Travel today

In the lap of luxury, so the journey begins…

Remember

Remember the innovative days of Pan Am Airways approximately in 1920 until its demise in 1966. In those early days passengers would dress up for the flying experience that was a sparkling aluminum plane with windows and acess was possibly by a set of walk-up stairs.

The experience was enhanced with gourmet food served on porcelain plates, accompanied by cloth napkins, and cocktails were presented in crystal glasses. The interior of the plane offered spacious seating on couches or lounge chairs and offered a higher ratio of service personnel to clients.  The prices were relatively expensive, and it was pretty uncommon for many people to fly.

There was an occasion which remains in my memory of a trip I took with my father.  As the oldest daughter of 3, I was usually treated as the adult child, as my immigrant parents were not totally versed in English yet.

I was probably around 8 or 9 years old, and my dad and I flew on a Pan Am Boeing Clipper from Newark Airport to Detroit. We dressed up in our best clothes and sat on a couch that ran parallel to the window. I think the occasion was my father’s brother’s birth of a child but those details are a bit fuzzy.

Old ways

What I do remember is the excitement of being on a plane. We had walked directly through the entire airport to the gate and climbed the movable steps, with the stewardess helping us find our assigned seats. I wore a big, crinkly brown and black plaid skirt that my mother had sewn for me and a freshly ironed blouse. My dad wore a jacket, slacks, and a tie. We were scrubbed clean and dressed to the nines! I think we were served food but who could eat as you watched the scenery pass by below from the vista of 10,000 ft. I was fascinated by the scene.

The journey lasted maybe 2 hours but I think our world changed, perhaps it was by the air or the nature of the ride, because we definitely felt special as we were doing something that most people only dreamed of.

I don’t remember how my dad paid for this experience, as we were, in reality, very poor, but I remember how special we felt.

Today’s experience is so very different.  Air travel is a necessity if one wants to go long distances. Miami to Barcelona.  The only other alternative is a cruise taking a week or so and as most Americans only get 2 to 4 weeks off as vacation and most folks prefer to get to their selected vacation spot speedily.

Airports today are scenes of total chaos, people arriving and departing for destinations for business for vacations and also many retired folks traveling to explore the world. Lots of students and folks under 25.  Parents with newborn babies and parents who probably should have used a condom.

The scene today is one of people rushing around the airport, to catch a flight, poorly dressed people in sports gear and running shoes, lots of logos and no matter the age and or sex, lots of noise and commotion. The days are perfect examples of hurrying up and waiting.

Hurry up and …

Travelers come in a couple of different types, the ones that get to the airport 3 or 4 hours before their flights and those who just squeak by with minimum effort and time.  Which one are you?

At Miami airport today there were two canine companions, one was a St Bernard and the other was the largest golden setter I’ve ever seen. Both had harnesses that had written on them saying that they were working and do not pet. It was such a big surprise, all I could do was smile as their handlers were small people in stature. The St Bernard being almost as tall as the handler.

There were no cats in cages on this flight as this is very popular. Not sure why either, except that the population is very mobile. The sound of a cat’s displeasure has become de riguer like the whisper of the plane.

Thinking back to the Pan American Airways flights, it all seems so nostalgic, except of course the current altitude is higher and the speeds are faster but it still takes a day to get anywhere.

Pan Am Air

For personal reasons back in September we had to change all our travel plans and OMG most airlines are very helpful as are the hotels. Only lost money on a deposit on a hotel in Puerta Vallarta [ if anyone wants to use it in exchange for a bit of cash, let me know] and only one airline insisted on a travel credit. Most of the others, my money was refunded.

So I booked us from Barcelona to Miami, premium economy.  Services were good, as I ordered a special.meal and received it one way and not the other. Those wider seats are definitely worth the money on flights over 9 hours, but for me, these days flying is so much harder on my body. In the future anything more than 9 hours has to be broken down into a couple of flights. After all, I am retired and don’t need to get anywhere quickly.

At the age of 73, I am trying to learn to slow down, but am finding this a bit difficult. Learning to do nothing is a definite artform. Meditation helps as does walking and doing a bit of chair yoga for my health. The best teacher for sitting still is my partner, Maximo.  He’s lived such an experience-filled life, but he can sit for hours and watch movie on his telephone learning English.

Yes, flying is necessary.
But then so is love, tango and traveling.

We look to the future while building on the past adventures except now we will buy a van and start doing road trips when the temperatures climb to the 90s in Barcelona.

Ahh the road map that will be is our guide are the Tango festivals and milongas and general historical interest.

Places to go

I would like to visit Montenegro, Albania, Bulgaria and Romania. Countries that are part of the EU but do not use the euro currency as my economy is built on dollars.

We await spring as the holiday season has started, with all the lights and regalia that make the holiday celebrations what they are. The comraderie, the food and the drinks.

All images in this story are courtesy of various websites including Getty images, shuttercock and Pan Am Airways archives.

We will enjoy ourselves in our new found home of Barcelona.