Beattys Overseas

Merry Christmas! Our hostess & host and little angel, OliviaWe arrived in London on Saturday 22nd, to stay with our dear friends Vanessa & Jon again.  Our 'holiday season' has been so altered from any other "normal" year, that we've hardly notice it creep up on us, but here it is, and London was all decked out in garland and twinkle lights.   Jon & Vanessa's home is gorgeous year-round, but Vanessa has it dressed up for Christmas so beautifully that I felt that we were in a catalog photo shoot.  Plus, it's always a delight to spend Christmas with a child, and the Ford's 18 month-old Olivia definitely provided that magical feeling on Christmas Eve. 

Christmas Day had us packing upbruptly for our Southern Hemisphere travels, and putting out coats and scarves into suitcases to be send back home.  Thank goodness, too, we were bored of wearing the same coats and 2 sweaters everywhere we went (and I'm sure you're tired of seeing them in all our photos!). 
Our large BA plane - the captain wore a Santa hat!Our overnight flight to South Africa left London's Heathrow at 7:45pm, and with an 11-hour flight ahead of us, we were ready for the long haul.  The flightcrew on our jumbojet was chipper and friendly, wearing festive reindeer-ear headbands; the Captain wore a Santa hat.  Still newcomers to Business Class travel, and specifically to British Airways, we were thrilled when we were told that our seats were "upstairs" on the upper deck of the plane.  Our seats were in the front row of the Business section, which sat directly behind the cockpit.  Our flight attendant Neil told us that on Christmas, BA offers their staff the opportunity to fly their loved ones with them on their journey, so most of the others in our upstairs cabin were family members of crew - how special!  Even more special was the treatment we received from our flight attendants, Neil and Simon, two great chaps who took kindly to us and our round-the-world adventure.  They accommodated us with zeal and offered interesting chit-chat, despite having to work all night through some steady turbulence.  Their colleague Kathy provided us with a few recommendations for safari tours, which we're hoping to plan in early January.  Thanks to Neil for our special gift at the end of  the flight -- we loved meeting you and hope to keep in touch!

John and our main man, NeilOur seats, facing each other with lay-flat beds and individual entertainment systems, were cozy with a big comforter and feather pillow.  BA served South African wine and a traditional Christmas dinner, which we enjoyed together over our privacy divider.  John watched 2 movies, The Darjeeling Limited and The Last King of Scotland.  Whit enjoyed an oldie-but-goodie episode of Sex and the City and 1/2 of Sense & Sensibility.  Alas, sleep beckoned.  Our seats were so cozy and roomy enough that we each managed a near-full night's sleep.  Ahhhh.  And what an extra treat to discover that, upon landing in Johannesburg, it was 70degrees at 8:50 in the morning.  Wool coats be gone!!