Jelly Fish, Sea Otter & Seals....OH MY!

Yes, I am still alive.  Though no thanks to my endodontist!  Had a root canal this week & let's just say I am still too sore to send him a Christmas card this year.  Or ever.

Anyways, back to chatting about flying.  Guess who FINALLY made it to Seattle!?

Ok, if you didn't guess it was me, then I feel you should probably just stop reading because you're brain could start bleeding from all of the stimulation.  Seriously.

The trip started off as a 3 day that I was looking forward to until I walked into the briefing room and noticed the flight leader was this guy I had flown with before and he was a *tad* bit of a moody person.  Sigh.  Then I looked over at this super pretty red head and I was like "I have to stand by HER for 3 days!?"  It was pretty intimidating.  Finally, our 4th member of the crew busted in with just his tshirt on with coffee sloshing around and started rambling.  Okkkkaaayyy......

You know how they say to not judge a book by it's cover?  Perfect example!  Lucy, the gorgeous red head, wound up being one of my FAVORITE FA's to work with to date - she is so sweet she could give you a cavity & completely and totally unassuming.  Kirk, the little spazz, is just that (he said his partner compares him to one of the minions in "Despicable Me" lol)...but so beyond lovable and hilarious and best of all...a total prankster.  We all know I love a good prank.  Even if he did pull a few on me.  it took working 1 leg for the 3 of us to realize this was going to be an awesome trip & immediately we were thick as thieves.  Day #1 was our long day & by the time we got to Seattle that night, we were zombies.  Which is always fun when you have to wait to check in at the hotel with the super models from Icelandic Air...seriously, I think that they hire robots or something!  NO ONE looks that put together after a 16 hour day!  Ok, I am getting off track...so anyways, off to bed we went with the plans to get up and explore the next day.

Morning rolled around & I pulled myself from bed to find a note under my door from Kirk telling me he had been up since 4AM (your body never adjusting to a certain time zone is an occupational hazard) & was ready to do "brekkie".  Lucy, Kirk & I fueled up on coffee and pineapple juice (and one of us might have overdone it on the all you can eat bacon) & off we went!

First stop on the agenda was Pike's...it's iconic & I had to say I visited it!  Yes, I am that much of a nerd that I still enjoy acting like a total tourist on layovers.  It's fine & I don't care if my "I don't belong here" banner is flying high here & there.

After watching people throw & catch fish and Kirk attempt to eat an entire bottle of oysters (yes, I gagged just watching), we decided to take the adventure to the streets.  Then we saw it...THE FERRY.  Kirk threw the idea out there that we were all thinking - let's take the ferry!  Somewhere!  Wherever it goes!  We hightailed it over to where we needed to catch it, just in time to get tickets and jump on board.  Honestly, I can say it was the best $7.70 I have spent in a hot second.  We spent the next 2 hours laughing, hanging out & just looking at the beauty around us.  The air was crisp & slightly cool with a strong wind while we stood out on the deck of the ferry and watched the sights and took a million pictures.

We even spotted a sea otter in the water & some jelly fish.  Just when we didn't think it could get any better, we noticed that there were a bunch of seals playing in the water & jumping on and off the buoy.  How cool is that!?!?!  We don't have that kind of stuff here in Michigan!  All in all, it was such a fun day...I didn't want it to end, but we had to slap our uniforms back on because someone needs to schlep snacks & drinks to passengers.  It's a day I probably won't forget not only because it was my first time ever to Seattle, or that I saw some seal playing, but because I spent it with 2 very fun people. In fact, I was actually sad (mostly) when the 3 day trip came to an end because I enjoyed both of their company so much.  Who is sad when work is done!?  Days & trips like this are the reason that this job & the sacrifices made to do it are totally worth it.  Until next time!

When it's time to leave your home and your loved ones

It's the hardest thing a boy can ever do

An' you pray that you will find

someone warm an' sweet an' kind

But you're not sure what's waiting there for you! - "Seattle" by Perry Como

The Tough Choices In Life: Peanuts, Pretzels, Cookies

While all of you are coming down from your BBQ with family & friends food coma's and weekend boat party hangovers, I am sitting in a hotel in Baltimore on my 4th of 6 consecutive days of flying.  I'm exhausted.

