club, South Terminal at Seatac Airport

First stop at the airport was the Delta Sky Lounge. Delta is a 49% owner of Virgin Atlantic so they share a number of services. One of which is the Business/First class lounges. Virgin doesn't have their own here is Seattle, but Upper Class passengers, and I imagine higher status Virgin members as well, are offered use of the Delta Sky Lounge on day of departure. It's been years since I was in one of Delta's lounges so was looking forward to seeing this one.  The lounge is located in the South Terminal. Take the elevator to the roof-top level between gates S9 and S10. [I later found out that there's a new Sky Club lounge in Course A of the Main Terminal that Kevin confirmed on another flight later in the summer, is really nice.]

The lounge is quite spacious but not overly populated. Perhaps it was a slow time of day. Most of Delta's oversees flights had left for the day expect for a later Amsterdam flight. There was a small contingent of people who left when the Hong Kong flight started boarding. This left very few of us in the lounge, many of whom I would later see on my flight.

There was a small offering of snacks: meats, cheese, veggies, fruits, soup, and a number of carb options. Nothing spectacular. I grabbed a few bites and a cup of soup. They also have a full bar. Beer, wine, and simple cocktails are free. There's a list specialty cocktails for a charge. I tried to get a Negroni, but no dice. The bartender didn't know how to make anything except what was on the menu. So Gin & Tonic it is, oh well - life can be so cruel some times 🙂

A couple G&T later and a quick wonder about to see the whole place, it was time to head to the gate. It was SOOO FAR AWAY: down the elevator and next door, to gate S10.

As you would suspect, Upper Class has priority boarding, after family with children, etc. I was fairly early in the queue.

Upon boarding, the cabin crew was busy getting things set up for the flight. Pajamas were being handed out as soon as each passenger was settled. When I arrived at my seat, I found a menu, headphones, and amenity kit on the foot rest. Large pillows were stuffed behind each seat back.

More about the seating later. Once my bags were stowed, a flight attendant came by offering Champagne or juice - "Champagne, please!" This was actual Champagne, specifically, Gardet Brut Premier Cru Champagne, not California sparkling wine or prosecco (not that there's anything wrong with those, per se). Why can't US carriers manage actual Champagne?

Once loaded we pushed back right on time, just to sit in the typically long line a planes waiting to take off. Soon after the 10,000 feet bell rang, the crew got back to work; refilling wine and champagne glasses or taking drink and dinner orders. I chose the Beaujolais to go with my Roasted Red Pepper and Tomato Soup and Asian Braised Shortribs.

The flight attendant came back through shortly and popped out the rather large tray table from the side of compartment and set it with table cloth, silverware, bread plate, and Virgin's signature salt and pepper shakers. Soon the soup arrived with a choice of dinner rolls. It was really quite a large bowl of soup that could have made a meal in its own right. A little under seasoned for my taste, nothing a little salt didn't fix. Tasty!

Next came the shortribs. To my delight, this we actually quite good. The meat was tender and moist with a nice housin demi glace. Hoisin is usually too sweet for me, but this was fine. I don't know what the mashed potatoes have to do with the "Asian" theme of the dish but that didn't stop me from enjoying them. The Beaujolais paired nicely. I think I chose well for this main, but it was a difficult choice; the Chicken and Porcini looked really good as did the Mixed Mushroom Teriyaki (vegetarian option). Kevin may have opted for the Salmon Nicoise Salad (despite it having Kalmata olives) had he been with me.

Dessert offered another challenging decision, a warm Lemon Pudding or Flourless Chocolate Cake. Of course I had the chocolate!

By the time I was ready for the Cheese and Port, most of the cabin had already lied down for the night or were deeply engrossed in their movies. The flight attendants who handled dinner service disappeared to the crew rest quarters and the smaller staff left behind were now mostly "hiding away" in the galley. I'm not one to use the call button unless absolutely necessary so it took a little while to get someone's attention. He was quite surprised I asked for it. I don't think many others had. I don't usually eat much blue cheese, but the Buttermilk Blue served here was quite mild and easy to eat and the port wasn't too sweet. A nice finish to the meal.

By now, I was done with both the meal and the movie (I don't recall what I watch but I know I couldn't bring myself to watch and airplane-appropriate edited version of Rocky Horror!). So, off to the highly-exalted Upper Class bar. I like the idea of having a bar area onboard. But I don't think it's exceptionally well executed here, at least on this red-eye flight. For one thing, it has only three of four closely set bar stools along the one side so really only two can sit comfortable while any others have to stand either at the end or on the service side. Secondly, there's minimal separation from the bar and fellow passengers trying to sleep nearby. Quite frankly, I think VA practically discourages passengers from using the bar during the night. When I got there, a few others had already arrived with drinks or empty glasses in hand that were brought from their seats. No barware or drinks were out except a few open wine bottles. Clearly the bar was configured to be fully stocked with glasses and an abundance of drinks for self-service; no flight attendants to be seen anywhere. One attendant did breeze through and when asked for service, he just said he'd find someone to take care of us and left. No one returned for some time, so we took it upon ourselves to find glasses for the wine. Some time later a flight attendant brought more wine and set out liquor and showed use where to find the mixers.  I was having fun chatting with a couple heading for holiday in Ireland. He was from Australia or New Zealand, she from Ireland. They were taking the kids for the first time. Despite the nice conversation, it was time to turn in for the night.

