Cloud Nine

Broadmeadow station provided entertainment while we waited for the train, with three police officers arresting a drug dealer who had booked an XPT seat using his real name. We know this detail due to a stealthy but casual saunter to the action end of the platform by one Josh Starrett. The train leg went smoothly other than a potential station mishap where the group exited the train at Asquith and quickly piled back on again till we reached Hornsby. To Josh’s great disappointment, we did not have 9 separate limousines to pick us up, and arrived at the airport courtesy of a couple of lowly Mercedes/Audi mini vans and two shiny black sedans. The Emirates Lounge  provided a good selection of dinner food and the open bar was a hit with our group but it was late and some of us (mainly me) were sleepy. 

It was really fun getting on the plane and watching everyone discover the business class setup. Moet, pyjamas (“we’ve joined a cult”) and his&hers amenities bags (“Mecca party bags”) were all a hit. Campbell also discovered that we can telephone each other from the in-seat phones. Our party of nine took up about half of the section, and I suspect we MAY have been a bit noisy, as some poor guy sandwiched between our rows asked for earplugs. I took advantage of my favourite part of luxury travel, the lay-flat bed, and went to sleep as soon as we took off. We all managed some sleep, and had various catch-ups and chats in the onboard bar area over the  next 14 hours.

After breakfast, the flight crew gathered our group behind the bar for a photo (sans Flynn who was asleep and Eve who was locked in by her breakfast tray). We assumed it was a nice gesture to celebrate our group holiday but in a strange lost in translation moment they then gave me a decorated dessert plate with “happy anniversary” written on it, a signed card from all the flight crew and two glasses of champagne. We had the giggles but ran with it. 

Once in Dubai we embarked on a grand tour of the A, the B and the C Emirates lounges, due to both our deficiency in navigation and to a delayed connection in Dubai. The Rome flight has a lot of nuns on it - sandals with socks abound. When we finally boarded it was a treat to swan past the crowds to the good seats upstairs- lucky they were comfortable as we then sat on the tarmac for an hour. Delays aside, the flight crew was delightful, the service good and we had some hilarious group games of trivia on the entertainment system. Shout out to Cam with two wins, Bene with the highest score win and me for winning one despite the name shenanigans (see how many Annas with various spellings are on the scoreboard…) We landed in Rome completely exhausted but upbeat. Our little group has bonded nicely over the past 24 hours and we are ready to explore Italy together.