Come Fly With Me

So happy that our dear and fun friend Camaryn also worked a trip to London and was able to join us for a fun filled layover.

London is one city that takes their Christmas lights seriously. The streets, squares, pubs and shops are all lit up with dazzling lights. You can’t resist being immersed in their Christmas spirit.

We left our hotel before the festive London Christmas lights were turned on. So we enjoyed the grand boulevards illuminated in all their glory with the stores adorned with beautiful decorations.

Always a must that we stop in at Harrods, the world famous store with luxury shopping!

The Londoners take pride and joy in decorating their beautiful homes for Christmas. It gives you a feeling of exhilaration walking down the different streets!

To our excitement, the lights on the streets were beginning to turn on. Let the magic of the Christmas lights begin!!

Every street you turned down are filled with twinkling lights!

Christmas spirit galore!!

What a day full of lights and joy!

Best way to end our fabulous day….a pint at our local English Pub!

English pubs are a typical part of British culture, and are a place where people can gather with friends and family in a friendly and fun atmosphere.

Happy Christmas to you all from London. May your hearts be filled with joy as bright as the Christmas lights around you! Embrace the warmth of the season with glowing lights and happy hearts.

Marianne and I have not been back to one of our favorite places since before the Olympics. It felt so good to be back in Paris just in time to enjoy the Christmas season.

The spirit of Christmas in Paris was not dimmed by the rain. Marianne and I set out to immerse in the Christmas vibe by shopping and seeing the Christmas decorations and lights.

We persevered in the rain! We moseyed in and out of many fun shops!

We stopped at a warm and cozy cafe to dry out for a while.

On the road again! To our good fortune, the rain had subsided.

Marianne and I savor every moment, every blessing that being a flight attendant has given us.

Hotel de Ville

The Hotel de Ville is a beautiful 19th century building which is now the city hall of Paris and features a number of displays on French History.

We continued to walk down the street to the Tuileries Garden Christmas Market: La Magie de Noel.

La Magie de Noel is part traditional Christmas Market and part holiday carnival.

La Magie de Noel is a popular holiday experience. The Tuileries Garden is near the Louvre. This Christmas market had everything, such as an ice skating rink, Ferris wheel and over a hundred chalet stalls, selling all manner of French foodstuffs, gifts, and wine. It definitely put us in the Christmas spirit.

The sun was setting, the air was getting cooler; it was now time to walk back to our hotel and stop along the way for dinner.

Paris glowed with Christmas lights at every corner we turned.

Nothing better to end our day with a mouthwatering steak dinner.

Paris truly put us in the Christmas spirit.

We will never let a little rain stop us from having fun, especially in Paris.

Life isn’t about waiting for the storm to pass, it’s about learning to dance in the rain.

We arrived at JFK from San Francisco in the wee hours of the morning. Waiting for our shuttle, we were struck with a nostalgic feeling looking at the TWA Hotel in front of us. The TWA Hotel is set in the iconic former TWA flight Center. The hotel was originally built in the 1960s when TWA was thriving. Now the hotel has been revamped and the entire aesthetic orbits around TWA’s Brand, with 3 core themes: airplanes, bright red and the 1960s.

The shuttle came and brought us to the crashpad to get a couple of hours rest before working the evening flight to Milan.

Jaw-dropping views of the Alps before landing in Milan.

Time to put our walking shoes on to enjoy shopping in Milan from designer boutiques to department stores. The grocery stores are also amazing.

All tuckered out from our shopping experience, it was time to energize!

We found a quaint pub with couches to relax on before venturing out to shop again.

We could not resist stopping when we came across Christmas in Chocolate at the Park Hyatt Milano Hotel.

After walking and shopping the streets of Milan, it was time to enjoy an Italian dinner. We decided on pizza!

That’s Amore!!

It’s always fabulous to stroll around Piazza del Duomo at night. The Cathedral is all lit up and looks absolutely breathtaking.

The Duomo is a sight to behold, no matter how many times we see it. To our hearts content, we ate, shopped and definitely were merry in the beautiful city of Milan.

Marianne and I were so thrilled to be back in London. We had no agenda for our layover. We just love walking the streets of London to experience the diverse neighborhoods, iconic landmarks and vibrant atmosphere. Our layover in London was so much more than expected and better than we imagined.

Christmas is well and truly on its way in London. The lights on the streets are going up. We did a little shopping and kept wondering the different streets. To our delight, we wondered down a street and found many people going into a building that looked very inviting. We wanted to see what the big attraction was! As one says, “ We hit the lottery!!”

MERCATO MAYFAIR

Mercato Mayfair is a hip market in an old stained-glass church, with food stands, eateries and a vaulted wine cellar. The food hall is located in St. Mark’s Church, which was built in the 1820s. It was deconsecrated in 1973, now offering two floors of worldwide cuisine and to our happiness a rooftop bar!

