Christmas Light Tour

On Christmas Eve we met up with a tour group to wander the streets of New York. We began at the New York Library and snaked our way around the city land marks and the numerous department store windows. There were tens of thousands of people out, 400,000+ people a day flock to the Rockefeller Centra to see the massive Christmas Tree.

 

Seattle!

We spent two nights in Seattle, its such a sleepy city. No one was in a rush and everything just sorta flowed. We met up with out friend Micheal who had come down from Vancouver to hang out.

We tried out some coffee from the first ever Starbucks (it was terrible), and went to a microbrewery for some local beers. There was a street where everyone puts the chewing gum on the wall, it was literally covered with millions of bits of gum.

We did also get a tour of the Boeing factory and got to walk inside the planes and see them before any of the insides are put. It was amazing to see how much work goes into making a plane.

The Grand Canyon

We spent the day in driving around and seeing some of the sights Arizona had to offer. First stop we went to a ski lodge called snowball. Snow balls got thrown, people got hit. Then we went to the south rim the grand canyon. We drove along the south rim and stopped in a couple places then headed back to Flagstaff for dinner which was hipster burgers that where really good.

Flagstaff day 3

On Day three we had a more relaxing day. Played board games and got to try out Aarons VR kit. Rob got to be a cat. Then we went into town for a pub crawl. There where some awesome microbreweries in town and we got to try some great local beers. 

Exploring Flagstaff

First full day in Flagstaff Greck and Aaron drove us into town to check it out. We had this awesome mexican for breakfast and set off exploring.

First day in Arizona

The flight from Atlanta to Phoenix felt like it went really quickly. We arrived and met up with our friends Greck and Aaron. We packed our luggage in the car and just barely fit. then it was about a two hour drive to Flagstaff where they live.

The car trip was snug...

We got taken to an awesome pizza place for dinner and met some flagstaff locals. Greck and Aaron knew basically everyone.

First Dinning on Etihad Part 1

EY461 Melbourne to Abu Dhabi

Its been a few days since our Etihad flights however its been hard to find time to write this post. It's 3am Friday and unable to sleep so it's a good time to make a post. It's a bit long but we have eaten lots so there is lots to cover.

Our food journey on Etihad began in the First & Business Lounge in Melbourne. The Etihad lounge is more like a fine dinning experience than an airport lounge. The runways set a perfect backdrop behind the bar and allow amazing amounts of natural light in.

Joel stuck to drinking beer but I started off with a "New York" Signature Cocktail, I have had this one before and is one of my favourites. Its made from Applejack, Walnut Infused Bourbon, Clarified Pressed Apple Juice, Maple Syrup and Malic Acid. 

As we would be eating a fair amount of food on the plane we stuck to a light bite; We both had the Calamari to start, I then chose the Lobster Bisque while Joel had the fancy chicken (neither of us can remember what it was) and lastly we finished with the Cardamon Custard. It was all great and couldn't fault any of the food.

It was soon time to board and shortly after arriving in the First Apartment we were greeted with a welcome drink, arabic dates and a personal welcome note from the Flight Manager. We both had the Billiecart-Salmon NV Brut Rose Champagne from France. It was delicate and fruity without being overly fruity or sweet. This became the pre departure drink of choice for the remaining Etihad flights. 

Etihad has an onboard chef on their Airbus A380 flights, this means that the First Class food is fresh and well cooked. 

Another great thing about travelling in their First Apartment is the ability to dine together if you are travelling with someone. Like the lounge its more like a fine dinning restaurant but in the sky. 

The dinner service began with an amuse bouche of parmesan mousse, parmesan snap and spiced egg. The bad thing about this and pretty much all of the food is that I could have eaten more of it!

Etihad menus feature local produce so as our flight was leaving Australia they had Moreton Bay Lobster (with pickled cucumber and saffron aioli) on the menu, I had this while Joel had the Shorbat Adas, a chickpea and lentil soup (with sour cream). Both were tasty and we were happy with our choices. 

Before our main was served the chef prepared a palette cleanser, this was a lemon granita with orange jelly. 

For the main course I chose the chef's special of the day which was a beef fillet served with a potato gratin, seasonal vegetables and truffle oil. Joel had the lamb loin served with artichoke, potato and asparagus. Both were cooked to perfection!

Lastly we chose the cheese board to share as by this time we were rather full. We soon had our beds made and got some sleep. 

A few hours before landing we had breakfast that consisted of eggs cooked to order (I had then scrambled, Joel had fried), veal sausage, mushrooms, baked beans and tomato. We also had a cappuccino and finished off with some fruit. 

We used the onboard shower and soon arrived at the gate in Abu Dhabi.