Today we set out on our long planned trip to Europe for a Greek Isles cruise. The best laid plans were on track until 6:15 am when I checked the status of our flight to Frankfurt and saw it was delayed 4 1/2 hours (this ended up being 5 1/2 hours).
Travel Plans Change
We decided to try to change flights and I called United. After confirming the delay with Lufthansa we were moved to an 11:05 am flight via
Chicago. This set off a flurry of activity as I had to end my work day earlier, change dog drop off time and cancel the scheduled Lyft for later in the day. I also had to change our Rome airport pick-up as we would now arrive in Rome three hours earlier.
We get to the airport and learn the Chicago flight was going to be so delayed we’d miss the connection to Frankfurt so we got in line for assistance and were rebooked via Dulles with a 12:05 pm departure. We were also back to our original Rome flight (but of course lost our adjoining seat assignments) and I changed our pickup back to the original time.
We had some time to grab lunch (or at least I did) and picked the PGA Grill in San Diego’s terminal two. It was tasty but I don’t think they should use wooden boards as plates; just think about the germs in those wood cuts.
Flight to Dulles
The Dulles flight boarded on time and we were fortunately seated in the exit row I guess there is an advantage to booking last minute.
We were served pretzels and beverage; I was ready for an adult drink!
I watched the movie “the Post” on my iPad while Steve read his book and played games on his iPad. Before you knew it we were landing at Dulles.
Flight to Frankfurt
The gates were very close together so it was a short walk (and we had about two hours layover).
I changed into my travel pajamas. Before boarding all passengers had to go to the front desk and get their passports checked; specifically to ensure the signature line was completed. The agent said Germany fines people without this completed.
We were in Economy Plus with an empty seat between us.
It made it much more comfortable.
The flight took off a little late but the pilots easily made up that time during the flight.
As soon as we are in the air and out of turbulence the flight attendant started their dinner service. I think because of the late hour they just did the beverage service along with the meal; beer and wine was free.
We both chose the chicken option; pasta was the other choice.
It was pretty good but we both thought it needed more sauce. I didn’t like the grains in the salad but Steve thought it was okay. Before even picking up the trays they brought dessert which was a lemon sorbet; pretty tasty.
Unfortunately the video sound connection at my seat was not working appropriately. I had to hold the plug in the whole time to get sound. So I used the middle seat audio to watch “Black Panther”. I started “Downsizing” but agreed with the critics that it was a stinker of a movie and stopped wasting my time.
I think we each got 2 to 3 hours of sleep. About an hour and a half before the flight ended we were served a warm croissant and strawberry yogurt along with beverages.
All in all a pretty good flight. One more leg to Rome and in a couple of days, the cruise!
If you missed the other parts of the recap the links are below.
Next Vacation: Greek Isles Cruise
Port Plans for Greek Isles Cruise
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