Happy Flying Anniversary to Me

I haven't posted in forever, but I have a good excuse. My poor laptop was broken for over a month and I finally fixed it a few weeks ago. Right on time for my one year anniversary of moving to Dubai to serve beef or chicken to the lovely people of the sky.

In the last year, I've operated 116 flights.
I've visited 19 countries, and done turnarounds to 7 countries.
I've served and cleared over 10,000 meals.
I've met hundreds of nice fellow crew members, and maybe only ten terrible ones.
Staying up 30 hours straight is normal and (almost) easy, and sleeping 16 hours straight is (very, very) easy.

I've been to a lot of fun and interesting places, but my favorite so far have been...

Seattle, because: Pike's Place Market, home of Grey's Anatomy, rain, coffee everywhere, possibly my future home, the bathroom mirror in the hotel room (it makes everyone look like a movie star), the list goes on...

New York City, because: I have friends there, Central Park, the food, the feeling of the place, endless picture opportunities, but mostly the food.


Bangkok, because: Mango sticky rice! Really nice people, awesome picture places, cheap everything, nice flight.

Mauritius, because: I don't think this needs any explaining.


Melbourne, because: The people, the shopping, also great coffee and food everywhere, the accent, great for walking around, and I just love Australia.

I'm not going to write about the worst places I've been because everywhere has been good, just different. But stay tuned for the worst/craziest/funniest flight stories I've had so far. And it's only been a year.

Mauritius

Another favorite place! I'm starting to say that about a lot of places. I was lucky enough to go here twice in a row! Both times, I ate way too much at the buffet and will forever be craving the bread pudding they served at breakfast. Both times, I surprisingly didn't get sunburned at all. I call that a successful trip.

On my first trip there, we arrived late morning. We get to stay at a beautiful resort with its own private beach and bungalow rooms with private balconies or stairs down to the water. Most of the crew had been there before, but a few of us hadn't and decided to go on a speedboat tour around the island.

We stopped for some snorkeling and it took me forever to get in the water because it was really cold, and I'm secretly really scared of the ocean. I'm also a really bad swimmer so I swallowed a lot of water once I got in, but the water was so clear and pretty. After that, we went to a few more mini islands to walk around and take pictures.



The second time I was there, I just relaxed on the beach, read my book, and drank beachy cocktails. I've been really stressed this month with flying, so these trips were much needed breaks. A crew friend told me to think about Mauritius every time I'm about to lose my mind on a crazy flight, but it's easy for me to forget. So the next time I'm ready to explode on a flight, I'll try to think back to my two blissful days on Mauritius...

Frankfurt & Glasgow

More catching up! I didn't do anything too exciting in Frankfurt or Glasgow, so I'm combining the two.

Frankfurt, Germany

Now I've been to Frankfurt twice. But the second time, I slept for 16 hours straight because I had just come back from a 16 hour flight from being home on leave the night before. So I'm not counting the second time.

 The first time, I went out with a group of girls from my crew. We climbed three hundred and something steps up the church tower at the Cathedral of St. Bartholomew. It was a narrow spiral staircase with tiny slits for windows. I never knew I was claustrophobic until midway up that climb when I started panicking because I couldn't see anything but the few stairs in front of me. I pulled myself together, made it to the top with a better butt and legs than I had at the bottom, caught my breath, and took in the great view of the city.
 
Unfortunately, we had to go back down the same way we came up. I was hoping to fall and roll down the entire tower so I wouldn't have to fly the next day, but the only thing that happened was getting dizzy from the constant turning. We walked around the city that felt like a giant mall because there were so many stores everywhere. We made it to the main square that actually looks like Germany with the old-style architecture, and I ate a German hotdog and German gelato (actually the same as Italian gelato) while I watched the girls trying to perfect their selfies. One reason I usually don't go out with other crew is because most of them care more about getting a good picture of themselves than actually enjoying the place, and it drives me crazy.

After they got their selfies (casually looking away from the camera like they don't know it's there), I went my own way and shopped around a bit before walking back to the hotel. I'm sure there are more things to do there than shopping, but I didn't look up anything before I went and decided to wing it. I don't mind going there, but I wouldn't ever ask to go.

