Day 1 of our trek to Manila is complete. The day started out a little rough, requiring us to awake at 4 AM to catch our flight. I hadn’t slept very well, most likely because I was so eager to get going. Any crabbiness I had in me was washed away by the fabulous in-flight experience we had. It was our first time on Virgin America and I honestly have to say that it was the best airline I’ve ever been on (sorry Northwest). It even topped my experience on Singapore Air, which is supposed to be the Creme de la Creme of airlines! I was floored. Here’s what I enjoyed about it so much:
- In-flight Wifi (first time I’ve ever seen that on a flight)
- Leather seats with the most leg room I’ve ever had in coach (even Nick wasn’t complaining about leg room, which is unusual!)
- A superb in-flight entertainment system with video games, on-demand movies and 50+ TV stations (I watched 3 hours of America’s Next Top Model and got caught up on season 10)
- A touch-screen key pad that allowed you to order food and beverage via an electronic cart system. It then magically was brought to you on a tray by a flight attendant. No embarrassment over pressing the button and having it ding and telling them what you want. So slick!
- A Credit-card swiper for purchases in each console. No cash taken on this flight, so it doesn’t feel like you’re at the ball game. Just discreetly order your food and movies, swipe your card and presto, it shows up!
- Fabulously attentive, slight sassy attendants. They reminded me of Brits. Nick’s screen wasn’t working, so the attendant told him that he shouldn’t have broken it (with a little smirk). She then worked at getting it fixed for a half hour and gave him a freebie for the inconvenience.
- Delightful mood lighting changes throughout the flight, which was surprisingly calming. I enjoyed that the aircraft wasn’t start white. It felt very mod!
Honestly, you must check out this airline. Click HERE to learn more about some of the unique features they offer. After our arrival we hopped in a cab and after some fun conversation, learn that the driver’s daughter is a diplomat as well, only 1 class ahead of Nick. I was floored by how small the world is! What are the chances???
Our afternoon was spent with Nick’s good friend Kurt who lives nearby. We walked the town, picked up some great dinner and then split off from him to go our our night tour of Alcatraz. I’d been to Alcatraz before, but the night tour offered some cool additional programs. For example, they opened up the hospital wing for us to view and did a demonstration of the cell doors all closing at once. It’s such a fascinating part of history… we somehow managed to stay awake for our long day. Check out OUR SMUGMUG SITE to see pictures from the day!
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