Monthly Archives: December 2010

Does it look like a plane could take off in this? Didn't think so.

In August, I delighted you all with my traveling tortures. Though I’ve already been home a full day and a half now, I think it’s worth it to keep you posted on International travel, in case you need some tricks for traveling overseas someday. I doubt there will ever be a dull moment at the airport or on an airplane for this world traveler. Don’t get too excited just yet, though; there are no nauseating stenches or facial injuries this time around. However, my traveling adventure with Matt is definitely worth reading.

Finally, for the first time since Matt moved, we traveled across the great Atlantic Ocean together. I’ve been alone on every other flight up to this point, so it’s easy to say that I was a tad more excited for this trip than those of the past. Matt and I booked on Delta/Air France (more on them later) and for a month leading up to the flight, we tried to upgrade to Business Class. For those of you who have met Matt or noticed in pictures, he is an exceptionally tall individual, especially where his legs are concerned, so extra room is a must for comfort on such a long journey. Well, a certain friend, who will remain unnamed, told us we had a better chance if we waited until the last minute to try an upgrade, as unsold seats pop up at a lower price. Not only was that not the case, but we couldn’t even get exit row seats. The look on Matt’s face when we got to our row was one of dread, despair, and downright depression.

Which brings me to my next point: I will never fly Delta again – EVER. Sorry Delta. The seats are so cramped and uncomfortable! It looked like we were getting on a domestic flight…for 9 hours. Add a couple more hours to that due to the Arctic Tundra that is Dublin right now. We had to wait on other flights to leave and for the ground crew to de-ice our plane before we could get out. And from what we learned upon landing, ours was one of the last flights to actually make it out before Dublin airport shut down due to weather. I guess this is where our luck turned, because we had a nice time watching all of Season 3 of How I Met Your Mother, taking naps, and reading. The food was okay and the wine was free. For me, that was a definite upgrade from body odor, vomiting neighbors, luggage falling on my face…you get the drift.

Me and my sister the last time I was home!

We landed in Atlanta, our connection, 2 hours late and about 40 minutes outside of our next flight. We thought there was no chance in hell we would make our flight, but we gave it a shot anyway. Atlanta did just about everything in its power to keep us from making it, too. On an International flight, you must pick up your bag from baggage claim to then go drop it back off before you can head off to your connection. Matt’s was the last bag off the conveyor belt. From there you have to go through security again. For some reason, a security worker thought Matt’s Ipod was left behind, even though he was standing right there about to put it back away. She took the Ipod to lost and found and realized her mistake when Matt asked loudly, “Em, do you have my Ipod?!” She sent us over to lost and found where we had to collect it, wasting precious time. From there, we found out we were in terminal E and had to get to terminal B, so onto the concourse we went. I officially became the “airport sprinter” when the doors opened.

I got to our gate to see that the jetway was closed. Completely out of breath I stammered that we came in from a delayed Dublin flight and the kind and gracious man behind the counter unlocked the doors and rushed us down the jetway, yelling “don’t shut the doors!” And they did not. Thank God, too, because Matt and I are here in Dallas now, visiting with our families. Sure, it wasn’t the most pleasant 13 hours of my life, but it sure beats my experience in August. Most importantly, I’m so happy I’m home, visiting family and friends, and celebrating Christmas!