This is a Trip Report from the Premium Economy cabin
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Right, well here goes my first ever TRso be nice! A health warning...this is pretty long so feel free to give up at any point! [;)] Ive covered the flight and also places visited and restaurants each day as I used a few recommendations from fellow V-Flyers. If youre expecting Duck Tours (apart from mention of Lewis), Tea Parties and Freedom Trails then give up here I dont really do history! Hmm, maybe Boston was not a sensible choice of location then! [:?]
As youll see from the subject, Economy soon became PE. Having logged in the afternoon before the flight to find that the aircraft had changed again [ii] (began as Airbus 340-600, then changed to 747-400 and back to the Airbus) I decided to do OLCI and switch seats if possible as Id booked the two down the back (64AC) assuming it was a 747. Filled in API, though it would only accept 5 characters for the zip code. I found it odd that the system was requesting a zip rather than postcode given I had selected UK as country of origin/residence/passport etc. So, I tried 12345 and it was happy with that ??? Decided to book 32DE in favour of a swifter exit on landing, despite ratings mentioning reduced legroom due to entertainment boxes, and also the proximity to the toilets. Lets just say I wasnt quite at ease with this choice but there wasnt much to choose from...but in the back of my mind, the idea that there could be some deals on PE the next day [}:)].
Arrived at the airport at about 10.15am (yes over 4 hours early) after many heart-stopping moments on my mate Big Daves Scary Death Ride [:0]. Erm, taxi next time anyone?! Walked up to DIY bag drop queue and asked the passport-checking dude if it was still possible to change seats at this point, to which of course he said yes. Only 1 pax in queue in front so not a long wait. At the desk, I enquired about exit seats, which were being sold at 50 each and then asked abut availability in PE. I didnt hold out much hope given there are only 4 rows of PE on the Airbus. After a few conversations between colleagues, it was decided there were seats available at a cost of 219 each. Hmm, so 50 for an exit seat or 219 for PE. Blow itbook me up and boost the FC miles at the same time! Whilst the check-in staff sorted this out, I asked whether theyd heard of V-Flyer and explained what it was all about, ensuring a stack of cards were handed over to be distributed [:D]. Check-in staff was either genuinely intrigued or extremely good at hiding their concerns for my sanity. Either way, they graciously accepted the cards, promising to take a peek at the site. Allocated seats were 18HK and had to be paid for at the ticketing desk. There was a bit of a wait here so I took the opportunity to strike up another conversation about V-Flyer; more cards handed over, this time with my e-mail, V-Flyer ID and a returned promise to find out whether SRB is aware of the site! I also asked about the availability in Upperat least double figures. Wheres my upgrade then?!
With the upgrade sorted, time to go through to departures. Invited to use the fast track though queues were pretty much non-existent anyway. Had a Starbucks, mooched round the shops then decided to make the most of the Priority Pass that comes with Platinum AMEX. Used the Servisair lounge which was pretty quiet. I tried to leave some V-Flyer cards but the staff member cleaning up was being a right jobs worth and having none of it [:(].
13.30pm went down to the gate. Priority boarding had already started so just waltzed straight on and plonked down in the seats. Drinks were served right away. Great seats for legroom by the way: front of the small PE section I stuck my leg out and couldnt touch the wall in front. Only thing I missed was the side bins that you get in the upstairs of the 747. Also, there was quite a bit of rattling from the galley at times and I reckon some of the staff needs to pass a test in trolley control coming out of there, as there were a few knee-related near misses! [B)] The entertainment system was not working so we had the live show safety demo.
14.35pm announcement to say that there was a ventilation fault and that an engineer had had to come back on board to reset the system, and it would take 5-10 mins. Another announcement followed to say more tests were required and would take another 5-10 mins.
14.55pm pushed back for a 15.10pm take off. Flight time planned at 6 hours 25 minutes with some anticipated turbulence, though this didnt materialise and the seat belt sign only came on once and for no real need.
15.25pm first drinks service followed by another at 15.55pm a benefit of a very small PE section!
16.25pm lunch served with a choice of sausage and mash with red cabbage, roast chicken, or vegetable lasagne. Went for the chicken but decided not to bother and just wait for the impending gut bashing Id promised myself at The Cheesecake Factory. Oink! Usual extras with the meal.
16.55pm Brandy/Baileysand then decided to chill out to a bit of music on V:Port. I wont shame myself with my choices! Read some mags, watched the Boston destination info and slept for a bit. I cant seem to watch films very often on board as I have a short attentioner, what was I saying again? [;)]
20.10pm light snack: egg mayo or chicken sarnie and a Cadburys bubbly. Cant I have 2 choc bars instead of a sandwich? We were given an X-plane random questionnaire to fill in with the incentive of winning 2 Economy tickets. Anyone else had one of those?
With less than an hour to go, the captain informed us that there was an emergency on the runway at Logan and we were likely to be held in a race track holding pattern at 15,000 feet, for up to 40 minutes. Groan! This actually only turned out to be 15-20 minutes but there was no explanation. We were then held up getting onto a stand by another plane with a fault getting stuck in the way. Come on!!! [:(!]
17.00pm off the plane, picked up bags and straight through to customs, though the bloke on the desk seemed to find it amusing to put a circled 2 on the customs form so that we were taken to have our bags scanned and questions asked. It only took 5 mins though and no need for any rubber glove treatment phew! Got a taxi straight into rush hour traffic but arrived at The Lenox within half an hour. Asked if there were any corner rooms available, and given one on the 8th floor thanks to those people on tripadvisor for that little tip! [y] The room had 2 doubles, lounge area with fireplace (though non-functioning), a walk in closet and ample bathroom.