Glasgow, Scotland

I requested this flight and was so excited to go and see the country I "thought" my family mostly came from (more on that later). All I ended up doing there was shopping, but I liked it more than Frankfurt because 1) I blended in with everyone. I'm not the palest person there or the only one with red hair. 2) I can't get enough of the Scottish accent, even though sometimes I can't understand a word, and 3) Scottish men are beautiful. Need I say more?

A lot of girls from my flight were from Glasgow, so they were going to see their families. The other crew had plans and I wanted to go out alone anyways, so I did. I walked from the hotel to Buchanan Street, a long road of shopping and restaurants. I didn't take my camera with me, so sorry for the not-so-good quality phone pictures. It was my favorite kind of weather: raining and just the right amount of cold. I shopped, ate lunch, had coffee... It wasn't anything exciting but it was a nice day.

 

Unlike Frankfurt, I would ask for this flight again so I can see more of the city or do a day trip somewhere close by. The people are nice, the city is a cool place to walk around, and I liked the gloomy weather. I'm on a roll with this catching up stuff! Next up, Moscow.

Oslo, Norway

I'm the worst at keeping up with this blog. Anyone who reads my posts knows this by now. So here I am, trying to catch up on the last two months of places I've been. Starting with...

Oslo, Norway

Like most places I fly, I only had twenty-four hours to see the place. I actually went out with other crew this time and we were going to take a boat tour of the fjords, but when we got to the harbor, the tickets were sold out. After another twenty minutes of deciding what to do, we took the local ferry to an island called Hovedøya. 

I found my future getaway cottage there, a perfect white house with a yard full of puffy flowers, and only a five minute walk to the beach on one side and the dock on the other. If I ever go missing, I ran away and I'm there. This is the only picture (below) I took of it for some reason, so use your imagination for the rest. 

The island also has the ruins of a monastery from around 1100. There isn't much left of it to see, but the little tower is still standing and the brick walls are covered in pretty little flowers and grasses growing over them.

Inside of the tower

We walked down to the beach and sat there for a while. The weather was warm-ish in the sun and chilly in the shade, but the locals apparently thought it was perfect weather to be swimming. I felt the water and decided they were crazy. I would freeze to death if I went there in the wintertime. 

We left the perfect little island and went back to the city for some dinner. I don't know what authentic Norwegian food is... But we ate at a Scottish bar and I ordered French fries so I'll have to wait until next time to try some Norwegian food. I expected it to be dark when we left the bar because it was around 8pm, but the sun wasn't even going down yet. It didn't set until around midnight, and came back up again before 4am. That was the weirdest part about being there, but it was really cool to be up at midnight and the sun is barely set. 

I didn't get to see the city on this trip since we went straight to the island, so I want to come back here again. The people were really friendly and so, so tall! I feel like a giant in Dubai and come to Norway and I'm tiny. Overall, it was one of the most beautiful places I've been. I say that about almost everywhere I go, but it just keeps getting better!

Sunset at Midnight

Bangkok

I've found another favorite destination! Bangkok was great in so many ways. The flights are easy (meaning hardly any call bells and people who actually say please and thank you), Thai food is magical, and the people are incredibly welcoming. I've been twice already and still can't wait to go back again.

The first time I went, we got to our hotel pretty late, and usually this means I'm going straight to bed. But since the flight was so nice and easy, I wasn't too tired to meet the crew for drinks and dinner. The captain knew of a good place down the street and had never been sick from the food there, and that was as good a reason as any for us to go.

The alley where we ended up was home of my new favorite dessert and the biggest rats in the world. Seriously, these rats were big enough to be lap dogs. Before you judge me for eating somewhere where rats also enjoyed the food, they were in the sketchy bathroom down the alley. While our restaurant wasn't anything special to look at, it was clean and the food was great. One little old lady cooked everything by herself on an outdoor oven that looked like a hot dog stand. And my new favorite dessert? Mango sticky rice. I crave it everyday now.

The next morning, I took a tuk tuk to the Grand Palace. Not going to lie, my life flashed before my eyes a few times on the back of that thing. Anyways, because it was a billion degrees and a billion percent humidity outside, I wasn't going to wear long sleeves. I bought a scarf to cover my shoulders inside the palace, bought my ticket, and was ready to go in when a guard stopped me. Apparently you have to be wearing sleeves under the scarf, so the guy wouldn't let me in. Like sleeves will cover my shoulders any differently than a scarf that covered my whole upper body (can you tell I'm still bitter about it? lol) It was hot and I was hungry and combining the two means I was grumpy. I got my money back and left instead of buying a shirt to cover my harlot shoulders.

