Day 1
Cambridge to Milan, via Dubai
August 19, 2024
Kia ora katoa to our mokopuna and whanau,
This is our biggest adventure yet! Grandma, Koro and Buzzy Bee are leaving you all for 6 months. It is a big thing to think about, 6 months is a long time to be away from home and from everyone we see everyday. From here on it is just the two of us. To be honest, it is a thought that has daunted us both at times. But now that the time is here and we are on our way, excitement has taken hold.
As usual, there were lots of goodbyes. Grandma's goodbye to her horse, Indi, brought lots of tears. So did saying goodbye to granddaughters Sophie, Charlotte and Abigail. Uncle Lance stopped in on his way to physio to say farewell. Aunty Jude very kindly drove us up to the airport.
There was no stowing away for Buzzy Bee this time. He made it clear from the outset that he was coming with us and there would be no arguments. Buzzy Bee had his suitcase packed three weeks ago and has been waiting impatiently for the fun to start.
Buzzy Bee has also been busy planning and building our website. He has schooled himself on the use of various cameras and software, watched the YouTube videos, read the blogs. He now fancies himself as quite the little content creator.
Leg 1: Auckland to Dubai, 17 Hours
We flew on Emirates, flight EK449 from Auckland to Dubai. Every day 500-odd people board this flight. It takes 17 hours to fly to Dubai, making this flight one of the longest non-stop passenger flights currently operating anywhere in the world. This is yet another reminder of how isolated New Zealand is from the rest of the world.
Grandma had some interesting chats at the gate with other passengers. We asked about where they were all heading. Manchester. Madrid. So many people heading off on their own adventures, just like us.
We know how much of a cliche it is to include a picture of the plane, but we can't help ourselves. These Airbus A380's are just so huge. Perhaps they are not the prettiest aeroplane to look at, but their sheer size grabs your attention.
Just getting that many people on board and seated takes a while. We are always impressed by the patience of the cabin crew. Imagine the job of trying to get 500 people to the right seat, to put their bags away properly, quit their whining, sit down, shut up, and belt in.
Our flight had a few empty seats and we were offered the luxury of a whole row, four seats, to ourselves. It certainly gave us room to spread ourselves out. And it allowed a certain Mr. Bee to have a seat all to himself. Buzzy Bee was very pleased with himself. He put his seatbelt on and after smashing a couple of beers he rugged up and went to sleep.
Seventeen hours in a plane is a bloody long time. The Airbus A380 is a very comfortable plane and the service from Emirates was just beautiful. Despite the comfort and service, it was still a long, long time.
Grandma was fine, she dozed, watched movies, read and walked.
Buzzy Bee raw-dogged the whole trip, seventeen hours straight, ‘cos that’s the tough little bee he is.
But, Koro. Oh that Koro, he is such a big girl's blouse. Koro struggled with air sickness in the last four hours. As the plane was descending into Dubai, Koro planned how to make an emergency dash to the bathroom if he needed to. Somehow he managed to pull himself together.
Our plane departed from Auckland at 8:30 pm and spent the whole time flying through the darkness trying to keep ahead of the sun chasing behind us. The sun finally caught us up in Dubai. Daylight was breaking just as we were landing at 5:30 am.
Despite being one of the busiest airports in the world, Dubai was so easy to get around. Follow the signs, follow the rest of the passengers like a mob of sheep, and you easily find where you need to be. Then the waiting begins until it is time to board the next aeroplane.
We bought a bottle of water and a bottle of juice and paid the duty-free price of a lazy NZD$20. We stared in awe at glamourous shops selling every kind of perfume and fashion accessory you can imagine. All at duty-free prices just like our water was. We came across a shop that sold only M&M's, Miss Abigail's favourite. Buzzy Bee insisted on posing for an Insta-shot just for Abigail.
Leg 2: Dubai to Milan, 6 Hours
We did consider having a shower at Dubai airport. Then we learned that the only free showers in Dubai are in Terminal 3, a half-hour train ride from where we needed to be in Terminal 2 (how big is this place?!). There was a kiosk where you could pay for a shower (don't ask how much), but the men's shower was out of order. So we just stayed smelly.
We had a very pleasant surprise as we were preparing to board our plane. The passport reading machine printed out new boarding passes to replace the passes we'd been given in Auckland. We’d been allocated new seats - and a free upgrade to business class!
It was flash as. Not that either of us, well, especially Koro, remember much. Our flash seats could fold down flat into a little bed. Best of all it was a nice long bed. Koro had room to lie straight and get lots of sleep. Except for when we were eating. Emirates certainly don't let their passengers starve, By the time we landed in Milan Koro was feeling very much better.
Buzzy Bee had no time for sleeping. He thought Business Class was the very business for him. He intended to make the most of it. He spent his time knocking back the free champers and flirting outrageously with the cabin crew,
So here we are, in our apartment in Milan.
Milan is currently hot (about 30C) and humid. The overnight temperature doesn't get below 20C. Compared to the winter we left in Cambridge we are certainly not complaining.
Our apartment is lovely, in a great location that is close to the metro and tram lines. The neighbourhood we are staying in is called Isola. It is a bright and vibrant area that in recent years has been rejuvenated.
As always, we love to share our adventures with you. While these silly stories are written with our grandchildren in mind we hope everyone else finds them entertaining as well.
We've just read this story back to ourselves, and can't help but notice that all the pictures are of that damn bee. Is this what "Director of Content Creation" means? We'll have a serious talk with Signor Bee and try not to let it happen again,
Know that wherever we are, we are always thinking of you.
Love to you all from Grandma, Koro & Buzzy Bee.