Let me stop for a second and make a disclaimer: I like passengers.  Honestly.  Some of them can be seriously cool people.  Please remember this if you decide to read on!!!!!!!

That being said....good gracious I hate holiday flying!  Flying brings out the worst in people, even on a good day, and holiday flying brings out something I dread: the rookie flyer. That person who only suffers airports once a year to make a holiday visit with loved ones. No, this doesn't mean that those of you who rarely fly should start looking at train tickets or else suffer the wrath of the flight attendant your next trip.  This just means that it is very clear & evident that you don't fly often because you have zero "jetiquette" and you should probably print out what I am about to write and take it with you the next time you fly.  Please.  I beg of you on behalf of FA's everywhere.  See, I can't legit get mad at rookie flyers for not knowing the ropes...not everyone can be a Diamond member that knows the workings of specific routes they take constantly better than I do...but I can ask that you use common sense & understand the basics.  Especially since I am taking it upon myself to crusade for rookie flyers everywhere!  Here goes....

JETIQUETTE BASICS:

1. Let's start with boarding...if I am in the aisle, this doesn't mean you have to stand there and stare at me blankly until I wave you through.  I've got bags to move & bins to fill!  While I am doing my job, your sole purpose is to quickly get your bum to your seat without me telling you to do so, so here is your permission to just squeeze past me.  Throw in an "excuse me" while passing and we just became best friends.  Oh, and please make sure you put your small stuff under the seat in front of you.  I need that bin space for the giant puzzle of roller bags that is my life every boarding process.  
2. You pack it, you rack it.  You have a bad back?  Ok, I don't want to make that 2 of us.  I will lend you a hand, but I am for sure not lifting your giant suitcase filled with cinder blocks all by my lonesome while you stand by and watch.  
3. Don't ask me for water.  At least not while boarding, during my demo (in fact, if you interrupt my demo at all I am not going to be your friend anymore), or while we are taxiing.  You have meds to take?  Pretty sure you knew that those meds had to be taken at that time an hour ago...which is just about the time you were sitting up at the gate doing nothing probably while 100 feet from a store you could have purchased water from.  It's not that I am lazy or don't want you to have the water; I just don't have the time just then.  Something you DID have before you walked on my plane.  Now, FA's also know "stuff happens", so if you genuinely need that water please don't let this blog stop you from asking.  All I am asking you to do is THINK about it first.  
4. Airplane mode is NOT off.  Enough said.  
5. Peanuts, pretzels or cookies?  I promise you, this isn't a trick question and there is no wrong answer to it.  Just choose one!!!!  Or choose none!  Or be a greedy little piggy and choose them all!  Whatever you decide, I beg of you to please just don't make me ask you 4 times while you get more and more overwhelmed by the clearly too many options I have just given you in life.  Obviously this is the toughest choice you have had to make all day.  
6. I am not a waitress in the sky.  What I am is a flight attendant - someone who spent weeks being trained to save your butt should something happen on the plane.  Since I am such a considerate hostess, I serve you snacks and drinks while you are guest on said plane, but the main reason I am there is in case an emergency rears it's ugly head.  Now please remember to be a courteous guest and don't insult me by treating me poorly, putting your feet up on the walls & furniture, or using poor manners...and for goodness sake please make sure you flush the toilet!
7. Do I come to your office while you are at work and stand over your desk with a screaming baby or do yoga poses while you are trying to get things done?  No???  Ok, let's try and extend me the same courtesy.  The galley is my little office.  If you need to come stretch your legs for a minute or 2, I understand.  Can we at least come to a compromise and please try not to do it while I am eating my lunch or putting away a giant beverage cart?  Thanks.  
8. If you booked your own ticket & left yourself with some impossibly tight connection that you are never going to make unless we were passengers on the Starship Enterprise and had the power to teleport you to your next gate (which would be so cool...just sayin'), I have no sympathy for you.  None.  Next time, be realistic about how much time you need in between 2 flights.  Hint:  it's more than 30 minutes.  
9. If you are a hot, single guy it's expected you give me your number before walking off of the plane.  Ok. Fine...I made that one up.  Can't blame a gal for trying, right?  

