Travel tips #2: the return flight from Europe

[written on board DL0029 LHR --> ATL, 18 Feb. 2016]

The best and worst thing about the flight back from Europe is that it takes place in a permanent afternoon. You take off in the afternoon and somehow (i.e., flying west) it is still afternoon when you land. And yet, the return flight takes at least an hour longer because it goes against the jet stream. So the length of the flight is tiresome: I can't deny it. It's also not as neatly timed as the "overnight" flight to Europe that proceeds through departure, dinner, bedtime, and breakfast. Today I left Heathrow at 12:30 p.m. and will land in Atlanta at about 5:30 p.m. having flown for about 9 hours.  If you think that's weird, on some Asian routes that cross the date line, it's possible to arrive before you left!

I don't have such a good system for managing the return flight but here are my best tips so far:

-- Some people will tell you to try not to sleep at all. I'd say don't sleep through the whole flight, but don't worry about passing the time by taking a couple of naps, especially at the beginning of the flight when it's early morning at your destination. I'm planning to stay awake through the last couple hours of this flight and the shuttle ride home, then go to bed at my usual time.

-- 9 hours is 4 movies plus your naps, or 2 movies, naps, and a book. Bring a book. (I'm an English professor; did you think I wasn't going to say "Bring a book"?) Get a non-U.S. newspaper from your departure point or from the flight attendant. It also makes a good souvenir.

-- Don't drink alcohol; do drink water. Some airlines offer it around regularly. Drink all they give you. Some will leave the water & soft drinks out for passengers to help themselves. Help yourself. I also drink a lot of coffee on these flights. The dry air gives me a slight headache but water, coffee, and Tylenol keep it at bay. 

-- Eastbound beauty tips continue to apply. Moisturizer & lip balm till about an hour before landing, then clean face & do makeup. Brush your teeth whenever they start to feel unsavory. It's refreshing and gives you something to do.

-- Been thinking about this one since I wrote my last post, and I've decided: on long flights in general, wear comfortable shoes and then don't take them off. Your feet will swell so it's good to have shoes you can loosen, but I have had it happen that I've taken off my shoes & barely gotten them back on! 

All in all, the return flight is a tougher flying experience but an easier arrival experience. You're coming home to a familiar environment and hopefully you can ease back into your regular life rather than hitting the ground running as we do on trips. 

Finally, to all you Fitbit wearers out there, sorry. You're not getting your 10,000 steps today.

Francophile Turns Anglophile: Rage, Rage Against the Transatlantic Flight

The Francophile writes today from the opposite side of the Channel: Northampton University in the UK. I am here in my capacity as Director of International Programs to start the process of building study abroad, student exchange, and faculty exchange opportunities between NU students and MGA students. After leaving Atlanta at 8:00 EST last night, I arrived at Heathrow at 9:00 GMT this morning. Obviously I'm a little jet-lagged but trying to follow my own best advice: coffee up, power through, no naps! This trip is special for me as it's the first time I've traveled on university business rather than leading students or going to a conference. I'm on my own--which is fine, solo travel doesn't bother me*--and since I didn't know exactly what awaited me at the destination, I wanted to arrive looking and feeling a little better than I sometimes do after crossing the Atlantic. During the last hour of the flight (which seems to last a week) I started thinking about making a list of tips & tricks for flying to Europe and avoiding the sensation of having crawled there on one's face. Students sometimes ask me about the flight--how to avoid being scared/nervous/crippled by jet lag--so here are my best ideas based on very recent experience (i.e., I got off the plane only about 5 hours ago).

• A 7- to 8-hour transatlantic flight has a rhythm to it almost like the flight attendants are following a script. You'll be more comfortable if you know what's coming:
1. Boarding: take your seat, stow your carry-on(s), get out things you're going to use so that you're not constantly rooting around in your bag. If your flight isn't full, claim two or three seats (if you can) to stretch out and sleep or at least avoid "manspreading" by your seatmates.**
2. Snacks & drinks: as soon as the flight crosses the 10,000 foot threshhold, the flight attendants will give everybody hot towels to wipe their hands with (even though these are paper towels, not real ones, it's pleasant), then serve a drink and a snack such as pretzels or peanuts. Alcoholic drinks are usually free of charge on international flights but I hew to the wisdom of avoiding alcohol when flying. It's too dehydrating and the altitude may cause the alcohol to affect you differently.
3. Meal service: This item is part 3 of the script but it actually requires you to take action before the day of your flight. Here goes: Order a specialty meal. I became a vegetarian in October so I ordered a vegetarian meal. The conventional wisdom seems to be true: the specialized meals are better than the standard ones. Equally important, they distribute the specialized meals first, so you never have to be the last person waiting to be served dinner as the meal cart starts waaaaaay at the other end of the plane. (If you've changed seats per #1 above, just make sure the flight attendant can find you to give you your meal.)
4. Sleepy time: After dinner is cleared away, the flight attendants will turn down the cabin lights and everyone will (hopefully) settle in for a few hours' sleep. Resist the urge to watch 3 movies in a row. If you can manage to sleep from the moment the lights go down to the moment they're turned back on again for the morning snack, you'll get 4-5 hours of rest and feel, frankly, a LOT sharper than I do right now. (I slept about 2.5 hours and I feel pleasant but not very smart.)
5. Morning snack: About 90 minutes before landing, the lights come on and the attendants serve a snack/light breakfast along with coffee/tea/juice. You're almost there!
• To make the most of the experience outlined above:
• Hydrate, hydrate, hydrate. If you're awake, you should be drinking some water. 8 ounces per hour is a good guideline that I've heard.
• Use the earplugs and eye mask the airline (hopefully) provides, or bring your own. The sensory deprivation aids sleep.
• Women and other wearers of cosmetics, watch some YouTube videos of "in-flight beauty routines" and create your own system. On this flight I took my make-up off once the plane was in the air, put on moisturizer, kept reapplying lip balm & hand cream, and then did fresh makeup before landing. (Michelle Phan does about 15 more steps than that.) The passport control staff can't possibly care but it at least makes me feel better to know I'm not entering a foreign country looking like a smudgy greaseball.
• Forget what time it is at home. No need to think about that unless you're calling home. Reset your watch or phone to the time at your destination.
• Corollary to the above: when the lights come on near the end of the flight, it's morning whether you like it or not. Get ready to tough it out and...
• NO NAPS. This rule is my most powerful anti-jet-lag trick. I didn't sleep in the cab on the way here from Heathrow; I'm definitely not going to lie down this afternoon. If I go to bed around 8:00 tonight I will sleep like a rock and wake up on UK time tomorrow with very little trouble. 