We were a little overwhelmed on what our food and drink choices would be. We opted to stay simple and have a beer along with nachos. Delicious!!

To our good fortune, we got the perfect spot on the rooftop to witness the beautiful sunset.

This rooftop bar was definitely a hidden gem and we were blessed with no rain.

We continued our walk to take in the contagious fun London vibe.

The spirit of London as a city is captivating.

Savoring the London vibe, one sip at a time in a cozy pub.

A perfect ending to a fun layover in London. Every mile we walk, gives us a new story.

Proud to be wearing our pink scarves as we leave London. Marianne and I wear the pink scarves the entire month of October to raise awareness about breast cancer, honor survivors, and support those battling or recovering from this horrible disease.

“Supporting the fighters, admiring the survivors, honoring the taken and never giving up hope!”

We knew the storm was approaching! We decided to get out and walk to a new area in São Paulo before the rain. We came upon a luxury mall.

We didn’t have much time before we were hit by severe weather. We were about 2 miles from our hotel, when the ferocious rain came down.

We found shelter! The rain was coming down so heavy. We decided we needed to call an Uber to take us back to our hotel. It took Uber 30 minutes to pick us up!

Once we were in the Uber, the traffic was at a standstill. It took us over an hour to go 2 miles back to our hotel. We were tempted to jump out of the Uber and just walk in the rain.

To our delight, we finally arrived back to our hotel and came upon a fabulous band playing in the hotel lounge. We also were so happy to run into another SFO family member, Kim, who is now based in Dallas.

Marianne and I woke up the next morning to brilliant sunshine. We could not resist a walk through the neighbor before we had to fly back to New York!

Life isn’t about waiting for the storm to pass.. It’s about learning to dance in the rain.❤️

No miles or time can keep us girls apart from having fun together! Girls Weekend in New Hampshire was full of entertainment, adventure and unstoppable laughter. So thankful for the new memories we’ve made.

It was a beautiful fall day to enjoy walking the Main Street of North Conway, going in and out of all the shops. North Conway, NH, a town with broad appeal makes it a standout White Mountains destination. It has a lot of shops, outlets and many fun restaurants and bars to venture into.

We went on a walk to see the beautiful fall foliage and enjoy the great outdoors.

After shopping and a brisk walk, it was time to enjoy a cold beverage.

The veranda of the North Conway Golf Course is our special place to enjoy a drink.

It was still early in the day. Donna was done doing her work, so we were off now to explore a nearby charming town, Jackson, NH.

After enjoying browsing in the unique shops, it was time to restore our energy.

Back at the house, we had a surprise birthday celebration for Donna’s birthday!

Maryellen made the most delicious cupcakes for the party. She even made cupcakes to celebrate Gail’s precious dog Brody, who had just turned 2.

Our enchanted evening was not over yet. These girls have a true passion for golf. We went outside to take in the backyard’s beauty and where the girls got to practice their golf swings.

It was a magical night, taking in the view and feeling blessed that we were all together again.

I love after all the years, we still have unstoppable crazy laughs!

After a great night sleep, our second day started off by challenging ourselves by going through a corn maze.

It was a successful morning, navigating twists and turns in the corn maze. At times, we felt like we were lost in the sea of corn. We all conquered the corn maze, one stalk at a time. Now we were ready for shopping and a late lunch.

We enjoyed delicious chocolate martinis.

Cheers to the good times and fabulous friends!

Before heading back to the house, I still wanted to capture the beautiful autumn leaves. The vibrant colors are visually captivating giving me feelings of warmth, coziness and nostalgia.

It was a fun filled day. We were ready to head back to the house and get cozy and play some fun games.

Happiness was sitting around the warm fire and just being together.

As we grow old, we have stopped chasing the big things and started valuing the small things! Time and good friends are two things that become more valuable the older we get. We are so blessed to have each other! Our laughs…Limitless, Our memories…Countless, Our friendship…Endless!

What a trip Marianne and I just had. I thought I would never get up the nerve to fly a 15 hour trip to India. Marianne finally convinced me that it was imperative that we visit the Taj Mahal. She was absolutely correct. The Taj Mahal is one of the 7 wonders of the world.

Working the flight to Delhi was actually better than expected. A few passengers could not sleep, so they roamed the cabin all night. Our passengers’ drinks of choice were marsala tea and Jack Daniel. We did 3 meal services and in between the services we each were given a 6 hour rest break.

Upon arriving in Delhi’s baggage claim, we encountered so many beautiful dogs hanging in and outside the baggage claim area. I was told these dogs live at Delhi’s baggage claim due to many reasons, lack of widespread pet owner ship, uncontrolled breeding and legal protections that prevent the removal of dogs from their area. Some of these sweet dogs walked with us to our bus. We were told that the flight attendants have brought treats to these special dogs on numerous occasions. Unfortunately, I didn’t get a photo of this unique experience.

