St. Petersburg Photo Tour

Slept in, and went out for a quick breakfast of pancakes and coffee with my dorm mate, a girl from some other Eastern European country who was traveling thru Russia to do some research for her thesis. Cool.

No big plans for the day - just follow the LP guide book's "walking tour". I like doing them, and have done many. Although I tend to leave out at least 1/4 of the sights & stops mentioned, especially the food and shopping recommendations.
Some highlights:

- Waterways and canals. There's a bunch of them in the city, some with pretty ornate bridges. Very pleasant to cross.- More Hermitage. To admire the magnificent architecture from the outside.

- More artwork in the Russian Museum. So-so, me thinks. Same entrance fee as the Hermitage, which seems unreasonable.
- Pet bear. My first. Must be a very effective tourist magnet for tips. None given by Waru, who didn't want to get too close and be harassed by the owner for money.

- Church of the Saviour. Loved it. Not sure what the inside is like, as I didn't want to pay the exorbitant fee, but the exterior was fun enough!- Tourist market. Full of Matryoshka dolls. In every size and color, from the traditional to the Simpsons and Clintons. Tempted to buy one, but held my ground.- Stolle pies. I actually didn't know that this place was famous. I just happened to walk by, and entered. Lucky me. OMG. YUM YUM YUM. Ate a cabbage pie (yes, sounds weird but tasty - trust me!), mushroom soup, and OJ. And a strawberry pie to take out. These are TO DIE FOR! May be the best food in Russia!!!

Here's an afterthought - St. P is supposed to be notorious for mosquitoes during the summer months. I've seen warnings in guide books and online resources. Strange that I didn't get a single bite. Maybe Russian mosquitos don't like Asian blood.

Like a Zombie in the Hermitage

I don't think there were any artistic works of zombies in the Hermitage collection, but I was certainly a good rendition.

Last night, I hopped on the "Red Arrow" to St. Petersburg. There are faster, newer, modern trains, but I've heard that this was the one to take for an authentic Russian experience. Fancy in a deep red & gold curtains and rugs kind of way. Don't know why, but I have no photos from this ride. Darn it.
I had 2 cabin mates to accompany me during the 8 hour ride. Not that either of them spoke English… An old Russian grandpa who constantly smiled at me had the lower bunk beneath me. A young Russian military guy (tall, blond, and cute) had the other lower bunk.

At first, I was a bit flustered at being stuck in the small compartment with 2 Russian dudes. Me, the lonely female. But it turned out all right. They were both friendly and quiet, each of us basically keeping to ourselves with our reading materials and spending the rest of the time sleeping. The train left Moscow around midnight, so falling asleep was a cinch.
I don't think I really had a conversation with them (however much conversation is possible with my non existent Russian and their similarly non existent English) until the morning, when the attendants woke us up about 30 minutes before arriving in St. P. The military dude bought me a cup of morning tea. How sweet : )

Parting ways at the station, I walked towards the hostel I'd pre-booked. Streets so empty and quiet due to the early morning hour of 8am-ish.
Check-in wasn't until the afternoon, but I prayed that the place would be empty and the hostel managers kind enough to let me catch up on some sleep and kill time before anything opened in the city. No such luck. The place was packed with some youth group staying until today. Which meant that I could leave my bags there, but had no place to chill.

Tired, tired, tired…but I had to head out somewhere. I hadn't done much research on St. P beforehand, so the only place I could think of was the Hermitage Museum. Took over 30 minutes to get there, but still closed.

Spent the next hour or so at a nice cafe (St. P has a bunch of them!) with coffee and breakfast - a mushy cereal dish, not exactly oatmeal, but I liked anyways. Skimmed through my LP guidebook to plan my activities for the next few days.

I went back to the Hermitage a few minutes before its opening at 10:30am, whereupon I found a pretty long line. Wow. No choice but to wait in line without a reservation in hand. Wait for some time, I did. Never can understand why these highly popular tourist attractions have only 2 counters open, and can be soooooo inefficient.
Anyways, the Hermitage, as you can imagine from this long building, is humungous:Room after room of endless masterpieces. Not everything interested me, but since I was there, I wanted to at least pass through all of the open exhibits to get a feel for what's inside. I won't give you all the details since there's wiki and the official website for that! But my overall impression - there's just waaaay too much stuff in there!!! Seriously, halfway through the exhibits, I think I somewhat lost my interest in the artwork. And with my overnight train ride contributing to my tiredness, I was walking thru the museum completely absentmindedly. Seeing, but not seeing. Like a zombie!!!
Nevertheless, there were some captivating highlights. Matisse paintings for one. And a lot of other modern artists, including Kandinsky. More than the masterpieces, I think some of the internal design of some of the rooms in the building were wonderful:

More Red Square

What a beautiful day!!!!!

