Napa Valley

While working out on the west coast for most of the year, I had the opportunity to meet my family and some friends in Napa Valley for the weekend. Again, this trip was almost a year ago so I'll keep it short. 

 

Photo credits to my brother

  

 

 

Group picture from the Wine-a-Bago
(photo credit to me)

This was a great weekend filled with great wine and great people!

Weekend in Rio

After taking advantage of a $385 fare from Toronto to Rio de Janeiro, I had the opportunity to visit Brazil for an extended weekend. The challenge ended up being finding flights to get to Toronto but I was eventually successful in using 12,500 miles to get to Toronto. Because this was a full year ago, I will keep it short.

From Toronto, a quick regional jet hop to JFK was a breeze and a quick visit to JFK's Flagship First Class lounge was in order. The lounge turned out to be glorified Admiral's Club with an upgraded food spread and self-service bar. With a sub-par champagne offering, I went straight for the gin martini.

Let's face it, the around the world trip spoiled me. Now, faced with a 10 hour flight in economy with no TVs in the seat in front of me, I was terrified. This was going to be tough. I will share one picture to summarize the experience.

Seriously man? Also, notice the broken TV

A Friday morning arrival into Rio de Janeiro allowed a full weekend of activities. We arranged transportation through our hotel, The JW Marriott Rio de Janeiro, on the famed Copacabana beach. 

A quick view from the hotel 

A trip to Rio is not complete without three things: the Corcovado, Soccer game at the Maracana, and hang gliding

Christ the Redeamer

Flamengo vs Fluminense at the Maracana. A local rivalry

Uh...

Three days later and it was time to return. There was no way I was going to fly economy home again, so I flexed some muscle at American Airlines (used miles to upgrade) and I was on my way home in seat 7K

This is more like it

A great trip to Brazil for the weekend and an additional 10,000+ miles in the Bank. 

The Rest of the Trip (a full year late)

After arriving in Abu Dhabi, I was transferred via the complementary limo service to the JW Marriott Marquis in Dubai. In Dubai, we visited the Burj Khalifa and several of the city's other attractions including the nearby desert and various markets.

Burj Khalifa

The Address Hotel which later suffered a massive fire

Three days later it was time to head off to Hong Kong. My next flight was a redeye on Cathay Pacific's A330 business class. After spending time in the British Airways Galleries business class lounge, I headed off to my gate where I boarded through the forward door into seat 14K.

After a pleasant flight, I immediately transferred to the Hong Kong Airport Ferry terminal and boarded a high speed ferry to Macau, the gambling capital of the world. Our hotel, the Conrad Macao, was situated directly across the street from the Venetian Macau, a sprawling complex of shops, casino, and hotel, much larger than the Venetian in Las Vegas. It didn't take long to realize I couldn't hang at the tables with the HK$500 (about $70 US) table minimums at the blackjack tables. 

Venetian Macau

The following day, we transferred back to Hong Kong via high speed ferry and checked in the JW Marriott Hong Kong. The first to do item was to visit Sam's Tailor to get fitted for a custom suit in Tsim Sha Tsui. Sam's tailor is the go to place for custom suits, having fitted several former presidents, foreign diplomats, athletes, and celebrities. 

Sam's Tailors

Our visit to Hong Kong coincided with the Hong Kong Sevens rugby tournament that drew fans from across the world including New Zealand, Australia, England, France and the US. These fans loved to party and brought a Mardi Gras feel to the Lan Kwai Fong Bar area. After eating and drinking our way through Hong Kong for 5 days, and catching the cities views at both day and night, it was time to move on to Tokyo.

Hong Kong from TST

Market

Seafood Street Market

The journey to Tokyo began in truly comfortable fashion at Cathay Pacific's The Wing First Class Lounge at Hong Kong International Airport. 

  

Obligatory photo-op with the cardboard Cathay Flight Attendant

After several glasses of every champagne on offer, it was time to dine at the full service restaurant for some much needed food.

Self Service Champagne Bar

Complementary A la Carte Dining 

After Lunch it was time to enjoy The Wing's crown jewel offering, the Cabanas. These cabanas offer the opportunity to relax and shower in one of the most incredible airport settings imaginable. I'll spare you the details. 

