January 08 Roster (Updated 28/01)

My roster for January:

02JAN DUBAI - BEIRUT - DUBAI (ARR 03JAN)
09JAN DUBAI - NEW YORK
10JAN NEW YORK - DUBAI (ARR 11JAN)
14JAN STANDBY 2300-0600
15JAN DUBAI - NEWCASTLE
16JAN NEWCASTLE - DUBAI (ARR 17JAN)
18JAN DUBAI - AHMEDABAD (INDIA) - DUBAI (ARR 19JAN)
22JAN AIRPORT STANDBY 0845-1215 (PRIORITY MELBOURNE/SYDNEY)
24JAN STANDBY 2300-1100
27JAN DUBAI - CAIRO - DUBAI (ARR 28JAN)

January is a month of reserve so I do not know what I am doing until the day before. My roster will be updated daily to show the changes.

Two Day Toronto

My roster this month has been fantastic. My second trip was to the Canadian city of Toronto. Thanks to Canadian law Emirates can only fly to Toronto 3 times a week. This means that we must stay for at least 2 days. On the night of our arrival I was joined by my purser and one other colleague and we had dinner in 360, the revolving restaurant at the top of the CN Tower. Both the food and the service were amazing, I'd recommend it to anyone. Our second day was filled by a guided tour to Niagra Falls. I've been twice before but I've never seen them covered in snow and it was also nice to visit with crew. We were given an hour's free time in the town so I decided it would be the perfect opportunity to cross the bridge to the USA. One of the other crew came with me and we managed to get a few nice photos from another view point. I also got the 'Niagra Falls' stamp in my passport. On the last day I spent my time shopping in the maze of stores under the city. Toronto was great but the flights are so busy that I think I'll wait for them to give me my next one rather than asking for it!
My first view of the Toronto skyline as we left the airport.
The CN Tower.
My fantastic rosemary chicken dinner that I had in the revolving restaurant at the top of the tower.

Looking back down on the city centre.
The tower has a glass floor. I was petrified but I still managed to run across the edge of it!
The view down. So scary!
Niagra-On-The-Lake.

There were amazing icicles everywhere.
The American falls.
The Canadian horseshoe falls.
You could hear the power of the water as it went over the falls.
I managed to catch this rainbow in all the mist.

Me and the falls.
My footprints in the fresh snow.
The Rainbow Bridge that takes you from Canada to the USA.
I thought this sign was great. :-)
The view from the bridge.

A closeup of the plaque that can be seen in the above picture.
The lamppost is right on the borderline between the two countries.
On the way back over the bridge to Canada. I bought the jacket on my Shanghai trip so cheaply but it was fantastic.
The Eaton Centre shopping mall.
Toronto city centre is linked by a massive system of underground tunnels full of shops. You don't even have to go outside!

Howdy Houston!

Upon checking my new roster I was ecstatic to find that I had been given a 3 day Houston, a trip that will only be available until the flight goes daily in January and the layover is cut down to 24 hours. As Houston is a brand new destination for the airline (service started on 3rd December) none of the crew had visited before. This was great as it meant everyone wanted to go out and see the sights. My crew was the third to stay at the hotel and to welcome us they upgraded everyone to suites on the executive floor! We even had access to the executive lounge with free canapes in the evening and breakfast in the morning. Our first day out was to the Space Center Houston. There was so much to see and do. I especially enjoyed the tram ride around the NASA complex and the visit to the real Mission Control. Our second day was spent at Galleria shopping mall, which is I'm told, the third largest in the USA. Houston was a great place to visit but I hope it won't be appearring on my roster again. I don't know if I could handle two 17 hours flights with only 24 hours rest in the middle!

On another note, I'd like to say hi and welcome to Emirates, to Ali (one of my blog readers) who I hear has just joined the company as cabin crew. Good luck with your training!
My first view of downtown Houston.
Our hotel was really nice.

The view from my room.
A downtown Houston street.
Having a steak in the hotel with the crew. L-R George (Lebanon), Me, Eri (Japan), Lucy (England), Edita (Slovakia), Jeremy (France) and Tamami (Japan).

The group at Space Center Houston. L-R Tamami, Eri, Lucy, Parinun (Thailand), Kaixiong (China), Jeremy, Linda (Indonesia), Edita, Celeste (South Africa), Me, George and First Officer Athanasios (Greece).
30 S. The building at NASA that houses Mission Control.
Inside Mission Control. The area that we are sat in is reserved for Astronaut's families on launch day.
A rocket mock-up.
The shuttle mock-up that the Astronauts train on.

I really liked this model of the Space Shuttle.
A mock-up of the International Space Station.
Spacemen.
The huge Christmas tree at the Galleria shopping mall.
Emirates advertising in Galleria Mall.

Lunch Or Lebanon?

When I called my friend and asked him if he wanted to meet up for lunch he said yes. The only thing I didn't realise is that we'd be eating it on a flight to Lebanon. Pierre was due to go home to Lebanon for a week's leave when I rang him, and as I had a few days off we decided that it might be fun for me to go too. His family were so welcoming, and even though his mum didn't speak much english she always made sure I'd had enough to eat! Pierre took me to all the must see places. I especially enjoyed our visit to the underground caves. Now it's my turn to take him home, but does that mean Australia or England!?
Me and Pierre on a desert safari earlier this year. Had to use this photo as I got none of him in Lebanon!
On the highway heading for Pierre's house.
Me standing with Beirut in the background.
Pierre's house.

The scenery in Lebanon was so beautiful.
Knowing I hate heights, Pierre though it would be funny to make me climb up some old ruins. It was not.
I'm smiling because I'm at the top but you can also see me thinking 'Now how do I get back down!?'.
Pierre tought me how to hold and shoot a gun.

On the cable cars to the top of the mountain next to Pierre's home town, Jounieh.
Me looking worried on the way back down. Did I mention that I hate heights?
Jounieh from the top.
On the left you can see one of the policemen near the signpost. They all carry machine guns!
If you look closely at the building you can see all the bullet holes where it was shot at during the last war.