We got to our beautiful hotel around 11pm. Before walking into the hotel, we were instructed to put all our luggage in a scanner. I was told they were scanning for evidence of bombs. 🤪

Marianne and I had to go quickly to our rooms. We were meeting downstairs at 4:45am to go to the Taj Mahal. We were hoping to get a few hours of sleep!

4:45am came quickly! The hotel packed us a to-go-lunch for our 3 hour drive to the Taj Mahal. Sabash, our hired driver was superb. He had a well maintained SUV. Sabash explained to us that he used to be a priest. He had to get the bishop to release him from being a priest when his father died, in order for him to take over his father’s duties taking care of the family.

Comfy and cozy, we were ready for our adventure. I noticed, every time Sabash passed a car, he beeped. He said, it’s a friendly beep, letting the other car know that you are passing them. . You can just imagine, how many times he did his friendly beeping! We were lucky that the traffic was not too bad due to being a Sunday. Delhi’s traffic can be horrific.

I knew it was going to be a grand day when I saw the pink sunrise.

We arrived! Vinny our tour guide/photographer was waiting for us. He told us we had to hurry and put us in a cart to drive us to the entrance of the Taj Mahal . I was taken aback, when we drove by a huge cow walking down the street with other pedestrians. The cow owned the street. Cows are common sight in Delhi, India, and can be found in residential areas, on roads, and in dairy colonies. Cows are sacred in the Hindu religion and are revered as givers of life and symbols of prosperity.

The race was on. Marianne and I were running behind Vinny. He first brought us into a building to go through security and have our purses checked. Feeling embarrassed, the guard emptied out my entire purse. He took my altoids and candy. I didn’t realize they would be so strict on what you carried in. This is how they keep the Taj Mahal so beautiful.

When you walk into the entrance, you are definitely awestruck by the Taj Mahal’s beauty. The Taj Mahal is an ivory-white marble mausoleum on the south bank of the Yamuna river in the Indian city of Agra. It was commissioned in 1632 by the Mughal emperor, Shah Jahan to house the tomb of his favorite wife, Mumtaz Mahal, who died while giving birth to their 14th child, It took 22 years to build.

Vinny our tour guide and photographer was fabulous. Vinny, carrying both our purses and sweater had us running to each spectacular spot so he could take our photos before the crowds had accumulated. It definitely was amusing seeing how he was able to move people, so Marianne and I would get perfect memory photos. These are a few of our photos taken by Vinny at the Taj Mahal.

This is the famous bench at the Taj Mahal. It was on this bench in 1992 that Princess Diana posed for one of her most iconic photos.

The Taj Mahal is a perfect symmetrical planned building, with an emphasis of bilateral symmetry along a central axis on which the main features are placed. In addition to the stunning marble work, the Taj Mahal also features intricate inlaid designs made from precious stones such as lapis, lazuli, jasper, and jade.

It sure was a whirlwind day experiencing the breathtaking, well preserved Taj Mahal. Now, we understand why the Taj Mahal is one of the 7 wonders of the world. It is a masterpiece with its unique aesthetic qualities in balance, symmetry and harmonious blending of various elements. It gives you a sense of ease and tranquility. The Taj Mahal is also known as a timeless symbol of love.

Marianne and I were so happy that we were given this gift of experiencing the Taj Mahal because we are flight attendants for American Airlines. I know I would never have traveled to India on my own. I thank Marianne for taking me out of my comfort zone to experience such a beauty.

“The hardest thing to do it’s leaving your comfort zone. But you have to let go of the life you’re familiar with and take the risk to live the life you dream about.”

Another opportunity for us to take in the beauty of Rome! It was a gorgeous day for walking. We had plans in the evening to go to The Three Tenor Concert.

We love starting our day in Rome, by walking down the Spanish steps. We just set out to explore new streets, which always leads us to fabulous finds.

We enjoyed our fabulous walk through the streets of Rome. Now it was time to go to The Three Tenor Concert at the St Paul’s Church in Rome.

After getting our tickets, we went next door to enjoy a cold drink before the concert. Lori, a flight attendant from our crew, joined us at the concert.

We had front row seats in this beautiful church to enjoy the brilliant performance.

THE THREE TENORS

The Three Tenors are an operatic singing group. The original group consisted of the Italian great Pavarotti and great Spaniards Domingo and Carreras. The Three Tenors repertoire range from Broadway Opera to Neapolitan songs along with pop hits.

While The Three Tenors sang, a beautiful ballerina performed. It just enhanced the whole experience.

After the brilliant performance, we stopped at an Italian restaurant for some delicious pasta and pizza.

No matter how many times we visit Rome, we come away with more love for this great City!

LONDON

Marianne and I were so elated to be back in London, no better place to celebrate friendship with dear friends.