I rented another tuk tuk and the driver took me to one of the many temples of Buddha, Wat Intharawihan, with the biggest Buddha statue I'd ever seen. He also drove me to some shopping places and we had some street noodles for lunch before I went back to the hotel... Where I ordered more mango sticky rice. I'm addicted.

The second time in Bangkok is a really short story because a) I was sick and didn't want to go out and get worse, b) I left my debit card in Dubai so I only had the allowance we get on layovers so that, c) I couldn't do much without more money. I had been planning to get a facial and a massage. I just got the facial. I was going to order tons of mango sticky rice and hang out in the hotel. They ran out of mango sticky rice. I was so frustrated with myself for leaving my card in Dubai and with the hotel for not having my beloved sticky rice that I just went to sleep.

They don't sound like the best trips now that I'm writing about them, but I still love Bangkok. The flights are easy (there were only 50/500 passengers back to Dubai on the second trip!), the locals are the nicest, everything is super cheap, and best of all, mango sticky rice!

Where I'm Flying: July 2016

I think I'm still being punished for calling in sick for a Pakistan flight in May, because my roster next month is probably the worst I've had.

I have two of the worst turnarounds possible: Jeddah and Cairo.

Because of my Cairo flight, I don't get to come home three days earlier. The rostering team loves to give a turnaround right before we have leave so we get as little time home as possible. They really love to ruin things.



On the plus side, I'll be in Washington DC for the 4th of July! You can look for me on your TVs in front of the White House when the fireworks start.

I'm also going to Paris, which I usually wouldn't be excited for, but I'll hopefully get to meet my aunt and uncle there for the day.

The only destination that I asked for that I actually got is Glasgow, Scotland. I'm finally going back to my motherland and fellow redheads, and I might never leave.

Last but not least, I finally get to come home again! Even though it's not for long, I can't wait to see everyone, especially my dog and my new baby niece (not necessarily in that order).

I have a million days off before my next flight so maybe I'll actually catch up on this blog, but I've said that before...

Where I'm Flying: June 2016

June Roster

Two new countries, Bangkok again, and finally an LA flight! Moscow, Oslo, and LA are supposed to be kind of hard flights and really busy, but Bangkok and Germany are nice and easy. And only two turnarounds, one to Jeddah and one to Bahrain. I knew I couldn't escape Jeddah for long. Other than that, it's going to be a good month! 

Bangkok post coming soon...

Johannesburg, South Africa

Finally, a new place! I've been doing repeat flights the last couple of months so when I saw Johannesburg, South Africa on my roster I couldn't wait to go. With other crew, it is kind of a tradition for you to go to the Lion Park on your first visit. So that's what I did, and I took a million pictures while doing it.



First we did a driving tour in a big caged truck. The park is really big and spread out. It's not like a zoo; the animals have their own big space to run around and be in their natural habitat, but the lions are separate from things like zebras, antelope, and other things they'd normally eat. The zebras, ostriches, antelope (or something like it), and little wild turkeys were the first things we saw. Our driver/guide would stop the truck so we could take pictures while he told us jokes and facts about the animals.

When we came to the first lion area, there were signs warning us not to open the doors or to stick any limbs out of the cage. A lady was killed at the park last year when she opened the door to get a better picture, and a lioness snuck up on her. Our guide told us he was there when the lady died, and that the same lioness that killed her was in the next area. On that high note, we continued the tour.



There were a few different lion prides in the park that were all kept separate. Some were regular Mufasa/Simba looking lions and some were white lions. All of them were incredibly lazy and were sleeping together in lion piles. For the most part they just ignored us and kept sleeping, but a few would look at us and pose for some pictures before they went back to their nap. We got to hear a roaring contest between two of the boys, and it was such a scary sound! I didn't imagine it being so loud and I could feel it vibrating in my chest. If I was out in the African wild, ran into a lion, and it roared at me like that, I'd just lay down and give up right there.

