Today was our last exam and also our wings day! I just wanted to push my own damn drinks trolley already haha! After a very intensive, stressful but rewarding (in the sense I got to practice pushing my trolley!)  6 weeks of lectures, practical drills and exams its finally the end of the course. We are all physically exhausted, most nights Iv been revising for hours making sure I know my stuff and its served me well as iv passed all 20 exams! Our last exam was a 60quesion paper on Monarch from the little details as to who motions our release from our crewseats after take off to who needs a landing card when entering the UK. The whole group passed so we were all really relieved and even more excited to start our flying duties next week as Monarch Airlines cabin crew, the forefront of the Companys image as the 'low fare airline that cares' and believe me we do care!

So as we finally begin our careers its great to take a big breather and relax for the first time in 6 weeks as we sure have deserved it, anyone who thinks cabin crew are just 'trolley dollys'  you could not be more wrong as we are actually just called 'dollys' haha! Im now trained on the Boeing 757, Airbus A300, Airbus A320/321, Im also trained in first aid (something id never ever done before the course!) and trained in pushing my beloved trolley - holder of beverages and snacks :) and Iv been fortunate that I have made some wonderful friends from our group!

The base manager for Monarch at Gatwick conducted our wings ceremony, there were all 14 of us along with our family members and friends, my parents came and I got some great photos, waiting for my parents to email them to me so i can upload! My mum was nearly crying to the base manager saying she worries about me and that im not eating properly i was so embarrassed you can always count on your parents to embarrass you! After the ceremony we had champagne and food! I cant actually believe that im finished!

Awaiting me is an exciting but hard journey ahead. I have a great roster this month - Spain, Balearics, Canaries, Portugal, Turkey, Greece, Ireland, although I must admit im a bit nervous about the late Ibiza flights I have coming up! My first flight is Tuesday, i'll let y'all know how it goes! Wish me luck! I also had my appraisal session one on one with one of the instructors, we all had to have one, i was expecting them to say 'ooh he talks way too much' and stuff like that but it was great, he said im 'enthusiastic, i interact very well and make friends easily and im a popular member of our group, iv got a great smile and a very friendly lively personality and will do an excellent job for Monarch'

Like the Celine Dion song 'Im Alive' - 'I get wings to fly, i feel that im alive!'

 After being away from home for over 6 weeks it'd given me time to think about what I really wanted to do, some many times Iv met people who always say 'i wish id done this' or 'i wish i hadnt waited so late' so I made it my mission to make sure I go get my dreams, im not going to sit around and wait for it to happen so watch out world Daniel's coming! I applied to be cabin crew for several airlines, Monarch sends me an application form and I spend my day off from work filling it all out and send it back that evening, its a Thursday. Monday at work I receive a phone call offering me an interview on Saturday! omg im so excited! So  the Saturday I get up at 6.30am and Mum drives me to Gatwick airport and quickly find my interview place, theres 10 other candidates there, they all seem friendly, one girl is a bit strange, shes from London but was born in Africa and every 2 minutes asks me if I watch Eastenders.. haha

So they split us up into 2 groups and I have to have my interview first out of everyone! doh! it goes ok i think although im shaking a little from nerves. I curse myself for forgetting some key info about the company. After we have all had our interviews we all have a break and then regroup and have a test, which i know iv done well on as id researched a lot and then we have another interview where i felt i really excelled, the 2 interviewers were so nice and i made them laugh several times i seriously kept apologising for making them laugh which made them laugh even more haha, maintained eye contact, smiled lots, had good posture and expressed my enthusiasm. The day finishes about 4pm, i get a National Express to London Victoria and get the coach back  to Dover late... im quietly confident :o

The Perfect End To A Great Trip With Photos On The Airplane Engine

so today was our first day as IC6 C/Crew with Monarch Airlines. It was so exciting to meet everyone, they all seem to be very friendly. There are 15 people in our group, we just go through lots of security and ID stuff and get a chance to talk to everyone and make new friends! We start properly on Monday with safety procedures so we have Saturday and Sunday off woo hoo!

We flew to Gatwick with British Airways - I fell asleep five minutes after take off and didn't wake up until 5 minutes after landing, missing a near runway collision involving our plane and a LoganAir jet in the process which led to our plane having to pull up sharply just before landing and circle the airport again - and after a VERY brief wait, were on our way to W.A. Mozart International Airport, Salzburg. Quelle Surprise...I fell asleep for most of the flight again!

Well we made that long trip, and of course they packed the plane to the hilt after the orginal plane had some mechanical trouble so they gave us another one. Joy, Joy, a translant after a mechanical issue.

They arrived to Gatwick South terminal and we stayed in Travelodge in West Thurrock M25 which was 42 miles away from the airport.

The fee for the tunnel on a way from the airport to the hotel on A282 was £1.

Address of the hotel:

Allie and I hacn't seen each other for years.  Literally, years. I'd been in the US, she'd been busy, etc.  We met at the airport, and started catching up.  Then BA announced a three hour delay.  Normally, that would have sucked.  But today - three extra hours to catch up!

