A blog from Down Under. Yes, I’m writing this from Sydney, Australia (and before you ask yourself what in God’s name I am doing on a computer when I am in this gorgeous city and on holiday – the answer is: jet lag. It’s 5am and options are limited. It’s either whiling away time on the computer (I’ve finished my book on the plane) or joining the Aussie dudes surfing at dawn. Not really in the mood to flirt with death in potentially shark infested waters, so here I am.

Taking this opportunity to say that I flew to Sydney (via Abu dhabi) with the new UAE airline Etihad and I can’t recommend it highly enough: loads of leg room, if you reclined your seat the bottom of the seat moved forward as well so you’d get an extra reclining inches, excellent service, good plane food, a massive selection of movies and other entertainment features to select at will, and everything was sparkling with “newness” (apparently it was only the third time our aircraft had actually been airborne.) Bar a rather annoying loud-mouthed passenger who kept me awake trying to chat up the stewardess, it was superb.

So next time you plan a long haul flight via Dubai or Abu Dhabi worth checking them out.

Chiara Priorelli, Publicity Manager