Those are the basics.  Or at least the ones I could think of that really, realllly bugged me today during my 13 hour work day.  Let's just say this scratched the surface on Jetiquette.  Don't get overwhelmed...baby steps.  Rome wasn't built in a day & I don't expect all of you nonairport dwellers to know or understand all of the rules just like that.  Just try and learn what you can for your next journey.  Trust me when I say that your FA will appreciate you.  Heck, she might even hand you peanuts, pretzels AND cookies without even asking you what you prefer just because you are such a rockstar passenger!

I Love You...I Love You Not...I Love You...

3 days of flying down, 3 more to go.  Man, this summer has been a crazy one.  First, let's start with the good news:

I GOT MY BASE TRANSFER TO DTW!!!!!!!!!!


!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!YYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYEEEEEEEEEEEESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


This is even more exciting than the time I discovered that bars in Wisconsin serve free sides of bacon to go with your beer!  It's been a rough summer, to say the least.  It just feels like I have not had a moment to breathe, really just breathe and relax, since I went away to training back in April.  Commuting to NYC for work & getting the hang of all of that, having a sick sister who is on the double lung transplant list out in WI (and going through a "false alarm" back in July), not having time to see my friends because I just want to sleep all day,feeling homesick, attempting to start a relationship with someone (which inevitably failed), and just recently a Grandmother that was placed into hospice.  To top it off, we were short staffed at work all summer and our schedules were overloaded.  To give you an example - the typical FA schedule is about 75-80 flight hours a month.  Mine have been topping out at over 100.  Yeah...like I said...rough summer.  This gal is BURNT OUT.

So the other night I was laying in bed, saying my prayers and feeling rather overwhelmed (which has been a theme lately) & had a little chat with God.  During said chat I asked him for some relief from all of this because I am burning the candle from both ends and the middle.  Something has GOT to give.  The very next day I opened up my work email and saw the message "Base Transfer Award".  Crossing my fingers (like I do every month when I see this email come through, only to be disappointed), I opened the email.  The first thing I saw was: CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!!  Wait, what?  OMG!  OMG!  OMG!!!!!!!  I got my base transfer!  If that's not the Lord answering some prayers right there, I don't know what is.

So, why do I do it?  Why do I put myself through the 15 hour days?  Deal with some of the worlds most horrible human beings and have to be nice to them just because they've stepped on my plane?  Suffer from insomnia because my body doesn't have a clue 89% of the time if the sun is coming up or going down?  Miss holidays with family and weekends with friends?  Simply put: because I can't imagine myself doing anything else.  When I step on that airplane, even on the worst days when I really, realllly don't want to be there, I come alive.  Yes, though I am pretty sure this job is going to cause me to age prematurely (wrinkles - gack) and ultimately put me in an early grave due to all of the stress...I love it.  I love being part of a legacy.  I love not being micro managed.  I love being able to cross paths with such diverse and interesting coworkers and passengers.  I love pushing my body to it's limits and proving time and again I can do it (you try working 16 hours on your feet in heels after 4 hours of sleep).  I love the independence of walking away from my every day life and getting away from all of the things that weigh heavily on my mind on the ground and jumping on a plane and leaving it all behind while I am up in the clouds..even if it is a temporary reprieve.  I love watching the sunrises and sunsets & marveling at God's creations.  I love going to places that most people will only ever dream of.  I love that at any time, I have the luxury of being to just jump on a plane and GO.  I just love the adventure of it all...

