Always check seat guru, even for small planes

Our recent holiday in Tasmania was fantastic but did not start entirely well.

I checked us in online, not long after check-in opened. I thought that our allocated seats might have been over the wing, spoiling the view, so I decided to check whether anything better was on offer. There were not many available seats left but there were a couple of window/middle pairs nearer the front of the plane, in row 9 on the left and somewhere nearby on the right. I figured that during the afternoon flight time the sun would be in the west and we would mostly be heading south, so the left side was probably better. This also had a better chance of coastal views, I thought. Seats 9A & 9B selected. Checked in. Job done.

Later, we became interested in what type of plane it was. (I can’t really remember why: it might have been curiosity as to the number of rows and which ones might therefore be over the wing.) Googling the route, I came across the Seat Guru entry for the likely plane (the one flying the route that day) and I took a quick look. And horror!

Seat 9A is an Economy Class seat that is missing a window.

For reasons that still mystify me, the one window seat on the whole fecking plane without a window was the one that I had so carefully selected for my wife. WTF, Virgin‽ (Actually, that should be "WTF, Boeing‽" - Qantas planes are the same.)

I always check seat guru for long haul flights and big planes but it never even occurred to me that there could be such a crappy seat on small plane like a Boeing 737-800. (Fortunately, my wife was very gracious and laughed about, so my grumpiness on discovery did not last too long!) Lesson learnt.

Always check Seat Guru before choosing your seat. (It probably gives a better indication of the wing rows too!)

My top 3 free WiFi spots in Sydney

Two months ago, we stepped off the plane having moved half-way round the world from the UK to Sydney. These days, when you first move to a city - or visit on holiday for that matter - one of the first things on the To Do list is to find a decent source of free WiFi, at least until more permanent internet solutions are in place. Australia is not quite a far down the free WiFi path as the UK, where every other bar or cafe will offer it, but there are still some good spots to be found. Here are my Top 3 Free WiFi spots in Sydney so far:

3. Bondi Pavilion (above). On our first day in Sydney, in an anti-jetlag act, we walked the coastal path from Coogee to Bondi. We were rewarded at the other end by a smoothie and free WiFi at Bondi Pavilion. It was time-restricted and you had to watch an advert first, plus it seemed a little flaky, but with a beach view it still comes in at Number 3.

2. The Australian Museum (right). Museums are often a good spot for free WiFi, especially when there is a decent cafe. On a trip to Wellington last year, I would often visit Te Papa to avail of the facilities. Unlike Te Papa, the Australian Museum is not free (though still worth a visit) but the cafe is. The coffee is good (no surprise), the WiFi is free and you can admire an impressive whale skeleton at the same time.

1. The Art Gallery of New South Wales (below). Edging out the Australian Museum at Number 1 is the Art Gallery of New South Wales. This one is free and is particularly good on a Wednesday night for Art After Hours. In addition to perusing the art - including possibly my favourite sculpture - you can enjoy a nice glass of wine or two and some live music whilst you surf the web.

Reunited at last!

One of the hardest thing about selling up and moving 17,000km away was putting our two cats through the trauma of being shipped off to a cattery then flown half-way round the world before spending another 30 days in quarantine at the other end - and, of course, being without them for all this time (barring a couple of visits). Today was the day that we picked them up from quarantine!

We had obviously done our best to prepare for the arrival of our furry friends - complete with comedy placemats from Ikea for their food and water bowls. (I am not sure whether they will appreciate them as much as we do!)

The whole process was also made much easier through the knowledge that they had been well looked-after throughout. This started with their cattery stay and relocation by PetAir, who have been great and clearly care for all the animals they relocate. We picked them up in the PetAir crate that they were shipped over in, and it made me smile to see the stenciled cats on top. The lady at the quarantine station also made us feel that they had received good care as, like the PetAir staff, she reported a bit on their personalities as well as simply their condition.

The most traumatic part of the process (today) was probably the journey out and back, which was largely due to a combined lack of familiarity with the car (a GoGet Hyundai i30 called Lorna), the route and our new Garmin sat nav. (I am not getting on with the latter but I’ll save that for (maybe) another day.) Given that it was only my second drive in Australia, though, it did not go too badly - thanks largely to some human navigation and Google maps on the iPhone.

Arthur is not shaken by much and so, somewhat predictably, it was he that settled in quickest, giving the apartment a bit of a look over before settling down in the “cat condo” to survey things for a bit.