I changed into my pajamas in the over-sized Upper Class restroom. The restroom was about double the size of a normal airplane restroom with a separate bench to sit while changing - very handy! I had no idea how to get the bed into "sleeping mode" as it had no full recline button so off to the galley to find help which I did. I was surprised to find that the seat-back folds down forward so that you actually sleep on a completely flat surface. This is unlike other airlines where you just recline the seat back until fully "flat" but you're clearly laying on an unfolded chair, lumps and all. This was fully flat, no bumps, but padded with an additional mattress pad added under you and a warm duvet for a cover. The pillow was an actual full-size pillow like one would have at home. In the bag that had the headphones, there was a small vile of lavender aromatherapy pillow spray which was a nice touch. The water bottle holder was conveniently located. I have to say, Virgin has figured out the bed and bedding!

Not a great picture but here's what it looked like all made up.

I managed to get in a couple hours of sleep but woke up from time to time to peek out the window. Which reminds me to mention about the windows on the Boeing 787. You may have heard, or have been on one already to know, the windows on the 787 don't have a physical shade, the window electronically dims with the push of a button. In my own naïveté, I assumed that they went all the way to opaque. Not really! They do dim quite a bit and create a blue cast when light comes through, but by no means opaque. It's like have a really dark pair of blue sunglasses. I tried to get a picture of this but it really did strange things in the camera as you can see below, especially since the sun was straight out my window just above the horizon the whole "night." I dared not un-dim the my window for fear of lighting up the whole cabin full of sleeping passengers.

A note about seat selection on this aircraft. I was in seat 3A which seemed like a good place to be by the Seatguru.com advice. It's further from the noise of the bar and not near a bassinet. Virgin's Upper Class seats are set in a herringbone pattern. Everyone's feet are toward the aisle. Your are either by the window or in the middle of the aircraft, with two aisles. On the right side of the cabin, the middle and window seats each from the same aisle. On the left side, the widow seats don't have anything across the aisle but the back call of the middle seats. Everyone in this cabin has direct access to an aisle. For these reasons I chose an 'A' seat on the left. The three seats further back were occupied when I booked, and rows 7 has no window. Any further back puts one too near the bar from what I had read on various reviews. That left me with row 3. If I were to do this again, I would try to take a seat further back, even if on the other side. The reason: galley noise. For most of the night there was an endless stream of noise as the crew cleaned up from meal service and prepared for breakfast: clanking of plates and silverware, the beeping of timers, etc. This went on most of the night making it difficult to sleep despite the comfortable bed.

Virgin has changed this route to the Airbus A340-600 as of this writing. This aircraft has a larger Upper Class (45 seats vs 787's 31). Finding a seat further from both the bar and galley may be easier to accomplish.

A few hours before landing, the cabin was buzzing the activity. People setting their beds back for seating, changing back out of pajamas, and breakfast was being served. After a few glimpses of both coast of Ireland and the west of England, we were soon on the ground at Heathrow.

View of Sligo, Ireland. Hometown of our friend, Ian, whom I'll see in London later today. We'll pass through here later in our trip.

Once down, we had a delay in getting a gate, then a delay as no one was there to move the Jetway into place. But soon enough we were off the plane, just to find locked doors getting into the terminal. Clearly they weren't expecting us! Expedited customs process (as in just a shorter line) was offered for Upper Class passengers. With no need to claim baggage, I was straight off to the Virgin Arrivals Lounge for a shower and second breakfast (actually, it would be elevenses by this point). The Arrivals Lounge was beyond baggage claim and up to the mezzanine just before exiting to the car park. It was a fairly small, brightly lit room. Furnished with cafe type furniture in the thematic white and red. Nice enough for a quite bit to eat, but clearly not intended as a place to linger.

First the shower.

And then a full English breakfast.

With that, I say goodbye to Virgin Atlantic for now. I'll add notes later about our experience on the return flight. In all, they did a nice job of making a long journey as pleasant as can be. To expect much more, would be nit-picky. Was it as nice as British Airways First experience? I would say, not quite. But then again it's intended as a different product. It compares more closely to BA's Club World (their business class). Besides, one would pay MUCH more for BA First. Virgin provides a more casual experience but no less refined than BA and Virgin's seat/bed definitely have the advantage. On BA, you only get pajamas in First - and they don't have a bar, even in First. Overall, British Airways is meant to be more formal where Virgin Atlantic wants to be more entertaining and engaging.