So those are my best transatlantic flight survival tips. Tune in next time to learn more about Northampton U., my new friends/colleagues here, and maybe some Ways to Tell You're In England.

*Except that I miss Daniel!
**If you are a man and you don't know what "manspreading" is, hie thee to the nearest Google. Women will thank you.

Excavating London

Now back to base (well, London base) after another great day touring around with Annabel. We went by bus to the City with our first stop in Spitalfields to see the medieval charnel house recently excavated there. No bones, but foundation, walls, etc. that you could walk right into through an unassuming grey basement entrance. English Heritage employees were on hand to explain the site's history: the charnel house was probably built by a bishop's wealthy patron in the period of famine after the Little Ice Age and before the Black Plague (i.e., early 14th century). At the time it was near the 12th-century St. Mary's priory and hospital (contraction of "hospital" is where the first part of "Spitalfields" comes from) and stored remains from the churchyard so that graves could be re-used. The archaeologists found many bodies but presumably they are stored/catalogued elsewhere. It was amazing to see something so old and exciting to learn about it. 

On the way to Spitalfields we passed through Southwark and Annabel pointed out a tavern called the George that is mentioned in Dickens, was known to Shakespeare, and is now a National Trust historic building. I proposed that we return there for lunch, which we duly did, and enjoyed it muchly. Annabel had a burger and a pint of Perroni and I had fish and chips (how could I not?) with a pint of cider. We walked through Borough Market glad we'd eaten, because it is all upmarket local foodstuffs and we'd have gone broke buying ourselves Turkish olives and fancy cheese if we'd been hungry. 

Then we continued on through Southwark (do not ask me to say it out loud) to what turned out to be another cool archeological site, the Elizabethan-era Rose Theatre where Marlowe became famous and Shakespeare got his start. The Rose fell out of favor as other theatres were built; its owner let the lease expire and the theatre was gradually demolished so that the timbers could be re-used. Other buildings grew up around/over it till 1989 when its remains, preserved by its marshy location on land "reclaimed" from the Thames, were excavated. The site has had to be re-covered with sand and water till it can be properly excavated and preserved, but you can see the outlines of the structure (smaller than one would imagine) and the stage. The site has been protected from future development but fundraising efforts are still under way to complete the necessary work. 

While at the Rose, I had a surprise celebrity encounter: Elizabeth McGovern, who plays Cora Crawley (Countess of Grantham) on Downton Abbey was there--not in any official capacity but with a couple of friends or family. I said "Are you who I think you are?" And she said "No," which is really the only polite answer. Handicapped by my inability to remember her last name EVER, I said "But are you Cora Crawley?" to which she (logically) said no again. I added, "Not all the time," and she smiled and said "Not all the time."  Was starstruck and did not want to make a fuss so I did not ask for a photo or even an autograph. Thus, dear readers, I must fall back on the travel writer's traditional claims of veracity and assure you that this really happened, though I have no proof!

We left the Rose and walked on till we came to the Globe and I took a few photos from the outside. I'm glad the Globe exists again so that people can have that experience but at the same time it will never really be the same. My question all weekend has been "Why does London feel so different from Paris?" and I think one reason is that London is always aggressively modernizing and changing--often because it has to, like after the Great Fire and again after WWII. The Globe pops up between sleek modern buildings; the Monument (commemorating the Great Fire) looks squeezed among office towers. It's exciting in a whole different way, as if all of London's history is coming at you at once. 