Now that I have my base transfer, I feel like I have fully stepped into my "dream job".  No, I never knew that this would be it, but now that I have found it I can't see myself doing anything else.  Well, except for being a kept woman who eats bacon while sipping Chardonnay all day and owns 20 cats.  This transfer to DTW means more nights at home...more chances to see my friends & sister...no worrying about weather in 2 different states & if I will be able to make my commute to NYC...that days off are just that - days OFF where I am not using them up getting to and from work.  Ahh...just to be able to be done with a trip to get into my car and drive HOME as opposed to getting in too late to commute home that night, having to wait on a crew runner or cab (then paying for it), to walk a few blocks in heels to get to a crash pad to wake up early to commute home.  One more month and I am DONE with that - I was based in DTW with my other airline so I know how this can change the job completely.  You have no idea how totally giddy I am!  It makes me love this job again, just thinking of being at my new base, as opposed to resenting it like I was starting to do.  So that nights like tonight as I sit in NYC in between two 3 day trips, with a roller bag packed with a week's worth of crap that I need to cart around, I could be cuddling in bed with Archie after I drove myself home to the place where I belong and was able to unload the dirty laundry and 20 lbs of luggage.  DTW, here I come...ready or not!  I think this is the beginning of something beautiful.  :)

View from my office...

"For once you have tasted flight you will walk the earth with your eyes turned skywards, for there you have been and there you will long to return." - Leonardo dda Vinci

Wherever You Fly...

Guess who's back!?  No worries, I didn't ditch out on my blogging yet, it was just that I wanted to take a break from hauling this laptop all around the world for a hot second.  It really has cut my time through the security line (I mean, after I cut to the front and get glares from all of the passengers in line..that saves lots of time) down by at least a good 30 seconds.
I've decided the best way to recap the last few weeks would be to give you a view of life via pictures...here goes nothin'...
Did a quick little trip out of EWR shuttling around on the 320 for 3 days.  Had one of my favorite crews to date - I love, love, love laid back crews.

Chillin' on the 320

Having some fun in the galley by giving Chris some hair

Chasing the sun all the way back to EWR

The next trip I went on was me and the guys.  Literally.  The other 3 FA's were men.  The flight deck crew was men.  Even the load factor they gave us was a man!  I was for sure the odd man...er, woman...out.  I buddied up with Ryan, the lead FA on the trip, and we ended up having a good time.  Our first layover was in Portland, OR & we were going to stay up to watch the Perseid meteor shower but the city lights & cloudy night buzz killed that idea.  However, Ryan did get up super early with me to go to VooDoo Doughnut (it's been featured on lots of travel/food shows) & then a walk through the rose gardens.  This was an especially sentimental trip for me because I was born in Oregon & haven't been back since I was 3 years old.  I actually have pictures of "baby Angie" in that same exact rose garden with my grandparents & parents, so of course I got all sappy about being there again after so many years had passed. Let me tell you, Portland for sure has it's own flavor.  The people out there are a special breed.  Cool...but special.  Maybe it's all the meth.  Yeah...it's probably the meth...

VooDoo Doughnuts

Me in the rose gardens

After a few brief days home, it was back to NYC for this little lady.  Since they assigned me a later standby report, I was able to stay home an extra night and have (gasp) a Saturday night out.  Even if I did hate myself when that alarm went off at 6AM.  I'm getting too old to not work on weekends...my poor body can't take it!

Pretzels: it's what's for breakfast

Guess where I ended up that night?  PARIS!  I missed that place & I like to think the feeling is mutual. What a fun trip it was too.  Mark (one of the French speakers) took Luis, Michael & I out on the town.  Not to the tourist places, but to see the "real Paris".  Gay district style.  Best night out I have had in a long time!  The company was beyond fabulous. These darlings had me cracking up all night. We started out with dinner at this amazing restaurant where we sat outside and drank a bottle of wine, ate bread and watched the world go by.  Dinner was Confit de Carnard (aka duck leg over slices of potatoes)  & it was to die for.  Well technically the duck did die for it...but...ok...moving on.  Next up was clubbing.  I tried to explain to the guys that going out at gay bars it the best because you get to stare at good looking men all night and don't have to worry about getting creeped on.  Afterwards we took a little stroll past Notre Dame & snapped pics while some homeless man yelled at us in French.  I don't care if he was cussing us out, it still sounded so romantic!