But I did most of my sightseeing yesterday. Hmmmmmm…. what to do, what to do.

OF COURSE, I went back to the Red Square to bask in the sunshine and take more photos of my favorite building : )
I'm sure you're sick of them by now, but here are a couple more of St. Basil Cathedral:Looks great with the blue sky, huh?
Amusing colors. Funky lines. So….. Super Mario, maybe?!?!?! Hehe.

Again, I missed the Lenin Mausoleum opening hours. What's wrong with me???

Also went back to the shopping mall. Whereas I had American fast food yesterday, I opted for the Russian fast food this time around @ Tepemok.
Basic coffee (normal) with meat-filled crepe (yum!) for 125 rubles. Acceptable price, I suppose, considering how expensive Russia is!Other than the food court section, the other retail stores weren't all that interesting. The usual imported brands, combined with some local souvenirs and brands (although 99.9% made in China).

Since I still had quite some time to kill, I headed towards the Pushkin Museum. The Metro is always an option in Moscow, being very convenient, but I enjoyed the walking. With the streets being quite vast, it can take some time and energy.
Anyways, I chose the Pushkin Museum for its collection of Matisse paintings, including that adorable Goldfish painting.
I knew I was going to be museum-ed out in St. Petersburg, but I really really really wanted to see the Goldfish and other Matisse works. Yes, Waru like Matisse : ) The museum itself is quite outdated in terms of museum structure, definitely not modern and fancy like most well-known museums, but I guess it has its charms, and more importantly, it has a bunch of Matisse. Enjoyable.

From there, I took another stroll to one last sight - the Christ the Savior Cathedral. Ginormous. Just the sheer massiveness might make it worth the effort to see this white cathedral, but other than that, not at all interesting. Sadly, I didn't even bother to take pictures.

Then, it was time to buy some munchies and drinks at the supermarket, go back to the hostel to grab my stuff, and off to the train station for my overnight ride to St. Petersburg.
Excited!!!

Thru Drizzling Moscow Waru Went

Today was the only full day I had in Moscow. Hence, I needed to make sure that I got around to all of the major sites I wanted to see.

Unfortunately, it was cold and drizzling from the morning. ARGHHHHHH. Good thing I brought a sweater and a rain jacket along with me for the week.

Off I go….

…To the Kremlin. Surprised to find that there was a line at the ticket booth; I didn't think Moscow attracted this many tourists. Pretty hefty entrance fee @ 350 rubles. There's another ticket costing twice as much, giving access to the armory and jewels collections, but I opted out.

(Only later did I realize that the jewelry, especially the diamonds, are the things to see here. Big ooooooops!!!)A fortified complex, the Kremlin is now the seat of Russia's government. Of course, tourists can't go near those buildings, but we're able to see the many cathedrals and palaces (serving as museums) within. As usual, I did my own self-guided tour with the Lonely Planet bible and Kremlin brochure in hand.

I have to admit that nothing really stood out. Like many Russian things, the complex is enormous, but other than that…nothing too special. The interior of the cathedrals were intricately painted with religious motifs (obviously), but I think I've seen better. Like the churches/monasteries in Romania. But I did enjoy gazing at the bell-shaped domes on the cathedrals, characteristic of many Russian architecture.

And for some reason, these toilets, for their "toi toi" cuteness. Not sure about inside…(Hey, I never said I wasn't weird):

After spending a couple of hours at the Kremlin, I walked towards the Bolshoi Theater, hoping to score a ballet ticket. On the way, I passed a line of massive fountains and a shopping mall with a packed McDonalds. Very popular with the Muscovites, it seems. I haven't eaten at a McD in a long, long time…and since I felt like a cheeseburger and fries, I joined the crowd for a quick bite. Tasted the same as anywhere.
Finding the ticket booth at the Bolshoi proved to be a challenge, with major constructions taking place. It was like a hole in the wall, and quite dark. And again, I encountered some "friendly" Moscow attitude, with an old woman insisting that only the priciest tickets were available. Annoyed, I walked out, and faced a couple of ticket scalpers. Very tempted…but the entire ticket was written in Russian, and there was no way for me to decipher neither the accuracy nor the "realness" for that matter. So, I gave up on seeing the world famous Bolshoi ballet production. Booooooo. Oh well : ( Plus, it turns out that the main Bolshoi theater wasn't even open due to the renovations - they were using a separate complex.