We walked all the way down the South Bank to the London Eye as the clouds were breaking up and visitors were thronging around some kind of festival. I thought I wanted to ride the London Eye but just seeing it up close was exciting. Annabel says it is beautiful to ride at night but slightly less gratifying during the day. I also got some great views looking across and down the Thames though I think I missed my best chance to photograph Tower Bridge. Still haven't been to the Tower of London but given its longevity so far I expect it will still be in operation when I get around to it. 

So it was another great day sightseeing and history-learning. We were glad to get back here and sit down with a cup of tea. (There really is something to the whole "afternoon tea" tradition!) Tomorrow, back to Paris and I will hopefully have time to do a big catch-up photo post. À bientôt!

The opposite of "touristique"

For dinner last night Annabel, Robert, and I went to Brixton Market. They live in Brixton, a diverse section of London that apparently has not always been a peaceful place to live but that has become fashionable in recent years. Brixton Market is "famous" according to Wikipedia and was voted the best local market in England (or some such) last year, but it is the opposite of a tourist destination. The market space looks very ordinary, kind of like the flea market on Eisenhower Pkwy. for those of you that know Macon. You would expect to buy cheap phone cases and flip-flops there. But when we arrived last night it was full of young hipsters, music playing, and a dozen or so (is it possible?) small restaurants of every description: Japanese, Mexican, barbecue (American-style BBQ in London!), burgers, Italian, Thai, etc. 

The one we finally chose--partly because it was unencumbered by a giant queue--was Colombian, and a good choice it was. Great-looking meat dishes but I got a vegetarian plate and thus got to try all the side items: beans, rice, cassava, plantain, and cornbread. It was delicious! We each drank a Colombian beer (also good) and then went to the gelateria opposite the restaurant for our dessert. Gelato is spoiling me for regular ice cream (though I haven't tried the famous Berthillon yet). It is so yummy, somehow rich without being heavy. I had mint chocolate chip (my favorite since forever), Annabel had salted caramel, and Robert had coffee. 

We ate them while walking back to the bus stop and then consulted Annabel's London Transport app to see which bus to take. I have fallen in with public transit nerds/trainspotters here which is great since I am a would-be transit nerd myself.   

Today we will see the City of London a bit--Annabel says London has two centers, Westminster (where we were yesterday) and the City. And we might go to the Lambeth Country Show which is a county fair-like event. Or we might go to a medieval charnel house in Spitalfields. But right now I have to get in the shower as an all-important first step. 

London Calling

Yesterday afternoon following an excellent Eurostar experience I arrived at St. Pancras station in London and met my very own Native Tour Guide, Annabel! (See "Annabel's Travel Blog" over there in the sidebar? You should read that blog. Also her recipe blog and her sermons. Multi-talented, that Annabel.) We have known each other online for probably 10 years but this was our first face-to-face meeting and she and her husband Robert have been kind enough to let me stay at their apartment this weekend and show me the sights. Today we took a bus tour around London. Protip: take a public bus instead of a tour bus; sit up top of a double-decker one for best photos. Prepare to swing around a random, unassuming corner and have the Houses of Parliament jump out in front of you. We got off our bus near St. Mary's Hospital where the media vans are all staked out awaiting the birth of the future monarch. No sign of Their Royal Highnesses; my hosts are betting that Kate will have the baby elsewhere and the St. Mary's thing is a decoy for the press. 

We made our way back to Russell Square (just as beautiful as Helene Hanff described it) to sit down for a few minutes before meeting Annabel & Robert's daughter Emily for lunch and a visit around University of London's Senate House, where she works. It is this imposing late-30s edifice; I told Annabel it looks like it houses a totalitarian government. Very elegant on the inside with somber wood-paneled rooms and paintings of past chancellors, e.g., the Queen Mother (wearing emeralds and an academic robe at the same time). From there we went on to Pret A Manger and picked out sandwiches for lunch. I chose cheddar & pickle, which was yummy. English "pickle" is vaguely like a sweet relish or chutney and it's a great sandwich topping. I think this was the first time I'd been into a Pret that wasn't in an airport. Their selection is great and the prices are good. 

Emily had to go back to work and we went on to the National Gallery. I promised myself I'd go and visit Hogarth's "Marriage A-La-Mode" series so we sought those out first. Thank you, Mr. Hogarth, for illustrating my book centuries before I wrote it. Jan Van Eyck's "The Arolfini Marriage" is there too, so we went to see that and took in a lot of good stuff along the way. It was nice to have specific targets instead of feeling like I had to See Everything, which is too tiring!

Outside the National Gallery is Trafalgar Square where I took some good (hopefully) pictures; then we got on the Tube to visit a sari shop that Annabel knew because I'd mentioned wanting another shalwar kameez. She wasn't sure she'd remembered its location correctly but it was just around the corner from the Tube, Reshma Sarees. Bad news: they are closing! Good news: everything was 50% off! I considered many outfits, tried on two, and settled on a red-and-black one that I think I will wear to faculty convocation. Could not convince Annabel to buy anything but I did my best. 

Finally we took the bus back here and we are all relaxing--and using the wifi--before heading out for a look around Brixton Market and dinner in one of the restaurants there. It's been a Grand Day Out (Wallace & Gromit style) for sure!