Sunday is all about Packing...

You would be surprised to know how much clothes, cameras, gifts, computers, accessories, books, documents and paperwork are needed to cover a two week working road trip. Two of us circumnavigating the globe with a load of meetings, games and functions in between. At my size and the number of different outfits required, I need two suitcases just for the clothing. Mary Lynn has to manage with one while we reserve a hard cased shoe box for computers and electronics.

Today's international travel is more complex when it come to setting up temporary offices. Being in Moscow and Sydney, each for at least five days calls for an array of hardware to support the multiple computers and communications systems. Power strips in the right voltage, transformers and power supplies for the computers, cameras and phones are normally the heavy weights, but now with Mary Lynn's enhanced camera lens collection, photography has now topped the scales.

At JFK Airport, the luggage handlers stacked our bags as we went aboard Aeroflot's flight from New York to Moscow. I don't comment too much about airlines these days. There isn't much good to say about most of them. I learned a couple of years ago while commuting to Moscow in preparation for the FIFA Women's U20 World Championship, that the best food was surprisingly found on the Russian national airline. I am happy to report that I wasn't disappointed and everything from the appetizers, the soup, the salad, the choices of main courses and dessert rivaled any of the better know airlines and surpassed most of them. I have been cautioned in my enthusiasm to say that this is only applicable to the routes of Moscow/NY, Moscow/London and Moscow/Zurich. Beyond that, it seems they are in a similar class to budget conscious airlines that have long since forgotten about their passengers.

More from Moscow...