Aren't those overnight flights TO Spain exciting?? Man-o-Man!! I love them -- even though I can NEVER sleep! I'm So jazzed to be returning to my beloved Spain that I can never read the books I take, I feel I want/need to watch all the free movies they show, my thoughts are about touching down on Spanish soil.

I think some of you recall my last tales of my October 2000 trip, but if not.... I was lucky enough to have an aisle seat (my REQUIRED seat) on the side of the plane which only has 2 seats (with 5 in the middle). I rarely talk much to the person sitting next to me, but for this trip I was DELIGHTED to be sitting next to a 20-something who was on his way to Mallorca (or was it Ibiza?). He was working as a hairdresser working in Hollywood, stylishly dressed, outwardly gay, (I'm straight, by the way, if any of you weren't sure) VERY talkative & friendly, and we had a great time chatting about our favorite parts of Spain and everything else. I can't remember another time when I passed those 8 flight hours more easily and more enjoyably! We were fast friends and didn't sleep, but talked and laughed and then we said goodbye at the end of the flight. The return flight to the USA was interesting too because I was bringing the 76 year old mother of my ladyfriend. It was her FIRST time on an airplane - poor thing.. She was a bit airsick, but I tried to keep her occupied and her mind on happy things in her life, asking her about her younger years in Spain, her experiences as a girl during the civil war and how she and her family hid in the caves in the mountains in Santander, hearing the bombs in the city down below. VERY interesting.

The trip before that one when returning to the US, I sat across the aisle from a guy and a dozen or so of his teammates who were on a soccer team, playing in some tournament in Florida. He didn't speak any English and I didn't speak much spanish then, but he asked if I smoked and I said no, only cigars, and he chuckled. At lunch, he was happy to see I ordered a Cruzcampo beer with lunch and we talked about other beers of Spain.

And how 'bout that airplane food? I almost always fly on Delta (as I am this month) and, to me, the food is always suprisingly good! I love having a small bottle of red wine with my dinner. But you know, it seems they almost feed you TOO often on those flights. Seems about every 3 hours you get another full meal. Well, okay, a dinner at takeoff at about 7 or 8pm, then a kind of snack 3 hours later, then breakfast and hour before landing.

And I can't stand siting for those 8 hours! I'm often up and standing in the space between first class and coach at the emergency exit, doing deep knee bends, twisting at the waist, raising my arms over my head, rotating my head/neck, and talking to whomever is standing there with me.. Funny how few people like to talk on flights. I think it's generally different on flights going overseas (or to Mexico) as everyone's going on vacation. Occasionally you'll sit next to a Spaniards, but it seems rare. I generally don't tell anyone that I have a website about Madrid because it would appear I'm bragging or advertising.

Bathrooms on Planes: SO SMALL!! hehehee.. An hour before landing...everyone is waking up and standing in line to reapply makeup, brush teeth, wash faces, put on deoderant, comb hair, and everything else people do in the morning, all with hundreds of others and in a space the size no larger than a broom closet. And get this! SO FAR, if I'm not able to change it, my seat this month is an aisle seat in the last row of the plane... so that means I'll be RIGHT next to the bathroom door. :o I'll have to take my nose plugs with me. hehehe.. But at least I won't have to walk far if I have to go. BUT STILL! And since my seat is in the last row it won't full recline. I hate that.

And how 'bout the ARCTIC climate we always have on those overnight flight! Maybe it's because it's at night and you're thousands of feet in the air?? It never seems THAT cold during daytime return flights. I always take a sweater and there are never enough blankets for everyone who asks for them.

What other airplane stories of your trips to/from Spain do we have?? I'm sure everyone has some! Let's share!

Saludos, MadridMan

Ok...airplane stories...my first flight to Spain my seat was SMACK DAB right in the MIDDLE of the 5-seat-across section. I never realized just how claustrophobic I was until that flight! I was too excited to sleep too, I tried watching the movie, "Throw Mama From the Train", but when everyone around you is sleeping or getting airsick, it's not as happenin' as you'd like it to be!!

I think my favorite story on a return flight, though, came this past April. I flew Air Europa, and my friend and I were in the 2-seat section (very good, because I like the isle, she likes the window, and I don't normally talk much to people around me either). About 4 rows in front of us-in bulkhead seats-were 2 brothers, unaccompanied 6 & 8 year olds travelling from Spain to the US. As the story goes their dad lives in Holland, mom in Spain, and someone else is in the US. They were hitting the flight attendant button during the entire flight-at one point one of the maile flight attendants got 'in their face' and warned them to be good. Finally by the 6th or so hour, I guess they couldn't stand each other any more and actually started hitting each other with their backpacks!! Everyone around them was hitting the flight attendant buttons & the entire flight crew (minus pilot of course) was around their seats threatening them to behave! Of course, they had to de-plane first (and left a mound of candy/food wrappers strewn around their seats), and one of the flight attendants commented, as only Spaniards can, about how ill-mannered and rude they were! It was definitely quite the action-packed flight!