Finally it was getting closer to boarding time so I headed all the way down the end of the terminal to have one more glass of champagne at The Bridge Business class lounge where I was able to snap this picture of my aircraft, Cathay Pacific's Queen of the Skies, the 747-400.

I will never get tired of seeing this plane

After a short walk, I approached the gate and boarded first through door 1L followed by a prompt left turn into the first class cabin, situated nicely in the nose of the aircraft.

My seat will be the first three windows. 

I took my seat in seat 1K and was promptly offered yet another glass of champagne

A very tired picture

One more glass, just for good measure.
Notice how the windows allow you see to forward in the direction of travel

After another smooth 3.5 hour flight, we landed at Tokyo's downtown Haneda airport and I made my way to the Tokyo Marriott Hotel. It couldn't have been a better time of year to visit Tokyo, as it was timed perfectly to coincide with Sakura, or the cherry blossom season. Four exhausting days Tokyo, that included a birthday bar crawl through the Roppongi bar district and the freshest sushi imaginable flew by. 

Unfortunately, I don't remember what this is.

 

Cherry Blossoms

More Cherry Blossoms in a market

Birthday sushi at the Tsukiji Fish Market which unfortunately
will be torn down and moved to make way for a road to facilitate
Olympic travel.

All good things must come to an end, and the same is true with this trip. One final flight home was due to depart at 12:05 from Tokyo's Haneda Airport to San Francisco International Airport. First though, an airport visit isn't complete without a visit to the First Class Lounge. Japan Airlines newly renovated first class lounge is beautiful. it's complete with dining area, freshly prepared sushi, champagne room, Shoe shining room,a game room, and free massages. 

Unfortunately the only picture I have of the champagne room is a
screenshot I took from Snapchat. It is, in fact, nice. 

 

Reading room

Game Room

Shoe Shining Room. The nice man who stands behind
the desk moved out of the way for my picture. 

Main Dining Area

As you can see, I was just about the only in the lounge... and I was ok with that. 

Finally it was time to board Japan Airlines Flight 002, operated by a beautiful Boeing 777-300ER. Boarding commenced promptly and I boarded through doorway 2L and turned left toward my seat, 1A. 

Seat 1A

Pajamas were distributed and I changed into the JAL PJs for my 9 hour flight.

Oh yeah, and more Champagne

Being a flight departing midnight, a full course dinner is available, however I opted for the Caviar and champagne before trying to get some sleep. 

Caviar and Champagne

Because the first class cabin was near empty, The flight attendants offered to make up seat 1D as my bed so I could switch back easily when I woke up. 

JAL's Signature Bedding. 

After a quick 4 hour nap, it was just about time to land and arrive back in the USA. Global Entry made immigration a breeze and I had a nice 7 hour layover in San Francisco to go into town and grab dinner with some friends before continuing on a redeye to Dallas. Much to my dismay, my seat on my 737 to Dallas did not fold down to become a bed.

This flight capped off an amazing trip that I will never forget. Travel is an incredible opportunity to learn about and experience other cultures and I am very thankful to my family and my job that have allowed this to be possible. 

Dallas - Abu Dhabi

The following trip report details my First Class experience from Dallas Fort Worth International Airport to Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates. It represents the first flight in my around the world journey that includes stops in Dubai, Macao, Hong Kong, Tokyo, and Kyoto. Most of these pictures were taken with my iPhone despite having a real camera with me so I apologize in advance for the image quality.

I arrived to DFW airport at 5pm for a 7:50pm departure after being picked up by Etihad’s car service that is included with their First Class service. Check in went smoothly and boarding pass in hand, I proceeded to security without my normal Pre-Check privileges

First Class check in at DFW

I was directed to Etihad’s contract lounge and was the third or fourth person to arrive. The lounge had a wide selection of beer and wine as well as a diverse spread of both traditional Middle Eastern foods and the usual lounge options.

At about 6:30 p.m. our aircraft arrived and it was around this time the lounge manager stopped by to inform me that we would have a delayed departure.

Our 777-200LR arriving from Abu Dhabi

At 7:30, I headed down to the Gate area to prepare for boarding.

As boarding started, I made sure to be the first on board and, after turning left, was greeted by my Romanian flight attendant, Amelia.

After being shown to my seat 2k, I had some time to explore the cabin a little and take a look at the at the massive restrooms for the first class cabin.

