My First "Around the World" Trip!!

Hello all!!!

There are a couple different ways that a flight attendant such as myself can be "placed" on a trip. You can either be sitting on Reserve and be "ready to fly" at any time they may need you, or you can ALSO bid for what we call "Open Time". Open time trips are usually last-minute in nature, and its a great way for flight attendants on their off days to pick up extra hours if they'd like.

Well last Friday, I was sitting at home 'minding my own business', when I received an email asking for 5 flight attendants to take an open trip that had just come up... TO THAILAND AND DUBAI!!!!! Wow!!! I immediately responded to the email and luckily, was awarded the trip later that afternoon that was departing on Sunday morning. I had a day and a half to scramble together some stuff... although warm weather clothes are ALWAYS easier to pack, so it wasn't THAT difficult... and I was on my way West commercialing with my crew all the way from Chicago to Seoul, Korea!!!

Philippe and I BOTH got the trip, so we commercialed out of Chicago O'Hare together. How nice!! :-)

Korean Air is now my new favorite airline. They had little "Comfort Packs" waiting for us on our seats of the SUPER CLEAN 747 we flew on. Inside the zippered pouch was an eye mask, a pair of comfortable socks (which was PERFECT for me... I was wearing heels that I was dying to take off!), a tiny toothbrush and even tinier tube of toothpaste, and a lanyard to hang the bag around your neck, if you'd like. (I didn't... didn't go with the outfit. HAHAHAHA!)

Lunch is served!!! Philippe, myself, and our dear friend Miss Stefanie Glidden were fortunate enough to share a row for the 14 hour flight!!! Helps to be near people you both KNOW and LIKE on long flights like these!!! We also each had our own personal television screen with TONS of movies available. Thats what I did the ENTIRE flight! I watched "Confessions of a Shopaholic", "Bride Wars", "Marley & Me", "Revolutionary Road", and a couple episodes of "Friends". I didn't WANT to sleep with all that entertainment!!! :-)

This is the 747 that we came into Seoul, South Korea on. My first time on a Boeing 747 and it was a BEAUTY!!!! Loved it!!!!

CHEERS!!!!!

ALOHA!!! Hilo, Hawaii trip, May 2009

MY FIRST HAWAII TRIP!!!!

I was SO excited when I saw this trip pop up on my schedule!! We don't usually fly to Hawaii, but it was a 'special mission' of sorts that Ryan was fortunate enough to do for the Department of Justice.

Good morning, Hilo!!! This is the view I had from my balcony at 6:30am at the hotel in Hilo, Hawaii.

When you walked out of the hotel lobby, the first thing you saw was a beautiful view of the Hilo Bay.

Soaking up the sun while we could! One of my favorite co-workers, Debbie Reeder loves the SUN even more than I do!!! She was out at the pool at 7am that morning in Hilo. We were only there for a mere 16 hours, but we made the most of it!!! :-)

This was one of the best and healthiest-tasting sandwiches I've ever had in my life!!! Made by a local on the island... thick wheat bread, turkey, tomatoes, sprouts, and cucumbers. I could make it myself at home... but it won't ever taste as good as it did in Hawaii!!! :-)

Not many people will ever be able to travel to Hawaii for "work"... let alone have an amazing overnight there and have it paid for by the company! We LOVE Hawaii... and we LOVE our jobs. :-)

From the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific... I'm still loving my job, now more than ever!!!

Our awesome crew we had: From top left: Lindsay Mitchell (Lead Flight Attendant), Shelley Holt, Stefanie Glidden. From bottom left: Debbie Reeder, Raashi Weaver, Chaniesa Peal, Me

Lindsay is such a fantastic lead! She is so even-tempered and super cool when things go "pear-shaped". A great lead F/A is determined by how they react in unexpected situations. She always keeps her cool!

CHEERS to Hawaii!!!!

-LiSA :-)

Boeing 767 Jet Pictures

Hello everyone!!

I've been wanting to pose in the 767 jet engine ever since I started, and finally when the engines cooled I had my chance. :-)

CHEERS!

-Lisa :-)

Grocery shopping in Leipzig, Germany!

Welcome to Kaufland!!! The biggest grocery store in Leipzig... conveniently located just steps away from our hotel.

Carts are only 1 euro to rent... with 4 moving wheels, and you even get the euro back when you return the cart (a la Aldi at home!) :-)

Don't forget your wine...

... Or your kitty treats. :-)

Looking for produce and more grocery items? Take the escalator upstairs and begin your shopping spree!

All kinds of bread... rolls, loaves, sourdough, wheat.. you name it, they have it!

And some lunchmeat to go with that bread, perhaps?

Jar of sweet pickles (Gewurz-gherkins) to snack on, or to put on sandwiches...

... And finally, head back down to the registers to pay for it all. (Don't worry, the wheels on the 4-wheel carts lock on the escalator... no runaway cart accidents HERE!!!)


Ahh... nothing like a stocked fridge to get you through these long Germany layovers. What a way to save a couple bucks on our trips! Brilliant! :-)

Cheers!!

-Lisa :-)

Bucharest, Romania

Our layover in Bucharest was short and sweet... but we had a beautiful view from a downtown hotel and a Benihana in the lobby, so we made the most of it! ;-)

Cortney tried sushi for the first time in her life... needless to say, she won't be having it again any time soon! :-)

Crew picture from left: Me, Ray, and Tammy. Bottom: Cortney, Jill, and Henry. So much fun!

CHEERS!

-Lisa :-)

Bishkek, Kyrgystan... One of the "Stans".

Happy Spring, Five Cabin Checks Followers!!

As the weather gets warmer... so do our destinations. This is such a wonderful time to travel the world, and it's been so exciting for me to see so many different places in the past 2 months. I have a series of posts that I'll be doing in the next couple days to catch you up on all my travels. I'm still enjoying my job, now more than ever, and I can't wait to share some of my photos and stories!!

This was my first stay in Bishkek, Kyrgystan in April 2009. BEAUTIFUL scenery, yet one of the poorest, most poverty-stricken places I've seen yet. Thankfully, the hotel we stayed at had a 5-star rating, with a yummy 5-star breakfast waiting for us when we got in early in the a.m. :-)








This crew LOVED to eat, thats for sure. Even better when it was free!!








We went for a stroll after breakfast to check out the local sites and markets. EVERYTHING was so cheap... cigarettes for .42 a pack!! The 'smokers' on our crew were plotting ways to fill their suitcases to bring back home... and the non-smokers were planning ways to fill suitcases and sell them once we got back to the states... ;-) (Obviously, we didn't have that much room after our 18 days out, but it was a good idea in theory!)








Miss Tammy King... posing in front of a "cool" building. ("But its not finished yet!!!) It's still cool... love Tammy!





Henry and I... having a moment by the bra stand in Bishkek.

... And trying on skirts... HAHAHAHAHA :-)

Bishkek is so cool! Hopefully the layover is longer next time... ;-)

Til then...

CHEERS!

-Lisa :-)