After the driving tour, we did the most exciting part of petting lion cubs, giraffes, and a cheetah named Cindy. The cubs were all sleeping just like the big lions. There were only 3 months old and almost too big for us to be able to be that close to them anymore. The giraffes were my favorite part. We took lots of selfies while we were feeding them and their purple tongues. The cheetah was just like a giant house cat. They are really easy to tame so people can actually have them as pets. I think I'll get one, actually. She loved the attention and all the petting she was getting. You could tell all the cats thought they were the best thing to happen to this world, just like every house cat I've ever met.

Everything is so cheap in Johannesburg so I bought lots of souvenirs I didn't need, and then we went back to the hotel. I'll be back again next weekend to do lots and lots of shopping!

Where I'm Flying: May 2016

Now that I've passed the probation period, I can bid for flights and destinations that I want to go to. This month I bid for LA, Tokyo, Bangkok, Rome, and Johannesburg. I didn't get Tokyo, but I'm not surprised since it's a hard flight to get. But I didn't get LA :( So I can't go home to see my sister and my new baby niece that is due this month. My only consolation is that I'm going to Rome twice! I haven't been back to Rome since I lived there four years ago and I've missed it a lot! And I'm going on a safari in Johannesburg and get to pet baby lions, but baby niece > baby lions. Hopefully June gives me some LA flights! Six layovers and two turnarounds this month, not too shabby.

May Roster

Any suggestions for places to bid for June? I'd love to hear your ideas! 

The Great Chase

I had one mission in London: Go to the Royal Academy of Art and see my great great (lots of greats) uncle's paintings. Sir Joshua Reynolds, check him out. He founded the Academy back in 1768 and painted portraits of the royal family and other rich people. There's a giant statue of him inside the Academy courtyard and he even looks like my mom's side of the family! I was getting really excited to go in and see his paintings but when I asked a museum guide where I could see them, he told me they were doing renovations and had put everything in storage. There was nothing to see. I wasn't too disappointed because I knew I'd be in Paris the following week and the Louvre would definitely have some of his work.

I've been to Paris once before on a school trip, and it was cold and rainy. That was about seven years ago, and I actually tried to see Reynold's paintings at the Louvre that time but got lost and ran out of time. This time, it wasn't raining in Paris but it was freezing! Too cold to enjoy walking around, and the flight timing made it hard to make any big plans. I took the hour train ride from the hotel into the city, braved walking a few frozen miles to the Louvre, and walked another thousand miles inside the museum to the British painting collection. That "collection" was a joke of less than twenty paintings, and not one was by my dear old uncle. I was so disappointed. Even seeing the Mona Lisa again didn't matter. I looked at her smug face for two seconds and decided to give up on art for the trip.

I wasn't surprised to see London on my roster for the next month. I've been there at least once a month since I started flying. Once again, I decided I'd try to see these paintings. This time, I'd go to the National Gallery because I specifically looked at their website and Reynolds paintings, and they were supposed to be there. With my luck, I wasn't getting my hopes up. Either the museum would be closed that day, or there would be a metro strike, or the museum would have been destroyed by a meteor just hours before I got there. I made it to Trafalgar Square a few minutes before the museum opened and got in line with the other early birds. Surprisingly (to me at least), there was no last minute decision to keep the gallery closed that day, the doors opened on time, and I was on my way inside.

I skipped past who knows how many masterpieces to find my uncle's paintings. I made it to the 1700s salon and started skimming over the paintings in search of something familiar. Then I saw it. Surrounded by a gaudy gold frame taller than me and right in the center of the gallery was a portrait of Colonel Tarleton painted by none other than Joshua Reynolds.

I found four other paintings of his in the galleries and even learned some random facts about him by reading the painting's captions, like that he had a pet parrot (see painting below). You would have thought I painted them all if you could feel how proud I felt looking at them and knowing that someone in my family made them.



It only took seven years since my first failed mission but I can finally cross seeing his paintings in person off my bucket list!

New York, New York

I don't know how I've lived for 23 years without ever going to NYC. I love it! There is so much to do, so many unique places to see, and most importantly, so much amazing food! I didn't take a lot of pictures here... I was too busy eating :)

The night we got there, I met my friend Wesley who had just moved there two weeks earlier. He had the whole night planned out and a list of places to go the next day. My hotel was in Times Square, so we started there. It's a lot smaller than it looks in the movies but it was still cool to be there.

