Day 42, time to pack up for the last time, to re-aquaint ourselves with our big bags, and all those superfluous things in the cupboard we found we did not need after all, (which were left at Ed's where we were lucky enough to have a palatial dressing room and a bedroom), while we took two small cabin bags on our various excursions from London. But hey we aren't complaining that the weather was always so mild that jackets were never needed. Raincoats yes, we were very glad of those for the occasional downpour, but most of the rain fell while we were tucked up in bed or busy inside. I rather took to travelling light, (What! says Richard) although of course it is easier in summer when everything packs flat, and dries easily overnight. Good old Ryanair cheap fares only allow cabin bags free, so we saved big time on extra baggage.
Ed very kindly insisted on driving us to the airport for our 8.40pm flight (even though it was around rush hour), which meant setting off at 4.30. We arrived in plenty of time, but it took Ed rather longer to drive home. Thank you Ed!
Our first flight to Singapore was in a Boeing 777, which we found very comfortable for the 12 and a half hour hop, even though it was full, and we loved the touch screens! Sitting at a window seat I could lean the cushion on the cabin wall, feet up on my long suffering husband's knees, and hey presto, sleep! Most unusual for me, as until recently I was a very nervous flyer.
I think airlines are at last getting the message about what passengers should be eating on long haul flights and Singapore Airlines is to be congratulated for putting this into practice. We were served little sealed bags of, surprise, surprise, freshly sliced cold apple, very refreshing actually, and roasted UNsalted peanuts. Who wants to eat salt when your sinuses are totally dried out by the airconditioning up there? During the long night there were help yourself trays at the back with sammos, whole fruit, cut up fruit, cheese and biscuits, and OK - salty chips too.
We had two and a half hours in Singa, and lo and behold after coffee at a cafe I realised that I could put my feet up on an L shaped couch, (yes without shoes of course) behind the scenes where it was deserted, and with my head comfortably back on the low arm rest, hey presto off to sleep again for an hour. This was good!
The next plane, for the seven and a half hour haul, was a huge double decker A380. These modern planes are amazing. Sitting over the wings it was astonishing to see how far they stretched into the distance, and I must say even the engines are beautiful to look at, as they were softly lit for take off and landing, though I am sure this was not for my enjoyment! The seat belt sign came on only once in the whole journey, and that was a mistake for sure, as nothing happened worthy of note. Sleep wasn't quite so ready to beckon however, even though we had an empty seat beside us. The cabin was so spacious there was a big gap between seat and wall, with nowhere to rest a pillow, so I watched the movie 'In Secret' based on a novel by Zola, which kept me entertained with its tumultuous plot of love, murder and intrigue. No touch screens this time, but this plane floated: we floated effortlessly up, powered seemingly effortlessly through the night, and finally floated down to Sydney, very early on a fine and cool sunny winter morning.
