World Tour of America #7: Arrival
I've not been able to get online till now but suffice to say, I have arrived in Boston.
The journey here wasn't too bad, I ended up visiting four countries on three flights in one day! The first flight set off from Manchester and had a stop at Glasgow for some reason before going on to Keflavik airport in Iceland. It was about 4 hours in total, although that did include an hour in Glasgow. I'd managed to fill my backpack full of snacks and a sandwich so I ate that while in Glasgow as it was dinnertime. My seat was in the very last row which I had all to myself so I was able to spread out a bit. It was obviously an older plane, it looked a bit shabby and not brilliantly comfortable, but it wasn't too bad for just the short trip up to Iceland.
We landed there at 3.15pm GMT and the flight to Boston didn't leave till 5.00pm so I had some time to waste. Keflavik is only a very small airport so I was able to walk to the little shopping area and had a look round the shops. I picked up a couple of souvenirs and got a bottle of Iceland water which is supposed to be extra specially yummy and then hurried off to the second flight. This was a much nicer plane, very comfy leather seats and the television screens in the back of the seats were touch screens! They also had a USB socket there too, I'm not sure what that was for but it looked very impressive anyway. The covers on the cushions, the headrest covers, napkins and paper cups all had little bits of information about Iceland or Icelandic phrases which was very neat. I'd already checked the menu and decided I was going to have the tandoori chicken but by the time the trolley got up to me, they'd run out of it and the only other thing I could have was a chicken sandwich. Bit annoying as I was starving and I'd already had a chicken sandwich in Glasgow.
We landed late in Boston as the weather was being problematic so we had to circle round in a holding pattern for a while. Three other flights had landed at the same time so the Immigration area was really busy. The queue was moving rather quickly though; perhaps the officers were purposely trying to hurry through everyone but it was certainly one of the better experiences I've had at Immigration. I was asked what food I was bringing in, what the purpose of my visit was, my occupation, when I was last in the US and whereabouts I went then. Very quick and painless! I was very pleased and surprised by that. Then again, the officer seemed to have a bit of a sense of humour which was also a nice surprise.
So that's my update for now. I'm sure there'll be another one before too long, possibly on Wednesday when Michael is having his surgery.
The journey here wasn't too bad, I ended up visiting four countries on three flights in one day! The first flight set off from Manchester and had a stop at Glasgow for some reason before going on to Keflavik airport in Iceland. It was about 4 hours in total, although that did include an hour in Glasgow. I'd managed to fill my backpack full of snacks and a sandwich so I ate that while in Glasgow as it was dinnertime. My seat was in the very last row which I had all to myself so I was able to spread out a bit. It was obviously an older plane, it looked a bit shabby and not brilliantly comfortable, but it wasn't too bad for just the short trip up to Iceland.
We landed there at 3.15pm GMT and the flight to Boston didn't leave till 5.00pm so I had some time to waste. Keflavik is only a very small airport so I was able to walk to the little shopping area and had a look round the shops. I picked up a couple of souvenirs and got a bottle of Iceland water which is supposed to be extra specially yummy and then hurried off to the second flight. This was a much nicer plane, very comfy leather seats and the television screens in the back of the seats were touch screens! They also had a USB socket there too, I'm not sure what that was for but it looked very impressive anyway. The covers on the cushions, the headrest covers, napkins and paper cups all had little bits of information about Iceland or Icelandic phrases which was very neat. I'd already checked the menu and decided I was going to have the tandoori chicken but by the time the trolley got up to me, they'd run out of it and the only other thing I could have was a chicken sandwich. Bit annoying as I was starving and I'd already had a chicken sandwich in Glasgow.
We landed late in Boston as the weather was being problematic so we had to circle round in a holding pattern for a while. Three other flights had landed at the same time so the Immigration area was really busy. The queue was moving rather quickly though; perhaps the officers were purposely trying to hurry through everyone but it was certainly one of the better experiences I've had at Immigration. I was asked what food I was bringing in, what the purpose of my visit was, my occupation, when I was last in the US and whereabouts I went then. Very quick and painless! I was very pleased and surprised by that. Then again, the officer seemed to have a bit of a sense of humour which was also a nice surprise.
So that's my update for now. I'm sure there'll be another one before too long, possibly on Wednesday when Michael is having his surgery.