On Sunday, May 9th, I boarded Continental Flight #9 from Newark International Airport for a 14 hour flight en route to Narita International Airport in Japan. Shortly after take-off I heard a loud boom and then the plane started to shake, and it felt like the plane wasn't climbing like it should have been. Next thing I know, the captain makes an announcement saying "Ladies and Gentlemen, we have a problem with our hydraulic system...it's not working, and so the back-up system has kicked in, but we will have to land again, but before we do, we must circle first to dump fuel." Well, we circled for about 45 minutes, dumping 170,000 gallons of fuel (I later found out). People were throwing up all around me, flight attendants were running up and down the aisles...it was scary!!! Right before we landed one of the flight attendants made an announcement saying "Ladies and Gentlemen, we will be landing shortly, please be advised that our landing will be harder and faster than normal." And it was! We hit the ground pretty hard, and the plane swerved right and then left (from all of the fuel still inside). There were emergency vehicles waiting on the runway for us (just in case), and they escorted us back to the gate. We all got off of the plane (shaken and confused as to what happened), and were handed food vouchers to go eat while they determined what would happen. Continental decided to give us a new plane, and we finally left for Japan that night at 8:30pm! We all later found out that part of the wheel broke off during take-off, and so the landing gear couldn't go back into position after take-off (hence why the plane couldn't climb and why it was so shaky). We also later found out that what had happened to us on that flight made the news!!! Yes, it was on CNN and all of the local news channels! Click here to read about it. I have to say in all of my years of jet setting, this was the first time something like this has ever happened to me. It's nice to be back home safely!
Showing posts with label jet setting. Show all posts
Showing posts with label jet setting. Show all posts
Monday, May 24, 2010
SAFELY HOME!
Hey Jet Setters, I'm back! I was in Korea and Japan for the last two weeks and have to say that Asia was amazing! I can't wait to share pictures and stories with you all very soon. First, I want to tell you about the crazy flight experience I had leaving the U.S...
On Sunday, May 9th, I boarded Continental Flight #9 from Newark International Airport for a 14 hour flight en route to Narita International Airport in Japan. Shortly after take-off I heard a loud boom and then the plane started to shake, and it felt like the plane wasn't climbing like it should have been. Next thing I know, the captain makes an announcement saying "Ladies and Gentlemen, we have a problem with our hydraulic system...it's not working, and so the back-up system has kicked in, but we will have to land again, but before we do, we must circle first to dump fuel." Well, we circled for about 45 minutes, dumping 170,000 gallons of fuel (I later found out). People were throwing up all around me, flight attendants were running up and down the aisles...it was scary!!! Right before we landed one of the flight attendants made an announcement saying "Ladies and Gentlemen, we will be landing shortly, please be advised that our landing will be harder and faster than normal." And it was! We hit the ground pretty hard, and the plane swerved right and then left (from all of the fuel still inside). There were emergency vehicles waiting on the runway for us (just in case), and they escorted us back to the gate. We all got off of the plane (shaken and confused as to what happened), and were handed food vouchers to go eat while they determined what would happen. Continental decided to give us a new plane, and we finally left for Japan that night at 8:30pm! We all later found out that part of the wheel broke off during take-off, and so the landing gear couldn't go back into position after take-off (hence why the plane couldn't climb and why it was so shaky). We also later found out that what had happened to us on that flight made the news!!! Yes, it was on CNN and all of the local news channels! Click here to read about it. I have to say in all of my years of jet setting, this was the first time something like this has ever happened to me. It's nice to be back home safely!
