TSA Precheck took a few seconds, the officer we showed our passports to this time was very friendly which was nice, sometimes they can be quite serious, naturally given their job, but it is nice when they are a little more human. And not having to empty bags of electronics or take shoes/belts off too, it`s just so convenient.
Everyone looks so glum on the little mini train to the departure area, no one looks very happy apart from one child of around 5 or 6 who was alight with hyperactivity and beyond excited to be getting on a plane again. Going by the accent they would not be on our flight, but this child made everyone smile except maybe the people who would be around him on the flight itself!!!
Once we arrived, we bought some extra water, you can get anything you want during the flight, but sometimes it`s just handier to have a large bottle with us to save getting up.
We visited the Duty Free store and it was rubbish again!!! Honestly, it used to be so good and had plenty of merchandise but there are very few things for sale now, so we don`t bother and head to the bathroom before finding a seat at the gate. Looking around it doesn`t seem overly busy, usually the Orlando flights are filled to capacity, but looking tonight it was only going to be half full.
They started boarding early which is also rare, not that we were complaining of course, once the people that needed extra time were boarded and tonight there were very few of those, they called for Upper Passengers who were group 1, we were group 2 so were on more or less straight away, we were on the older A330 plane, but we were delighted to see that our seats were now the last row which we do prefer, no one behind us is ideal.
As soon as we were seated we got our little glass of bubbly, it`s a nice little start to the flight and listening to the Captain this is going to be a short flight but we should expect some turbulence which was music to my ears!!!
We pushed back earlier than expected and the flight was indeed half empty although Premium was full which it usually is, we took off at 9.35pm which was 2.35am in the UK and as always it was a very smooth take off and we watched the twinkling lights of Orlando soon disappear and all we could see below us was darkness as tonight we headed straight out to sea and not down the Eastern Seaboard as we usually do.
I love the Skymap on these planes!!!
Admittedly, the screens on the A350 are much better especially as they have a tail and belly cam you can watch which is probably only interesting for take off and landing, but it`s a nice option I do like.
As soon as we level off a little, cabin crew come around with the first drinks service, Tom gets a beer and I don`t even look at what kind it is and ask for red, not noticing they have changed from a not too bad Merlot (never expect much out of a can) but they had changed to a French Merlot, I am not a fan of French wines generally and this was like vinegar that had gone bad!!!!
I did ask the CC when she passed if I could have a white instead, she laughed and said of course and volunteered that this red was not popular at all!! I`m not surprised. The white was nicer than the red, that`s about the nicest thing I can say!!
On the night flights, CC don`t hang around and within the first hour we were served our meal which passes some time for us, we had pre ordered our meals a few days ago so no surprises for us tonight, we had both chosen the Asian style chicken.
It wasn`t bad to be fair, the salad wasn`t good, the bread roll could never be described as soft but I did enjoy the cheese and crackers, I got Tom`s soft cheese as he doesn`t like it and he got my dessert. Not a bad swap.
We both had another drink with this meal and really didn`t eat much as we weren`t overly hungry but it passed some time till lights go off.
Once the trays were cleared and we visited the bathroom, we settled down for the rest of the flight. As the lights wend out I snapped an image and it does get quite dark in the cabin at this point. I did have a look at the movies, but nothing was interesting enough to stay awake for, I think Tom watched a movie for a while, but I unwrapped the blanket, got my neck pillow and eye mask, reclined my seat fully which does make a difference and I fell asleep more or less straight away.
I think we both slept most of the way, but we did feel some turbulence at one point, but I got straight back to sleep.
I woke up as the sun was coming up and there is nothing quite like watching the sunrise at 40,000 feet, Tom was sound asleep at this point...I did snap a selfie of him and I but I promised I wouldn`t post it as it is not the most flattering of images!!!
Watching this side of the world come alive is lovely and skies are such a vivid blue, although I`m sure when we landed at Manchester it wouldn`t be as nice!!
