Flight Review: Jetstar

Aircraft: Jetstar Airbus A320.

Route: Melbourne to Sydney.

Class: 29D.

Seat Pitch: 28 inches.

Seat Configuration: 3-3

Luggage Allowance: 20kg 

Cabin: Clean and stylish.

Comfort: I was seated in the last row in front of the lavatories. I had sufficient legroom and a spare seat. My chair could not recline but thankfully it was a short flight. Leather seats were comfy and spacious.

Service: Cabin crew were very kind and willing to answer any questions.

Beverages: A variety of soft drinks and juices but having to pay for this is a real letdown. 

Entertainment: None

Conclusion: In the end it was just another normal flight with nothing special about it. No problems but most importantly, we had nice weather in Sydney.

Online: http://www.jetstar.com/au/en/home

A day in Montreal

I am on a trip to explore the sights and culture of Montreal in winter. Montreal is situated on the East coast of Canada. It has a population of about 3.6 million. Montreal is the largest city in the province of Quebec and the second largest in Canada after Toronto. When visiting it is handy to know how to speak a bit of French as many people are francophile.

Take the metro and get off at the Champs-de-Mars station. From there walk around the historic area of Old Montreal. Take a look inside the Notre-Dame Basilica located on Rue Notre Dame. It is famous for it's beautiful interior and 32 foot pipe organ! http://www.basiliquenddm.org/en/


Walk to the museum of archeology and history, Pointe-à-Callière Museum. This museum is all about the history of Montreal and how it was settled. http://pacmusee.qc.ca/en/home


Catch the metro to station Pie-ix and visit the Olympic Stadium. http://www.rio.gouv.qc.ca/pub/visiter/accueil.jsp?locale=en. Montreal hosted the Summer Olympics in 1976.


Take the metro to Station Mont-Royal and go ice skating on Beaver Lake at Mount Royal. You can rent skates starting at $4 for 1 hour in the newly renovated cabin. You can also go snow tubing! If you feel like it you can go for a walk in Mount Royal and get some beautiful photos of the city from its observation point. 


Walk to the oldest deli in Canada famous for it's smoked meat, Schwartz's. http://www.schwartzsdeli.com/index_eng.html


Catch the metro at Sherbrooke Station and get off at Lucien-L'allier. From there you will find yourself at the Bell Center, the home of Montreal's ice hockey team the Montreal Canadiens. The Bell Center also has concerts and the occasional basketball game. You can do a guided tour that will take you through the whole history of the Montreal Canadiens and much much more. http://centrebell.ca/en/page/home


Spend some time exploring Downtown and shopping for souvenirs on the St Catherine strip.


You can't visit Canada without drinking a hot chocolate from Tim Hortons. They are everywhere and shouldn't be hard to find. You can also have baked foods such as chocolate croissants.


Once you've warmed up inside make your way towards Mbrgr. Mbrgr has a great variety of burgers and pasta and you get to order exactly what you want, even the type of cheese! It is also a hit for ice hockey players and you might just bump into one, I did. http://www.mbrgr.com/english.html


As darkness arrives feel free to explore the many pubs and bars. (As this writer is underage, the nightlife has not been experienced. Stay tuned for my next visit.)

Sport: Maple Leafs hopeful to play in playoffs within next 50 years

The Toronto Maple Leafs have informed the public of their plan to play playoffs within the next 50 years. After the 4-0 loss to Florida, captain Dion Phaneuf stated that he was confident that the organisation could one day finish in the top 8.

The Maple Leafs have set up an immediate action plan that will be initiated within the next 20-30 years. They hope that enough young children worldwide and mainly in Toronto aged 2-5 will be introduced to ice hockey and will be scouted as they get older and better. They plan to lure the players with offers such as:

1. You’re close to Montreal so if you ever get sick of life as a Leaf (who wouldn’t) you can go over and hunt for a job in Montreal.
2. We have no good players so when you join our team you automatically become a superstar.
3. You get to wear a nice blue and white jersey.
4. You have a chance to end the Stanley Cup drought.
5. Upon signing with us you will receive a hat!
6. We will soon be able to afford real coaches and janitors to clean the locker room.

Other ideas included:

• Muting the goal horns when Toronto is playing away from home. Hearing it every 2 minutes creates low self esteem which can result in depression. Players may also become deaf.
• Force the team playing Toronto to pull their goalie for the whole game.
• Convincing the NHL to scratch 7 teams from the Eastern Conference for one season.
• Allowing Toronto to be on a permanent powerplay throughout the game.
• Have the ice sloped towards the opposing goal. Toronto does not change sides at the end of the period; hence they spend more time in the offensive zone.

General Manager Brian Burke said in a statement, “I would love to see the mighty Leafs end the Stanley Cup drought before I’m six feet under.” The GM is not alone, thousands of fans including  6 year old fan Matthew Wilson have written to the club about the same issue of dying before ending the drought.

On Tuesday March 29 in the game against Buffalo in Toronto a perfectly healthy man in his mid 50s (section 508, row 1) was struck by a puck due to a wayward shot by Phil Kessel. He was rushed to Mount Sinai hospital but later died of intracranial bleeding.

If Toronto players had any sense of direction/aim this would never have happened. The NHL is planning to add permanent hospitals inside the stadiumsjust for Toronto games.

The Maple Leafs are hopeful that one day they will do what many believe is impossible, play in the NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs.