My trip began with a train from Philadelphia’s 30th Street Station to Newark Airport in New Jersey. Once there I met my sister Katie and we began the adventure!

After passing through security we’d found our way to the departure lounge, but we still had almost two hours before boarding. When Katie put the trip together, she managed to leverage airline and credit card points to get us into Premium Economy on Virgin Atlantic. I had read on the website that if your were flying in Premium Economy, you could still gain access to the Virgin Atlantic Clubhouse for a moderate fee. Figuring free drinks and comfortable seats were better than waiting at the gate, we went for it. Some of the restrooms in the clubhouse even have showers – definitely something to keep in mind for those long flights.

Cocktails are complimentary on Virgin Atlantic – but in our part of the airplane they’re served in actual glasses. My dinner that night was a chicken tikka masala, and breakfast the following morning was an English breakfast of eggs, beans, sausage, biscuit, mushrooms and tomato. The food was absolutely wonderful! How often do you hear that about an airline anymore?

As we started to approach England, I snapped a picture of the sunrise over the North Atlantic.

We landed in Heathrow and transferred to British Airways for the flight to Belfast. The snacks were more conservative – but then again, it was only an hour long flight. The last picture in this gallery is of Katie peering at the Irish countryside as we make our approach. The adventure begins!!