Half Way... ish

Bad news. Our plane's first class hadn't been upgraded yet. We had to slum it the entire way here on seats that were at LEAST three years old. Truly devastating. Once we had gotten over our shock and horror, we slipped into our complimentary pyjamas and socks, and nestled in. We slept most of the way and managed to wake ourselves up for breakfast which came at about 4:00 a.m. Vancouver time. We were a little bleary but happy to be arriving in London so we could head straight for the Concorde Lounge.

One of the perks of flying first class was getting ushered straight past the snarling line of bitchy travellers waiting to go through security. SO fantastic. Even more fantastic was taking a shower once we got here. The lounge has pretty much everything you would want and everything is complimentary... showers, beds to take a nap in, wine, and fine dining.

Once we were cleaned up a bit, we decided to have a meal in the dining room (I was trying to figure out if it was breakfast, lunch, or dinner but I really couldn't tell you), you know, because we were starving... or something.

We figured we might see some stars in the lounge considering we're in London. So far, no luck. Only Kirsten Dunst. A couple more hours and we're off to Cape Town. Can't wait!

Up, Up, and Away!

Woot! The day has finally come for us to leave! Ryan took all the luggage with him this morning in a cab to his office (which is just around the corner from the airport) and I met him there at about 2:30 p.m. this afternoon. We were packed but we weren't totally prepared to leave... especially my forehead. Momma needed a little 'touch up,' if you know what I mean. Hey, I've got to start practicing for my up coming 'trophy wife' role.

Once I was finished being juiced up with Botulinum Toxin, we were off to the airport via Tammy (One of Ry's assistants/our friend) and her newly acquired BEAST. Turns out when you drive one of these, you don't have to signal. Learn something new every day.

Once we got here we checked in and headed straight for the British Airways lounge in the International Terminal at YVR. Yes, I had to get a picture of the 'First' screen with Ry standing in front of it. We're milking every drop out of this flight.

Man, it feels SO good to be here. It's not just the free champagne and whiskey, either. The bliss of turning off the email and calendar functions on my iPhone was a treat in itself. The free champagne and whiskey doesn't hurt, either. More in London.

Getting Ready

It has been around 15 (LONG) months since our last vacation and we can't WAIT to leave for South Africa. Well, if we're being honest, we did escape to Bordessono in Yountville, CA (Napa Valley) for a weekend in Spring but I'm not counting that trip because I (Jess) had just finished cancer treatments. A really shitty couple of months balanced with a really great couple of days restores some sanity but doesn't constitute a vacation. Even though it's been such a wait, the trip kind of snuck up on us. We've been spending most of our time renovating the townhouse we bought in Whistler and slowly sorting wedding 'business' out. Things were kind of ho-hum until we got this email from British Airways... go ahead... click on it.

Wheeeee! You sure don't get reminders like this when you're flying coach! We saved our BA points for about 6 years and are flying all the way to Cape Town and back First Class. Not Business Class... FIRST. Just for fun, we went online to buy the tickets to see what they would cost. For the two round-trip tickets we would have had to shell out $47,000 (well, there would be no 'shelling' because there isn't $47K to spend). Can you believe that?! Seriously, what the hell? The best part is, BA has been in the process of renovating all of their First Class cabins. We found a blog that did a review of the new seats. Amazing. I'm sure we won't get the upgraded cabins on all of the legs but even one would be great.

We spent this past weekend at Walter's babysitter's house (Ryan's mom). We felt extremely guilty leaving him there but he's in the best of hands. In fact, Ry's mom sent a picture of him looking through her living room window to reassure us he's in heaven. Here's a picture of Walter 'hunting' through the window. Just to be clear, I promise this will be the last picture we post of him. Ryan has ordered his mother to send a new picture of Walter every day we're away. Yes, we're THOSE people.

The next few days will be spent buying last minute items like malaria pills, new underwear, and currency converters. We've been packing for awhile but so far we've just focused on the essentials... you know, like wedding socks and a bottle of 2001 Chateau Rauzan-Segla that we bought in Bordeaux, France which we plan on drinking the day of our wedding; we bought it there, where we were engaged there two years ago.

We are, however, making progress in the packing department. Our second bedroom has turned into 'The Packing Room' which is a good sign.

I also picked up our South African Rand (ZAR) this afternoon, too. I'm not sure if they gave me small bills but I feel like we're dealing with Monopoly money if they haven't. That, or we bought WAY too much. Can't say I've ever been handed banded wads of cash before.

Now all we need to do is get through 3 more days of work. Damn near impossible if you ask me.