by ·Comments Off on Ticking off a bucket list…

Well I just got back from an “Eventful” weekend. I had decided a while back to use up a few free nights I had in Melbourne and I decided it was time to try and tick something else off my bucket list. Firstly it was going to be flying down on a Friday which meant I could use Qantas’s lovely tag on flight from BNE-SYD on a 747-400. Of course they also added on the fact that you can upgrade from the cheapest air fares. HELLO bargain basement airfare to Sydney in Business Class! ($100 + 8000 points).

This could mean I could tick off my bucket list item of flying Upper Deck on a 747! YAY!! It was a very memorable flight (expect a proper trip report in the next few days/week) and a weekend that really was full of ups and downs.

Full of catching up with friends, lots of good food (Brasserie Bread’s new location in Melbourne, Richmond Hill Cafe & Larder with the most amazing breakfast!) and my highlight of the entire weekend. I got to meet a Childhood Idol. Iain Hewitson was someone as a child who was an idol to me. I remember watching him cook on TV when I was really young and saw the food he was making, he was jolly and funny and happy and the food just looked good.

That was the start of a love/passion for food (which still continues now even though i have to be different) and it was always a dream to go to his restaurant “Tolarno” in St Kilda. Sadly a few years ago it closed but now he has a new Bar in St Kilda being “Barney Allen’s” The food was damn good and plentiful and pretty cheap! No Mains over $20! But after a big meal of good food, as I was paying the bill I noticed someone sitting at the bar. I said to the waitress who was serving me “Is that who I think it is?” “It sure is!”

It was Heuy himself!!! I couldn’t believe it. So acting like a little school girl, I got to meet the man himself, get a photo and act like a little child again. It was the highlight of my entire weekend, a few seconds. The whole ticking off the bucket list got put back behind me, that paled in comparison! So if you check out the link below you will see all the photos but best of all, theres the photo of me with my Child Hood Idol…

O and after telling him that he was the reason I got to loving food his reply was “so its all my fault is it” which he said with his trademark grin!

Bucket List Weekend

by ·Comments Off on De Ja Vu

Well this scene looks familiar to me. It’s cause i was here less than 7 days ago. I write this to you from the Alaska Airlines Board Room at LAX. After a stellar flight down from Seattle with Virgin America where I managed to snipe (an ebay term) my way to a First Class upgrade. It was such a good flight, watching college football the whole way down while chilling out and enjoying the big white comfy leather seats.

Now I just have another 12-14 hours onboard ahead of me and I am home.. to spend the rest of the day awake (I will so not be driving as I will probably be living on caffeine, adrenalin and absolute stupidity) to resync my body ready for work tuesday morning. I know that I am going to get slammed with jetlag but not much I can do about it. Time to suck it up!!!

I had the most amazing time in Seattle. I am sure my waist line took a solid beating over the last week with restaurant week in full effect (went to 3 restaurants that were serving it) and then had some amazingly good sushi and last night a fantastic evening of fresh pasta and some warm Marionberry Pie with Snickerdoodle (lols) Ice Cream. And then today filled with even more goodness after having the wierdest of breakfasts that was just amazingly good (although I had plate envy of everything else that went out).

My time working in Seattle was awesome and the people I was working with were fantastic. I wish I did not have to leave them but sadly time does come to an end. They were so generous to me that I wish I could do more for them. I know that i will stay in touch with them as I am sure I left a great impression.

Anyway i have to start the caffeine drip direct into my arm soon. I dunno if I will get any sleep on this flight at all, but i tell you what, I will be running on empty either way by the time i make it to the other end. I will probably skip the inflight breakfast on the other end though as I wasn’t a fan of the one given us on the way over, so at least i know what to expect when i get home… a yummy warm bowl of oatmeal … i mean porridge 😀

Catch you all on the flip!

by ·Comments Off on No Sleep Lost here…

Well being back in Seattle is awesome (although technically right now I am not in Seattle i am in Kirkland). I am loving being back in this city. The scenery is stunning, the coffee good and the food even better than I remember it last time.

So far I have had 2 restaurant week dinners (Steelhead Diner & I Love Sushi) and they have both been great (big props to Steelhead for the dessert mix up that netted me 2 desserts) and then lots of coffee consumed.

