StringGrrl sees the World

My new friend at the hotel CitizenM  Eric selected the hotel for two reasons Close to the airport, walking distance to the terminal.  Easier to make the 8 AM flight It is pretty cool and not too expensive Eric wrote another post a while back making a review of the Hotel. Here is a link if you would like to see that previous post. http://stringgirl.blogspot.com/2012/08/citizenm-hotel-amsterdam-schiphol.html  This is an American made all electric car. AutoForm is used for this cars engineering also. More Houseboats The view from the Cockpit of a KLM Fokker 100 Jet Windy at the Airport right now

As seen on the WEB from: Creative REVIEW  and  clearly also EXPEDIA.co.uk this advertisement leaves me with a huge feeling of "now why didn't I think of that?" feeling.   Like the creator of the ad campaign, I too had noticed the FUK (Fukuoka, Japan) tag on others bags and had my little giggle. But never had given it enough thought to look at the directory of codes and piece together the clever phrases here. 

The sleeping berths of Yotel When traveling Trans-Atlantic or intra continental eventually you will be stranded in an airport for an interminable length of time. For folks traveling to US-Europe or US-India I have seen plenty of 6-10 hour layovers. Sure many non-travelers have mooned over the chance to slip out the city from the airport; however leaving the secure area to chance a train or taxi is to the jaded business traveler a risk not always worth the trouble. Often all i want is to rest without the restless concern over bags security, lack of privacy, and maybe even sleep soundly in relatively sanitary environs. StringGirl in the Yotel standard room FTW (for the win) is Yotel in the Amsterdam Schiphol Airport . Nestled in the secure area of lounge 2 above terminal D is the dutch interpretation of the "pod" hotels common in the far east. Much larger than a Japanese pod the Yotel rooms provide perhaps the most comfortable 7 square m...

As a frequent business travelers with "elite" status on a major carrier, we are wooed with ever more alluring bids for our business. For the longest time I had looked at such "perks" as empty and shallow ploys at getting my loyalty (read dollar) into the coffers of this airline or that. Customer service superstars from Delta However, recently I have seen the light. Elite status is nice; access to lounges, upgrades to business (on domestic flights mostly but that's a different topic), free bags, etc. The perk that has meant the most is getting to know some of the professionals that keep the airline running. Most recently this was reinforced for me when i recieved a call from my friendly neighborhood "Red Coat" (disclosure: I fly Delta) on a Sunday afternoon as I raced through Costco. He wanted to see if I could drop by the airport a speak to the other Delta service reps at DTW about my experiences as a Diamond Medallion member. Give my feedbac...

Comfy seating in a "living room" atmosphere Recently many Delta lounges have undergone significant investment DTW is not one of them; but that is not to say that it is not a decent lounge. Located in the center of the Macnamara terminal of Detroit the Delta Sky Club lounge sits atop a bustling hub of international travel. After clearing the porno-scanners you proceed down the escalators to the "A" terminal past the mall style food court, the Fox Skybox, Duty free, and a Detroit souvenir shop you find on the left the sliding glass entry to the Delta Sky Club which serves as the Skyteam Alliance partner lounge for thos international visitors who make the cut. (Gold medallion flying international or first class or Sky team elite plus visitors). Enter the lounge after getting past the "velvet rope" You get the expected "members only" inquisition as you enter, then proceed up the escaltors to the lounge. Today was more c...

If you like labyrinthine airports with long walks from hub to hub then Malpensa is for you. Milan Malpensa has two terminal buildings: terminal 1 handling much of the intercontinental traffic and terminal 2 with regional and smaller carriers. In terminal 1 StringGirl prepares to embark on her trip home from Varese. Without prior knowlwedge of the exact location of the lounge(s) we checked the SkyTeam site and found that there were several options available, specifically 2 listed should work. The Sky Team partner lounge for Air France is listed as being in Terminal 1 just after security and the duty free shops. This AM we arrive at the airport just after 5:00. The loung opens at 5:15. A long walk tells us that we have gone too far. However, signage did not. Until we risked a walk toward gates A24-39 did we find our first sign post for Air France. Inside the lounge a consistent appearance of the AirFrance lounge greets us. Semi-comfy pleatherette chairs with lit side tables...

Fly into Europe enough and chances are you will have a connection through AMS (Amsterdam Schiphol Airport). Set foot into the airport and prepare to be inundated with pleas to "SeeBuyFly", sign-up for Travel Credit Cards, a Casino, and even a visit to the Museum. For a breather you might consider the KLM Crown Lounge.  To enter the lounge you should be a SkyTeam Elite Plus member (that translates to Delta Gold Medallion or higher), if not you might still wander up the escalator/stairs between Terminal E and F as some of the better resting spots are up here on the second level (just outside the KLM lounge is a collection of Chaise Longue set before a couple of Projection Screens that show peaceful images all day long and a non-denominational meditation room. Inside the lounge (no problem as StringGirl has amassed 100,000 miles already this year) you get to see one the the largest Airline lounges ever. No Stats for you, but it stretches over the entire cor...