TracyFood

Ridiculously belated Foto Friday: adventures in flying fancy 22 January 2010 11:12 pm

Posted by Tracy in : consumerism,eating,family,food snobbery,fun,not even vegetarian,photos,pictures,restaurants,silly,tea,travel , trackback

Today’s post is dedicated to Ansley, not just for reminding me to write it, but also because she is going to Cancún for a long weekend tomorrow and I’m maybe just a little jealous. Anyway, have an awesome trip, lady, and do not even try to match the ridiculously huge pile of stuff I scored in the process of flying to Amsterdam at the beginning of the month:

Schwag from Virgin Upper Class

On top of the shoe bag, which I totally did use, you can see such diverse items as socks, a toothbrush, an Upper Class luggage tag, some very cute envelopes, and a copy of The Economist (which I finally finished reading yesterday because I am a giant slacker and also because I have been reading overtime to keep the pile of New Yorkers smaller than I am. Specifically TracyFood-related items (I guess the toothbrush sort of counts, too) include the cute little airplane-shaped salt and pepper shakers (with “pinched from Virgin Atlantic” on the bottoms of their little feet) here shown perched on two little butter dishes which I could not resist because they make perfect egg cups, a teaspoon (my standard airplane souvenir), the big pile of toffees and delicious buttery shortbreads from this ridiculous assortment of free snacks at the Virgin Clubhouse at Heathrow:

I was going to paste these together all panorama-style, but it was turning into an excuse to NEVER WRITE ABOUT THIS EVER because I’m such a slacker like that. Not pictured: freezers with half-pints of Haägen-Dasz, arranged conveniently around the lounge.

Finally, note the menus at the top of the picture (between the Economist and the stationery); one is from the plane, another is from the Heathrow clubhouse, where I literally ate the tastiest food ever given to me in an airport ever (that was not specifically brought to or by me from outside travels):

It was freeeeeeeeee! (I know, I know, TAANSTAFL but I was still psyched about not paying.)

That there is crispy duck confit on a bed of lentils and roasted winter squash, and it was delicious. Behind it you can see Piett barely recovered enough from this mind-blown state:

Nothing like another picture of my brother to show off more crazy airport lounge scenery. And why yes, they did bring me tea.

to show me his entrée:

Fancy steak and Guinness pie.

I talked him out of the fancy-sounding burger, and while I’m glad I did, I’m also a little bummed that we didn’t have a second meal while we were there; both Piett and I are resolved to eat ourselves completely silly the next time we fly this fancy because dang. We ate the hell out of that food, oh yes we did:

Imagine me barely having the dignity not to lick the plate. Barely.

But we were so busy exploring the lounge! With its retro-space-age hanging chairs and snowed-in (or I would’ve stayed up there) rooftop garden and video game tables and (not pictured) pool table and huge screen showing a cricket match:

Oh, the amenities!

Later I had another pot of tea (Earl Grey this time, to follow up on the English Breakfast from before, which was a scant consolation for having arrived too late for the lounge’s full English breakfast but too early for afternoon tea, alas) and Piett had a double espresso:

The tea picture kind of sort of gives a little more of the lounge’s James Bond movie set décor flavor, which looks like the future as envisioned by 1968, only not run-down yet 40+ years later.

And that’s without getting into the actual on-the-plane experience, kiddies. That will require its own separate post. In the meantime, for comparison, here are my takings from Continental coach class on the way home:

Schwag ganked from Continental coach class.
Yep, not quite as impressive a pile.

That’s my traditional spoon, plus a pair of headphones and airplane adapter (though admittedly the best one ever, since I can put it on the headphones of my choice from now until the technology changes again). Not pictured: a copy of De Volkskrant, a Dutch newspaper.

The rest of my photo evidence of Continental coach class will have to wait for a big post comparing the actual flying experience of these two airlines. But for now, you can pretty well see how I am ruined forever with the knowledge that even in the Age of Stupid Security Theater, flying does not have to terribly, horribly suck. (Heathrow is still kind of a nightmare airport though, and I’m really glad I talked our way into that lounge or it could have been the most miserable layover EVER.)

http://homemademonth.wordpress.com/ Ansley

Oh that final picture is so very sad and bare. But now I MUST fly business class! *Personal aspiration*

http://www.leenaeats.com/blog leena!

Wow, that looks like the best airplane food EVER. You definitely should have eaten your weight in food. How was Amsterdam???