July 5th, 2008 - July 7th, 2008 :: I flew through security at Cincinnati. Apparently, Saturday is a great day to fly. I had a four-hour flight to L.A. which felt like an eternity. That was pretty discouraging considering the fact that I had a fourteen-hour flight to Auckland, New Zealand ahead of me. I had a decent layover in L.A. except for the fact that I had a pizza that cost me over $1 per inch.
The fourteen-hour flight was more pleasant than I had expected, but no amount of luxury or wonderful customer service can make sitting in an airplane for fourteen hours enjoyable. Even in Economy class, each set has it's own tv, remote, and headset where one can choose from an array of movies, tv shows, travel videos, and games to watch or play. They served us dinner shortly after we took off and breakfast a couple hours before we landed.
I sat next to the nicest couple and we quickly became friends. They are only a couple years older than me and have done what I am doing, so we had lots to talk about. He (Matt) was from San Francisco (I think) and had studied abroad in Auckland, where she (Bron) lived and went to school. They met and started dating and then she studied abroad at his school in California the next year. Now, they live together in Auckland and work as city planners. Bron invited me to stay with them if I was ever in town. I'm definitely going to take them up on it. My last class of the week ends at noon on Thursdays, so I'm sure I'll be on the train up to Auckland at least once.
My last flight was an hour flight from Auckland to Wellington. Landing in Auckland was less than impressive except for all the lights. It was still pitch black outside but looking to either side of the plane were endless lights. Auckland is huge! So was their airport. Luckily, I ha
d a two-hour layover, because I needed every minute of it. They told me that my luggage would be checked all the way through, but it's a good thing I stayed around the baggage claim just in case, because my stuff had definitely come off the plane.
Landing in Wellington, however, was breath-taking. The planes land almost right on the water. Just flying over the North Island was absolutely beautiful. I can't imagine how the Southern Island looks from the sky with the Southern Alps.
The fourteen-hour flight was more pleasant than I had expected, but no amount of luxury or wonderful customer service can make sitting in an airplane for fourteen hours enjoyable. Even in Economy class, each set has it's own tv, remote, and headset where one can choose from an array of movies, tv shows, travel videos, and games to watch or play. They served us dinner shortly after we took off and breakfast a couple hours before we landed.
I sat next to the nicest couple and we quickly became friends. They are only a couple years older than me and have done what I am doing, so we had lots to talk about. He (Matt) was from San Francisco (I think) and had studied abroad in Auckland, where she (Bron) lived and went to school. They met and started dating and then she studied abroad at his school in California the next year. Now, they live together in Auckland and work as city planners. Bron invited me to stay with them if I was ever in town. I'm definitely going to take them up on it. My last class of the week ends at noon on Thursdays, so I'm sure I'll be on the train up to Auckland at least once.
My last flight was an hour flight from Auckland to Wellington. Landing in Auckland was less than impressive except for all the lights. It was still pitch black outside but looking to either side of the plane were endless lights. Auckland is huge! So was their airport. Luckily, I ha
d a two-hour layover, because I needed every minute of it. They told me that my luggage would be checked all the way through, but it's a good thing I stayed around the baggage claim just in case, because my stuff had definitely come off the plane.Landing in Wellington, however, was breath-taking. The planes land almost right on the water. Just flying over the North Island was absolutely beautiful. I can't imagine how the Southern Island looks from the sky with the Southern Alps.
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