On Sunday, May 9th, I boarded Continental Flight #9 from Newark International Airport for a 14 hour flight en route to Narita International Airport in Japan. Shortly after take-off I heard a loud boom and then the plane started to shake, and it felt like the plane wasn't climbing like it should have been. Next thing I know, the captain makes an announcement saying "Ladies and Gentlemen, we have a problem with our hydraulic system...it's not working, and so the back-up system has kicked in, but we will have to land again, but before we do, we must circle first to dump fuel." Well, we circled for about 45 minutes, dumping 170,000 gallons of fuel (I later found out). People were throwing up all around me, flight attendants were running up and down the aisles...it was scary!!! Right before we landed one of the flight attendants made an announcement saying "Ladies and Gentlemen, we will be landing shortly, please be advised that our landing will be harder and faster than normal." And it was! We hit the ground pretty hard, and the plane swerved right and then left (from all of the fuel still inside). There were emergency vehicles waiting on the runway for us (just in case), and they escorted us back to the gate. We all got off of the plane (shaken and confused as to what happened), and were handed food vouchers to go eat while they determined what would happen. Continental decided to give us a new plane, and we finally left for Japan that night at 8:30pm! We all later found out that part of the wheel broke off during take-off, and so the landing gear couldn't go back into position after take-off (hence why the plane couldn't climb and why it was so shaky). We also later found out that what had happened to us on that flight made the news!!! Yes, it was on CNN and all of the local news channels! Click here to read about it. I have to say in all of my years of jet setting, this was the first time something like this has ever happened to me. It's nice to be back home safely!
Thursday, November 12, 2009
GEOTHERMAL & CIRCLE- A GOLDEN COMBINATION
For every destination, there is always a to-do list of things you should see and experience while jet setting. In Iceland, two of those things include an outdoor bath at one of Reykjavik's geothermal pools, and a drive to the Golden Circle. That's how we planned to spend our second day in this beautiful country. We hired a local taxi to drive us around for eight hours. Since there were four of us, the cost was about $200USD per couple.
11AM- We headed to Laugardalslaug Pool- Reykjavik's biggest pool, and also the largest pool in Iceland. 
The price to get in is $360ISK per person. There is an awesome water slide, a large pool and smaller hot pots that are similar to hot tubs. Volcanic water keeps the temperature at a mellow 29*C for the large pool and between 37*-42*C for the hot pots. Note: The city's pools are free of chemicals, so you must shower naked before getting in. Don't worry, men and women have separate locker rooms- but if you are shy about being nude in front of others- this may not be for you.
12:15PM- Back in the taxi and on the road to the Golden Circle. Gulfoss, Geysir and Pingvellir are unique sites commonly referred to as the Golden Circle.
Pingvellir is a national park about 20km east of Reykjavik. This is a place of spectacular beauty- a place where you feel like your pictures cannot do it justice.
It is like being in another world when you are here- it truly is amazing! You can spend hours walking through this immense rift valley which is caused by the separating North American and Eurasian tectonic plates.
We then continued on to Gulfoss- Iceland's most famous waterfall. It is a double cascading waterfall that is the biggest in Europe.
After Gulfoss, we got back into the car and went to see the Geysir.
Its pronounced Gay-Zeer. This is another of Iceland's most famous tourist attractions. It's the original blasting hot water spout (temperature of 230*C) after which all other geysers around the world are named. There are a few in the area to see, some bigger than the others. The most reliable geysir of all the ones is named Strokkur- which goes off every 5-6 minutes. So have your camera ready! Also be warned that it is sort of smelly like rotten eggs from the sulfur. 
That night, back in Reykjavik, we went to The Fish Company for dinner.
The restaurant came highly recommended from our waiter the night before at Dill Restaurant- and he was right! Here's what we had:
Fried Icelandic Lobster, butter cooked carrots, sheep sorrel jelly & Brennivins eggfoam
Jamaica spiced tunafish, pear-lime foam, deepfried softshell crab & bacon powder
Butterfried rack of lamb in fresh herbs, saltkiot & parsnip, burned mushroom & blueberry-baconsauce
Olive oil sous vide Baccalo from north of Iceland & squid in pirl pirl, plum tomato & black mareng
For deesrt we had banana & coconut cake, that came with roasted coconut chips, fresh papaya foam & homemade vanilla ice cream
Dinner was another incredible experience!
Afterwards we stopped next door to Restaurant Reykjavik to the Ice Bar. Believe it or not, this is the ONLY ice bar in all of Iceland!
Actually, I should point out that it's not really even a bar, but instead a converted meat locker within the restaurant that has walls lined with ice blocks. You pay $1500ISK per person to get in and they give you a big coat to put on- then you go in and they give you a drink.
You can either choose to have Brennivin or a cocktail which is made with vodka, wine and sprite- it's very fruity, but very good. Although the experience is sort of cheezy, I woulod definitely still recommend it. It's really cold in the room, so if nothig else, it's fun to bundle up and take some pictures.
A bit of walking around and we worked up a mini appetite again! We went to Devito's Pizza for a slice.
