Michael and I very much enjoyed our temporary stint in first class yesterday --- not enough to want to pay for it, mind you, but we weren't about to complain about the automatic upgrade on United's dime. We got right to the front of the check-in line (though that didn't do us any good since the people in front of us were taking forever to sort out some passport snafu) and right to the front of the security line (that definitely did us some good because the regular line looked like Disneyworld on a Saturday in the summer). Immediately on boarding, we were served water --- in real glasses! You know, like, they were made out of glass. Like, we were able to drink water like human beings and not like those disposable peons in so-called "economy class." Wow.
A flight attendant took our food and drink orders as soon as they were up and about after takeoff. We ordered red wine, which again came in an actual glass, and was served with a little cup of toasted nuts.
Also, they came around and refilled our glasses about once every ten minutes the entire flight, so we were pretty well lit by the time we got to Chicago for our transfer. Now that is the only way to fly.
The only snag was that they didn't have any vegetarian food for us, because the upgrade request had been processed too late. The regular menu options were no good --- a toasted ham and cheese sandwiches or a salad with sliced chicken breast. I suppose I could have picked the ham off the cheese, or the chicken off the salad, but I really don't like doing that. Actually, I suppose if I really were getting into this first-class thing, I would have ordered one of the flight attendants to do it for me. Too late now. They served us the soup, a southwestern vegetable bisque, which they assured us half-heartedly was made with veggie broth. I'm not sure I quite believed it, but it certainly didn't taste like it had chicken broth in it, and I can almost always tell after nearly 10 years of being vegetarian. It was fairly tasty, and again the ability to eat with actual silverware off of porcelain, instead of plastic, went a long way towards making me feel relaxed and well-looked-after. It's the little things. Like the yummy warm chocolate cookie we got for dessert.
We were also treated to a beautiful view of the Rockies out the window. I suppose I could have seen from the back of the plane, but it wouldn't have felt quite as nice. Well, maybe it would have, but I was three sheets to the wind by this point and that seemed to help me appreciate it more.
Otherwise, it was a blessedly uneventful trip, and we were able to stay quite serene --- unlike everyone else in O'Hare who had been stranded due to the snowstorm or who had been dealing with irate stranded passengers. But we made our connection with time to spare, grabbed a flatbread vegetable pizza for dinner, and snoozed through the next leg to Philly.
And here we are, back at home, hopefully to wrap up the car saga tomorrow or the next day. Stay tuned!
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