Singapore Air...JFK to FRA

Brian and I are so used to domestic flights that after our healthy salad in the international terminal and our celebratory drinks (for arriving to JFK with just enough time to spare) we packed one of our carry ons full of snacks in the unlikely event of international airline famine. Granola bars, cinnamon coated almonds, Nutella, peach rings (of course) and chocolate were just some of the items packed in our personal stash...after all, we had a 7+ hour flight immediately followed a 13+ international flight ahead of us. Then we boarded and after immediately receiving hot towels to wash up with (we recommend USAir begin instituting this practice immediately) and menus for the next 20 hours in the air:




we realized the snack bag was completely unnecessary! Singapore Air flight attendants had really cool outfits (I totally want one) and were working their butts off! It seemed that they were serving drinks or food, handing out headphones, or another round of drinks consistently. I requested that Brian order me vegetarian meals and for this leg he chose "Indian vegetarian" which was a delicious tiffin complete with nann, potato and vegetable curry, rice, mini samosa and rice pudding with crushed pistachios. Brian's American meal was also pretty good- even had a tiny wedge of Brie. The fluorescent yellow drink in the photo above is actually a dose of Airborne- the effervescent vitamin/mineral immune boosting supplement for travelers (creatively constructed by a teacher). Brian was too weirded out with the bubbles so suggested instead that we design a controlled experiment to see how effective it is- I'll be the experiment group and he'll be the control. We'll see if either of us gets sick and analyze the effectiveness. Check back for full results and discussion at the conclusion of out trip :)
We each got our own pillow, blanket, and complimentary socks (??) and toothbrush/toothpaste...plus tons of movies to choose from. I watched Les Miserables (and successfully resisted the urge to belt out each and every song) while Brian chose to make the most of this time by editing pictures:




Can't say we got much sleep but we certainly can't complain about the service...Brian even went so far as to say it was by far the "best international flight" he's ever been on! Which does say a lot coming from him :)
In the morning we had freshly percolated coffee which was actually half descent for airline coffee. As we prepared for landing the flight attendants announced that Lufthansa airlines had gone on strike and that all connections were canceled:




Thank God they were too expensive for our taste and we ended up on Singapore Air! With 2.5 hours to kill in FRA (Frankfurt Germany) we browsed international terminal B (which is like a ghost town due to the Lufthansa strike) and relaxed in a space age airport lounge with lovely leather recliners. Hopefully we don't get too comfy and miss our connection to Singapore! Just about 1/3 of the way to Malaysia...so far, spirits still high :)
- Posted from abroad using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:Flughafen Frankfurt am Main,Frankfurt,Germany

Golden Gnome Awards

Had to squeeze in a quick talent show before we left...

Here I am as Stevie Nicks during our first (and best) song performance of the evening:
Landslide

Special thanks to Dan Reinherz and all my family and friends who supported me on this silly venture :) I can't wait to showcase our Golden Gnome on our new front lawn!

Location:Swarthmore, PA

So Indonesia morphs into Malaysia...

So we originally planned to go to Indonesia...to see the orangutans, hike through the jungle, ride in the tuk-tuks, learn to cook Indonesian cuisine and explore the beaches of Bali. However, as the planning process ensued, we soon realized that flights were far more expensive than we anticipated and that we'd need 3 to 4 weeks in order to squeeze everything in! After much consideration we switched gears to Malaysia..."the land beneath the wind":

Peninsular Malaysia is situated just above and part of it (Borneo) is adjacent to Kalimantan Indonesia but overall was easier to get to (although still 25+ hours of travel) and once there, seemed easier to travel from place to place (think planes instead of open air jeeps over rough terrain). Also, there was some better choice of accommodations -no camping on a river boat for us!- after all it is our honeymoon!

So we're still planning on seeing the orangutans (yay!), hiking through the jungle, and riding in tuk-tuks (or the Malaysian equivalent of a tuk-tuk). But the cooking class will have to be Malaysian (which we really don't mind)...and instead of exploring the beaches of Bali, we'll be exploring the beaches of Lankayan...a tiny little speck of an island in the Sulu Sea. It is shaped like a 'jewel' and is known for it's pristine barrier reefs, excellent diving and nesting sea turtles. Oh yeah, and the private beach front bungalows. So yes, it's all a little off the beaten path but then again it's us we're talking about here :)

Our next adventure starts tomorrow night from JFK...stay tuned!

Wedding Pics are Here!

Wedding Photos

Use Allison's new last name as the password :) Enjoy!

Sneak Peek of Wedding Photos

Our photographer put together a compilation of his favorite photos from our wedding day here:

Jim Harris- Garfinkel Wedding Photos at the Old Mill


Enjoy!

Stay Tuned for April 2013...

Indonesia here we come!

Our "real" honeymoon will be in April 2013 
when the Indonesian rainy season is over...

We are thrilled to be planning such an exciting adventure 
for our first trip abroad as husband and wife!

HoneyFund Registry

How could Brian not fall for me after this??

Thanks to my good friend Hadas Kuznits, the night we met is best captured in the following video...


Video of "Allison Shoops"


if you weren't there, hopefully this will help make you feel like you were :)