Now I've got my computer back from the PC doctor after - can't believe I did this - opening a couple, yes, not one but two, attachments from Wolf I can chip in with my favourite story.

For the first few years after coming to live in Spain Mrs Anchovy and I always went back to Ebgland for Christmas. One year we had boarded quite a large plane in Malaga for the two and a half hour trip and were waiting for take off. The captain came on and announced we were waiting for two late passengers. The minutes ticked away and finally two girls came running up the steps and through the door. We were sat right near it and watched as the drama unfolded.

The other passengers all gave ironic cheers and fastened their seat belts. The chief steward took their boarding passes, then rolled his eyes and in a very camp voice said, "Hold it, these are for the Amsterdam flight!" "Which one is that?" the girls enquired. The steward bent down and looked through the still open door and said "That one!" his pointing finger following the path of another plane taking off just at that moment.

The steward went on, "Anyway, how did you get to this aircraft in the first place?" "A man in a uniform saw we were in a hurry and pushed us through the gate and told us to run" one of the girls said. "Oh, so you'd do anything a man in a uniform asked you to do, would you dear?" he responed in a sarcastic voice. Everybody groaned as the taller of the girls, who was clearly not having a good day either, caught him with a sweet left hook to the chin and laid him out!!

Anyway, the girls departed in a hurry and a couple of minutes later the captain announced that the ground staff had given out two boarding cards too many by mistake and the requisite number of passengers was actually on board and so we would be taking off now. Great we thought, we'll still catch our connecting train in London.

Wrong!! A group of passengers then mutinied and refused to sit down until all the luggage had been taken off and identified and put back on again. I suppose it was a wise precaution, but when you were faced with the prospect of missing the last train we weren't too happy. Nonetheless, all the bags were taken off and lined up by the plane. Five rows of passengers at a time had to get off, find their bags and put them on a trolley ready to be loaded again. Anything not claimed would be left behind. It took two hours, at the end of which the doors were shut and the captain said again that we would finally be leaving and no bags were left on the tarmac. A cheer went up.... but it didn't end there. The lady in the row in front of us started pressing the attendant's button above her head frantically. "What's the matter?" asked the stewardess. "It's my husband," the lady replied. "Why, where is he?" The lady pointed out the window and said "There!" We looked out of our window and there he was, looking up at us with pleading eyes and waving his arms above his head desperately! Back came the steps and he was boarded and the plane took off.

We arrived in the centre of London eventually at two in the morning, nowhere to go, nowhere to hide as they say. We won't forget that flight ever and when we recount it to anyone it still makes us laugh when we remember the look of surprise on the face of the steward and the look of fear on the face of the locked out husband!

Two flights come to mind. The first was my very first flight to Spain. I was with my sister, who had been there about a year already as a student. It was Reyes (Jan. 6), and we were flying to Madrid. Just before we got there, the pilot made the announcement that due to thick fog in Madrid (a common occurance in December and January), we would not be able to land there, and we were going to Mallorca to wait for the fog to clear. The first reaction on everyone's faces was disbelief and panic, and then my sister started to cheer. It turned out that Mallorca was one of her very favorite places in Spain. On seeing her genuine happiness, everyone started looking much more hopeful (the plane was full of Americans), and she was very busy for the next hour or so, raving about how great Mallorca is. Unfortunately, the wait in the airport in
Mallorca was very boring, but at least she had eased some of the panic.

The second memory happened a few years later. I was flying Madrid - JFK with my 3-month-old son. He was (and still is) a dream of a child, never cried, and slept all the way, or cooed gently. I had been given a seat in one of those 5 across sections, even though they knew I had a baby with me. So a very nice young flight attendant gave me his seat, and my son was in an airplane crib on the floor. This flight was full of Spaniards who knew each other, and they were partying big time. The flight attendant was working harder than ever before. Finally he came to me and asked if I would do him a huge favour and let him watch the baby while I went back to my assigned seat. He spent the next 20 minutes oblivious to the partying, leaning over the crib, watching the baby sleep peacefully. He never took his eyes off of him. No one disturbed him, and when he was rested up, he was in much better shape. And my son has never had such a dedicated babysitter! (That flight was also memorable in that it marked the achievement of a life-long goal of mine - travel across the Atlantic without any checked-in luggage! One baby, one diaper bag, and one overnight bag - I did it! I was not quite as successful on the return trip to Madrid. I brought a playpen in a huge box with lots of extra stuffing...)

