Sunday

Packed and repacked on Saturday until 11pm. Went to sleep. Woke up at 3:40am to be ready for 4:15 departure. Forgot to knock on Sara's door until 4:15, oops! She got ready super fast and we were on the road by 4:30am. We got to the airport by 5am, gotta love Sunday morning empty roads, even though it was pouring rain.

There was no line for TSA so I didn't even use the first class speedy lane. Headed out to the N gates and the Alaska Airlines lounge (first class ticket gets you into the lounge!), which had just opened. I barely even remember any of my time there, I was so tired. I think I ate a yogurt and drank some water and dozed in a comfy chair/watched a special on NHK (Japanese TV station was on the TV in front of me) about North and South Koreans getting to reunite for a few hours and it was very heartwarming/heart wrenching.

I left the lounge right as they started boarding my flight, which was two gates down, so I sailed onto the plane in the first class lane and was seated in the window next to a very nice lady who was quiet and accommodating when I needed to get out for the bathroom. I slept almost the whole flight, only waking up for meal and refreshment service.

The food was surprisingly good! I had reserved a bacon and avocado omelette earlier in the week, which was lucky because they ran out fast. The other option was pancakes and they didn't look as yummy. Everybody knows Mari hates avocado, but it was surprisingly delicious in this omelette. They served it with pico and sour cream and it came with a potato hash and some yogurt and a little cinnamon scone. Good job, Alaska Airlines!

We landed in Boston around 3pm and my London flight didn't leave until 7:30pm, so I headed to one of the Priority Pass lounges. (A premium economy seat doesn't get you into any lounges.) I have Priority Pass for free through my credit card and it has been very handy this trip!

I hung out in the lounge for about 2 hours and ate some free food (they had clam chowder and pasta salad and veggies with ranch). Right as I was leaving, they put out some little sandwiches, but I was full by that point. I went to the gate for a passport verification and then just hung out up there until boarding. The Boston airport is really nice! I wish I had remembered to take more pictures.

My flight boarded around 6:50pm. We flew an A380 so there were 2 levels - my seat was on the "upper deck" and on the aisle of the last set of 3 seats before coach. Which was good and bad because it meant I was right next to the bathroom. I was strangely awake the whole flight and just watched their free movies. I happened to choose two Agatha Christie films without even realizing it! The new Murder on the Orient Express, and Crooked House. Both were great.

The meal was a bit of a disappointment: chicken in some sort of gravy with potatoes, a roll, a small salad (iceberg, ugh) with vinaigrette, and a millionaire shortbread for dessert. That was probably the best part. And I found out there is no Diet Coke in Europe. Which is really my only issue so far. Their Coke Zero and Coke Light (their version of Diet Coke) are basically the same thing, and I can tell you that I do not care for them. But I digress.

Next: London-Athens-Tripoli-Karyes