Up and at it, we were ready to enjoy the day with friends that were in London at the same time as us.

Before meeting up with friends, we enjoyed walking over the London Bridge and the Tower Bridge.

We truly enjoyed walking the walkway, from one bridge to another taking in the stunning panoramic views.

The Tower Bridge is the most iconic bridge in London. It is famous for its striking design. Tower Bridge was built in 1894 to ease road traffic while maintaining river access to the busy London docks.

We loved walking over this famous bridge. It was a fabulous experience soaking up London’s skyline.

BOROUGH MARKET

Now it was time to meet up with Marianne’s dear friends at the Borough Market in London. Veronique and Chantel showed us around Borough Market

Borough Market is considered London’s oldest retail and wholesale food market. We could not resist the chocolate -smothering strawberry operation.
We shared a cup of strawberries drenched in delicious mouth watering chocolate.

Wow! What a treat! We then walked around and we stopped at a tapas place for something to eat. The food and drinks were delicious, but the company was outstanding, full of laughter and fun.

Sadly, we needed to say good bye. The memories we made today will keep us smiling for a long time.

Marianne and I still had more fun to be had. We were meeting up with flight attendants that used to be based in San Francisco that were now based in, New York, Los Angeles and Philadelphia. We all had a London layover at the same time.

We could not have planned this reunion any better. We were trying to get in touch with the girls. To our amazement, when we crossed the street at a busy intersection… we ran into our SFO family!

Off to The Ivy to have a drink. It is a haven of style that shows a dedication to food that has set the standard for British dining since its foundation in 1917.

It was a grand time catching up with Beth, Veshla and Elaine. Time flies, new bases, but our SFO bond remains strong.

Marianne and I had a good night sleep. We had the morning free before heading back to the airport. To our good fortune, our special friend Allen Le had texted us and wanted us to meet up for breakfast. We had not seen him since SFO closed. He just arrived in London. Allen is a foodie and loves to adventure out and he always finds the best places for delicious food.

Allen sure had a healthy appetite. Fish and chips for breakfast!!!

Thanks to Allen, we had a great morning with good company and yummy food. Time to fly back to New York.

Reconnecting with old friends is a beautiful reminder of where we’ve been and how far we’ve come.

WE ARE TRULY BLESSED WITH THE FABULOUS PEOPLE IN OUR LIFES!

No matter how many times we visit São Paulo, we come away with more love for this vibrant city. Our favorite day to be in São Paulo is Sunday! We enjoy strolling Paulista Avenue. To our delight, Paulista Avenue is closed to cars on Sundays. It is a fabulous time for people watching; so many families, dogs and interesting characters walking the street. All sorts of musicians are entertaining the crowds at every corner, with people dancing to their own tune. One must be alert to their surroundings, so you won’t miss seeing all the abundance of art on the street, along with lots of vendors selling their goods.

ART OF LOVE

The Art of Love exhibition spreads giant hearts across the streets of São Paulo. There are 49 works of art, created by 42 artists under the theme “Love for São Paulo.” São Paulo is the largest city in Latin America that has transformed into an open-air art gallery. Marianne and I had a lot of fun, when we unexpectedly came across one of these beautiful hearts.

Being true to ourselves, after walking a few miles, it was time to hunker down and have a cold beverage. We were on the hunt for a fun place. We walked down welcoming alleys and streets to find the ideal place.

Going around a corner, I spotted the perfect place.. a roof top bar!

BARBAN

Marianne and I were determined to get a drink at the Barban’s rooftop. We entered and there was no host, so we walked up a dark stairway and voila, we were on the rooftop that had a table waiting for us.

To our delight the beers were ice cold and the grilled meat platter was delicious. It’s our new favorite place in São Paulo.

It was time to walk back to our hotel before it got dark. I think we walked around 7 miles today. We had the whole next day to again enjoy São Paulo.

To celebrate our fun day, we stopped at our hotel bar before heading to bed to enjoy the famous Brazilian cocktail… Caipirinha!

After a good night sleep and indulging at the hotel’s buffet breakfast, we were ready to go for a walk. It wouldn’t be too long til we had to get back to the hotel for a nap and then work the 11pm flight back to New York.

Ibirapuera Park

We are so fortunate that a 10 minute walk from our hotel brings us to the Sao Paula Ibirapuera Park. It gives you the feel of being in New York City’s Central Park, but on a smaller scale. Walking and biking paths snake through the lawns. The scenery is absolutely extraordinary. We loved seeing the wildlife walking around the beautiful lake.

It certainly was a grand walk through Ibirapuera Park. Being in nature definitely relaxed us and promoted a sense of fulfillment and wellbeing. We were now ready to tackle the world and fly 273 passengers back to New York this evening! The possibility for unknown adventures while away on our layovers is one of the best things about our job!