Sights of Paris...

...and more...

The only thing that could top that amazing dinner - dessert: Nutella Creme Brulee.  Le sigh.

Clubbing in Paris.  Yes, that is a hot guy taking a shower in a club. Hey, it's Europe!

Hugs from Mark & Michael outside of the Notre Dame

Too soon it was time to leave & come back to the states.  With the 3 ADays that I had left, I ended up with this not too shabby 3 day domestic trip.  Our second night on the road we ended up in Providence, Rhode Island & there was mad amounts of glorious seafood that was consumed.  A casserole with scallops, shrimp & lobster tail?  Oh, if you insist!

See what 5AM reports do to me?  I managed to stab myself in the eye with my mascara wand.  OUCH!

Ran into Jerome Bettis in DTW.  Nice guy.  

What to do when your ear hurts & won't pop on descent.  No, really.  The hot water helps!

The great part of this domestic trip though was getting back early enough to commute HOME.  Best part of my week???  Coming home to this...

ARCHIE!!!!!!!!!!

Yeah, all of the other stuff is fun & all but NOTHING beats walking in the door to the world's happiest/most excited dog who hasn't left my side since I got back.  He's laying on me as I type this, haha.  Home at last...aahhh....it feels good.  Well, at least for a few days until I get antsy for the next adventure.  Stay tuned!

“You won't lag behind, because you'll have the speed. 
You'll pass the whole gang and you'll soon take the lead.
Wherever you fly, you'll be best of the best.
Wherever you go, you will top all the rest."
― Dr. Seuss, Oh, the Places You'll Go!

Luck Be A Lady...?!

Ok, so those of you that know me and/or keep up with my blog (I like to refer to ya'll as "the chosen ones") are aware that I have bad flight attendant luck. Really, reallllly bad luck that leaves friends questioning why they fly with me and me wondering why I ever said I liked this job.  Case in point:  when I last left off this blog I was all like "I love my job!  I love Paris!  Hooray for everything!"  Then the next morning I got a phone call waking me up to let me know our flight was cancelled due to maintenance and we were stuck in Paris for another day.  Yes, I said STUCK.  Listen, I will be the first to admit that on any given day I would NOT mind another day in that grand city...however...I NEEDED to be home.  You see, I had specifically swapped out this really nice trip that started on the 2nd (with an 18 hour layover in New Orleans) for ADays (yes, I actually took someone's Adays because that is how desperate I was to get the 2nd off) on the 3rd due to the fact that there were special circumstances as to why I needed the 2nd off.  To recap...now I had to WORK on the 2nd when I was supposed to be off, my plans went to crap & now this meant I was on for 7 days straight for which I was NOT packed accordingly.  Oh, and when I got back to the States & turned on my phone I got word Cass (my sister) was in the hospital.  Are you getting a taste of my FA luck yet???  Frank Sinatra said it pretty well: "they call you lady luck, but there is room for doubt, at times you have a very un-lady-like way of running out".  He said it nicer than I do...I usually just use a word that rhymes with such things as witch, snitch & itch (which I suppose is very un-lady-like of me).

Ok, ok...anyways... imagine my shock then when I got the trip in Open Time that I was hoping for.  Late report, only working 4 flights in 3 days, worth 18 hours & home early enough to commute back to DTW.  My luck has me too wary to do preemptive happy dances, so I didn't.  Upon arriving at JFK, I watched our flight to SAN get pushed back further...and further....annnnnd further.  Ugh....now we were going to be getting in at 3AM EST and put on reduced rest.  I even warned my crew at that point about my luck - I felt they had a right to know what they had gotten into.  I AM CURSED!!!!

This is how awesome the crew was - they all didn't mind that I was cursed & were still ok with hanging and joking around and stuff.  Or maybe they just thought I was crazy and didn't really believe me.  or because I offered to share my 3 Musketeer bar.  Whichever way, they were all beyond nice to me & I was looking forward to working with them.  Ok, so I chipped away at the bad flight attendant luck a tad bit.  HA!  Take THAT!