After a nice safe flight across the Pacific I managed to scam my way into the Alaskan Airlines boardroom at LAX and just to my luck the first thing I see on the runway… A Retro Jet… damn it! I searched for 2 months for this damn thing and it just randomly shows up. Bugger!

The scenery here is just stunning. The first couple of nights I had a room at the Marriott Waterfront overlooking Puget Sound and the sunsets were just amazing with the sky turning a beatiful orangey red both nights. Now I am staying at the Woodmark Hotel in Kirkland with views over Lake Washington and again it has been amazing. The sunset last night was great with again a slight red hue lighting up the sky.

Although it is coming into winter it is a little bit cold (low double digits) I can cope. A good jacket definately comes in handy!! But to be honest , I have been in worse and it is winterish… so i shouldnt complain cause im in a city I love!

Anyway i should get ready for work… time to earn some $$$

by ·Comments Off on Off again

I have kept this one pretty quiet but I am off again!.  This time I am flying out to Seattle to do some work with a company we work with.  Flying for the first time with V Australia, so that Velocity Gold is already coming in handy.  Only thing is, since it is work, I am flying economy.  This will be my first flight in almost 4 years in long vial economy.  Not looking forward to that point all that much but to be honest I am not complaining.

To be back in the air is totally exciting to me and I am really looking forward to trying out new airline products and new hotels.  The other thing is it is restaurant week in Seattle.  That means uber cheap dinners st the best restaurants in the city.  The choices!

No trip report this time as it is a work trip but look out for plenty of photos, plus some spotting at SEATAC next Saturday.  Temps in Seattle don’t look good though. 13c max yesterday Ouch!  If the jacket I have (my trusty Vancouver Saloman) isn’t up to the task ill just have to do a bit of shopping, horrible thought that.

Anyway my ride to the airport is turning out to be shorter than expected… Catch you on the flip side

by ·Comments Off on RTW Trip List – Finished!

1. Drink a glass of French Champagne in France – link
2. Drink a glass of Champagne onboard a long haul flight – link
3. Run Through Central Park – link Runkeeper Link
4. Pastrami on Rye at Katz’s Deli NYC – link
5. In’n’Out Burger – link
6. Drive a car in the USA – link
7. Walk over the Brooklyn Bridge – link
8. Ride a “Bullet Train” in Japan – link
9. Hot Dog from a Cart – link link2
10. Food from a Truck in Portland – link
11. Sushi for Breakfast at Fish Markets in Tokyo – link
12. Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace – link
13. Visit Borough Market – link
14. Fly Upper Deck on an A380 – link
15. Visit Hiroshima (Japan) – link
16. Visit Normandy (France) – link
17. Touch the Berlin Wall – link
18. Ride a Train on 3 Different Continents – link link link
19. Sit in a Backwards Facing Airline Seat – Failed
20. Plane Spotting in San Francisco, Vancouver & Narita – link
21. Catch a “Flying Fish” in Seattle – link
22. Visit Alcatraz – link
23. Ride a Cable Car in San Francisco – link
24. Go Hiking in the Rockies – link
25. Ride a Bike – link
26. Go White Water Rafting in Canada – link
27. Visit a Location where Macgyver was filmed – link
28. Eat a Celebrity/Celebrity Chef’s Restaurant – link
29. Eat Chicken Rice in Singapore – link
30. Buy Clothes at a store in New York – link
31. Visit Macys – link
32. Go to the Rodeo in Canada – link
33. Drink a Glass of Wine in the Napa Valley – link
34. Visit a Brewery – link
35. Visit a Temple – link
36. Visit a Cathedral – link
37. See the Mona Lisa – link
38. Make new friends – link
39. Go Airline Lounge Hopping – link
40. Try to Meet a Flyertalker/Milepointer – link
41. Do Something Crazy – link
42. Go to a Baseball Game – link
43. Eat a Voodoo Donut – link
44. Visit the UN – link
45. Walk up the Eiffel tower – link
46. Wasabi Kit Kat – link
47. Buy Football Jerseys in the USA – link
48. Visit “China” – link
49. Buy a Fake Rolex – link
50. Spot a Retro Jet – Failed
51. Pay Tribute to a Flyertalk/Blog idol – link
52. Write a Trip Report – link
53. See a Broadway Musical/Show/Colbert Report – link
54. Meet up with some “Tweeps” – link
55. Go to a Whole Foods Market – Top Chef Style – link
56. Eat a “Giant Cob of Corn Husk on” at Calgary Stampede – link
57. Eat a Canadian Baked Potato at Calgary Stampede –Revised see 68
58. Spend the entire day at Calgary Stampede all the way to closing time – link
59. Walk the Highline in NYC – link
60. View a Ceremony that not many people ever get to experience – link
61. Eat in Restaurant that was famous for a General/President who ate/stayed there – link
62. Eat a “Concrete” – link
63. Visit a Crumpler Store Overseas – link
64. Drink some Siphon Coffee – link
65. On my birthday find a good looking stranger and tell them “it’s my birthday” – link
66. Go Spotting in LAX with an online Travel Blogger – link
67. Dennys Grand Slam – link
68. Find the most random food & eat it – link
69. Pretzel M&Ms – link
70. Climb a Mountain – link
71. Stop at a roadside Diner & have a slice of pie – link
72. Eat a Nutella Crepe in France – link
73. Macaron in Paris – link
74. See the Eiffel Tower Sparkle – link
75. Pretzel in Germany – link
76. Schnitzel in Germany – link
77. Go spotting in the middle of a city – link
78. Eat Fugu – link
79. Buy a Tailor Made Suit in Hong Kong – link
80. Have a Drink at the “Long Bar” in Singapore – link

