3 Nov 2011

FIRST TRIP IN AN AIRPLANE

Jenny Matlock
more participants at Jenny Matlock's Alphabet Thursday




I took an airplane for the first time in 1964. For a 21 year old European girl it was very early and rather unusual. But I worked in an American company where the salesmen took the airplanes like a bus, from Brussels to Italy, Germany, France etc and of course also to the States, but this was at that time a rather long flight, especially there was no direct flight from Brussels to New York and to other big cities it was even more complicated. So I thought what they can do I can do too.

My first flight took me to Sicily. For that I had to take an airplane from Brussels to Rome and from Rome I had to take a very small airplane with just 6 seats to Catania (Italy) because the airport was not yet equipped for big airplanes. The pilote of this little thing probably was in a hurry to fly home, anyway he flew as if the devil would chase him and the only passengers in this mini airplane was a business man and I. The pilote went through the clouds up and down and we had the feeling to fly in a shaker, it was a miracle that I didn't get sick while my flight companion was rather green in his face and tried hold on his seat. As I had no flight experience at all and am not especially an anxious person, I thought it was normal !

Today, looking back, I admire myself, I would never dare to do such a flight again. But in youth one is more reckless !



Now while you are reading this I am sitting in this kind of airplane which will take me in 4 hours to Hurghada at the Red Sea in Egypt. It will be the 10th time I go to the Red Sea. For the last five years at the same place before I was in Sharm el Sheik, on the other side. To me these are not holidays but a cure for my health. I get better over the winter since I spent 2 weeks doing nothing, besides reading, swimming, and eating and forget all worries. The warm weather is good for my old bones and when I come back I almost feel like a newborn baby, except that I don't remember how I felt when I entered this world.



I will continue to post on this blog like a diary of my holidays. Observing tourists can be fun !

18 comments:

  1. Sounds like perfect holiday. There are two kinds of holidays, the tour and the vacation. The tour is hectic and great for sight seeing but you need a rest when you get home. The vacation is getting away from it all and having a rest and doing very little. Both are good holidays and both do the soul good. Enjoy yourself. My first flights in 1963 were similar to yours. Bouncing around in a DC3 weaving in and out of mountains and storm clouds in New Guinea was considered normal then.

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  2. wow, sounds fabulous! enjoy your holiday and hope you come back rested and relaxed. purrs, Rio from Barcelona

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  3. I've only flown three times in all my years, the second two within this past year...and love it!!!

    Enjoy your time there and have fun watching people!

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  4. What a wonderful trip! I hope you enjoy yourself and find new places to explore.

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  5. you are doing the right thing Gattina . Good weather always helps in winter. You r right about airplanes .My husband took me up once in a small cesna And
    I was thinking we were going to die that day lol
    Its scary.

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  6. Have a nice holiday Gattina. I am dreaming of going somewhere warm again.

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  7. I'm glad you are able to visit warmer weather and recharge your batteries. The Red Sea sounds wonderful.

    =)

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  8. Well, your first airplane trip was long! Mine was short, from Amsterdam to Helsinki, but I was only 9 years old and I flew alone! My next flight was with my whole family at 12 from Luxembourg to New York. Enjoy your holiday in Egypt! Hadn't thought of that as a tourist destination since the Arab Spring revolution there... so you see, you are still a little reckless! LOL!

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  9. Hurghada is a wonderful place to recharge your batteries. Been there while diving the Red Sea. Enjoy!!

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  10. Enjoy it. I know how much you like the sunshine :)

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  11. My parents were much too protective for me to do something like that when young (they lived in Asia till they were in their forties), but I caught up later with big airplanes. You're a brave soul, Gattina!

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  12. I lovve traveling too.... Up above the world, great post for skywatch.... Happy TGIF! Hoping you can visit my skywatch post.

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  13. I hope you had a wonderful trip!

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  14. Yes, there are tours and then there are vacations. Then there is
    the trip. If I have to go on a trip, I am not very happy about it, because it is to some place that is neither relaxing or fun for me. Rod and I took our first vacation in many years this summer. Prior to that, we made nothing but trips for a long time. I prefer the vacation! Yours sounds wonderful!!!

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  15. Hello.
    What a wonderful way to beat the winter doldrums. I'm so jealous. You look very relaxed & that's a great color on you!

    Be safe & enjoy yourself. Can't wait to see more photos.

    Thanks for sharing.

    Autumn

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  16. I hope you have a lovely holiday and come back full of the joys of Spring :)

    (By the way, I have still never flown in an aeroplane! Though I have been up in a glider.)

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  17. The Red Sea sounds wonderful! My hubby and I like to go away for @ 10 days to somewhere warm in the Winter. It really doses restore! Have a fabulous vacation!

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  18. What a fun memory of that trip! You were really brave!

    I'm going to scroll ahead and see pictures from your vacay. I don't know if I've ever seen pictures of the red sea!

    Thanks for the fun stop today!

    I love going on these little trips with you.

    A+

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