This place was voted best drunken slice and best pizza in Reykjavik. We had a pepperoni slice. Everyone puts garlic oil and lemon pepper on the slices- DELISH!
Tomorrow read about our Glacier Hike and our time at another geothermal pool!
11AM- We headed to Laugardalslaug Pool- Reykjavik's biggest pool, and also the largest pool in Iceland. 
The price to get in is $360ISK per person. There is an awesome water slide, a large pool and smaller hot pots that are similar to hot tubs. Volcanic water keeps the temperature at a mellow 29*C for the large pool and between 37*-42*C for the hot pots. Note: The city's pools are free of chemicals, so you must shower naked before getting in. Don't worry, men and women have separate locker rooms- but if you are shy about being nude in front of others- this may not be for you.
12:15PM- Back in the taxi and on the road to the Golden Circle. Gulfoss, Geysir and Pingvellir are unique sites commonly referred to as the Golden Circle.
Pingvellir is a national park about 20km east of Reykjavik. This is a place of spectacular beauty- a place where you feel like your pictures cannot do it justice.
It is like being in another world when you are here- it truly is amazing! You can spend hours walking through this immense rift valley which is caused by the separating North American and Eurasian tectonic plates.
We then continued on to Gulfoss- Iceland's most famous waterfall. It is a double cascading waterfall that is the biggest in Europe.
After Gulfoss, we got back into the car and went to see the Geysir.
Its pronounced Gay-Zeer. This is another of Iceland's most famous tourist attractions. It's the original blasting hot water spout (temperature of 230*C) after which all other geysers around the world are named. There are a few in the area to see, some bigger than the others. The most reliable geysir of all the ones is named Strokkur- which goes off every 5-6 minutes. So have your camera ready! Also be warned that it is sort of smelly like rotten eggs from the sulfur. 
That night, back in Reykjavik, we went to The Fish Company for dinner.
The restaurant came highly recommended from our waiter the night before at Dill Restaurant- and he was right! Here's what we had:Fried Icelandic Lobster, butter cooked carrots, sheep sorrel jelly & Brennivins eggfoam
Jamaica spiced tunafish, pear-lime foam, deepfried softshell crab & bacon powder
For deesrt we had banana & coconut cake, that came with roasted coconut chips, fresh papaya foam & homemade vanilla ice cream
Dinner was another incredible experience!
Afterwards we stopped next door to Restaurant Reykjavik to the Ice Bar. Believe it or not, this is the ONLY ice bar in all of Iceland!
Actually, I should point out that it's not really even a bar, but instead a converted meat locker within the restaurant that has walls lined with ice blocks. You pay $1500ISK per person to get in and they give you a big coat to put on- then you go in and they give you a drink.
You can either choose to have Brennivin or a cocktail which is made with vodka, wine and sprite- it's very fruity, but very good. Although the experience is sort of cheezy, I woulod definitely still recommend it. It's really cold in the room, so if nothig else, it's fun to bundle up and take some pictures.
A bit of walking around and we worked up a mini appetite again! We went to Devito's Pizza for a slice.
This place was voted best drunken slice and best pizza in Reykjavik. We had a pepperoni slice. Everyone puts garlic oil and lemon pepper on the slices- DELISH!
Tomorrow read about our Glacier Hike and our time at another geothermal pool!
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
THE SPOILED UNDER-30 CROWD
I recently celebrated a new milestone...30! And since I know most of my jet setting community who reads this blog falls in that same category as well, I thought I'd share a very funny forward that I received the other day. It's sooooooooooooooooo true, it's scary! :-)
If you are 30 or older you will think this is hilarious!!!!
When I was a kid, adults used to bore me to tears with their tedious diatribes about how hard things were. When they were growing up; what with walking twenty-five miles to school every morning.... Uphill... Barefoot... BOTH ways Yadda, yadda, yadda
And I remember promising myself that when I grew up, there was no way in hell I was going to lay a bunch of crap like that on my kids about how hard I had it and how easy they've got it! But now that . . . I'm over the ripe old age of thirty, I can't help but look around and notice the youth of today.
You've got it so easy! I mean, compared to my childhood, you live in a damn Utopia! And I hate to say it, but you kids today, you don't know how good you've got it! I mean, when I was a kid we didn't have the Internet. If we wanted to know something, we had to go to the damn library and look it up ourselves, in the card catalogue!!
