Post #13: San Francisco to Frankfurt

We called and asked for a cab to arrive at 11:00am. He arrived on time, but the trunk of a regular 4 door sedan was NOT big enough to hold all our luggage. We overflowed into the back seat and even into the front seat! As the cab pulled a away I don’t that either of us could believe that we were actually on our way!!!

We had done some research (Why? Just because….) into the average delay time going through security at SFO International terminal on a Wednesday afternoon (no, like you, we didn’t really know statistics like this even existed…but they do) and the MAXIMUM historical wait was eight (8) minutes. Sorry, we experienced a curve breaking statistical anomaly. OK, so it wasn’t THAT bad, but it was at least 20 minutes. No big deal, we are used to traveling with the ‘cattlecar’ airlines.

I always stress going through security with all my ‘toys’ (see my post below). It seems like it takes me forever to put everything into trays. But, being organized and having everything bags paid off, and I went through as slick as cat…ok, you get the picture.

We then went to the Red Carpet lounge and hung out until it was time to board. This was both a very good experience and a bummer at the same time. The very good was that we each got two free drinks, and there was plenty of cookies, and crackers, and cheese, and…you get the point, pretty cool! The bummer was that I thought I got free internet…NOT. OK, so the only real issue there is that you didn’t get to hear from me sooner…which may have been a blessing in disguise!

We decided to head down to our gate a little early to mingle with the ‘common folk’ (boy, this elitist stuff catches on quick…quickly?) As it turns out the flight was delayed 20 minutes or so (when the flight is in HOURS, what’s a few MINUTES!!!). But it was pretty cool being able to raise our noses and say (properly of course), “excuse me”, as we threaded our way through the crowd toward our…YES…EARLY boarding…and w/out small infants (I wondered out loud what would happen if you had a LARGE infant…oh well, inquiring minds….)

Funny moment: My neck brace is sort of ‘on and off’ depending on the moment (which means I am making great progress!!!) Anyway, as I enter the plane the flight attendant makes some comment about the brace. In anticipation that that might happen, I’m prepared with a witty comeback, “Sorry, I flew Southwest.” Ok, so that may have been totally stupid, but she REALLY cracked up! Gawd I’m funny!

We made our way up the stairs (recognize this was our first 747 flight, so going ‘upstairs’ was like...well, I thought there might at least be a special hand shake)

Our first thought was WOW! There was spaciousness galore…and plenty of room too. It looked VERY cool. But as I started to put our (maximum sized carryon) bags away I noticed that the overhead compartments were miniscule (at best). I heard others discussing this, and the explanation was (per the flight attendant) that we are ‘at the top of the plane’ and there just isn’t that much room.

Well great…and we had our choice. Lesson learned (or not). There are indeed ‘horizontal’ storage bins along the ‘bulkhead’, so there really is twice the space one is accustomed to, but even at that our ‘regulation’ sized bags BARELY fit in those.

After some ‘despair’, we got over it (and moved on ‘so to speak’…this was a VACATION after all!!!) and it seems to be working OK (I’m writing this as we fly, and who knows whether we will actually be able to get the bags out when we land…maybe they will expand…or not. We’ll cross that bridge whenever…but if you are reading this then everything must have worked out.

We were provided champagne the moment we arrived, and there was seldom a moment when we didn’t have some beverage (of choice) to consume.

The dinner menu had some good options, and the presentation was very nice. This was NOT airplane food!!! There was a salad (with choice of hand ladled dressings), a nice (raw?) salmon hor douvres (very nice…and for those of you that know me, you know this is NOT me).. We both had the pork roast entree, and it was VERY good. For dessert we had some very flavorful ice cream, and with it some wonderful port. And in fact, I am now writtiinngg tthhiss afftteerr mmyy tthhirdd rreffill…hick.

We had a lot of clouds for first couple of hours and then we saw a lot of rivers and lakes (and a great sunset). We speculated where we could be, but the only lakes that big (we thought) were either the Great Salt Lake or the Great Lakes, and we figured we were past the first and not yet to the second. So we looked at the ‘in flight’ map…we were in Canada. Beautiful!!!

I don’t care what you are you are doing, but if you are doing 9-plus hours of it it gets a little old (talk to me about double centuries!) But having some sort of personal music player certainly can take away the pain. I have some pretty good travel ear-phones, but United proved some VERY NICE noise-canceling ear phones. Given that I can still hear the conversation in the row behind us I’m not sure how good the noise cancellation is, but they sure are comfortable! You know, there is something soothing about music. We all have different tastes, so when you can travel with your ‘tunes of choice’ it really helps.