by ·Comments Off on Return to the sky!

Well tomorrow is a good day for me.  A 3 day weekend essentially but not an ordinary one.  It’s the annual reward weekend for the top staff and since I came out at #1 I get to go.

Unfortunately it clashed with an event that I was booked into (sorry Trent & Bianca) and it pained me to have to cancel but I worked super hard for the last 12 months and the trip is to my favourite place in Australia.

Tomorrow, around OMG o’clock, I am off to Sydney and continuing on to Ayers Rock!  I love the fact I get to add another 4 pages to the log book along with a flight into an airport with a carrier I haven’t had a chance of using to that destination before (last time flew Qantas who had the monopoly till last year).  Add that to the fact I’m a newly minted Gold Velocity with Virgin and we have the makings of some fun!

I am looking forward to getting out into the desert and getting some photos taken to both panos and some HDRs which I haven’t shot in a while.  Get to travel with a few friends as well who made the top sellers so that is always more fun.

Can’t wait.. expect lots of tweeting if I have data range and plenty of photos on my return (although might have to wait till I’ve finished the current list of touch ups)

Now to get home, pack and sleep before getting up super super early

by ·Comments Off on Status!!!

As part of my little hobby of collecting points and travelling one thing that makes it all worth it is Airline Loyalty programs and the status that comes with it in the higher levels. The higher the status the better the perks and its the same with levels that come with hotels as well.

Unfortunately the only program I don’t hold status with at the moment that i wish i did is Qantas. I have almost 200,000 points with Qantas yet i have no status at all. However the programs where I have little to no points I hold status… wierd huh. I have over the years obtained Silver Status with Virgin Atlantic of BMI thanks to website problems or mistakes but the two I currently hold I have earned, one the hard one, the other from an offer.

So thanks to all my recent tripping around the world I managed to earn Star Alliance Gold with Aegean Airlines. This level of status gets me into any Star Gold Lounge world wide when flying, free bags/extra bags and priority boarding and check in on Star Alliance Airlines. Big big big perks when travelling that is for sure. Thankfully obtaining this was a lot easier than getting it the hard way on other airlines that require 60-70 thousand miles flown, with Aegean its only 20! Easy++

Then because I was star gold I was able to status match my way over to Virgin Australia Velocity Gold which means I get pretty similar benefits over here when flying with Virgin (which i am sure i will be doing more of while I have this lovely gold status). Being an Elite flyer sure does make travelling easier!

I also managed to pick up Silver Status in some hotel programs including Marriott & Carlson Hotels, Gold with Hilton for a while (back to Silver for a little bit) and also Gold with Accor. All come with lovely benefits which make hotel stays so much more comfortable and fun!

I am enjoying this hobby and my next 12 months of travelling should be all the more prosperous (Although my Star Gold with aegean expires in 2014 w00t!).

by ·Comments Off on Photos are Up!

Yep all of my photos from the Big Trip are now online. Pretty much all that is left is my spotting photos (of which will take me a while to work on as there is a good 8000 photos to sort and touch up) and my panoramas which there are about 10 or so with some other bits and pieces thrown in for good measure.