Sleeping Beauty eventually woke up and he was surprised it was so late, he doesn`t normally sleep as long as I do on a plane, but he`d certainly had a good few hours. We both popped to the bathroom before there was a line to get into them and when we came back they were serving breakfast and surprisingly we were both fairly hungry. At this point we were about an hour from landing.
Both of us again opted for the alleged English breakfast, now I do struggle with beans as in I loathe them with a passion, but just this once I`d scrape them off as best I could and I did not too bad a job of it!!!
The yoghurt was not nice and the cinammon bun could have passed as a cricket ball as it was so hard, but the actual breakfast itself was nice, minus the beans of course!
And as we started the descent which was quite abrupt this morning, normally we come down fairly slow but heck, this pilot seemed to just drop us so our ears took a pounding this time but we could see the dull and dismall day we were arriving into.
From this angle we get a good view of the Lovell Radio Telescope located at Jodrell Bank and when it was built in 1957 it was the largest steerable dish telescope in the world, it’s now the third largest. It has played a huge part in astronomical research since it was commissioned and the telescope`s data has been included in surveys of radio emissions from other galaxies, observations around the sun and has been essential investigating meteors. Amazing place to visit, we haven`t been for years but when Kyle was younger we used to drive up a couple of times a year.
Welcome to not so sunny Manchester!!!!
This morning the descent was rough, but the landing was as smooth as you`d like and when you feel the brakes coming on you have to admire the power behind them as we rather violently then smoothlyslow down to barely a crawl.
We landed an hour early, always helpful getting a good jet stream behind us and usually when we`re early we have to wait for a spot at the terminal, and today we didn`t do that, we went straight there and our pilot parked up. A few moments later the gangway was attached to our plane and we were off.
We walk quickly and get to immigration before it gets too busy, it`s all automated so we`re straight through and head down to baggage claim hoping ours will be off quickly as they are supposed to with flying Premium. And today we were lucky, all our suitcases came off almost immediately and not a single wet looking case so I`m guessing everything was safe and sound!!!
We headed through and walked to the pick up point for our car service, she does check the flight and as soon as we are out of the Immigration area we txt her to say we are at baggage claim and she heads to the pick up zone and as we walk outside, heck it is a little chilly!!! But, that fresh air is lovely after being on a plane all night, at least the sun is shining now!!!
I send Kyle and my mum a txt to say we`ve landed then get into our car, bless her we always chat for about 5 minutes then fall sound asleep, we`re not good company at all on the way home. Our journey down is uneventful and both of us do sleep and wake at the same spot we usually spring to life which is about 20 minutes from our home.
Kyle had been over and left us the usual essentials and a little treat too which was so thoughtful, as we had slept well on the plane and the car we didn`t need to try and go to bed, so as always my first job was to get the washing machine on and I don`t stop till it`s all washed, dried, ironed and put away. I am very much my mother`s daughter at times as she is exactly the same.
All clothing is deposited in the laundry room and we are delighted to see that all our purchases arrived without any damage. At this point I made a bet with Tom which one of our friends would txt first to ask if we had got the Tide pens lol.....I won that bet, thank you Sue!!!! Then as soon as the washer was on, it was shower time!!! Always the first thing to do after the machine is running.
We managed to stay awake and we ordered take out around 7pm, two very hot and spicy Indian meals, we do miss hot food in America, and it was lovely, we had a bottle of wine and stayed up till around 10.30 before falling into our own bed, nothing quite like that feeling, no matter how comfy the hotel beds are, this is the best!! And we slept right through till around 8am next day.
One final Trip Report post coming right up!!!!
He was like, "Honey, those are adults down here."
......it was a meat feast but I added jalapenos and I have to say it was lovely!! I thought it might be too heavy and loads would be wasted, but it was fairly light, even so I think I left two slices, Tom taking a slice didn`t make it look so bad leaving a fair bit. 
Your contributions have been invaluable and I know I'm not a frequent commenter but want to say thank you for all you've done.
