BigTravelMonkey

7 1/2 hour trip to London. Boarding the flight went smoothly, and, after we lifted off from Chigao, we received the usual airline dinner offering, pasta or some kinda meat. Beverages were plentiful and included selections of both beer and wine. We stayed awake a little bit after the meal watching some movies. Turbulence also was featured as dessert. It was good enough for the pilot to seat the.flight attendants. The bars should be just be closing in Dublin as this is being written, so we are calling it a day and grabbing some shut-eye. zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz Next thing we know, the green, cloud covered country of Ireland greets us with a little wake up turbulence. Breakfast is served, a small croissant, orange juice and a yoghurt. Not a bad start, just enough energy to get a ... read more

Packing is a big thing. It is all about how to have enough clothing, toiletries, and electronic devices, yet fit it into a backpack each! No, we do not have those mondo over-sized hiker's backpacks, but a decently sized backpack each, like kids use to haul all their stuff back and forth from school. The way we deal with the clothing is to roll it up tightly, after folding it carefully, then wrapping a few thick rubber bands around the clothing. This packs really neatly in the backpack, useful for cushioning electronics, and the TSA really has not bothered with us for the rolled clothing... Yet. The rubber bands can be used later as a makeshift clothes line by linking them end to end. The "open" spaces between the links serve as clothespins for skivvies, socks, ... read more