Mia, on the other hand, went and hid in the bath for a while. I can’t say that I blame her - if it had been me then I think I would have wanted a bit of alone-time. The introduction of a bowl of food was well received and she did not stay in there for long.

Unfortunately, I had to go into work for the afternoon but was pleased to receive reports that tummy-tickles were being enjoyed - and a photo of Arthur doing what he does best: sprawled relaxation.

By the time I got home again, it was almost like business as normal - I got a good greeting, Arthur was only interested in food and Mia was soon surveying her new realm from atop the cat condo. That was, at least, until I started showing an interest - this post has been slowed down at times by a purring Mia on my lap! :o)

Economy comfort from London to Sydney in a Qantas A380

We’ve been in Sydney a few days now* and things are beginning to calm down enough to consider a bit of blogging. A lot’s been happening since my last proper posting period and I was not sure where to start but the trip over seemed like a good place to start. [*At time of writing.]

I’ve made a fair few long haul flights over the past couple of years and although this was one of the longest it was also one of the most comfortable - even though we were just in standard economy class. Things did not start out too well, it must be said. Despite checking in literally the minute that online check-in opened - I was there hitting “refresh” until it would let me - we had a choice of 3 seats, only two of which were next to each other. I generally like a pair in the centre block of four, so there is no need to disturb (or be disturbed by) a stranger when exiting the seat. Instead we ended up with a window and middle seat in one of the outer three seats with me in the middle.

Lesson 1. Pay the extra $25 to pick seats as soon as the booking is made! For a long haul flight of that price, it is not much extra to pay - and apparently everyone else does it, if seat availability was anything to go by!

On a 747, this might have been an issue. Happily, we were travelling on an Airbus A380, which have three things going for them in the comfort stakes:

1. New. I think it’s fair to say that new planes are always more comfy than old ones - the seats are new and comfortable, the plane is quiet and the entertainment system is better. The A380 ticks all three boxes.

2. Big. These guys are big. Really big! As a result, the inside is really rather roomy, even - on Qantas planes, at least - in economy. Although I spent 13 hours with a person each side of me, often with the chair in front reclined, I never felt particularly cramped or claustrophobic. The cabin ceiling is also high, which adds to the sense of space, and the overhead lockers for hand luggage are roomy and accommodating.

3. Well-designed. In addition to being shiny and massive, there were some little touches that added to the space and comfort. For example, the seat base slid slightly forward when the back reclined, which gave the person behind a little more knee space. They are also surprisingly quiet on the inside for a 600 ton lump of metal being jet propelled at 30,000 feet. I did use my noise-cancelling headphones but they were not a necessary as for most planes.

As a result, despite a very good selection of movies that I had not seen and a usual inability to sleep on planes, I managed to get a fair few hours, especially on the long Dubai to Sydney leg.

Lesson 2. Always book on an A380 where possible, even if the times are less convenient. I would rather have a couple of extra hours on the plane we flew over on than have a shorter trip on the BA 747 that I flew back to the UK on in February. (Happily, the Qantas route via Dubai is also the shortest!)

The only real negative on the flight over was that we were given some dodgy advice in Heathrow regarding Duty Free. Having scoped out our chosen whisky to bring over (Dalmore Valour), we were advised that this would not be possible as we were travelling through Dubai. Nonsense. Although you have to go back through security, they just take your duty free off you at Dubai and put it in the hold to collect later.

Lesson 3. You can buy duty free, even when travelling via Dubai.

And therein ends the lesson(s).

Visiting the Liberty Bell

I didn't get round to visiting the Liberty Bell during my time in Philadelphia. I did, however, see the Lego version in the airport, which surely counts for something.

Wagamama for breakfast!

I know it’s a but cliché to take photos of your food and blog about them but sometimes you just feel compelled to - and this is one of those times! I did not realise that Wagamama did breakfast until I was passing through Heathrow Terminal 5 this morning, looking for some sustinence. It turns out that not only do they do breakfast but they do a wide range of interesting and tasty dishes.

I had the okonomiyaki:

a japanese-style egg pancake filled with bacon, chicken, prawns, shitake mushrooms, red cabbage and leek, served with aonori, katsuobushi, spring onions, wasabi mayonnaise and okonomiyaki sauce.

It was amazing - as pretty as it was delicious!

Next time we're considering brunch in Southampton, I'm going to hope that Wagamama is serving its breakfast menu!