Back in the rain, my next destination was the Red Square. Unfortunately, didn't time it for the Lenin Mausoleum, so had to bypass that one.

My main target here, was St. Basil Cathedral. That funky, circus-like structure symbolic of Russia. Love, love, loooooove it!!!!!!!

Paid 150 rubles to go inside - mostly religious motifs and colorful wall designs.A choir was performing in one of the central rooms, which was a delight to listen to. I regret not tipping them...
But I have to say that I honestly think St. Basil looks much better from the outside. Fun and photogenic : ) Just puts a smile to my face. Too bad it wasn't sunny and I couldn't get good lighting.

By this point, I was worn out from all the walking. Needed some drink and snack time. I headed towards the GUM, an ultra-high-end mall from the old Soviet era with supposedly awesome architecture:

Reminded me of a European train station.

No plans to shop, but hopefully, they'll have some normal price cafes. Italian food, ice cream parlors, chic cafes. I settled for what appeared to be a more frugal, franchise store option. Happily gulped down my fizzy red lemonade and munched on some cottage cheese pancakes. Not one of my favorites:

On the ground floor, I found an ultra-high-end supermarket with outrageously priced caviar and some other imported goods. Surprisingly, there was a rack of Japanese food. Also outrageously priced. Packed miso soup for about $10. WOW.

Tired and getting cold, I thought I'd call it a day. Well, almost. At least head back towards my hostel, located in near the Old Arbat Street, a rather touristy (ie. lots of souvenir shops) pedestrian street.
Walking back, I had the wonderful opportunity to listen to some street musicians, ranging from purely classical to band music. So talented, too!

After making a roundtrip of Old Arbat, I stopped by a local supermarket and bought some instant noodles for the night. Never got around to eating it though…tired, tired, tired.
Fell asleep.

Mean Muscovites!

Ever since I was a little girl, loooooong, loooooong, loooooong time ago, I've had this fascination with Russia. (The Soviet Union, or USSR, to be more exact. Gosh. I AM OLD!)

I was really into gymnastics and figure skating in those days. I still remember the pain I felt when I slammed my leg into the balance beam while attempting a simple cartwheel. Ouch!!!

So, my love for the country mostly likely stemmed from the fact that the USSR was a major powerhouses in those sports.

I even bought a Russian workbook to study the language on my own during elementary school! We didn't have Rosetta Stone back then either : (

I got very close to the border during my RTW trip. In Finland. But due to recent restrictions on issuing Russian visas to Japanese citizens in Finland, I didn't make it in.

Even in Japan, it was quite a hassle to get the visa because I had to get an invitation first. I'm sure any travel agency can handle it, but they charge a huge premium. Instead, I got an online invitation. A bit sketchy at first, but no problems at all. Pretty easy in fact - provided detailed travel plans (flights, hotels, cities visited, etc.), paid about $20, and then received an electronic invitation. Printed that out, brought it to the embassy, filled out the paperwork. A few days later, I had a beautiful Russian visa stamped into my passport.

You can imagine just how excited I was to finally be heading over there!!!

But those MMMMEEEEAAAAAANNNN Muscovites…..they completely drained my enthusiasm for the country on Day 1.

From the very gloomy airport, I took the "airport express" to the metro.

Here comes Mean Muscovite #1.

I got completely lost at the metro station. For some reason, this station had absolutely NO signs in English. Yes, I studied a bit of Russian ages ago, but it wasn't nearly enough for me to recognize which direction I should be heading, or which train I should board. Considering that the station links with the international airport, shouldn't it have some English?!?!?! At least for the station names?!?!?!

Anyways, after walking around in circles, I asked Mean Muscovite #1 if the approaching train was the one I should take to get into the city. She nodded. So I got in. The train took me towards the opposite direction. ARGH.

But don't worry - I did manage to find the right metro and make my way to the hostel somehow.

