Recap - Day 1 of first ever trip overseas

So here we are- I have been back home just about a week and I think I have finally caught up with all of the family and the washing and the sleeping. So now it is time to do a recap of my trip. I wrote most of this as I went on the trip but will most likely edit and also add pics as I go. 

So here goes, 

Day 1 - May 16th  2012:

The plan was for Simon to drop me off but due to his back and needing to get back home I stayed at the apartment on my own on the Tuesday night, set the alarm for 3am and caught a cab to the airport.  Everything went smoothly with check in - although the attendant kept trying to get me to self checkin, but I couldn't as I was going on to LA on a different airline, instead of stopping in Sydney. 

Went through security & was pulled aside, which I was kinda expecting due to the medication I had, but what I was not expecting was the security guy asking me about a knife like ornament that showed on the x-ray. We pulled everything out of my cabin bac & we could not find anything. He x-rayed it again and it was still showing. We flipped my bag over and there was two small pockets that looked flat as a pancake. I opened the pocket and pulled out an antique Scottish dagger in a leather sheath. I can only assume it is one that Simon bought in Scotland or even Poland when he was there in 2003. They asked me what I wanted to do, and as the post office section of the airport was not yet open and Simon was back in Palmy by then I told them (Security) they could keep it. They were happy with that, told me I certainly had a story to tell on my first trip and I went through to the next section.

I had developed a head cold on the Monday before travelling and was feeling a little worse for wear. I bought some tissues and water to have on the plane to try and get rid of the damn thing. 

The first flight to Sydney was pretty uneventful after the dagger incident and I had a window view flying over Sydney but completed missed seeing anything relevant like the Harbour Bridge or the Opera House. I only had just under 40 mins at Sydney airport before boarding was called for the Delta flight to LA. 

For that flight I was sitting in the rear section of the plane at Row 46 and I had a centre aisle seat. There was no one in the seat next to me so I could spread out a little which was fantastic, although I was still a little cramped. I was not expecting to be so cold on the plane and I am still not sure if this is done to kill bugs (like my cold) or if is just the way it is being that high up. I had two blankets, was wearing 3 layers and I was freezing!!!!!!!!!!!! I will definitely be buying something warmer for the trip home.


The Gluten Free food on the plane was okay but like most airline/gluten free food was not fantastic. I tried watching TinTin but for some reason I got bored and stopped about 1/2 way. I then swapped over to watching another movie, with Justin Timberlake in it....Friends with Benefits, which was your typical romantic comedy really but passed the time. After that I tried to sleep and managed a good couple of solid hours before waking up and then dozing for the rest of the flight. 


I was aiming to get up every couple of hours to reduce any swelling of my feet etc & to keep good circulation. So I hovered near the back of the plane a bit and got to talk to the cabin crew a fair bit.One thing that stood out was this crew was mainly over 40 and a couple of them had been in their jobs for over 25 years. 


Next time: Arriving in LA and the flight through to Las Vegas....

Till then 

J