Well, the sun is shining, the birds are chirping, and we celebrated New Years 2011 today with a barbecue feast of NZ beef, lamb chops, prawns, grilled veggies, and more in James and Ilhye`s backyard here in Christchurch. I don`t mean to rub it in for anyone back home in blustery Canada, but I actually got a bit of a sunburn on the tops of my feet while walking around today! Beautiful!
Our trip went as smoothly as can be expected for a 48hour odessy We spent more time on our stopovers than we did in the air almost! I hate to admit that the least enjoyable part of the trip was the time spent at Pearson in Toronto dealng with the rude American Air check in desk and then having to stand in the longest line in the world for US customs. We had arrived in plenty of time to get on our flight, but ended up having to sprint from the security check to the plane. There were others behind us, so the plane was held for a bit even after our run, which gave me just enough time to stop sweating before takeoff. Security at each of the six airports we went through treated us like royalty, mainly because of Arlo I guess. No body scanners ｉｎ the US airports for us, just a wave through. We flew to Dallas first, then spent some time relaxing in the airport. Arlo loved getting to stroll through the various duty free shops and lounges during each of our stops. After several hours in Dallas we took a flight to LA, where we had a stopover for nine hours. Arlo got to have a few naps, we lay out his blankets and he got a chance to play on the floor with toys (actually this happened at most of his stopovers). The time in LA was the toughest because when we got on the plane at 9:30pm we had 24 hours ahead of us until we made Christchurch, and it seemed daunting at best.
The flight from LA to Nadi, Fiji was the most remarkable for us as Arlo showed what a rockstar he really is. He should have thought it was midnight by the time change, but was still hanging in with naps here and there, so once we were in the air for this twelve hour leg, he conked out, and then basically slept for most of the flight! He woke at about 6:30am Fiji time, and stayed awake for much of the rest of our flight, but it seemed like he had already adjusted to the time zone on the other side of the world! He was his happy morning self, and we just rolled with it. In fact he was his happy contented self for all of our flights, and most people either fell in love with him on the plane when they saw him, or didn`t even realize we had a baby because he was so quiet! N they saw him, or didn`t even realize we had a baby because he was so quiet! Now this seasoned traveller has been on five seperate flights, and will have flown ten times when we get home! What a vagabond!
In Fiji the funny thing we heard was that the people there really love babies, and sure enough going through the terminal we had at least six different people in customs and security all wanting to hold him, even fighting each other a bit to get a chance, and plenty of other Fijians cooing over him. It was really a warm feeling place, and we are excited to be going back for a stay on the return flight. We spent our early morning there yesterday, then flew to Auckland, NZ, where we quickly found an airport shower, and washroom and made ourselves feel more human again. As we went to check in for our domestic flight to Christchurch we asked to see if we could move that flight up a bit, and they did get us an earlier flight, so we could get in an hour and a half ahead of schedule. A quick call to James assured us that he would be able to pick us up ahead of schedule, and we then relaxed in the fantastic Auckland International terminal (voted one of the 10 best in the world). We finally felt like we had made it.
James picked us up and brought us to his beautiful home, where we visited for a few hours before finally calling it quits. It had been 48 hours since we woke in Toronto to start the journey, and Arlo had made it to New Zealand in his typical cheery fashion, with smiles for James, Ilhye, and Youri, his new friends.
Today we were all feeling much more refreshed, as we hung out in the scorching NZ sun, went for a little walk, and watched Youri (1 and a half years old) and Arlo play on the grass. Life is good, and celebrating New Years without the snow is a real treat! Happy New Year to everyone.
Our trip went as smoothly as can be expected for a 48hour odessy We spent more time on our stopovers than we did in the air almost! I hate to admit that the least enjoyable part of the trip was the time spent at Pearson in Toronto dealng with the rude American Air check in desk and then having to stand in the longest line in the world for US customs. We had arrived in plenty of time to get on our flight, but ended up having to sprint from the security check to the plane. There were others behind us, so the plane was held for a bit even after our run, which gave me just enough time to stop sweating before takeoff. Security at each of the six airports we went through treated us like royalty, mainly because of Arlo I guess. No body scanners ｉｎ the US airports for us, just a wave through. We flew to Dallas first, then spent some time relaxing in the airport. Arlo loved getting to stroll through the various duty free shops and lounges during each of our stops. After several hours in Dallas we took a flight to LA, where we had a stopover for nine hours. Arlo got to have a few naps, we lay out his blankets and he got a chance to play on the floor with toys (actually this happened at most of his stopovers). The time in LA was the toughest because when we got on the plane at 9:30pm we had 24 hours ahead of us until we made Christchurch, and it seemed daunting at best.
The flight from LA to Nadi, Fiji was the most remarkable for us as Arlo showed what a rockstar he really is. He should have thought it was midnight by the time change, but was still hanging in with naps here and there, so once we were in the air for this twelve hour leg, he conked out, and then basically slept for most of the flight! He woke at about 6:30am Fiji time, and stayed awake for much of the rest of our flight, but it seemed like he had already adjusted to the time zone on the other side of the world! He was his happy morning self, and we just rolled with it. In fact he was his happy contented self for all of our flights, and most people either fell in love with him on the plane when they saw him, or didn`t even realize we had a baby because he was so quiet! N they saw him, or didn`t even realize we had a baby because he was so quiet! Now this seasoned traveller has been on five seperate flights, and will have flown ten times when we get home! What a vagabond!
In Fiji the funny thing we heard was that the people there really love babies, and sure enough going through the terminal we had at least six different people in customs and security all wanting to hold him, even fighting each other a bit to get a chance, and plenty of other Fijians cooing over him. It was really a warm feeling place, and we are excited to be going back for a stay on the return flight. We spent our early morning there yesterday, then flew to Auckland, NZ, where we quickly found an airport shower, and washroom and made ourselves feel more human again. As we went to check in for our domestic flight to Christchurch we asked to see if we could move that flight up a bit, and they did get us an earlier flight, so we could get in an hour and a half ahead of schedule. A quick call to James assured us that he would be able to pick us up ahead of schedule, and we then relaxed in the fantastic Auckland International terminal (voted one of the 10 best in the world). We finally felt like we had made it.
James picked us up and brought us to his beautiful home, where we visited for a few hours before finally calling it quits. It had been 48 hours since we woke in Toronto to start the journey, and Arlo had made it to New Zealand in his typical cheery fashion, with smiles for James, Ilhye, and Youri, his new friends.
Today we were all feeling much more refreshed, as we hung out in the scorching NZ sun, went for a little walk, and watched Youri (1 and a half years old) and Arlo play on the grass. Life is good, and celebrating New Years without the snow is a real treat! Happy New Year to everyone.
2 comments:
well, not to brag but it has been almost 10 degrees here and lovely!!
your trip sounds amazing, what a great traveller Arlo is
lots of hugs
and enjoy, enjoy, enjoy
Aunty T kindly requests some sunshine as a souvenir.
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