Flight: Chigago to London (Part 2)

We are flying over Canada now, which really makes me wish I had a window seat. I've never been to Canada so I'd like to see it. Even though I'd probably just see fluffy white clouds, I'd at least like to try. I'm flying over the Canadian mainland over/north of a big island that kind of looks like Cuba. I'll have to pull up a map with places labeled to find out where I am. (The internet tells me that "Cuba" is called Anticosti Island and that I was in the vicinity of Baie-Johan-Beetz in Quebec.)

Dinner was chicken marsala with some brown gelatinous blob that I assume was supposed to be the mushroom. It was hot though, so I can't complain. The pasta underneath was tasteless so I skipped most of it. I ate the entire dinner roll because, you know... Bread. =D There was also a brownie that I shoved into the seat pocket in case of stomach grumble emergency. I promptly forgot about the brownie and wonder if it's still there.

I'm still irrationally afraid of airplane bathrooms, but at least this one has some nice philosophy soap. Or at least it's in a philosophy bottle, because the stuff dries my hands out like crazy. No way people pay $30 for lotion that dries you out. The lock in the one nearest to me is a little jammed because some lady walked in on me while I was washing my hands. I'm glad it was only a little awkward instead of a lot awkward.

I watched Warm Bodies on my iPad before dinner came because the tiny screen in my seat back is so old that I don't know how to work it...

Flight: Chicago to London (Part 1)

Flying United is like an anti-commercial. It's an advertisement to fly any other airline. First off, there is a crap economy that is worse than what used to be regular economy (now called "economy plus"). The seats are smaller, and the technology is so antiquated I'm not even sure I can use it. I miss the Delta flights with complimentary beer & wine (it's not on United!) and the big interactive TV screens in the back of the seat in front of you. I have a tiny screen that's less than a 6" square and it doesn't have touch capability. The controls in the arm work the TV, and there are only 3 movie choices. I had 15 or more on my flight back from Ireland in 2009. Get with the times United! I'll just watch a movie on my iPad and then catch a nice, long snooze. I know I won't be able to sleep the whole 8 hours because my body still thinks it's about 5pm. Hopefully after a movie I'll be sleepy.

The first 10 minutes on the plane there was a screaming baby right behind me. God, I hope he calms down and stays that way.

Never are class lines more apparent than when on an international flight. The people in first class have the nice beds to sleep in, the people in business class have the nice, wide train-style seats that face each other (with the big TV screens), and even the economy plus people have seats that look more comfy than mine.

Flight: Dublin to ATL (and layover)

I tried to spend all my remaining euros before I left (read: bought Cadbury Dairy Milk Bars for later), but still ended up having about €5 left in change.

I watched 3 movies on the plane (Fast & Furious, My Life in Ruins, and Sunshine Cleaning) and finally finished 17 Again. I even won a round of trivia! Having the seat-back TVs that I could control totally made the trip this time around because I could do what I wanted at my own speed.

Lunch was just as much food as dinner on the other flight, but it wasn't as good. I had cannelloni this time. For our snack we had a spinach and ricotta pizza, but the spinach looked more like guacamole and the ricotta was more like mozzarella. I utilized the free wine a bit more this time to make my movie viewing more enjoyable.

Our flight was delayed from 6:45 to 7:20, and now it's been delayed again to 8:45. My 3 hour layover suddenly became another 5 hours in ATL. 8:45 became 9:20, and it looks like that's going to be the final time. The plane is here now, and it's 8:45. Jacqui's flight into JFK had to circle around several times and attempted to land a few times (and had to go back up) before it could finally land. The only inclement weather I see is rain. These people need to learn to operate like Ireland -- it rains all the time there and it doesn't slow them down!

Flight: ATL to Paris

I don't know what time it is because my cell phone's off and I don't have a watch. The movie system on the plane is messed up and they have to keep restarting it (much to my dismay). We had gotten about halfway through 17 Again with Zac Efron and I was getting into it when they restarted it the first time. Now I'm watching the beginning of that Disney "Witch Mountain" remake for the third time. I want to see the end of the grown-up movie!

I've also just had the best airplane food I've ever had. It was pasta in a cream sauce with vegetables (which I left on the side), a little salad with Italian dressing (had a few bites and it was wilty so I didn't eat the rest), a roll with butter, Monterey Jack cheese and crackers, a cookies n creme brownie, and water in a little container with a foil lid (like a yogurt cup). It had a little maple leaf on top. Only the Canadians would come up with something like that. The little plastic silverware were adorable, if cheap. And I got complimentary white wine to go with my pasta! I've already had a Coke, and we get breakfast in the morning too. They just came by to see if I wanted coffee, tea, or water and I still have almost all my wine and half the little container of water left. Talk about service!

When I started writing, we were over Rhode Island and it really does resemble a boot. Now there are so many clouds that I can't see anything but white. I used the airplane bathroom for the first time since freshman year of college and it's not nearly as bad as I remember. Maybe this one's bigger, or I'm not as claustrophobic anymore.

Back to my wine and movie now!