There was no email!! We had to actually write somebody a letter - with a pen! Then you had to walk all the way across the street and put it in the mailbox, and it would take like a week to get there! Stamps were 10 cents!
Child Protective Services didn't care if our parents beat us. As a matter of fact, the parents of all my friends also had permission to kick our ass! Nowhere was safe! There were no MP3' s or Napsters! If you wanted to steal music, you had to hitchhike to the damn record store and shoplift it yourself!
Or you had to wait around all day to tape it off the radio, and the DJ would usually talk over the beginning and @#*% it all up! There were no CD players! We had tape decks in our car. We'd play our favorite tape and "eject" it when finished, and the tape would come undone.. Cause - that's how we rolled, dig?
We didn't have fancy crap like Call Waiting! If you were on the phone and somebody else called, they got a busy signal, that's it!
There weren't any freakin' cell phones either. If you left the house, you just didn't make a damn call or receive one. You actually had to be out of touch with your "friends". OH MY GOD !!! Think of the horror.. And then there's TEXTING . yeah , right. You kids have no idea how annoying you are.
And we didn't have fancy Caller ID either! When the phone rang, you had no idea who it was! It could be your school, your mom, your boss, your bookie, your drug dealer, a collections agent, you just didn't know!!! You had to pick it up and take your chances, mister!
We didn't have any fancy Sony Playstation video games with high-resolution 3-D graphics! We had the Atari 2600! With games like 'Space Invaders' and 'Asteroids'. Your guy was a little square! You actually had to use your imagination!! And there were no multiple levels or screens, it was just one screen... Forever! And you could never win. The game just kept getting harder and harder and faster and faster until you died! Just like LIFE!
You had to use a little book called a TV Guide to find out what was on! You were screwed when it came to channel surfing! You had to get off your ass and walk over to the TV to change the channel! NO REMOTES!!!
There was no Cartoon Network either! You could only get cartoons on Saturday Morning. Do you hear what I'm saying? We had to wait ALL WEEK for cartoons, you spoiled little rat-bastards!
And we didn't have microwaves. If we wanted to heat something up, we had to use the stove! Imagine that!
That's exactly what I'm talking about! You kids today have got it too easy. You're spoiled. You guys wouldn't have lasted five minutes back in 1980 or before!
Regards,
The Over 30 Crowd
If you are 30 or older you will think this is hilarious!!!!
When I was a kid, adults used to bore me to tears with their tedious diatribes about how hard things were. When they were growing up; what with walking twenty-five miles to school every morning.... Uphill... Barefoot... BOTH ways Yadda, yadda, yadda
And I remember promising myself that when I grew up, there was no way in hell I was going to lay a bunch of crap like that on my kids about how hard I had it and how easy they've got it! But now that . . . I'm over the ripe old age of thirty, I can't help but look around and notice the youth of today.
You've got it so easy! I mean, compared to my childhood, you live in a damn Utopia! And I hate to say it, but you kids today, you don't know how good you've got it! I mean, when I was a kid we didn't have the Internet. If we wanted to know something, we had to go to the damn library and look it up ourselves, in the card catalogue!!
There was no email!! We had to actually write somebody a letter - with a pen! Then you had to walk all the way across the street and put it in the mailbox, and it would take like a week to get there! Stamps were 10 cents!
Child Protective Services didn't care if our parents beat us. As a matter of fact, the parents of all my friends also had permission to kick our ass! Nowhere was safe! There were no MP3' s or Napsters! If you wanted to steal music, you had to hitchhike to the damn record store and shoplift it yourself!
Or you had to wait around all day to tape it off the radio, and the DJ would usually talk over the beginning and @#*% it all up! There were no CD players! We had tape decks in our car. We'd play our favorite tape and "eject" it when finished, and the tape would come undone.. Cause - that's how we rolled, dig?
We didn't have fancy crap like Call Waiting! If you were on the phone and somebody else called, they got a busy signal, that's it!
There weren't any freakin' cell phones either. If you left the house, you just didn't make a damn call or receive one. You actually had to be out of touch with your "friends". OH MY GOD !!! Think of the horror.. And then there's TEXTING . yeah , right. You kids have no idea how annoying you are.
