Saturday, February 13th, 2010 /
Dan
I’m currently sitting in the Star Alliance lounge in the Tom Bradley International Terminal at LAX. I’ve found that this is one of the nicest international terminals I’ve seen, blowing away pretty much everything except Terminal 4 at JFK. After making my domestic connection through Charlotte, we landed in the smoggy city. I was told that I was departing from the international terminal and thus would have to take the bus, so I wandered outside, caught the bus and was ushered into the terminal. Absolutely beautiful. After some questioning, I found the Singapore Airlines check in, and realized that my flight was actually stopping in Japan. I thought I was flying on the all-business product, but apparently that leaves at 8PM tonight. So I am on the upper-deck of a 747 bound for Tokyo.
The lounge experience here at LAX has been unparalleled. Since I had a business class ticket, there was no wait to check in, so I headed up and right through security. Now, a giant beautiful lounge with free alcohol access? Yes please.
The food was pretty good, they had a selection of both american style lunch foods and asian style lunch foods, since our destination was the far east. The lounge was also being used by other star alliance flights, and as such, I was seated next to some folks headed to Germany via Lufthansa, and there was an ANA flight also departing for Tokyo.
After boarding, the Singapore Airlines experience was fabulous. I was seated on the upper deck in an exit row, and I was immediately offered a pre-departure beverage. In the interests of taking my experience as far as possible, I ordered a Singapore Sling. The post-departure beverage was champagne, and this kept flowing until I decided (somewhere around Vancouver [USA! USA!]) that it was sleepy time. A few movies and a few hours sleep later, I landed at Narita, marking my first experience in Japan, and becoming the 3rd generation of men in my family to visit Tokyo. (Story to come later)
***
Friday, December 11th, 2009 /
Dan
For the Food Friday posting, I thought I would share this video. It’s almost an hour long, but fascinating. Of course, it has almost nothing to do with travel, but he does speak with a French accent, so it’s not a huge stretch. more…
Friday, November 27th, 2009 /
Dan
In last week’s Food Friday, I wrote about 5 Bars in Europe you should visit. Today, I will cover places which are famous for a particular dish or drink, because they invented it. If you’re going to enjoy a particular dish or drink, you might as well enjoy the authoritative version of it. Of course, many places are famous for coming up with something, yet are no longer there. So I’ve restricted myself to places that are still open, and you can visit (and eat!). more…
Tuesday, November 24th, 2009 /
Dan
Official Symbol of the Camino
One important subset of travel is the journey. Set out paths that have been travelled by thousands, even millions before. Religion often plays a strong part in this, assigning virtue to those who perform a pilgrimage, and even requiring it of those who are able (The Hajj). The most famous religious pilgrimage, however, remains the road to Santiago. more…
Friday, November 20th, 2009 /
Dan
Yesterday I added some more detail to the ongoing travel memoir, and before that, I touched on the future of travel writing. This is the first instalment of Food Friday, a segment where I will highlight one of the great pleasures of travelling, drinking and eating.
In most parts of the world, drinking is an integral part of the culture, and has been for a long time. So naturally, the place to gather and imbibe becomes very representative of the culture, and is one of the best ways to truly experience a place. Of course, there will always be touristy bars and restaurants, but travellers are always in search of the authentic experience. So, I give you 5 bars in Europe where you can get just that. more…
