NY To Italy: Weather Delays Going, the A380 Returning

My wife and I headed out to JFK on July 13 to start a 10 day tour of Italy. We had a 7PM flight Air France from
Terminal 1. There were nasty afternoon storms that day but we arrived in plenty of time (4PM) so we both just
relaxed. She read and I did some impromptu spotting checking out an Air Moroc 747, an Air China 747 and a very
colorful China Eastern A340. It was done up for China Expo 2010 with orange, green, red and blue coloring. In
fact while I was watching it from the gate an entourage of govt security types, PAPD and aides swept past me
escorting someone onto the plane. So I check my watch it was 6:10 and I headed back as boarding was about
to begin. WRONG!! They made an announcement that due to a lightning strike on the AF 777-300 inbound earlier
we would be delayed. Check back at 7. Check back at 8. Check back at 9!!! Damn!! And I watched as a crew
in a bucket truck went over the plane with binocs(?) and underneath also. Finally we were given the all clear and
started to board at 9:20. That and the taxi to 22 Right seemed to take forever but we finally lifted off around 10:55PM. The flight was really uneventfull except for the fact the in-flight entertainment system didnt work so you were on your own for 7 hours!!
Into Paris and we missed our 10AM flight and rebooked to a 3:15 which was delayed an hour because of nasty T-Storms
in Paris. Finally arrived in our A319 in Rome and pretty much lost the whole day!!
That SUCKED but the rest of the trip was AMAZING!!! Rome, Florence and Venice.
Then yesterday we left Venice via water taxi to Marco Polo Airport. That was very cool!! AF319 to Paris no problems
an easy 1hr25 minutes.
In Paris we took the long walk to our gate in Charles DeGaulle and there sitting at E57 was Air France A380, F-HPJA!!
Our plane to JFK. Unreal. I was pretty excited.
We left an hour late but who cares. Then as we taxied out the in-flight screen comes on and we are watching us taxi out via a camera in the tail. In fact there was also one in the nose and on the belly!! How great is that? My wife was a little
freaked by it but for me it was the best. We watched our departure and I kept it on when I wasnt watching a movie.
The whole entertainment package is awesome and I had plenty of room in my seat as opposed to the B777. Actually we
were in row 40 against the bulkhead so that helped. And they had self-serve drink areas where you could stand and
stretch your legs as long as you want. I did that a few times hooked up with my ipod.
Once again an uneventful flight and we came down through Maine and folllowed the Hudson River south then came over
North Jersey near Teterboro, south over the Harbor to the Atlantic then over Long Island to the Sound before finally turning and lining up with Runway 22 Right. Once again the cameras were on and we watched our landing. My wife actually
liked that one. We landed with a bang which caused a little tension with some passengers. NOt sure if that was normal due
to the weight of the plane on the wheels but we were finally home. Never thought I'd get a ride in that bad boy!! 8)