Round The World and other travel

Flight Log 9: LH499

Mexico City (MEX) - Frankfurt (FRA)

Boarding had started very early and for a while it seemed as though nothing much was happening on board, even though the nose cone of the 747 filled quickly, with the sole exception of empty 1C. I was content to re-familiarise myself with the 'Captain Kirk seat', which had become such a favourite on the long Singapore - Frankfurt route six months previously. Exactly fifteen minutes prior to the scheduled departure time - surely too precise to be a coincidence - the pre-departure drinks were finally served. And just like on that SIN-FRA flight, there was once again a touch of local colour, the choice consisting of Champagne, orange juice or a Margarita. I couldn't resist trying Lufty's take on the latter and found it to be perfectly acceptable.

The very young child in 2K decided to have a noisy and tearful outburst at this point and I sincerely hoped that she would settle down for the night once we got going. A welcome announcement from the flight deck gave the expected flight time as 10hrs 15mins. The boarding complete announcement came two minutes before departure time and the safety video was shown at the gate, first in German and then Spanish with English subtitles. A further announcement at nine o'clock said that we had been ready to push back for the last ten minutes, however an Air France plane directly behind us was experiencing technical issues and was currently blocking our path. Two minutes later, however, we were on our way, but it took a further fourteen minutes to negotiate the taxi-ways and finally leave Mexico City behind. At this high-altitude airport, I thought it would be interesting to time the take-off roll for a Europe-bound 747: 48 seconds, for anyone who cares!

Shortly after take-off, I decided to watch The Tourist - another new movie for me during this current trip. As usual, cabin service started with hot towels as we headed first up the Gulf coast, then out across the water towards New Orleans. Drinks followed quickly and I enjoyed a couple of glasses of Champagne with the standard bag of roasted almonds. The dinner menu, by Star Chef Alfons Schuhbeck, was as follows:

DINNER		WINES
HORS D'OEUVRES		CHAMPAGNE
Terrine of beetroot and horseradish served with smoked salmon		"Fleur de Champagne", Duval-Leroy, France

Smoked duck with shiitake and vegetables, Japanese-style		WHITE WINE
		2009 Rheingau Riesling Spaetlese trocken, Weingueter Wegeler, Germany
Green asparagus salad with Bolzano sauce
		2009 Columbia Valley Chardonnay unoaked, Columbia-Crest, USA
ENTREES
Onion pot roast with spring vegetables and celery potato mash		RED WINE
		2007 Château Reysson, Cru Bourgeois, Haut-Medoc, France
Fried red snapper with tomato Escabeche sauce and gnocchi
		2007 Ribera del Duero "Prestigio", Corona di Castillo, Spain
Pumpkin and zucchini risotto with carrot & ginger sauce

CHEESE AND DESSERT
Roquefort and Chihuahua cheese with pecan nuts

Apple and pear tart with sabayon

Fresh fruit

I had the unusual beetroot and salmon combination as my starter, followed by the snapper and the pre-served cheese course, adhering to my usual practice of sticking with Champagne initially and then switching to, in this case, the Riesling. I declined the offer of dessert and finished off with a cup of tea. As my movie finished just around the time that I stopped eating, I waited a little while and then decided to get settled down for the night. Although I didn't nod off straight away, I did so before too long and managed to sleep quite soundly. When I eventually did wake up with some two and a half hours left to run, I knew immediately that I had slept well. Once again, the slight angle of the bed had not been an issue for me.

A quick check of the computerised map showed that we had taken a relatively southerly course across the Atlantic and would soon be clipping the southernmost tip of Ireland. I passed the time until the lights came on with 90 minutes to go, signalling that the second meal - designated as 'brunch' - was about to be served.

BRUNCH

Fruit salad

Bresaola meat, turkey breast ham, Manchego and Panela cheese

Scrambled eggs with veal sausage, Oaxaca cheese, fried beans and tomato Concassee sauce

Service recommenced with a round of hot towels and the offer of orange juice (which I took) or water. I had the heavily Mexican-influenced eggs option, which came complete with chorizo-style sausage and refried beans. I saved my selection of fruit until after the main course, not wanting to run the risk of my eggs getting cold. I selected a couple of croissants from the choice of bread available and, following that initial orange juice, switched to apple juice and coffee. As all this was going on, we were heading up the Bristol Channel to make landfall over England somewhere in the region of Bridgwater. We later passed close to London's Gatwick Airport before leaving the UK directly overhead Dover. There was a welcome extra round of drinks and I took the opportunity to get some more coffee inside me for the day ahead.

We ran into turbulence over Belgium, causing the seat belt signs to be switched on rather earlier than most people were expecting. I was startled when an announcement from the flight deck mentioned that the current temperature in Frankfurt was a very warm 29C. We touched down on 25L, the outermost of the two parallel runways, at 1443 local time. Despite having to wait for a Lufthansa A340 to take off and a United 777 to land before crossing the inner runway, we still made it to our gate just 11 minutes adrift from the schedule, which wasn't bad in the circumstances of the late departure from Mexico City. As I left the 747 after another successful flight, I pondered that my next time on board should see my return to the upper deck.