Buenos Dias,

Departing Sunny San Diego, we hitch a ride with the jet stream and zip toward Dulles Airport. From there we red-eye it to Brussels before taking off for Sevilla, Spain, our final leg.

Ensconced in our faux-leather aerial Lazy Boy, number 3 for takeoff, I again wonder why we’re taking this trip. There are no polar bears chasing us in -40F weather; no lions stalking about on the plains of Botswana eyeing me for a quick snack of old white meat; and certainly no whales or whale sharks performing an underwater ballet to delight us. So what is the attraction? 

I could say it’s the culture – the surreal work of Salvadore Dali; the never-ending construction of Gaudi’s famous Sagrada Familia; the architectural wonder of Frank Gehry’s Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao; or the organic forms and textures of Joan Miró’s sculptures. But, c’mon, who am I trying to kid? 

We’re here for the food, wine, and sightseeing. If some of that art and sophistication crap slips into our pockets on the way to an afternoon of tapas and sangria, I’ll consider it a bonus! All seriousness aside, I am excited about this trip despite that fact there are no massive predators lurking in the shadows waiting to slash a dagger-like claw across my lily-white and out of shape belly or clamp a toothy jaw around my skull. 

Oh Shit, I must be getting soft!

Speaking of food, we just finished our onboard breakfast. Our meal began with yogurt and fresh fruit, followed with a croissant baked sometime this month and nuked in the galley’s microwave to give it that ‘just from the oven’ presence. Quiche - our choice for the main entre’ consists of a congealed mass of industrial-strength Egg-Beaters, served with a side of stubby brown food-like substance extruded into the shape of sausage links. Washed down with an endless supply of ice water, I sit sated, serene and slightly sick. However, somewhere along the route to Dulles, the galley fired up the cookie oven, and truly fresh-baked chocolate chip with macadamia nut cookies are offered to those of us in the north end of the plane. 

(Not that I’m judging, but we’ve been in the air less than 2 hours and the lady sitting across from me is starting on her third glass of wine – it’s 10:52 am.)

Our flight from Dulles to Brussels was uneventful. Dinner last night began with spinach salad and a small plate of lemongrass shrimp, followed by poached salmon with broccolini. Dessert was a lemon sorbet. A snifter of Amaretto was added for a quick nightcap. The food served on international flights is far superior to that offered domestically.

After cruising along at 39,000’ and a ground speed of close to 600mph for 7 1/2 hours, we finally land around 7:00 am.

Failing to find comfort in the molded plastic lounge chairs at our boarding gate, we venture up to the airline’s lounge to kill a 6-hour layover. Brightly lit with soft, plush comfortable seating and plenty of outlets for charging a variety of must-have electronic gear, it’s also fully stocked with an All-You-Can-Eat smorgasbord of juices, coffees, teas, muffins, croissants, fresh fruit, cereal, bread for toasting or making a sandwich from an array of sliced meats, a salad bar and sweets. There are also ‘napboxes’ – pods with dim lighting for taking a little siesta. 

Even with the multitudes of weary international travelers constantly roaming the food or lounge areas, the place is library-like in its quietness. It proves to be a soothing respite from the drone of the huge GE Turbofan aircraft engines.

Arriving in Sevilla, we find our luggage on a different carousel from the rest of the occupants of the plane, somehow bypass Customs, and head out the door to start our adventure.

Hmmm…, food or wine has been mentioned in seven of the twelve short paragraphs, and we've just landed!

Hasta Luego!