Thru the eyes of Road Warrior Stefany
16…HOURS…ON…A…PLANE. Sounds awful right? That’s what I thought when first started planning this trip. I know people spend that much time on flights all the time, but it just didn’t seem appealing. Then in early December, as I cruised various websites looking for tickets, I stumbled upon Quantas Airlines and the most amazing deal. They were offering 1st Class seats to Sydney on the dates we needed for the SAME PRICE as a Coach seat. I’m not kidding! At first I thought it was a mistake, but as I clicked through to purchase nothing was changing. 3 minutes later, Edna and I were booked to go Sydney.
Personally, I have never flown 1st Class internationally and the only other times I’ve flown 1st Class at home is when they give me a free upgrade, so this was a whole new experience. When we arrived at check-in, we had our own line where we were informed that we had the option to use the “1st Class Lounge” once we passed through security. Deep down, I was still waiting for someone to tell me that the booking was a mistake and send us back to Coach. But the ticket agent handed us our boarding passes and sent us on our way. So tickets in hand, we headed to security where again we had our own line. No lines? I could seriously get used to this!
As we exited security, Edna Frances and I were like children on Christmas morning – giddy, excited and full of anticipation. We had no idea what lay beyond those magical lounge doors, but we were about to find out. Now when I say this place was a traveler’s paradise, I’m not kidding. Comfy couches, free booze, food, dessert, TVs, computers (though the Wi-Fi was being really funky) and even showers. We just soaked it all in, beer in hand. It was all great, but we were apprehensive about the showers. True, we had been traveling for 20 hours at that point and had another 16 hours ahead of us, but visions of truck stop bathrooms filled my head. How I was mistaken! Those were showers you find in the high-end spas, completed with fluffy towels and yummy smelling shampoo.
Once clean and full, it was time to board the plane. Again, we were in our own line and own entrance of the plane. This plane had 2 stories and our entrance led to the top floor! The seats looked like little pea pods. They have the capability to recline completely or at any angle you wish. They also can give massages. Done and Done!
As we got settled and marveled at our home for the next 16 hours, our flight attendant Jay came by to offer us complementary champagne before take-off. Don’t mind if I do! As we toasted to our trip, we realized the only downside to this flight. No in-flight Wi-Fi. My hopes of uploading and emailing were dashed. But I decided to self-soothe with free champagne and felt my worries melt away.
Once in flight, Jay stopped by with some yummy dinner options and their accompanying wines. Edna Frances went with king fish and I opted for the turkey. The Riesling they paired with both was great. But at this point we are in food coma and exhausted from the day. It’s as if Jay had read our minds because he popped by again with PJs, tooth brush and eye mask. Seriously!
A quick change later, we settled into our seat-beds, picked a movie to fall asleep to and chose our breakfast items for when we got up. If I haven’t said this enough already, this is the only way to fly. I’m a stomach sleeper and plane sleeping has always sucked for me. This, however, was perfect. The seat was wide enough and reclined enough that I could flip over and actually get some rest. What a concept. I really think they should install these things in Coach as well.
Many hours later, my internal clock woke me up to what would have been 10am at home. But here in our flying home it was 2am, a day later. That’s right people; during my sleep it went from Wednesday to Friday without ever experiencing Thursday. So neat!
For the hours left, we changed, watched a movie, ate breakfast and enjoyed the lounge in plane. Yep, we hadn’t discovered it before we fell asleep but there was a bar/lounge area in the plane. Jay even made it a point to come to our seats to make sure we checked it out.
In Sydney, we had another flight to catch to Cairns. Meaning another 5-hour layover and 2 hours in the air. But none of that mattered because when we arrived in Cairns we met up with Adri and our Contiki group to begin the adventure! Stay tuned ☺
