I am on an early morning train from London to Leeds. And I forgot my iPhone earphones! On the bright side, this presents an opportunity for me to catch up on my travel blog.
In April I went on a business trip to America.
My company’s head office in a suburb of Minneapolis. And I was due to visit for a week.
I decided to fly with American Airlines. They didn’t have direct flights, but I was up for a stopover in Chicago. I figured that AA, being one of the flagship members of the oneworld alliance, would be a comfortable, full service airline just like Qantas or British Airways.
But I soon found out that AA is quite poor in comparison, and doesn’t even serve free alcohol on transatlantic flights!
I landed in Chicago in the late afternoon, and had a couple of hours to kill before my regional flight to Minneapolis. Once I got to Minneapolis, it was quite late. I was quite scared about having to get a rental car and drive it on the wrong (right) side of the road whilst jetlagged and tired, but it turned out OK. Driving on the other side of the road is always tricky but the wide roads of America and the courteous Midwest drivers made it alright.
I spent the next few days in the Minneapolis suburbs, going to work during the day and enjoying the glorious spring sunshine in the afternoons. It was the hottest April they had had in a long time, and a perfect way to thaw out after a long London winter.
On the Friday afternoon I left the office and headed straight to the airport, and flew back to Chicago for the weekend. It was going to be a rushed weekend, arriving in Chicago late Friday night, and having to fly back to London early Sunday morning.
But as luck would have it, the Icelandic ash cloud descended over northern Europe that Friday, so my flight back to London on the Sunday morning was cancelled.
I had a few extra days to enjoy Chicago – thank you ash cloud! Chicago itself was a lot nicer than I had expected. I had been to the States a few times before, and had always wanted to go to Chicago but never made it there as it was a bit out of the way of my travels.
I stayed on the Magnificent Mile, where everything was clean and sparkling, with interesting high rise architecture all around. I enjoyed going to “the Loop” (downtown), where the raised “El” trains rattled above the streets, just like in the movies.
I did a lot of shopping in the various stores, and look forward to sporting my Chicago Cubs jumper this autumn.
By Tuesday, flights back to England had not yet resumed, and the first flight I was able to get booked on was the next Sunday.
But what to do in Chicago all this time? Ought I go back to Minneapolis so I can at least do some work? My boss had a better idea. “Why don’t you go to New York and visit our office there?” Brilliant!
So on Tuesday I booked myself a flight to New York city. And my work managed to find me a flight back to London a day early, on Saturday. The only flighty available was premium economy with British Airways, so I saved myself a cattle class, teetotaller route back across the Atlantic with AA.
There’s a reason why people all around the world wear “I love NY” T-Shirts. New York City has a great vibe about it, a really unique atmosphere. Though sadly being my third time to NY, the excitement had worn off a little bit. Nevertheless, I had a great time. I managed to catch up with a friend from uni who was doing an internship. My New York colleagues were really accommodating, and took me out to various lunches near our Times Square location, and I enjoyed perfect April weather for a few days before having to head back to rainy London.
My trip was twice as long as it was meant to be, and it didn’t cost me anything as being on a business trip meant all my food and accommodation was paid for. Thank you ash cloud!
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