Anyways, we finally boarded up the plane & were on our way to SAN for 8 hours of rest.  It was a decent flight & I was just happy that the people I was working with were all super chill, super sweet individuals & that most of the passengers were too tired to do any real yelling at us. We landed safe & sound & were getting off of the plane when scheduling called...and usually they never come bearing good news.  Except this time they were calling to say we got rerouted - to 11 hours on the ground so we could rest, then a double deadhead to LAS!!!  Ok, so extra sleep, getting out of working 2 flights but still getting paid, AND we get to Vegas in time now to have some fun???  Is this real life!?  This can't be happening to Angie "worst flight attendant luck ever" Zell!

All day I held my breathe...I KNEW something had to give.  Was I going to get pulled from the trip in SLC?  Which one of our deadheads was going to have maintenance and cause us to loose all of our fun time in Sin City?  This was all going too smoothly and in my favor - this doesn't happen!  But we made it to Vegas - in one piece & on time nonetheless. Then the awesome things started happening:

• We got there as Happy Hour started, so FREE drinks (and we all know I haven't met a free Chardonnay I didn't like) for the next 1.5 hours!
• Leo, the super adorable, likable, sweet & fun flight leader on our trip, was all about going out to have some fun so I had a partner in crime!
• I WON $13 for my cab ride to LGA (where I was planning on commuting out of home since the 4:30PM JFK flight was oversold) the next day!
• I had more free drinks & decided to play more penny slots & WON an additional $60!
• Sharkweek was on when I went to my room to eat my burger & pass out!  YEEESSS!!!!
• We got into JFK early & Crew Scheduling actually released me. I literally walked 3 gates over to the 2:55PM DTW flight that was boarding & got a seat home, which meant saving money on a cab to LGA as well as getting back about 3 hours ahead of schedule!

Take THAT bad flight attendant luck!!!  How do you like me now!?!?!?  Turns out, I suppose on certain days, luck CAN be a lady....even for this silly flight attendant.  I should go buy a lottery ticket.  

City Of Love...

Hello Paris, we meet again!  Flew through the night on a 767 to France; the flight itself was uneventful.  Arrived in Paris a little after 8AM here (that's like 2AM at home), made the hour long bus ride to the hotel & then crashed out for a few hours.  When I woke up, it was time to take on the city.  Solo.  Which is just what I needed to get out of this funk I have been in.

First up, I took the Metro down to the Eiffel Tower.

I have taken on numerous major cities by myself, but this was a whole new beast trying to attempt to go out in a foreign country without anyone else to hold my hand (and feel free to shoot me a virtual high five because I didn't get lost even once).  Turns out I don't need the help & sometimes I just need that reminder!  It's nice to know I am independent and self sufficient and all of these other awesome qualities that sometimes I forget about.  In order to make things as easy as possible, I decided that Eiffel Tower was "home base" today.  No matter what, I knew if I made it back there that I could get back home (and yes, by "home" I mean the hotel). The game plan was to just always know where in relation to home base I was - easy enough.  According to the handy dandy map I got from "home", it appeared that if I just followed the River Seine I would be golden.  So, that's what I did.  I walked....and walked...and walked some more.  During my walk I for sure had lots of love thrown my way - again, this was my first time out in Paris by myself and let me tell you, when you don't have an escort there are many, many Frenchmen who are super willing to fill that role.  I had Marq, who stopped his bike dead in it's tracks to talk to me.  He was so set on us chatting that he even rang his sister in London to help him out with the language barrier when his English failed him.  Marq was my guide for a few blocks until I made up a story about my super strong boyfriend that I am madly in love with.  Hey, a girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do.  I managed to ditch Marq just a few blocks shy of The Louvre:

Next time, I WILL make room in my schedule to go in there. After that stop, it was just a quick jaunt to Notre Dame:

 I had a reality check while I was sitting in the pretty little park, eating my crepe, staring at the Notre Dame.  Who does this!?  I mean really, who gets to spend their day walking the streets of Paris & grab a quick bite to eat outside a world famous church all while getting paid!?  It's times like these where I just LOVE my job...