Blogging at sea - the ferry versus flying for Southampton to Dublin

Southampton is a pretty good place to live when you have relatives in Dublin because there are direct flights. This trip, we decided to drive over and take the ferry from Holyhead instead. Apart from the long(ish) drive on the UK side, which is not so bad (especially if you splash out for the M6 toll road), there are some definite benefits to getting ferry.

For one thing, having a car in Dublin is really useful. I say this having lived in the city quite happily for six years without one. It is only going over and visiting friends and relatives with the car that I realise quite how much more you can do with a car - one of the great things about Dublin is all the great stuff on its doorstep.

The journey itself, although longer, is also more comfortable. (In a weather-dependent fashion, I suspect - we had good weather each way.) Although we made a poor coffee decision last time, the discovery of (proper barista) Costa coffee and onboard WiFi makes the whole experience much more pleasant than the short hop in a small plane - particularly for the period between boarding and departure.

It is easy to become complacent about technology but I think the modern age is pretty amazing when you can have internet access in the middle of the Irish Sea. As a result, I felt the need to give it a proper road (or sea?) test and see if it could cope with a blog post. Initial signs were good - it uploaded the screenshot OK - but as I have been typing this I have seen Blogger struggling to save the draft despite still being connected. I guess one disadvantage of the modern age is that when free WiFi is available, everyone logs on! (It took a few attempts to load up the link to my previous Irish ferries coffee post.)

Time to hit “Publish” and see if anything happens…

Irish Ferries coffee disaster!

We recently made a trip from Holyhead to Dublin on the Irish Ferries Dublin Swift. We had a couple of breaks on the drive from Southampton but were feeling in need of a good coffee pick-me-up by the time we had embarked. Having settled down in seats near the onboard "Cafe Lafayette", I unthinkingly assumed that (a) all the places serving hot drinks on board would essentially serve the same, and (b) if anywhere had more/better hot drinks, it would be the cafe. Big mistake on both counts!

If you travel on the Jonathan Swift and like your coffee, avoid Cafe Lafayette at all costs. The coffee tasted like burnt dirt. (It actually reminded me a of the odd occasion at work when I have made myself a cup of Senseo coffee and forgotten to put in a new pod!) Not good.

To rub salt into the wound, when disembarking the ferry we noticed that the "Temple Bar" on board was serving Costa coffee. Duly noted for future trips!

Geek architecture at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory

As well as the geeky sculptures, the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory has some good geeky architecture. The tower of the Beckman Laboratory (above) stood out to me as a geneticist, with the four nucleotide abbreviations (g, a, t, c) on its four faces. There was a bit of a missed opportunity with the staircase in the middle, though, which is just a spiral up a central column rather than a double helix (right). Oh well.

As it happens, the conference was too engaging to do much exploration, so I'm not sure if it's a repeating theme across campus. If I get to go back, I will have to find out. Even if there isn't, though, it's a charming place to wander about. Apparently, it used to be a whaling station and many of the labs are in what look like large colonial houses, such as the Luke Building (below).

Geek Sculpture at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory

A couple of weeks ago, I attended the 2013 "Systems Biology: Networks" meeting at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, New York.

Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory has a beautiful little campus on the north shore of Long Island, about an hour or so east of New York city. One of its charms is the many pieces of sculpture dotted around the place, including "The Waltz of the Polypeptides" by Mara G. Haseltine, which we passed each time we travelled between our cabin dorm and the talks or food.

As the plaque states:

"The Waltz of the Polypeptides" is the artist's impression of the birth of a protein. As five ribosomes travel the length of a messenger RNA, a protein is created.

It's quite cute and the large subunit of the ribosome looks like it wants a hug once it's released from the mRNA, as seen to the right of the above photo.

The protein in question is identified as Beta Lymphocyte Stimulator (a.k.a. BLyS a.k.a. B-cell activating factor (BAFF)), officially called tumor necrosis factor (ligand) superfamily, member 13b (TNFSF13B). A separate sculpture of the protein backbone sits on the other side of the path. I like it!

(I stayed on for some holiday after the conference - hence the lack of posts recently - so expect a few more travel posts soon.)

Diep Noodle - worth getting to the airport early for

A couple of weeks ago, I posted about Dublin Airport: Dublin Terminal 2 food court - great for food but poor for hot drinks. Well, this week I was travelling through the airport again and, though travelling from T1, was there early enough to get some dinner there. Having only had a coffee there the previous time, I am happy to report that my earlier assessment was both right and wrong: it is great for food but is not necessarily poor for hot drinks!