According to my Wolverine (see post below re Toys) I have 74 hours of recorded music to listen to…OMG, I sure hope I’m not held captive THAT long. But I digress. My point is that each of us has music that we enjoy and listen to because it puts us in a ‘different place’, etc. Anyway, being able to listen to my ‘favorite’ tunes for however-many-hours certainly lessens the ‘pain’ of ‘sittin’ for what seems like FOREVER.

OK, so I’m captive on a flying torpedo that shouldn’t be flying anyway…I’m up here, but I still don’t get it. The air above the wing travels faster than the air below thus providing lift…well thank you very much! Get over it…back to music….

Fleetwood Mac, Mama’s and Papa’s, Queen, Eagles, Harry Chapin, Beatles, Neil Diamond, Steppenwolf, James Taylor, Barry Manilow (for you Susie: “Can’t smile without you! And Chris, what you did at Susie’s wedding is beyond words!) Neil Young, and Crosby Stills Nash and…yes, the same YOUNG. Listening to these ‘old friends’ simply takes the ‘sting’ out of an otherwise VERY long trip.

OK, fast forward to Frankfurt…we’re now sitting in the Business Class lounge, adjacent to gate A26.

I think I had a nice nap (I don’t remember…I slept through it I guess) and awoke to being served food and beverages again. I still had some port left over, so I finished that along with my coffee and quiche…yes, a wonderful combination.

Flying into Frankfurt was very pretty. It was so green everywhere, with lots of ‘clusters’ of towns.

As we got off the plane it became apparent we were in a foreign country…ya think!?! (I had to ask what the green sign with a stick figure of a running man meant…emergency exit.) We found a large ‘departure’ screen but our flight was not there. Fortunately there was an information kiosk close by, and we were informed that we had to 1) go through passport control, and 2) go to terminal A. I’m not sure what terminal we were in. We followed signs to A & B, so I guess we were in C (not that it really mattered). And of course we had to go through security, and of course they kicked out my bag and asked me to follow them to the ‘back room’. The guy was very nice, did a simple ‘wipe test’, asked me if I was a professional photographer (nope, just a toy freak) and released me unharmed…phew!

We walked for what seemed like forever, and got a kick out of some of the automated foot paths…you know, like you see in airports (duh). But some of these were like 50 feet long. I mean, why bother? A hundred yards at a time I can understand, but 50 feet? Oh well….

Forgot to mention that we were not able to check through from SFO to VCE, so we needed to check in at the gate…but there was no one there. We saw the Business Class lounge area and by giving our names were able to check in and get our boarding passes. It was interesting that they asked for our baggage receipts and scanned those into the computer…and then the agent said, “Uh oh, there is a problem….” We looked at each other like ‘of course’, and then she proceeds to click around the computer a bit…problem resolved (and we don’t even know what it was)

So here we sit waiting for our flight to Venice…but the lounge is pretty nice. Lots of things to eat and drink (all self serve), but as with SFO, the wireless if T-Mobile…and NOT free…so I will post later.

Post #12: We made it!

Everything went well, and we are in our room ready to take a nap. Will post more later.

Bonus Post: The new(ish) grand-daughter cousins

Grand-daughter Olivia

Grand-daughter Lily

Post #11 D-Day

I guess D (in this case) stands for departure. We are all packed and ready to go so all that remains is having breakfast (and just perhaps a celebratory mimosa) before calling the cab. We figured we might as well go to the airport early as there is really no use hanging around home. Besides, we haven't been inside the new International terminal at SFO so this will give us a chance to look around (yes, we're easily pleased.)

We are scheduled to land in Venice just about 24 hours after we depart. With the 9 hour time differential, that makes it just about 15hrs worth of traveling. The good news is we are non-stop to Frankfurt (~11hrs) where we then have about a 2 1/2 hour lay-over before the one hour and 15 minute 'hop' to Venice. (I hear Frankfurt is a fun airport to browse through as well.)

As with every other day this week I've been up since before 4:00am. Hopefully this will enable me to sleep on the plane!!! (I now remember what a little kid feels like as Christmas approaches!)

Well, here's hoping we make all our connections, our luggage arrives with us, a water taxi is available when we land, and the hotel still has our reservation...and that Rich and Lynn made it unscathed as well.

Look out Venice, here we come!!!

Post #10: One more 'get up'

Today is my last day of work, and then 'vacation' starts. It is hard to believe that the gestation period for this cruise has been 17 months (we booked in April of 2006)...and it is finally here. Tomorrow we get to go to the delivery room (OK, I guess having two wonderful grand-daughters born in the last 5 months prompts baby related comparisons.)