18.30pm went for dinner at The Cheesecake Factory in the Prudential Centre which was an easy walk away. Tried to balance things by having the Luau salad followed by a puke-inducing white chocolate peanut butter fudge ripple cheesecake [:$]. Oh come on, you cant go there and not have cheesecake! Hmm, maybe this had something to do with me waking at 3.22am and then scaring the living daylights out of myself with the full-length mirror next to the bathroom door.
OK, Ill make this bit a bit more brief nowmostly a whirl of eating and shopping.
Thursday
Went to the shops at Prudential Centre, then took the T from there to Lechmere in Cambridge to go to the Cambridgeside Galleria mall http://www.shopcambridgeside.com/ . I didnt really rate this as the stores were quite small. Took the T back over and had a mooch around shops at Copley Place http://www.simon.com/mall/default.aspx?ID=784 . These were slightly more upmarket with your Gucci, Louis Vuitton and Tiffany. Oh and of course, a decent-sized Victorias Secret in which I managed to blow $400 in one pop. A superb effort on my part I felt [:D]. Followed this with a quick skirmish up Newbury Street before heading back to the hotel to get ready for dinner. Booked Abe and Louies which was right across the street (along with Starbucks, Dunkin Donuts, BK, Atlantic Fish Co, Chicago Grill and a few reasonable looking places). This was recommended by David_C_H_1. On arrival, I was a bit miffed that the guy at the front of house cut me off halfway through talking as his mate arrived [V]. Then we were shown to our seat by a waitress who said walk this way. I looked at the expression of sheer agony on her face, her lack of progress in walking to any table at all, then clocked the lethal looking shoes she was wearing. I decided that I didnt particularly want to walk that way and instead patiently followed her to the table! A good choice on the menu and the filet mignon was melt-in-the-mouth-good. However, a wee bit pricey with 2 mains, 3 half-portions of sides, 1 glass of wine (thats enough, believe me), 2 beers and a dessert costing $115. Good, but perhaps not that good.
Friday
Got the hire car today (Jeep Grand Cherokee) so drove to Wrentham Village Premium Outlets (same chain as in Orlando for those die-hard shoppers out there). Had my voucher for the discount booklet printed off and ready and managed to use it in a few stores (25% off in Banana Republic, Skechers BOGSHP etc). Then followed this with more shopping at the Burlington Mall http://www.simon.com/mall/mall_info.aspx?ID=146 . Dinner at Anthonys Pier 4, on recommendation from jaguarpig. Great location right on the harbour and we were given a table by the window out of which we could see planes going into and coming out of Logan. A V-Flyers paradise, eh?! Tried swordfish and crab cakes. Nice, but Ive had better. The crab cakes didnt really taste of that much apart from the stuff in which they were fried.
Saturday
Breakfast at The Pour House down the street from the hotel http://www.pourhouseboston.com/?ref=JoeDigi Hmm, a dodgy dive to say the least, but I was starving. I went for the banana pancakes and have to say they were pretty naff. I even left one of themnot a good indicator in my book. I felt my own home cooked buttermilk pancakes far outshone that poor attempt. Mental note not to return there, especially as there was some old guy drinking beer at the bar before 8amhello?!!! Oh and then this was followed by $55 for a parking violation! The whole area was meters with about 44 different codes, laws and rules. Wed left the car after 8pm on a meter but apparently it turned into a loading zone at 8am. Maybe the $20 a night parking garage would have been cheaper [xx(].
This was followed by a bit of a touristy day, beginning with Harvard. Too cold to do a walking tour of the campus so quickly walked through it noting its age (kind of) and heading straight for the apparel store for my pukka sweater. Then drove to Fenway Park where lot of prep was going on for the first home game the following Tuesday. Then a quick return to The Cheesecake Factory for a take-out lunch of choc chip cookie dough cheesecake. Addicted? Moi? I dont know what you mean!!! [:w]
Back in the car and over to Faneuil Hall Market Place, which did have lots of great eateries but had just troughed on cheesecake. Some interesting shops and tourist tat plus the replica Cheers bar which was naff. The best was a grockel shop called Best of Boston which had this whole rack of rubber ducks with peoples names on. Couldnt find a Lewis though did see a few other V-Flyers names. Hey maybe we should add them to the V-Flyer merchandise...personalised Lewi? And a black one free at 500 posts?! Hmm, too much thought and planning going into that me thinks: get back in the gator pit and make it snappy!!
Then after this, drove to the real Cheers bar and followed this with dinner at Legal Seafoods. It had to be the Boston baked scrod which was very tasty.
Sunday
Breakfast at Azure restaurant in the hotel (through laziness!) and it was ok apart from sausages tasting like Clorox. Go figure! [?] Drove down to Plymouth and saw the rock that apparently the pilgrims touched on getting ashore from the Mayflower. Though its suspected they had lived in the area weeks before someone decided it was Plymouth rock, and pulled it out of the sea, carved 1620 in it and then built some natty Greek-style temple to stick it in [:?]. Well you can see just what I think of American history by one of the pics I posted!
Took the scenic route back up to Boston and saw some of the real America with like real twisty roads and stuff! Returned to Faneuil Market Place to take advantage of the food court. That of course included a Smore which was a good 4 inches square and cost $5. Tasted a bit like a Wagon Wheel really and was far outdone by the same size chocolate caramel square. That thing weighed a ton but was a veritable sweet treat. Dare I say that was followed by $20 spent on Lindor truffles before heading for the airport?!
Return TR to follow.