My pizza experience in Milan hadn't been that impressive, so we decided to go out for pizza at a place called Keste that supposedly has some of the best pizza in the city. It was better than any pizza I'd had in Italy, except for a place in Naples that can't be beat. They also had a homemade burrata cheese appetizer that I still dream about. We ate so much that we swore we'd never eat again, then made our way to the next place for drinks.

When came to a Five Guys Burgers and Wesley said he wanted a milkshake. I was surprised since he had just said he was too full for anything, but I wanted to get out of the cold so I went along with it. We got up to the counter and he pulled out his ID to show to the big guy standing there. Since when do you need your ID to order a milkshake? I was so confused. Then he headed up some stairs behind the guy while I'm still looking around, lost as ever. It all came together when I saw the lights and heard the music from the bar upstairs. Wesley made fun of me for the rest of the night for how long it took me to figure it out.

After bar hopping around, trying lots of fancy drinks, almost freezing to death outside, and me falling asleep in the taxi, we called it a night.

The next morning, we started the day with breakfast at Pick a Bagel. One of my favorite foods besides pizza, gelato, and chocolate, are bagels. It was delicious. We walked around the city the rest of the day, through Central Park where we watched and waited for the ice-skaters to fall (we're usually good people, I promise), Washington Square Park, all the way to the Brooklyn Bridge, and back through Little Italy. We stopped at Ladurée for their famous macaroons and at Cafe Habana for their renowned Mexican corn. We always eat so much when we're together! That's probably why we're friends, because we don't judge the other one for being a pig. 

A big thank you to Wesley for being my tour guide for the day! I can't wait to be back again!

 

They obviously named this place after my dog. 

Land of Pizza

It's been waaaayyy too long since I've posted anything, partly because I keep getting sent to the same places (London and Jeddah, I'm talking about you) and partly because I finally got to go home for the first time since October and had no time to be writing bloggy stuff. But before all of that excitement, I had to survive London again, Paris, Milan, and New York City.



Once again, I was lucky with my roster and scored one of the best multi-sector trips. Dubai to Milan for TWO days, then off to NYC for only 24 hours which isn't nearly enough, back to Milan for another day, and back to Dubai.

I hadn't been back to Italy since I lived in Rome four-ish years ago, and I hadn't been back to the States since I left to Dubai four-ish months ago. You could say I was a little excited.

Milan

The first day in Milan, I just walked around and soaked up the Italian-ness that I had missed so much. I had a huge pizza all to myself and even found peanut butter gelato. I was in heaven. In Piazza del Duomo, I was attacked by pigeons when a guy who sells bird popcorn to tourists forced me to take a handful while he put a pile of it on my head. He grabbed my camera and started a photoshoot, then wanted me to pay him for the pigeon attack. I didn't pay him, but he did get some fun pictures of the whole thing.



I was surprised by how much of my Italian speaking skills came back to me and how much I could understand. I had no problem ordering food, asking for directions, and having little conversations in Italian. Time to start studying Italian again :)

The second day, I decided to take a train to Lake Como and Bellagio. The train took an hour to get to Lake Como, then I had to take a bus to get to Bellagio an hour away from there. It was one of the most beautiful drives I've ever been on! Bellagio was a little dead since freezing weather in February doesn't make a good tourist season, but it was a great little place to walk around. Obviously, I had another whole pizza to myself. And more gelato, and possibly a bottle of wine. Calories don't count when you're in Italy.

The third day in Milan, after leaving New York, I slept for SIXTEEN hours straight! I think this is my personal record. Obviously, I ordered a pizza and didn't leave the hotel room until we left for the airport the next day. I couldn't wait to get back because I was leaving Dubai the next day to finally go home!



New York deserves its own post, coming very soon! :)

Land Down Under

Melbourne, Australia

I'm starting to realize that the places I'm least excited to visit end up being the best places. Like Singapore, Australia was never my top choice of places I wanted to go to. I don't even know why. I've only been to Melbourne so I can't speak for all of Australia (which I've heard is awesome), but Melbourne is really, really awesome. I've been three times in two weeks, and I'm already looking forward to the fourth time.