I did have a moment today where I got super homesick though.  Those of you who know me know that I have 2 "Schnisters" who have been with me my entire life & are my soulmates.  They understand me better than the rest of the world & they are my true happy place - they love me unconditionally.  Anyways, I had always said that one day the 3 of us would have a lock on a bridge (if you think I am crazy, please read the following link & mentally apologize to me http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Love_padlocks) & today when I came across a very famous one it made me wish they were there.  I mean, I always wish they were there with me to share my adventures, but today I was sort of weepy thinking about how much I wish that they could have experienced this happy day with me because having them there was about the only thing that could have made it better.

Paris is just so lovely.  The nice thing is, it thinks the same about me!  We already discussed in a previous blog (and briefly above) that I enjoy being told I am pretty - well, I spent the entire day fielding "Ooh La La's", kisses, smiles and lunch dates.  It was such an ego boost - how could I NOT spend the day smiling.  Honestly, everyone was so nice to me.  When I walked past a cafe I would get a handful of "Bonjours", each time I asked for help people were willing to assist my confused American butt, gentlemen would stop their bike just to chat or tell me I was a beauty, ect. One good looking man (Jef was his name) even stopped his bike during the light show at the Eiffel Tower to watch with me since "no one should have such a romantic moment all alone".  Everything here really does just ooze love & romance.  The nicest person by far though was the old man who didn't like that I was out walking alone at night (hey, I wanted to catch the Eiffel Tower lights) because he "doesn't trust the Romany's", so he walked me to the Metro station just to make sure I made it there safely.  We parted ways with an "Au Revoir" and a kiss to each cheek so I got to feel really legit.  How could that not melt a gal's heart?  Paris, you didn't fail to live up to your nickname & I for sure feel the love!  Thanks for being so good to me, the smiles & the all around happy day.  Jusqu'à la prochaine fois, Paris!  

No Habla Espanol...

Angie's adventures in A Days continues...as I sit here & write this latest blog from Bogota, Columbia.  Yep, 2 days after being in Europe I am now in South America.

View from my hotel room

I was chilling at Hannah & Megan's apartment in NYC, waiting for Meg to get up from her nap so we could get our nails done, when Scheduling rang to let me know I was being short called for a flight to Bogota.  LUCKY ME!  So I high tailed it to JFK to make it to the gate in time to board the plane.  At the gate I met Mike (this sweet Puerto Rican who is also Christian and speaks Spanish faster than anyone ever should) and Marlo (our adorable Columbian flight leader) & said they were happy to have me come along since they only allow pretty people on their flights.  Naturally that was all it took for me to fall in love with them (I like to be told I am pretty, what of it???).  I was ready & raring to go...until it was time to go...

Mind you, I have been fighting off the beginnings of a cold since Copenhagen & it decided to fight back right at the beginning of our flight.  Great timing, right?  About 5 minutes into boarding, as I was hiding out in the back galley trying to find a home for the 8 trillion bottles of water that catering just left sitting around, Mike warned me that these passengers are typically a bit needy.  Understatement!  The best part?  About 80% of these overly needy passengers spoke Spanish only.  Pretty sure I got cussed out, but I suppose ignorance is bliss.  It was a weird sort of Twilight Zone I lived in for 6 some hours - both of the other FA's spoke Spanish to each other the majority of the time, they were the ones who had to assist the passengers, and the passengers couldn't even understand my really witty jokes & so no one laughed at them (ugh).  It actually even felt sort of lonely not really having anyone from my culture on the plane - no one likes being the odd man out.  I did manage to make it on my own handing out meals - "pollo o pasta?"  Thanks Mom & Dad for paying for my private school education 15 years ago..I bet you guys feel great knowing you spent all of that money so that it could come in handy while I was handing out meals on a plane headed to Columbia.  Good looking out!  My favorite passenger though was this grumpy little old man that spoke okay English.  He was so gruff, but I managed to melt his heart halfway through the flight by chatting with him - he was so excited when I told him this was my first time to Columbia. He got very animated & I think he told me about all the things I should do while I was here, but since I only understood about every other word he said I just nodded & smiled.  That must have been good enough for him because he kept calling "La Senorita Bonita" through the rest of the flight & smiled at me every time I walked past him in the aisle....and then patted me on the butt when it was time to go.  Anyone else would have gotten slapped, but he was harmless.  I think.  