Back when before my wife retired from the School District, we would normally take our Spring trip to Spain when the schools were out (Semana Santa, usually). Unfortunately that's when lots of student group trips are also scheduled. So we would coincide with hundreds of school kids (not University or College, high school kids). Flights would soon take on an identity as the Mother of all slumber parties: 15-year old girls in groups of 3-or more going up and down the aisles to the restroom all night.
We did that for about 3-years. It was ugly!

This is a very interesting thread! Anchovy Front (I love that name!), your story was classic!

I went to Spain the first time in Sept. On the way there and back, I had the pleasure of sitting next to two older, well-mannered, well-traveled gentleman who were great conversationalists. (Old enough to be my dad.) We talked about everything under the sun, but there was also quiet time. One was a widower from Madrid on his way to Peru. He had lost his wife a year ago and was traveling alone. The other was from Monterey, Mexico on his way to meet his family who were vacationing in Madrid. This flight buddy had a great love story to tell -- he married his german wife against the will of both families. And now, years later, he doesn't regret it. I remember him specifically saying, "grandchildren are the greatest joy in my life and hopefully you will experience this joy too."

The most interesting part of this flight was actually the arrival. My madrilena friend has set me up on a "blind date" with one of her best friends, a gallego who lives in Cobena. Well this blind date started as soon as I arrived, since he was picking me up at the airport. We had only been emailing each other for about three months. Was I nervous ... naah!!! What was there to be nervous about? I only just flown thousands of miles for a date!!! No pressure whatsoever, really!!!

First thing we did ... had churros and cafe con leche in Barajas!!!

On the way back from Madrid, less than two weeks after 9/11, I had an unusually nice flight attendant. He kept coming by my seat regularly to see if I needed anything ("It is a long flight, another little bottle of cava? Some chocolate?"). I don't know why he was so attentive to me ... after a while I checked to see if he was going to everyone else's seat, but he wasn't. Whatever the reason, it was very comforting, one of those little blessings, since I was a nervous about flying that day. (And no, I didn't spend the whole flight drinking cava!!!)

I think people can be chatty sometimes because they're nervous about flying. But I think it's one of the more interesting aspects of the experience, being able to talk to someone you would otherwise never meet.

MM -- love the phrase "nose plug section"

Churrito

[ 12-03-2001: Message edited by: churrocaliente ]

There was one interesting trip we made from Chicago to Madrid. Upon boarding the plane, we found that Iberia had accidentally booked us in the same seats as someone else.

The stewardess apologized, and asked the two people who were traveling seperately in what may have been our two seats if they would mind surrendering them, so we could sit there together.

"I will not!" One spat. "I paid for this seat and I'm sitting in it!" The look on her face, and her eyes told the stewardess it wasn't going to be possible to deal with her.

The second woman, buoyed by the attitude of the first just shook her head; "No!" She wasn't moving either.

"I guess we'll have to get a later plane?" My wife asked the Stewardess, who just smiled.

"No. I have two seats together. Follow me." She said, as she led us up to First Class, where we enjoyed the trip in luxury...

If that wasn't good enough, when we boarded our plane for the return trip, we had the same Stewardess we'd met on our trip over to Spain. She recognized us immediately, and directed us to two First Class seats for the trip home. Enroute, she came up to us and smiled. "Guess who's on the same plane going home? I told them I moved you into First Class both ways so they wouldn't lose their seats. You should have seen their mouths drop open."

My Wife and I just laughed, and had another glass of champagne, and waited patiently for the fantastic shrimp that would follow within a few minutes.

Since that was one of the first trips that Iberia was making from Chicago non-stop, we'd only had to pay $250 per ticket, and the First Class accomodations were selling at $2,400 each, during the peak season. Not to bad of an "Upgrade" if you ask me.

Wolf (Who loves those deep discounts... )

I know the story I'm about to tell you sounds made up, but it's absolutely true! It was another overnight flight to Madrid when I was awakened by a stunningly beautiful Spanish flight attendant. She said she needed some help back in the galley and gave me a crooked, evil smile along with a crooked finger beckoning me to "come hither"... I got up from my seat and noticed the entire plane was asleep so I knew we wouldn't be bothered. The NEXT thing I knew she had

[ 12-03-2001: Message edited by: InterNet Gods]

Sweet dreams, MM!

Tia, do you really mean "dream on, dude?"

tee hee! let's guess ... she took MM to the nose plug section!