Turkey Day 1 (3/10-3/11)
Made it safely to Turkey. Damn, that’s a long trip. Lufthansa was okay. The flight attendants were great (and cute). Frame was an Airbus A340-300, and this was the first time I’ve flown that model. It’s okay, but I definitely see why Boeing is winning the widebody sales race these days. It doesn’t help that LH is frugal on the interior side – no personal TVs, for example. LH movie was Walk the Line, which I’d seen. So I watched a few episodes of Battlestar Galactica on the laptop. Couldn’t sleep.
Coach was crappy as expected, but no less space than it would have been on CO. Marlene and Monica had a baby in front of them. Worse than the baby were the parents who tried to pacify the baby with a rattle. A loud rattle. To the point where the FA had to ask them to stop since others were trying to sleep. :) I had one in front of me, too, but it slept the whole way. {whew}
Layover in Frankfurt was almost 5 hours. Long, but it gave me a chance to meet a few more of the people going on the trip. Final flight to Istanbul was about 2 ½ hours, again on LH. This time an Airbus A320 – also a first for me. And this time I see why Airbus is winning the narrowbody sales race. Got some sleep on this flight. Row behind me had Yokel Boy from some town outside of Fort Worth. Couldn’t have been older that 20. He was very talkative to the guys on the row, asking questions about Turkey and making comparisons to home (very American-like). Funny thing was, the people he was asking were Portugese businessmen, not Turks. :-o IST airport was bigger and more modern than I had expected. No problem getting bags or through immigration.
Our guide for the next 10 days is Balenz, who was waiting for us at the airport. While it’s a big group, everyone fits on a single tour bus (including all the luggage). Our driver has a name too, but I can’t remember it so I’m calling him gorgonzola.
The hotel is a Best Western, and just fine. Decent meal with everyone, with people almost literally falling asleep at the table. After all of that travel time, I could have slept anywhere.
Coach was crappy as expected, but no less space than it would have been on CO. Marlene and Monica had a baby in front of them. Worse than the baby were the parents who tried to pacify the baby with a rattle. A loud rattle. To the point where the FA had to ask them to stop since others were trying to sleep. :) I had one in front of me, too, but it slept the whole way. {whew}
Layover in Frankfurt was almost 5 hours. Long, but it gave me a chance to meet a few more of the people going on the trip. Final flight to Istanbul was about 2 ½ hours, again on LH. This time an Airbus A320 – also a first for me. And this time I see why Airbus is winning the narrowbody sales race. Got some sleep on this flight. Row behind me had Yokel Boy from some town outside of Fort Worth. Couldn’t have been older that 20. He was very talkative to the guys on the row, asking questions about Turkey and making comparisons to home (very American-like). Funny thing was, the people he was asking were Portugese businessmen, not Turks. :-o IST airport was bigger and more modern than I had expected. No problem getting bags or through immigration.
Our guide for the next 10 days is Balenz, who was waiting for us at the airport. While it’s a big group, everyone fits on a single tour bus (including all the luggage). Our driver has a name too, but I can’t remember it so I’m calling him gorgonzola.
The hotel is a Best Western, and just fine. Decent meal with everyone, with people almost literally falling asleep at the table. After all of that travel time, I could have slept anywhere.
posted by pantherman at 8:29 AM
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