Ice cream with the usual toppings and a rather sparse and
unteresting-looking cheese plate were on offer. I decided to
go for the pastry tray. There was an apple thing that didn't
sound appealing; a salted caramel and fudge pastry that I'd
seen before and accepted happily; and a cinnamon cheesecake
that I took a flier on and which turned out to be of an odd
gummy texture but pretty good in taste, not too sweet. With
these I was poured a large Port, which was substandard.

The wines were

Laboure-Roi Chablis 16

Gunderloch Red Stone Riesling 16

Santa Duc Vieilles Vignes Cotes du Rhone 15

Colby Red Blend

i started with the Riesling, which was mildly sweet but with
substantial acidity so didn't feel too sugary at all. Pineapple
and tropical fruits, just enough greenness so it wasn't a
bother. Pretty good.

After my indulgent alcohol intake (2 1/2 pints, give or take)
I slept well, getting a total of maybe 12 hours. almost 8 in
one chunk.

About 10 hours into the flight I got a little peckish and a
little pissy so took a field trip to the bathroom and the galley,
where I discovered the midflight snacks to be more elaborate
than the norm. As I was eying the usual assortment of chips,
cookies, fruit, and leftover desserts, a flight attendant
approached with an offer of a choice of lobster mac and cheese
or tomato soup with grilled chease. What the heck. I asked her
to bring the former and a glass of Riesling.

A sizable maybe 12 oz serving of very creamy rather overcooked
elbows with a few shreds of knuckle and little leg meat, about
what I expected, but then I found the meat of two claws buried
in the middle. It was not exceptional lobster, but considering
I was halfway berween two continents and seven miles in the air,
not bad at all.

It was way too much food for a snack, so I cancelled my breakfast
order and slept pretty much all the way in. Waking only when
jostled by turbulence, of where there was plenty.

Immigration was easy with the e-passport kiosk routine working
without a hitch, and I was out in next to no time, but disaster
struck when I forgot to pick up my checked bag (I never check
bags); this prevented me from checking in for my onward flight.
A bit of a kerfuffle with a reasonably friendly Qantas agent,
and I was issued a boarding pass but told that I would not
be able to get my bag, and it would be sent to Adelaide on a
different flight after being minutels scrutinized by the
authorities. So not only were all my spare clothes, electronics,
and milk pills in there, but also the bottle of Ray Ward Special
Shiraz that I was to have presented to Glen and Kevin.

No longer was I a Nob, so there was no oasis open to me, so I
just camped out at an unused gate and waited for my next flight.

The free wi-fi was slow enough that just trying to send a few
messages (intermittent success due to intermittent service -
I'm sure someone was reading over my electronic shoulder) took
up all the time I would have frittered away in the Qantas
lounge (if with Lilli) or at the Cooper's Pub (if by myself).

QF 683 MEL ADL 1135 1225 738 16C

A perfectly okay though quite bumpy flight. Our snack wasan ounce
of Kez's Pink Marvel cooke bites, which for a natural product
smelled more like artificial berry than anything artifical, but
not bad for that. I guess raspberry.

Glen and Kevin were there to greet me, and Glen helped me with the
language as I dealt with Qantas baggage services, which said that
my bag would be delivered to the airport that evening. It wasn't.
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