Brussels, Belgium: Brussels, Belgium (BRU) to Newark Liberty, Newark NJ (EWR)

CO61 21FEB08 Brussels International Airport, Brussels Belgium (BRU) to Newark Liberty International, Newark, NJ (EWR) 9:20a 11:40a 764 N67058

Flying Time: 8:17

As I boarded the plane, I was greeted by a flight attendant who directed me to my seat. I just had to wait a minute or so as there was a flight attendant in the galley doing some checks on the meals for the flight.

I joined my colleague who was already seated at the aisle of this 2-1-2 configured cabin with is 35 cloth seats with a decent recline. economy class has a 2-3-2 configuration of 200 cloth seats.

As I settled in, the flight attendant took my jacket and welcomed me onboard. Another crew member presented me with an amenity kit and a menu for the flight.

Through my window, I could see several airplanes outside:

Austrian Airlines Airbus A320

brussels airlines Boeing 737- 700 with winglets

Lufthansa Regional ATR72

Jet Airways Boeing 777-300ER heading to Newark




brussels airlines Airbus A330-200

Finnair Airbus A320


Private jet


As we took off, I could see two Boeing 747 freighters at the cargo area.




After takeoff, we were offered a hot towel, then our tables were made ready for lunch by first placing a pink table cloth. I started to look through the "Private Screenings" magazine to see what was the offerings today. I did not see anything that I wanted to watch, but decided to watch "Scenes in the Park" with Ewan McGregor and a host of British stars on channel 6. Here are my other offerings:

1. Dan in Real Life/The Office
2. Before the Devil Knows You're Dead/Cash Cab
3. Bone Dry/NASCAR Angels
4. The Drama Channel
5. Continental Presents HBO: Big Love, Da Ali G Show, Deadwood
6. Scenes in the Park/Style Star
7. Love in the Afternoon/Premier Destinations
8. Continental Presents Independent Films: Paradise Texas
9. Continental Presents House
10. Elizabeth: The Golden Age/Tales from the Palaces
11. Continental Family Channel 2:Second Lions/The Jetsons, Foghorn Leghorn's Fractured Funnies
12. Martian Child/Global Trends
13. Sydney White/The Simpsons
14. Continental Presents CSI
15. Comedy Programming: The New Adventures of Old Christine, Malcolm in the Middle, Everybody Hates Chris, everybody Loves Raymond, The King of Queens, Shaun the Sheep
16. The Entertainment Channel
17. Airshow

games

1. Chess
2. Poker
3. Solitaire
4. Invasion
5. Elephant Memory
6. Bzzz
7. Blackjack
8. Cave Crunch
9. Caveman
10. Hangman

music

1. Opera
2. Rewind
3. Ambient Groove
4. Latin Fiesta
5. Continental Lounge
6. The Classics
7. The Hit Factory
8. Jazz Beat
9. Continental Talk
10. Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
11. Country Roads
12. Live Broadway
13. Club Continental
14. R&B Groove
15. World Music
16. Kid's Korner
17. Hindi Music
18. Japanese Favorites
19. Chinese Pop
20. Shalom
    

Next we were offered a drink of choice and warm cashew nuts. In BusinessFirst, there is no charge for alcoholic beverages, but there is a charge of 5 USD or 3 EUR in Economy class.

This was followed by an appetizer of a demitasse of potato and truffle soup accompanied by a savory vegetable and mushroom filled pastry and peanut marinated chicken breast skewer with coriander sauce.

Then a Mesclun salad mix with orange, pink grapefruit and almonds with tomato thyme vinaigrette and freshly baked garlic bread and plain roll. I was presented with rolls throughout the meal.



Then the main course of grilled salmon and shrimp with lemon herb sauce, crêpe filled with mushrooms, potatoes au gratin with spinach, apple crêpe, breakfast syrup and warm croissants with butter and strawberry preserves arrived. This was the first time I had tried the brunch menu and it was really good. Other choices were the halibut, steak or a pasta.

Then crackers and cheese plus fruits and choices of after dinner drinks arrived. I did not feel like any cheese and crackers, but had some fruits (grapes, strawberry, pineapple and cantaloupe). No after meal drinks for me.

Finally the sundae plus coffee showed up; I had vanilla ice cream with cherry, strawberry and sliced almonds. A bottle of water was also presented. I fell asleep almost immediately after as I was both tired and full. So much for letting all this food digest properly.

The movie was qhort and quite good so I was able to see it in its entirety. It tells the stories of a number of people who goes to the park on a weekday. The park is Hampstead Heath in North London. I've been to the park, so I was familiar with the surroundings. It is a good movie if you ever get a chance to see it.

About an hour and a half before landing, my colleague tapped me on the shoulder and I awoke to an arrival snack. Chicken Cacciatore Pocket (minced dark meat chicken, Emmental cheese and tomato sauce with white wine, mushroom and herbs in a pinwheel pastry pocket, with a cherry tomato, gherkin, Kalamata oliveand onion garnish.

After the snack I brushed my teeth and prepared for our landing. I also filled out my Customs form after making an error on the first one. You'd think that by now I know where each line is on this confunded form.

The view was spectacular as we landed into Newark. One could see the Verrazano Narrows Bridge that joins Staten Island with Brooklyn as well as the Goethals bridge on Staten Island. You could also see Manhattan as well as a hazy Statue of Liberty in New York Harbor. The skyline is just not the same without the twin towers though.





We landed with a very noisy deceleration, but it was a safe one.