My plan for the rest of the day was to book my long distance train to St. Petersburg. There are many trains along the route, but I had a specific one that I wanted to take - the "Red Arrow" sleeper train. It's one of the oldest running sleepers, and should have a lot of history and classical beauty to it. I MUST get on that train.

Here comes Mean Muscovite #2.

Assuming that I'd be able to book the ticket at any long distance train station in Moscow (which I confirmed with the guy at the hostel), I headed over to the Belorussky Rail Terminal since it was the closest one.

Again, I got lost. I couldn't tell where the ticket office was. I thought I'd ask someone and chose Mean Muscovite #2 to approach with an "Excuse me, sir." This guy did not even have eye contact with me. He just pretended that I didn't exist, that I wasn't standing in front of him, speaking to him.

Needless to say, I was completely shocked!!!!!!!

I must've started at him, speechless, mouth wide open for a few seconds before my brain kicked in and I wandered off. Still shocked.

Luckily, I found a uniformed officer who was nice enough to walk me over to the ticket office.

Here comes Mean Muscovite #3.

I handed over a piece of paper with planned date of reservation and train name on it to the ticket agent. Mean Muscovite #3 took a quick look at it and shook her head. HUH?!

She wouldn't sell me the ticket. Saying that I couldn't book a ticket for a train leaving from another terminal. WHAT THE ****?! That's not what I heard or read!!! I kept on insisting and battling with the agent, but that got nowhere.

I left the station, EXTREMELY frustrated. All I wanted to do was to vent. And perhaps land a punch.

But at this point, I was determined to get my hands on the train ticket.

Since the St. Petersburg-bound train would be leaving from Leningradsky Rail Terminal, that's where I went. The thought even crossed my mind that the agent at Belorussky had been right - maybe odd Russian rules required that I buy the ticket from the exact point of departure. Maybe Mean Muscovite #3 wasn't Mean.

Surprisingly, Leningradsky Rail Terminal was tourist friendly. Signs were in English, and there was an English speaking agent at the foreigner's ticket office. Very nice agent this time, who quickly got the booking done.

When I explained to her my ordeal at Belorussky, she confirmed that I should've been able to purchase any rail ticket there.

So, unless she lied to me, Mean Muscovite #3 was indeed MEAN.

Hiking Cinque Terre

Today's plan was to spend the entire day, hiking through all of the villages that make up Cinque Terre. We'd take the train from Riomaggiore to Monterosso, and hike back the 10km, passing Vernazza and Corniglia. Should be a full day activity. Although the hike itself is supposed to take only about 5 hours, considering our fitness levels and our wanting to explore each of the villages on foot, might take more than 2x that amount.

Monterosso

Surprising. In contrast to the 2 villages we saw yesterday, Monterosso is huge and alive - bunch of big hotels, restaurants, stores, and beaches. I'm glad we didn't decide to stay here, as I prefer the more quaint, quiet places. Just look at this ultra-touristy beach!!!

It's not my type of place, but I certainly loved the artistic aspect of this scenery - the colorful spirals, the curvy line of parasols. Visually entertaining.

Now that I think about it, it's quite odd that none of us thought to bring a swimsuit. The Mediterranean Ocean has absolutely gorgeous, emerald waters (from my southern Italy and Greek experiences). But none of us thought about swimming here. Huh. Strange.

Stranger still, I suppose, was the human-sized chess board we found along the beach. And we couldn't resist having some kiddie fun here:

Judging by my pose and location, I think I intended to be the pawn. Smeagy (right) is definitely a knight. Sorry, Joey (left), I have no clue which piece you are…

(Yes, we are all fully-grown, mature, in-our-30s adults. Sigh.)

Marking the entry to the trail was a music station : ) Where we were all MEGA tourists:

(OK, so I was the tourist taking pictures of my fellow tourists…)

Then, onto the first part of the trail, commonly referred to as the "Blue Trail". This is supposed to be the longest, and toughest terrain, with lots of ups and downs. With the sun blaring down, it was definitely a bit tiring.
But the view of the ocean was stunning. Also, unlike the path we took yesterday, this one also goes through some hills that reminded me of terraced farms in Asia:

The highlight was definitely the last portion, leading to the town of Vernazza. Not because it was a primarily downhill section, but for the wonderful views it provided. Probably the most photogenic of the 5 villages:

Vernazza

Pretty, pretty, pretty, pretty, pretty town.
Unfortunately, a little happening here.
After our slightly strenuous exercise, we needed to get some drinks (alcohol-free) and a bite to eat. Which was all fine. Until…..

