A Viennese Getaway

Recently I had a few days off in a row and decided a spontaneous trip was in order. I hadn’t seen my sister Lizzie & her boyfriend Jarett for a while and they’d just moved into a new flat in Vienna, Austria, so I booked my tickets and off I went!

After my flight from Hong Kong I had just a few hours to quickly get home, unpack, shower, re-pack and make my way to the airport, so I was hoping I remembered to take everything with me that I needed for the couple of days.

Lizzie had just arrived a few hours earlier on a flight from the UK where she’d been visiting our mum, so her and Jarett were already waiting at the airport when I arrived. Since it was evening and I’d been travelling all day, we headed straight to their apartment and did nothing more than catch up and chill out!

The next morning we were woken by the lovely sunshine streaming in through the curtains, and after breakfast at home we set out to do some exploring. Jarett (who is American) has a German course for a couple of hours every weekday so he made his way there and we arranged a meeting point for lunch a bit later on. Lizzie and I got on the bikes and cycled through the pretty streets of Vienna, making our way to the Prater.

IMG_1656IMG_1658 View Post

Hanging out in Hong Kong

I recently got back from a quick trip to Hong Kong. I’d say Hong Kong is up there in my list of top ten favourite destinations, so I am always happy to go back!

The flight time was not ideal, as we left Dubai in the evening, flew overnight and landed into Hong Kong international around 5:30am, so by the time I got to bed it was around 8am. I’d arranged to meet my friend Kirsty later on in the day, so after a few hours sleep she came to meet me at my hotel.

The weather was looking pretty miserable, with foggy clouds covering the sky and a fair bit of drizzle. I was glad I’d left my scarf in my suitcase from my last trip to Oslo!

Our first stop was to get some lunch, and Kirsty remembered a restaurant, “Tai Woo” that she had visited with her dad (who used to work for British Airways) over 10 years ago. Somehow she recognised the manager, Raymond, who was still working there!

IMG_1538

We ordered an array of dim sum, fried rice, steamed broccoli, pork and chicken dishes, and soon realised we might have gone a little overboard!

IMG_1537 View Post

A stroll through the streets of Oslo

I’ve just returned from a layover to the beautiful city of Oslo, Norway. It wasn’t my first time to the country, as we have family friends who live in the north of Norway who we have visited a few times, however it was to be my first time in Oslo, so I was very much looking forward to it!

The day started off with an absolutely stunning sunrise whilst on our way to the aircraft. I was hoping it was a sign of good weather to come in Norway!

IMG_1362

The flight left on time and just under 7 hours later we landed into Oslo airport. We were whisked off to our hotel in the centre of town and arranged to meet shortly in the lobby. Soon the five of us were ready to go, and armed with maps and directions from the concierge, off we went!

DSC_1088 View Post

30 Hours in New York

My last trip was a flight to the Big Apple…there’s something magical about New York, no matter how many times you visit. I was especially looking forward to this flight as it was a 30 hour layover. Last time I was in New York was just a 24 hour layover, and those few extra hours really make all the difference.

After an early start from Dubai we were on our way. The flight was full, and since it was daytime everybody was awake, which certainly kept us on our feet! On long “ULR” (ultra long range) flights, we get a break in our bunk beds (CRC – Crew Rest Compartment), so while we take it in turns to rest we each have a lot more passengers to serve.

14 hours later we finally touched down in JFK, and after a long rush hour bus journey made it to our hotel.

IMG_1135

If you’ve been reading my blog for a while, you may remember that I have some friends in New York, Stephen and Colin, who I met whilst interrailing around Europe before I joined Emirates. I’d messaged them before coming to see if they were free, and we arranged to meet for dinner.

Luckily they also got stuck in the terrible traffic, which gave me a bit of time to shower and  freshen up after the long flight.

They’d reserved a table in a restaurant called “The Smith”, which was located just a short drive from my hotel. We could have walked but we already running a little late for the reservation, so decided to hop in a taxi instead.

IMG_1136

View Post

April Roster

It’s that time of the month again…. my roster for April has been published!

For the first time in a while I’ve got 2 new destinations that I haven’t flown to before, which I’m quite happy about. I also managed to get quite a few turnarounds thrown in there (although with swaps I’ve managed to reduce that number from 3 to 2!)

Turnarounds are short-ish flights to places within about 4 hours, where we come straight back to Dubai instead of staying in that city.

IMG_1074 View Post