I have checked and double checked the To Do list, and think we are in GREAT shape. We know where we are going, we know how we are going to get there, we know what we are going to do (or not!) when we get there, and we have the option of coming back (...option!). We know what we are going to wear, we are prepared for rain and/or heat, we have an extra change of clothes in our carryon in case the checked-in luggage gets delayed (or...gasp...LOST). We have dollars, Euros, ATM and credit cards. We have domestic cell phones, international cell phone, and a wireless laptop for communication. We have copies of all confirmations, phone numbers for all contacts, copies of passports, and at least 2 tags on each of our four (to be) checked bag (with TSA locks). We have travel guides, Italian/French phrase books, novels, magazines, MP3 players, etc. to occupy our minds as needed.

30 more hours...that is it. Then we call the cab and leave for the airport.

OK, so what haven't I talked about yet? I think Dubrovnik and Barcelona are about it. We talked with Rich and Lynn about Dubrovnik, and decided that we could go hog wild on excursions or we could just do the minimum...and we opted for the minimum given all the other 'stuff' we have planned. So the plan is to debark (I think we have to take tenders into this port), find an english speaking cab driver and ask him to give us a panoramic tour of the port area. Then we will come back and do the self-guided walled city walking tour, followed by lunch (and some local wine!!!). We had investigated several neat looking water front expensive touristy restaurants, but decided that we would be fed well enough on the ship, and have great ocean front balcony cabins already, so we plan to just look for something perhaps off the beaten path...we'll just have to see what happens.

For Barcelona we think we are going to book a cruise tour (our one and only) that will take us to Montserrat and then drop us off right at our hotel. The 'method to our madness' here is that we're thinking that by booking that tour we will then be among the first to debark as that process can often take a VERY long time...we'll see. We have a Barcelona tour book, lots of advice from friends and CruiseCritic/TripAdvisor, so despite not having a plan (per say) we feel comfortable that we will have no problem filling our 3 days there.

That's it. The planning is done. Now I just have top off the charges on ALL my batteries...there goes the PG&E bill for the month!!!

Post #9:Packing Toys

Well yesterday was VERY successful. We went shopping and bought all the last minute things, and then came home and got about 95% packed (just some last minute laundry things remain and we will be done.)

Now the difficult part…packing the electronic stuff.

Since most of this stuff is 'of value', we don't want to put it in our checked baggage in case it 'disappears' or the bags get lost.

My ‘toys’ are; a lap top, 35 mm SLR digital camera, mini-camcorder, digital voice recorder, international cell phone, 120Gig portable hard drive, binoculars, and an 80Gig Wolverine ESP hard drive with built-in MP3 player, photo card readers, and picture viewer . (And Janna will have a ‘backup’ small digital camera with her).

Each toy takes batteries, a charger, and connection cables. When I fill my back pack with all my ‘toys’, and peripheral equipment, it weighs 32 pounds…and that is a LOT. And it can be problematic taking all this stuff through airport security if it is all packed together. So I have divided all my ‘stuff’ into four small nylon zippered mesh bags.

One bag is for the digital camera stuff (chargers, back-up batteries, card reader, and extra memory cards) another is for the video camera (extra batteries, charger, remote, TV connection cables...for viewing in our cabin/room...and blank tapes), the third is for the backup rechargeable AA and AAA batteries (and a 'rapid' charger) and the fourth is for the misc. stuff, including; phone chargers, internet cables, hand crank flashlight, Wolverine back-up battery and charger, international electrical plugs and a power strip to plug in and charge all this @#$%& stuff at the same time. When going thru security I can then just put the computer and all the bags in a couple of trays and it becomes a snap.

Traveling domestically in the past I have literally ‘crammed’ all this stuff into my computer padded backpack. 32 pounds was only an issue for my back. But now we have to consider the carry-on constraints of Lufthansa and Swissair. The good news is that connecting from United to Lufthansa on the way over we are still subject to United’s regulations. But not so coming back: One carry-on each (plus a ‘personal item’), max weight of 18 pounds.

One of the things we bought yesterday was a new roller ‘tote’ to replace my backpack as it specifically met the international dimension constraints, has a padded compartment for the lap top and enough room for a change of clothes for each us (in case the checked bags are delayed).

So, all this stuff will have to be divided between my new ‘tote’, my PacSafe ‘fanny pack’ , and Janna’s carry-on. And just in case that is not enough, I bought one of those ‘safari type’ khaki colored photographer vests to wear that has about 30 pockets to handle any ‘over-flow’. (I gave up tying to not look like a goober a LONG time ago!)

Two more 'get ups'!!!

Post #8: Packing

My goal was to post at least once daily, so this post will meet that goal (like someone is really keeping score...well, I am!).

Today is packing and doing the final 'shopping' day. Then two more work days, then we leave. Starting to feel a LITTLE bit of pressure.

So, the suitcases are calling...tuxedo, shorts, cummerbund, sandles, sports coat, swimsuit, ties, walking shoes, security pouch, dress shirts, underwear...there's a lot of mixing and matching opportunities (hope I get them all right!).

Piece of cake....