LAX to Stockholm

5/30/2008
I just got off the flight from LAX to Heathrow. Very comfortable. Mostly because at the last minute I was able to secure the exit row. Score. I slept for what must have been about 5 hours although it was mostly a twilight sleep state. I would wake up and then go back to sleep.

The sunrise was awesome. My seat-mate was very nice. She was visiting her sister in Orange County but is from London.

I have never been to Heathrow. What a trip. Commerce at its best. I love all the different languages and foreign people. Lots of exotic destinations east from here. It is the launching pad for a lot of the mid-east.

I smell like Coco Channel perfume. I sprayed a little in duty-free. It is ok but I am not going to buy. What should I buy? My stomach is decompressing from the flight.

I will venture out and check out the exchange rate and some of the wares. I meet up with Jessica later today. My two-hour flight to Copenhagen is in about 1.5 hours.

Weather is cloudy with light rain. Not a surprise. It was clear around Ireland but then I was only seeing the clouds below. It was probably raining as well.

Now waiting for boarding onto SAS flight from Heathrow to Copenhagen. Super fun. I had Sushi Ro. The conveyor belt Japanese restaurant. I ate unlimited Miso soup, edamame and 2 pieces of California roll. I dropped 9 pounds. I have to get out of here. Very confusing with the money. Basically, I have to double everything. What looks like a great deal is really not because of the reversal of fortune of the dollar. I am glad that I am ship bound where I can get more for my money and everything is already included in one low price.

I am in this holding area right now. We are all sequestered in the small area waiting for the plane to open. I am tired now after the over stimulation of the lounge and shopping area. I looked into some Caspian Sea caviar for Cathy Stone. It was $1000 or was that British pounds. I was not aware that it was so expensive. Wow!

Get me out of this airport and fast.

The people look like a nice cross section. I bet some of these people are going to the ship. I wonder how our customer is doing that is getting off the ship? Interesting. 10 days to go for me.

Out.

1:00 pm local time Copenhagen

Just got off the SAS small 1.5-hour flight from Heathrow to Copenhagen. Not impressed but it is a commuter plane. You have to pay for any drink in the economy cabin. They will swipe your credit card and that is that. I was not wanting to drink anything due to my expensive brunch at a Japanese restaurant.

The arrival area of the airport is excellent. There are Princess reps everywhere to help you figure out how to get on the transfer. The price of the 1-way transfer is $48 US. A taxi is about $40 US. The manager pointed out that although I can take the train with two transfers (about $5 US) I will need to either pay a taxi to get from station to pier or walk 1 kilometer. The taxi from the station will start the meter at about $10 US and then you pay for the wait time at the pier to get in. I have heard that the queue to get into the pier area is rather long. What to do???

The ship will arrive in Freeport, which is by the Little Mermaid.

This is a cool waiting lounge in the arrival area. I am here for about an hour waiting for a companion to arrive. They offer some hot dogs with drinks and I think I spot a Starbucks outside the baggage reclaim area. They have an arrival shop that sells duty-free liquor and candy. I think I will check that out. The hot dog cart looks cute.