Here are all the folder links!

RTW in 66 Days – Canada 1
RTW in 66 Days – Canada 2
RTW in 66 Days – USA 1
RTW in 66 Days – USA 2
RTW in 66 Days – Europe 1
RTW in 66 Days – Europe 2
RTW in 66 Days – London
RTW in 66 Days – Japan 1
RTW in 66 Days – Japan 2
RTW in 66 Days – Hong Kong
RTW in 66 Days – Singapore
RTW in 66 Days – Panos & Artistic
RTW in 66 Days – Spotting Photos

by ·Comments Off on Trip Report – Around the World on a Star – Conclusion

Back to reality means that I have time to reflect.  After spending 9 weeks travelling almost non stop, barely gives you time to breathe but with all the flights I still had time to chill out and had time to breathe and relax.

The trip was probably the best trip of my life so far.  I did over plan a little bit I think in some areas, yet underplanned in others.  With only one real dissapointment flight wise (damn you United for the aircraft change) everything else went off without a hitch with minimal issues (only really short delays so nothing dramatic). 

As an aviation geek this trip provided a plethora of new airlines & new airports but only 2 new aircraft (777-300ER & 737-500).  One thing I get asked a lot is who was the best.  I can’t answer that though.  There was no one standout best on this trip.  Many different things were holding each one back, what was great on one airline was crap on the other.  But I can break it down for you all as follows:

Best Seat: Three way tie – Swiss New Business, ANA Staggered Business (new business) and the New Air New Zealand Business Premier.

Best Food: ANA

Best Service: Singapore Airlines (but only the 2nd crew I had)

Best Looking Crew: Singapore Airlines tied with Swiss (although SQ crew were just sheer perfection).

This whole trip had me fly a total of 30385 Butt in Seat Miles and earned me 54970 Miles with Aegean.  In saying that I love the fact that thanks to Aegean I am now a Star Gold and hopefully I can get another program to status match me with their current promotion.

All in All I think this trip was $$ well spent and that I am now looking forward to my next trip which thanks to this trip will be using up some of the points most likely… Let the planning begin!

by ·Comments Off on Reality.. =(

Well I am back home now. Back to Reality, back to work, back to getting into a daily routine of commuting to and from work.

The trip was probably one of the most amazing experiences of my life. I loved every minute of it. The frustrations made it so much more of a challenge at times. Life has frustrations and you just have to deal with it, but these frustrations come regardless of where you are or what you are doing, so you just keep life plodding along.

I have returned back to reality already with my 2nd day at work today. Boy what a change really. Trying to fit back in with so many changes etc and then having such an experience I need to keep focused on what I have just acheived so I don’t end up in the Post Trip Depression like I had last time. I have already been back to the gym as well, with a full session of weights yesterday my muscles are aching. Shouldnt have avoided doing them so much while I was away. Running this morning with sore muscles was not easy at all.

Some silly stats have come out of this trip though. I have taken 20,000 photos. Thats right 20 Thousand photos (plus about 10 or 15 videos). I have to start sorting all of these out. a Giant chunk of this is spotting photos (probably around the 8000 mark or so which will mean less to deal with straight away) which needed to be sorted, touched up and edited but that can wait really as there is no rush with those and I like to go through and choose which ones I am going to touch up (same with the panoramas really, which i have to stitch together and edit anyway).

I haven’t even started totally up the mileage I have covered on this trip or the points earned. The mileage covered I will probably need to try and manually work out with all the different modes of transport used it will be a bit crazy really. I don’t even want to think, it would be upwards of like 50,000 miles I would say (i think the flights alone are around 35-40 thousand).

I need to get back to reality fast as I have so many things on with engagement parties, baptisms, work trips etc that I cant afford to be still off in La La land. But i will tell you the memories that flood back each and every night while I look at the photos or some of the stuff that I had sent home. It’s crazy. The memories that get triggered by the smallest thing.

I still have not yet recieved 2 of the boxes from canada (first two sent home and could be another month or two before it arrives unfortunately) so cant really even finish off sorting out the stuff I want to keep or trash or scrapbook from there (yes I am going to do a scrap book sad I know). Anyway I should stop slacking off and get back to work now that my break is almost over.

Current Location: Work 🙁
Countries Visited: 12