I am exhausted. I have been in a state of high excitement for about 12 hours now and it’s taking it’s toll.  We have just flown from Singapore to Spain First Class on SQ and I have been a total child, managing to stay awake for most of the flight on the basis I am wildly unlikely to get another first class experience anytime soon. 

I am someone who still jumps on the bed in delight when staying at a really nice hotel (I know, I know, so uncool but just so…fun) as soon as the chap who’s carried the bags leaves me alone in my room.  So I was obviously itching to bounce around on the enormous leather chair – that magically turns in to a bed – when we got to our seats (row 1) but managed to refrain…just.

Krug or Dom to drink before taxing to take off is a huge treat, especially when you know the people in Economy, at the very same moment, are probably in a muck sweat as they try to stuff their hand luggage in to an overflowing overhead compartment.  Sitting at the smug end of the plane, the first thing I noticed was there isn’t any overhead luggage storage.  All your gear goes below your own huge tv (I wasn’t sure and had to copy my Eurotrash neighbour).  The lack of anything bulky above your head really makes a surprisingly huge difference and the cabin feels much more spacious, calm and civilised.  Or it could be that there are only 8 people per cabin. Instead of 100.

Obviously, being a girl, I was longing explore my beauty pack (Kiehls) which was so well designed that there was even an empty pouch at the front of their washbag for your to stow your earrings. Genius.  Products inside were buy-again brilliant and I particularly loved their tiny tub of Ultra Facial Cream that really did rehydrate my skin well with only 2 applications throughout the entire flight.

Since I was a little girl, aged 10, and allowed to stay up for grown-up dinner, I can remember a story from one of my parents friends who told me that that when he flew First Class for his work meetings, he was always given a ‘snoozesuit’ to wear on the flight (poor thing must have been really stuck for conversation). Anyway, I have, ever since, always plagued friends to bring me back snoozesuits whenever I get wind of someone flying First, as they have come to represent the holy grail of sophisticated air travel. The ones I have been given so far have been of the BA variety and have all been decidedly DOG (in capitals because they were so hideous, huge and baggy).  The snoozesuit I am now sitting in is actually vaguely OK, apparently the product of a rather questionable Givenchy for SQ collaboration, fits well and is, most importantly of all, supremely comfortable.  I have already decided that in honor of my 10 year-old self, it will be washed and kept so that I can wear it again when I go back to economy air travel which, let’s face it, is just a matter of time.

OK, on to the food.  I was obviously hoping to survive entirely on champagne and caviar to get value for money, but the bad news is that you only get free flow cav on SQ suites I am told. (Damn.  It’s like when I took GCSE’s.  Mine was the first year they introduced the A* to supersede regular A’s.  I got none.)

I am a terrible champagne drinker and can only manage a disappointing 2 glasses in one sitting.  I find it quite acidic.  That, and I also want to arrive in a vaguely coherent state.  Sadly, food in the air is just never as good as it could be. The starter at dinner was actually the best offering by far and away and consisted of a scoop of caviar and foie gras.  The follow up chicken in a tarragon jus was decidedly rank and the cheese platter too cold and the cheese too unripe.  (God I am already sounding spoilt – see what happens to you?!)

Breakfast was actually a bit better. Helped by a wildly extravagant bucks fizz with Krug and fresh orange (actually my father has taught me never to make bucks fizz out of good champagne so I couldn’t bring myself to mix it physically, I just drank both glasses together – old habits die hard).  There was Bircher muesli followed by manchego and iberico jamon (disregarding the horrid powdered scrambled egg and cheapo ham).  And the best bit? I get to do this all over again in about 2 weeks time!

Disclosure: We only flew First Class because we redeemed a bunch of airmiles and my clever husband worked out that a First Class super saver redemption ticket used much less miles that a Business Class saver ticket.  Business Class super savers were sold out.