It got cloudy, cold, and finally started to rain like craaaaaazy!!! Hard to imagine after the sunny weather we had in the morning. But mother nature wanted to cry, I guess. For quite some time, too - we ended up having to sit around and kill time by jumping into the nearby souvenir stores for over 2 hours. There's a really cool jewelry store that shouldn't be missed!

When the sun finally came back out, we debated…should we continue with the hike????? It was already a bit late in the afternoon, we were a bit chilly (although we did have a gelato), and we weren't up for walking through the now muddy trails. Excuses, excuses.

I admit…we're total BUMS. We headed to the train station, for a one-stop ride to Corniglia.

Corniglia
The station is near sea level, whereas the town is on top of a hill. 2 choices - take the bus or walk up the stairs. Guess which one we chose?!?!?!
BUS.I realized that using the local transportation system to see Cinque Terre can be a time consuming task. The trains and buses don't run that often. Hence, a lot of waiting time : ( It might actually be more practical to walk!
Anyways, we took the short ride up the hill to the tiny town. And found the cutest gelato shop, making me wonder how many I've consumed today...
One of the highlights here is the charming central church:And viewpoint, from where you can see the clear waters and the next town over (Manarola) in the far distance. Can you see???:Overall, after the remarkable beauty of Vernazza, Corniglia felt a little bland.

From here, we hopped onto the train, and headed back to Riomaggiore. Can we get ANY lazier?!?!?! Seriously, we only managed to walk one leg of the trail today. And we had wholeheartedly intended to do the whole 10km! If only it hadn't rained….

A quick R&R at the guesthouse, and we were back on the train to Monterosso, as another friend had made reservations at a restaurant there for us to all meet up.
Great food @ Al Pozzo Ristorante!!! So much yummy seafood. I love Italian food : )
2 major announcements from our friends: 1. They just got engaged at Como (Congrats!) and 2. They did the entire Blue Trail hike today (Congrats!).

As much as I love to travel on my own, backpack-style, this short trip reminded me of how enjoyable traveling with a group of good friends can be as well.
But I know that these moments will be rare going forwards…the older we get, it just gets more difficult for friends to find the time for such adventures. Sad.

Romantic Riomaggiore

After the wedding, a few of us attenders from afar decided to take a quick trip to Cinque Terra (five lands in Italian). As the name suggests, it's a series of 5 small villages along the northern Italian coast, known for its colorful and charming cliff-side towns. They're all conveniently connected by a hiking trail and a local train.

We'd be staying at a guest house in the southernmost village - Riomaggiore. From Milan, it takes 2 train rides and about 3-4 hours. Beautiful scenery along the coast.

The train station in Riomaggiore is located near ocean level, while our guesthouse was up the cliff. With luggage (yes, we were all lugging around heavy suitcases!) it'd be a nightmare chugging along the steep, uneven paths. Hmm….

Let's see what the tourist information has to say…There's a nice one right at the station. Good thing. Found out that we could actually take the elevator across the street to the top. And with a Cinque Terre card, it would all be free. Brainless decision.

FYI - For 8 euros, the card gives you access to the coastal hiking trails, the local trains connecting the villages, and of course, the elevator : ) A must purchase!

With our luggage put away at the guesthouse and off our hands…Time to explore!

Riomaggiore is a very small town (as is most of the remaining 4), so there's very little distance to cover. The fun lies in simply wandering around the main (ie. touristy) street and enjoying the color and antiquity of the buildings (view from our balcony):

And of course, having some gelato and focaccia (my favorite with anchovies - YUM):

Although we'd be hiking through the villages tomorrow, we figured we might as well cover one of the legs today since the days were long.

So, we took this very coastal trail to the next town over, Manarola:

Which is also known as La Via Dell'Amore.

Basically "The Lover's Way". Sound very romantic, right?!?!?! But sadly, it was just us 4 girls so no romanticism involved at all! Haha.

Manarola was quite similar to Riomaggiore. We wandered through some churches and along a stream with VERY fascinating ducks. Don't ask : )
And because it was late afternoon when we got there, the lighting for photography was perfecto! The buildings are certainly pretty, but I love the color contrast between the buildings and the hanging laundry:
I noticed a lot of old Italian men just sitting around and enjoying each other's company in the streets. They looked so cute and happy!!!! And made me smile. I had to take a photo with them:

Wouldn't it be wonderful to live out your retirement days in a beautiful seaside, cozy village, hanging around with your buddies, waiting for time to pass?!