What made it better, was that BA officially granted us all a £7 credit at the cafe.  But they didn't tell the cafe, and it was three in the afternoon and they had run out of everything.  To stop all the business men shouting and getting angry, the cafe staff gave up counting what we spent, and didn't care what we spent it on.  Three mini bottles of wine, two packets of crisps, and several cakes later, Allie and I had had a brilliant time.  Best delay ever! It also ties up neatly with my dad's flying advice, which is that you should never be on a plane drunk, but unless you have to drive at the other end, you should never be entirely sober either. 

This meant that we got to Madrid very late.  In any other country, this would mean that we went to bed hungry, but in Madrid, there were plenty of places open, and we ate in one called VIPS.  The guide books are very rude about it.  Ignore them.  It's full of locals, the food was good, and fast, and tasted good, and it's open till silly o'clock.  It was great.

Ive was to late for my flight to MNL so im stuck here at Gatwick.. Managed to change flight to Heatrow ,but i have to get a VISA in Qatar since my layover is more than 8hours.. And if thats wherent enough i cannot get a ticket if i dont have a valid way OUT of the country.. At least thats what the girl behind the counter says.. So i had to book an fligh to Hong Kong to even be able to fly to Phil.. Im going to refund this (exept 50gpb) since my embassy clearly stated that i didnt need any things like this..

GRR!!! Why does these things happen? The Gatwick Express where late , the tube where late.. in total adding 30minutes traveltime which made me 10minutes to late..  WHY??? Well.. shit happens i guess.. But the 120GPD ticket to HK was not expected ,but i quess i have no other choice.. So untill now my late arrival have cost me around 250GBP or 500USD.. Shit happens

I swear today felt like the longest day of my life. This morning I arrived at London Heathrow after 9 hours of travelling. It didn't help that the day before I only got a couple hours of sleep and then worked 6 hours before leaving for the airport. Then, as usual, I didn't sleep on the flight. I flew over with three other friends who were going to this wedding in England. Once we arrived in London, we left each other. They all went went to Birmingham and I flew to Madrid to visit a friend of mine. Originally I booked a ticket to fly from Heathrow to Barajas but then found a better deal from Gatwick. Lets just say that I will never ever do that again. I left Heathrow and took the tube to Victoria (while dragging my bags behind me), then waited to take a train to Gatwick, arrived at Gatwick 4 hours before my flight departed. Once I checked, I thought that I could just go to the gate and wait.. but no! They don't announce European flights till 15 minutes before they start boarding. So I thought I had enough energy to stay awake, but boy was I wrong! After an hour of going to Starbucks, looking around duty free and checking my email, I was about to pass out from being so tired,, It hit me like a tonne of bricks. I felt like I couldn't even keep my eyes open.. and to make it worse... I couldn't find a seat near the screens that told me what gate I had to go to!! Finally, after a few painful hours of waiting, I got to my gate and boarded my British Airways flight to Madrid Barajas. Finally... some rest!

Apologies blog fans, internet access in the Mountains of Switzerland is expensive and hard to find.

Some of the highlights you should see if you are ever in the Gindelwald/Interlakken area of Switzerland are

- The walk from the First Cable car in Grindelwald to Bachalpse

- The Jungfraujoch (top of Europe is incredible even without the views). I imagine with them it would be awesome

- The Mannlichen Cable Car from Grund (longest in Europe) and look out for the Marmots

- Finally the Glacier Gorges for some incredible sights that will take your breath away.

In Switzerland you can never miss a train, unless you are late, they are so punctual, clean and the views are incredible, but remember the shopping after security at Geneva is rubbish

Well,
I thought I'd make a start, and now that I'm sitting here in the departure lounge I'm feeling so much. So many feelings yet I don't think I could describe how I felt if I tried. What I can say is that I'm looking forward, and whilst my mind keeps looking back, to the people I have just left behind, my minds eye is looking to the future, whatever it may hiold.

Llegamos a Gatwick sin novedad especial, y ya vimos que la mejor opcion para ir a Londres era en el tren rápido que nos dejaba, creo recordar, en la estacion Victoria. Luego alli cogimos un taxi, de esos negros tan conocidos, que caben perfectamente 5 personas y el equipaje !!es increible lo que cabe en esos vehiculos!! Por este aeropuerto de Gatwick operan la mayor parte de lineas de vuelos charters y de compañias no de bandera, y aunque no esta tan cerca como Heatrow, tampoco esta demasiado lejos, como media hora de traslado o poco mas.

This always happens to me, I try and be super organised and get out everything I need to take with me and it always seems way too much even once I have tried the trick of laying everything out and then halving it but I still seem to have way too much.

How can you plan for weather that could be sunny and hot, freezing cold (3500 metres) etc and all the other activities - swimming, walking, church - the list is endless.

In addition you have to make sure that your clothes are appropriate as I am accompanying the guides so nothing with rude slogans or inappropriate phrases!!

And then there are the sundries - first aid kit, book or seven, music, yoga cards, meditation book.

Well thats all for the planning stage, lets see how the trip goes

We were able to get flights out to Australia via UAE through Emirates.  As we'd heard good stories about them and the flight times for departure and arrival were perfect we couldn't pass it up.  As it wasn't an early morning flight which we seem to get, we had plenty of time to get everything sorted before walking out the door on time. 

Everything was going well on our way until we actually got off the train at Gatwick and Bec rolled her ankle as she stepped down onto the platform and pulled her bags off the train.  It didn't take too long before the swelling kicked in, but thankfully she's a trooper and put on a brave face for the walk to the check-in counter and then to board.