And we didn't have fancy Caller ID either! When the phone rang, you had no idea who it was! It could be your school, your mom, your boss, your bookie, your drug dealer, a collections agent, you just didn't know!!! You had to pick it up and take your chances, mister!
We didn't have any fancy Sony Playstation video games with high-resolution 3-D graphics! We had the Atari 2600! With games like 'Space Invaders' and 'Asteroids'. Your guy was a little square! You actually had to use your imagination!! And there were no multiple levels or screens, it was just one screen... Forever! And you could never win. The game just kept getting harder and harder and faster and faster until you died! Just like LIFE!
You had to use a little book called a TV Guide to find out what was on! You were screwed when it came to channel surfing! You had to get off your ass and walk over to the TV to change the channel! NO REMOTES!!!
There was no Cartoon Network either! You could only get cartoons on Saturday Morning. Do you hear what I'm saying? We had to wait ALL WEEK for cartoons, you spoiled little rat-bastards!
And we didn't have microwaves. If we wanted to heat something up, we had to use the stove! Imagine that!
That's exactly what I'm talking about! You kids today have got it too easy. You're spoiled. You guys wouldn't have lasted five minutes back in 1980 or before!
Regards,
The Over 30 Crowd
Monday, October 26, 2009
25-CENT HOTEL ROOMS
I kid you not! Your jet setting friend is always in search of the best deals out there for you and look what I have found...25-cents a night for a three-night stay at various hotels in the U.S. Virgin Islands!!! It's all part of their promotion to honor the Virgin Islands' newly minted state quarter. The U.S. Virgin Islands include St. Croix, St. John & St. Thomas and are very easy to get to...plus you don't need a passport to visit since they are part of the U.S. The offer is only valid through December 15, 2009...so jump on it fast! Just know the fine print...that you the traveler are responsible to pay for taxes and fees, you must stay at least 3-nights (the offer is only good for three nights as well), and you must book airfare when you book the room. Bookit.com has more of the details if you want to read about it. The weather is getting cold and now is a great time to jet set to the Caribbean where it's nice and warm!
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
NEW YORK CITY'S VILLAGE HALLOWEEN PARADE
Sticking with the Halloween theme, following my "No Trick All Treat" post yesterday about JetBlue's $31 flights in honor of Halloween...I thought I'd write about something to do on Halloween day. Halloween falls on a Saturday this year...how exciting! That means we can dress up, trick-or-treat and party and not have to go to bed early. So if any of my jet setting community is interested, Halloween weekend (October 30th-November 1st) is the time to jet set to NYC and attend the 36th Annual Village Halloween Parade.For those of you who haven't been, this is the parade of all parades! It's the largest public Halloween celebration in the nation! You have to go at least once in your life to see the colorful costumes and personalities that come out for this event. The parade runs up 6th Avenue from Spring Street to 21st Street. It starts at 7pm and ends around 10:30pm. The parade is free...so grab a costume and a bunch of your friends and you're sure to have a blast and a night you won't soon forget!
Monday, August 24, 2009
MONTREAL ON MY MIND
As you know by now, Jet Setting to foreign destinations is what I love to do most in this world! If I could, I would chose not have a home base, but instead live and travel from one amazing locale to the next.For now, my husband and I try to travel on average about 4-6 times a year. And we don't always take long vacations. Sometimes, we jet somewhere that isn't so far away, but that is rich in culture! A perfect example...MONTREAL!!! Yes Canada, my fellow jetsetters! It's only an hour and a half flight from New York- which makes it the perfect location to visit for a quick weekend getaway.
A Few Jet Set Smart Things to know about MONTREAL:
1- They use the CAD (Canadian dollar) which isn't worth much more than the USD currently. So while your money won't go as far in Montreal as it will in Buenos Aires at the moment, it's not as expensive as let's say Paris. Today's rate was 1 U.S. dollar = 1.07 Canadian dollar
2- Locals speak French & English
3- No long transatlantic overnight flight! Many daily flights out of JFK, LaGuardia & Newark.
**PLUS: Just found this great deal that runs through October 15, 2009! Book two nights or more, and depending on hotel, get 50% off 2nd night, or 3rd night FREE!!! Hotel rooms with a 4-star rating start at $115/per night.**
Here's a link to the tourism website:
http://www.tourisme-montreal.org/Offers/Summer
{photos: http://montreal.about.com/}
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