Australians are some of the nicest people, up there with Americans. That's one reason I loved it so much there. Being in Dubai, I don't know what friendly strangers are anymore because they're a rare find here. Also, they are the best looking bunch of people ever. Chris and Liam Hemsworth are from Melbourne, and I saw guys BETTER looking than them. Reason number two why I love it so much. Start booking your flights, ladies!

I mostly wandered around downtown and did a little shopping. There are lots of cute little stores and all kinds of restaurants, food trucks, and coffee shops. I've heard from a few people that Melbourne has the best coffee in the whole world, and it was very good. I took hundreds of pictures of Hosier Lane, an alleyway covered in awesome graffiti street art that is a popular touristy stop in downtown. Mix Chicago with Portland and you get Melbourne.

I also went to the Queen Victoria Market, the largest open air market in the Southern Hemisphere (thanks Wikipedia). It's a farmer's market, flea market, food festival, street performer stage, and outdoor mini-mall all in one. I tried some organic/vegan/gluten free nachos, Danish pancakes, and frozen berry lemonade. And probably some cookies too... I pretty much ate anything I saw. And I bought some organic soaps and a crocodile charm for my bracelet, because it's Australia and there weren't any kangaroo charms. It's hard to choose a #1 favorite place so far, but Melbourne is one of the top!

Auckland, New Zealand

Auckland is kind of like Melbourne, but the accent is different and everything is 10x more expensive. The people are nice, the food is good, and there is a lot to do. I almost went on a Lord of the Rings tour to see the places where they filmed, like Hobbiton, but it was a few hours outside of the city and expensive. Next time when I have more money I'll go so I can get out of the city and see the countryside. 

I didn't do anything special here either, just walking around, taking pictures, buying little things here and there. I hiked to the top of a volcano, which isn't as cool as it sounds because it's not active and it's just an overlook over the city. A pretty overlook, but not as adventurous as climbing a volcano seems. 

I think I missed out on a lot here by staying in the city, so I hope I can come back again soon and see the nature side of New Zealand. Overall, my trips down under have been some of the best!

Singapore

A lot of firsts happened with Singapore.
First time in Asia,
first multi-sector flight,
first visit to a Hindu temple,
first "authentic" Chinese food,
and first time having my palm read by an ex-Buddhist monk.



Asia has never been at the top of my list of places to visit until I went to Singapore. I had a stereotype in my head of Asian cities being a really crowded and chaotic mess of buildings and traffic. But it was such a peaceful, modern, and pretty place. The architecture is the most creative I've seen anywhere, and unlike most big cities, there are gardens and plants mixed in everywhere. One second it looks like you're in downtown LA and the next you're lost in a jungle.

Singapore was part of my first multi-sector flight, meaning I flew from Dubai to Singapore, Singapore to Melbourne, then back to Singapore and back to Dubai. It was around a 5 day trip and I felt dead by the end of it, but I was happy to get two days in Singapore.



I walked to Chinatown and stopped at the Sri Mariammam Hindu Temple. It's famous for its colorful towers and shrines covered in Hindu gods. I had to take my shoes off before I went in and paid a little fee to take pictures. The monks (if that's the right word) were there doing their prayers and chants with Hindu followers in their gorgeous traditional clothing.

Chinatown was HUGE! I bought a lot of souvenirs I didn't need, tried Asian candies, and got dragged into a few shops by the owners who wanted to sell me things (I'm really bad at saying no). There were all kinds of Asian restaurants there: Indian, Thai, Japanese, Korean, Malaysian, Chinese, etc. For some reason, I went with a Chinese restaurant even though I never have good experiences with Chinese food. Actually the waitress standing outside guilted me into going just like all the shop owners guilt me into looking at their stores. I really need to work on saying no... Anyways, this Chinese food experience was the same as always. Me and Chinese food just aren't meant to be. But I did have possibly the best cup of coffee I've ever had in this restaurant. I don't know what the little old lady put in it, but I was in heaven!



The second day I was in Singapore, all I wanted to do was sleep because it was the last day of my trip and I had just flown seven hours from Australia. I forced myself to go out even though I was grumpy and the humidity was slowly killing me. I went to the Gardens by the Bay, one of the places to see according to tourist guides. If you're into gardens and pretty things, this is the place for you. If you're a jet-lagged soulless zombie like I was that day, then don't go and just sleep. The gardens were beautiful, but I wish I would have waited until next time so I could have been in the mood for it.