Once we got to Bogota, Mike informed me it was only 40 degrees outside.  Eesh.  Ok, I didn't necessarily pack for THAT weather.  Oh, and we were 2,600 feet above sea level - which would explain the shortness of breathe I was experiencing.  So, it's 11:30PM our time, cold, I am sick, and now I can't breathe.  Awesome.  Oh, but my night got better!  Once we got to customs, they made me wait a solid 45 minutes before letting me through since my name wasn't on the original paperwork from my employer.  It was slightly unsettling standing there while customs agents were clearly talking about me in a language I didn't understand but all I knew is they were NOT letting me go to my hotel to go to sleep like I so desperately wanted.  Much to my good fortune, the pilots behind me in line were telling me how I was going to be detained and have to stay in INTERPOL.  Thanks, guys!  FINALLY they let me through, so it was off to our hotel shuttle we trekked.  I expected to experience relief once I got to the shuttle because that meant we were in the home stretch to bed, but it's pretty hard to be relieved when you roll up to your ride & see that there is an escort waiting behind it just to ensure you aren't stolen for ransom on the way to the hotel.  Seriously.  Clearly we made it in one piece (so no worries, you don't have to start collecting money to get me back) & it only took me 20 minutes to find my room & figure out how to unlock the door.  Don't judge.

This morning I was resigned to the fact that I was getting myself a cup of Columbian coffee.  They did me one better though & the hotel gives us complimentary breakfast.  The spread was amazing...fruits, cheese, breads, empanada, kibe, tamale, fresh squeezed juices from fruits I had never heard of...you name it.  It was one of the best meals I have had in a hot second. Americas really should take lessons from other cultures on how to prepare good, clean, unprocessed & greasy food.  I even managed to order a coffee with milk in Spanish all by myself.  I would have also asked for a beer, where the beach was & called someone an ugly dog (seeing as that is about the rest of my Spanish speaking ability right there), but no moments presented themselves.  While I was enjoying my coffee & the lovely view outside, Marlo came down for breakfast and asked if he could join me.  Then, he took me out for a walk!  I would have been soooo lost without him & his ability to speak Spanish past calling someone names or trying to get drunk off of beer. First he took me to the supermarket to pick up some coffee to take home to my Mom & local treats.  Then told me more about the beauty of Bogota while we walked in the 65 degree weather to a little square with an outdoor market.  How gorgeous is this view?

My favorite was the market.  Marlo had to translate with the people selling goods, but it was so interesting to listen to everyone talking Spanish. Everyone had their goods laid out on blankets & loved to tell stories about what they were selling. I even managed to bat my eyes & smile my way into getting this to die for pair of peacock earring for half the price.  That vendor got a hug when it was all done, haha.  Everything there was handmade & super cheap for such good quality - you can't find that back in the States.  I could have spent all day shopping (thankfully I was smart enough to leave most of my cash at home).  How do you like my new earrings (ignore the fact that I have on no makeup and my eyes are puffy)?

All in all, my first opinion of Columbia was drastically changed after the little jaunt we took for a few hours this morning.  Everything here is so GREEN - it's amazingly pretty.  The people are sooooo sweet instead of the gun toting drug cartel I was worried about.  Or at least I think they are, since they all speak Spanish they could be talking all sorts of smack about me & planning my abduction and I wouldn't be the wiser.  You know what they say...ignorance is bliss!  :)