Since we had the Cinque Terre pass, we could've taken the train back to Riomaggiore. But the trail was nice, the weather pleasant (plus, we'd been pigging out in Italy - not too hard to do), so we opted to retrace our path again. Perfect timing to watch the sunset:

In Milan for a Wedding

I've only been to a handful of weddings so far in my lifetime. Being Japanese, and living in the US, it makes sense that most of the weddings have been in those 2 countries.

And then there are the destination weddings…only 2 of those. But for some reason, both have been in Italy. What it is with Italy and weddings??? Last one was in Florence. Now, it's Milan.

Since I was here to serve as a bridesmaid, I didn't have much free time. Obligations for meals, rehearsals, preparations, etc. What little time I did have, was spent on more food:

And WINDOW shopping. I fell in love with a Tods bag - military green. I must've touched every inch of that bag, spent hours in the store. But the rational brain overpowered the irrational side, correctly pointing out that I shouldn't be spending money on luxury goods with my current unemployment status. Boooooooo.

I did, however, luck into a ticket for the Last Supper. The painted mural, not food. My friend had reserved one for herself (probably months ago - apparently, they're hard to come by in the summer), but decided to let me go instead, since she'd seen it before. Very, very, very sweet : ) Thanks, Joan!

The masterpiece is housed in the Santa Maria dell Grazie church, and you get about 15 minutes in the room with 20 other people. It's a bit odd…to be in this vast, poorly illuminated church with 20 strangers, just to see a wall painting. But it's TOTALLY worth it. I'm sure everyone has seen replicas of the painting, but the real artwork is magnificent! Not only do you get to realize the size and scale of the work, but the faded colors are soft, beautiful, and fragile. Just stand and admire : )

By the way, there's another mural on the opposite side of the Last Supper, but that one wasn't gaining much popularity. Poor thing.

So, about the wedding.

Due to privacy issues, I'm not going to say/show much about it. Except that is was beautiful. And a lot of fun, especially the reception at a villa in the vicinity. The only downside being that the toilet was really, really far away from the reception area itself, and required a walk along a steep cobblestoned pathway. My feet were killing me, so I switched into flip flops. I'm not quite sure why I even had them with me, but I must say that it was a brilliant decision on my part!

Anyways, Happy Wedding to the couple!!!

Oh, and as you can see, there's no entry for Norway before this post. I was exhausted from my flight to London, and my adventurous spirit was just not there. So, I ditched the flight. Instead, I stayed in London to help my bride friend with final preparations for the wedding.

If I HAD gone, I would have only 4 days there, just Oslo and Bergen. Definitely not enough time; best to save it for another time!

More of Europe to Come!

I think it was exactly a year ago that I started my European leg of the RTW. Spent about 3 months there, focusing primarily on Eastern Europe.

Too short of time, I never got even close to seeing all that I wanted to. Obviously.

So, I'm going back again. Only for 3 weeks though.

Here's the plan:

1. Tokyo to London today. Used my Virgin Atlantic miles so I'm flying upper class for FREE! Yaaaaay!!!

2. Few days in Norway to see Oslo (I am a big fan of Munch!) and Bergen (for the fjords). It's going to be a really tight schedule. I've booked a cheap Ryan Air flight from London, in between my need to go to Italy for the wedding.

3. Milan for the wedding, and spend a couple of days with friends in Cinque Terre.

4. A week in Russia!!! I never got around to visiting the country during my RTW because of the difficulty and hassle in getting a visa outside of my home country. But now I have one. Flying into Moscow and out of St. Petersburg.

5. A few days in London before going back to Japan.

Sounds good, right?

On a separate note, Virgin Atlantic is definitely one of my favorite airlines, but I was slightly disappointed with their service this time around. First of all, their lounge at Narita was too small and overcrowded. And, I didn't get the vegetarian meal I wanted! After ordering the meal, the flight attendant came back later to kindly ask me if I'd switch to something else because there wasn't enough to go around. I think she figured it would be easier to ask me to eat something else, rather than tell all the Brits that they can't get what they want. Pissed me off a bit, but I kindly obliged. Whatever. It's only airplane food.

Passive Waru resurfaces.