The best, best part about my two days in Singapore was meeting Chon, the ex-Buddhist monk mentioned above. I was on my way home from Chinatown, ready to get back to the hotel and relax, when I passed Fort Canning Park. I felt like if I didn't go there, I was going to miss out on something. So off I went, walking around another garden. I was taking lots of pictures when a little old man came up to me and asked me where I was from and if I knew anything about the plants. I told him I didn't know much, and he took my arm and said he was my new friend and tour guide for the afternoon. Chon told me all about the plants and spices of the garden, Fort Canning, Singapore, and how he had been a Buddhist monk in Thailand. Then, and now it gets really good, he read my palms and knew my life story. It was crazy how much he knew and how specific he was! He gave me lots of advice I hadn't realized I needed and told me to come back and visit him again. I'm pretty sure he was Buddha reincarnated.



Now Asia is on the top of my list of places to go, especially if I meet more people as interesting as Chon.

One month down...

I've already been flying for a month, but it feels like it's been waaaay longer. For the most part, I feel like I know what I'm doing on my flights and I thought I'd never know what I was doing. So many great things have happened since I finished training last month, and these are at the top:

1. Finding out that my sister is having a girl! I've been begging her to have another baby for ages, so this is probably my greatest news of the year.

2. Spending New Years in London

3. Meeting Chon, the Buddhist monk, in Singapore 

(more about that in my Singapore post, coming soon...)

4. Spending my birthday in Lyon and eating tons of cheese, chocolate, and wine

5. Having a Christmas sleepover with my Dubai friends and eating tons of pizza and chocolate

6. Getting the sweetest birthday presents from my friends here. A hand-painted Little Mermaid phone case, Victoria's Secret perfume, and a pizza dinner at said pizza restaurant. My friends are the best!

7. Finding an amazing pizza place in Dubai, because pizza here generally sucks. Pizza is a big part of my life, as you can obviously see. 

8. Crossing two new continents off of my bucket list, Asia and Australia

9. My February roster is pretty great. Only 3 turnarounds and 4 layovers!

10. About my roster... I'm going to back to Italy a.k.a. my favorite place ever, AND back to the good ol' U-S of A in New York City!  I've never been to Milan or New York so I can't wait! And both places are kind of a big deal when it comes to pizza, so... You know what I'm doing on my layovers. 

February Roster

I'm behind on posting, as always, but posts and pictures from Singapore, Melbourne, and Auckland will be up in the next day or two! 

I'm Feelin' 23

Anyone who knows me well knows that I hate my birthday. Getting older freaks me out, and every birthday I feel like my memory is already fading while the number of wrinkles I have grows. Needless to say, I'm usually not excited for my birthday. The first thing I looked at when I got my flight roster for January was where I'd be on the eleventh. I figured with my luck, I'd be doing some horrible turnaround. But I was scheduled for not a one, but a two night layover in Lyon, France! A two night layover is rare, and this flight is one that people bid for because it's so nice. So happy birthday to me :)

The crew I flew with was amazing! My supervisors told everyone it was my birthday, so they sang to me on the bus going to our hotel and a group of them came out to dinner with me to celebrate. The next morning, a group of us explored the city together. We took a cable car to the top of the city where the Basilica of Notre-Dame de Fourvière looks over the city. The view was incredible, and the church was one of the prettiest I've been to. 

                                                    
We found a cute little restaurant called the Crock n'Roll where their specialty was croque-monsier a.k.a. a sandwich with 1% bread and non-cheese fillings and 99% cheese. Seriously, SO MUCH CHEESE but oh so good! And because it was France, we had tons of wine with lunch, plus Nutella hot chocolate for dessert, then walked down the street to a pastry shop and got even more dessert there. I've never had so much cheese and pastries in one day. After losing all self control at a Sephora sale, I finished off the night with a Nutella crepe from a street stand. Sadly, it was the one and only crepe I had on the trip. I don't know what I was thinking.
The next day was just more shopping because it was France's Black Friday week, and then we headed to the airport to go home to Dubai. On the flight home, the 2 semesters of French I took 5 years ago came back to me and I magically understood the customers and had conversations in French. I also had a full conversation in Italian and I thought I'd forgotten most of that too. 

Overall it was a great birthday trip with lots of great food! I can't wait to see where I'll be next year!