Amelia then stopped by with a hot towel, Dates, and a glass of Bollinger La Grande Annee 2005 Champagne.

Shortly thereafter, Marius, the First Class chef, stopped by to introduce himself and provide me with the dining and drink menus. He took some time to explain the dine on demand concept. All meals are cooked to order, at any time during the flight.

 

After perusing the menu, I decided to start with the Arabic Mezze and then have the rack of lamb with a veal jus sauce. I selected the 2011 La Croix de Veaucaillou Saint Julien, Bordeaux as my wine for the meal.

We pushed back at about 8:30, about 40 minutes late. During the long taxi to runway 35L, the captain apologized for the delay and informed us of a 14 hr and 45 minute flying time. After a long takeoff roll, we were wheels up and bound for Abu Dhabi at 8:50.

Shortly after takeoff, Amelia brought me my pajamas, noise-cancelling headphones and amenity kit. She also took a minute to set my table. At this point I decided to start a movie and decided on 'Intersteller'. The amenity kit included the usual lotions, toothbrush, razor, socks, eye Shades  and Etihad's signature "Pillow Mist" for a good night's sleep. 

Amenity Kit

Amenity Kit Contents

Table Setting

Not 10 minutes later, the chef brought me a Tuna Tartare and a selection of freshly baked breads. I had another glass of Bollinger champagne with this course.

Tuna Tartare

About 10 minutes after I finished the Tuna Tartar, Amelia brought me my first course which was the Arabic Mezze as well as a glass of the Bordeaux, which were both delicious.

Arabic Mezze

Next up was the rack of lamb, which was absolutely incredible.

For dessert, I had the dessert taster that included a warm lemon pudding, berry jelly and a white chocolate and yogurt cake. This was perfectly paired with a 2010 Chateau Haut Theulet dessert wine.

Dessert

After dinner and my movie, I changed into my pajamas while my bed was made. At this point we were somewhere over Northeastern Canada and I settled into bed for a solid 5 hours of uninterrupted sleep with my suite door closed.

Bedding

My suite with its door closed

Upon waking above Northern Europe, I had a moment of panic considering I only had 6 hours of my flight left to enjoy. I then saw fit that the only thing to do would be to order more food to try to maximize my experience. I went with fresh cooked eggs made to order with a side of sausage, potatoes, mushrooms and baked beans. Instead of setting up the table again, I opted for bedside dining.

 

Next I started a new movie, The Theory of Everything, a movie I ended up enjoying. During the movie, I kicked on the massage function of my chair which was something different for an in-flight seat.

Massage Controls

After the Theory of Everything, I kicked on the latest 'Hunger Games' movie and with about 2 hrs left in the flight I ordered one final meal. I opted for ‘The Etihad Steak Sandwich’ and a glass of the Gomersal Vineyard Shiraz from Australia’s Barossa Valley.

The 'Etihad Steak Sandwich' which turned out to be two huge
sandwiches

I then obviously elected to have a final dessert, because, why not? I went with the Coconut Panna Cotta after being informed that they were out of the Apricot and Almond Tart. With this dessert, I had another glass of the Semillon Blend from earlier. Unfortunately, in my excitement, I forgot to take a picture of this dessert; however, rest assured, that it was delicious.

As we were passing over Tehran, I put on the Arsenal vs Newcastle Premier League game which was being streamed live from England. 

Due to a high volume of inbound traffic to AUH, were put on a holding pattern for 30 minutes over the Arabian Gulf, which was fine by me as it meant an additional 30 minutes of air time. 

Upon Landing in Abu Dhabi, we taxied for what seemed to be forever to a remote stand and, with great sadness, I packed my things and walked down the air-stairs. A bus was waiting that took the first and business class passengers to the terminal for passport control.

Some final pictures of my aircraft after our 14:45 hr flight.

Passport Control and Immigration was disorganized chaos and took approximately 45 minutes despite having "Fast Track" privileges. Once I cleared customs, I was directed to the Etihad Chauffeur desk and was placed into a waiting Audi for the 1 hour drive to the JW Marriott Maquis Dubai, the world's tallest hotel. 

This was easily the most incredible flight that I've ever taken. The food and wine were worthy of most 5-star restaurants and the service was spot on as well. It's accurate to say that I've ruined all future air travel for myself as this flight will not be topped... that is, until I do it again.