When I lived in Dublin, Diep Noodle in Ranelagh (now takeaway/delivery only it seems) was one of my favourite restaurants (although I only went a handful of times), so I was keen to have my dinner at the Diep Noodle Bar.
The Menu is quite simple (and a bit more expensive than the current one on the web shows) but it's still hard to choose when everything is so nice. I remembered the yellow curry with particular fondness - it is still the one to which I compare all Thai yellow curries (and usually find them wanting) so I opted for the beef variant of:

Gaeng Karee
Yellow Curry with Potato, Onion & Crispy Shallots.

It was so delicious that I forgot to put my iPhone to its proper use of taking food pictures. Every bit as good as I remember. If you are travelling through Dublin Airport around time for dinner (or lunch) then I recommend planning your inward/onward journey around leaving time for a visit to Diep Noodle Bar in Terminal 2. (The meal arrived really quickly, so you probably don't need to leave too much time!)

One of dinner companions had a cappuccino and reported that it was very nice - made behind the counter at Diep rather than just coming from an automated machine. It might have been less than €3 too. This begs the question as to why they make the coffee machine so prominent but perhaps my poor awareness last time was more to blame than the setup.

Dublin Terminal 2 food court - great for food but poor for hot drinks

Blogging (and writing) might be a bit thin on the ground over the next few days, as we're over in Ireland for Christmas Part II. Then again, there always seem to be lots of things to blog about when you go for a trip.

Flights from Southampton fly in to Dublin Terminal 1 - the old one - but our flight arrival time conveniently coincided with the period that a friend (and old lab buddy) of my wife was passing through Terminal 2 on the way back to Paris, so we went there for a drink.

I have long admired Terminal 2 from the outside - sadly, it opened after I had left Dublin and was no longer making regular trips - but aside from a brief walkthrough, this was the first time I had had the opportunity to have a good look.

The Terminal itself, although open for a couple of years now, is still very pretty new-looking. The Food Court was pretty good too and I was impressed to see a Diep Noodle bar and Gourmet Burger Company among the offerings. (Until the lovely meal at my in-laws this evening, I felt slightly sad not to be staying for dinner!) I was not so impressed by the small mug of hot chocolate from a machine for €3, though. €3! And that was despite there being adverts for O'Brien's - I think it was just the sandwich part of the outfit. (The coffee was from a machine too.) Hmmm.
Oh well. At least on the way back through Terminal 1 we can visit Butlers for a proper hot chocolate - and it has a Starbucks too if we need caffeination!

Bella Lucca

I spent the past few days in Lucca, Italy, for a(n Irish) family wedding. I've never been to Lucca before but it was great and well worth a visit. It's a medieval walled city that is still completely surrounded by a city wall and, beyond, surrounded by the hills and mountains of Tuscany. Compared to the remains of Southampton's medieval walls, the walls of Lucca were surprisingly wide and flat - very easy for strolling, jogging or even cycling round.Of course, nothing quite sets off a stroll around some ancient city walls like some gelati and Lucca (as expected in Italy) has some great Gelaterias. I particularly recommend the pistachio gelati from the Gelateria L'Angolo Tondo in the Piazza Anfiteatro. (Another triumph was the chocolate gelati from the Caffetteria Colombano, located on the wall itself at Baluardo San Colombano.)

The other thing I love about Italy is the coffee. Italians really know how to make a good espresso! In fact, all the food and drink was pretty good. (They have some very pretty cats too!)

Belgian chocolate really is as good as they say!

This crazy display is from a Bruges chocolate shop, The Chocolate Line. If you love chocolate, this place (the city and the shop!) is a must-visit location. Just walking in to the shop is a treat to the senses. The rich smell of the chocolate is fantastic. Eating the chocolates is even better. The only problem is deciding what kind to eat! (And how large your budget is going to be - they're not cheap!)

Are FlyBE xenophobic?

We suffered at the hands of another "Fly mayBE" mishap today. Our plane was cancelled due to "operational reasons" following fog. Fair enough, perhaps, except that why was it only the international flights (Dublin, France, Channel Islands (semi-International)) that were cancelled, when everyone else - most of whom could have got a bus/train instead - got to fly (albeit late)? Why do FlyBE have it in for their foreign passengers? Or do they simple have a strange policy where the more inconvenient a cancellation will be, the more likely it is to occur?

A mystery. My advice, though: avoid FlyBE unless you have no other option. They are very unreliable and seem to have very poor contingency plans for when things go wrong. Which, in my experience with them over the past year, they do quite often!