WOW Air Flight Review: Boston - Reykjavik - Paris

So I recently took WOW Air, the budget airline from Iceland. They currently fly to New York, Boston, and Baltimore (and soon adding Toronto) to Europe via Iceland. They have sales with prices that will make you go "Wow!" including $99 one way to Paris, which is the one I bought.

It's not exactly $99 each way, though. I did get $99 from Boston to Paris, but the return flight is slightly more expensive. Still, on select dates they're still pretty cheap and I ended up paying $309 for a round trip flight from Boston to Paris. Not bad at all!

As with other budget airlines, there are a lot of caveats. First, you only get 1 carry on bag free, up to 5 kg (11 lbs). I was only going to Paris for 3 nights, so I actually managed to carry everything with me.
They don't provide drinks or food on board, you have to buy whatever you need, including water. They cost about the same as water at the airport, so whatever. It's still a $300 ticket to Paris, I'm not complaining.

I think because they're a newer and a budget airline, they usually taxi to a spot not directly connected to the airport buildings. Passengers had to take a shuttle bus from airport to the plane at all three airports I flew into. Just keep that in mind when you pack, because you have to be outside for a brief moment, but Iceland can be cold and raining or snowing. Pretty much all three happened to me.

I like the cheeky touches of WOW Air. The plane itself looks like a character out of Pixar's movie, with a grin on its face, wearing an aviator.

So how's the flight itself? Well, on the first leg from Boston to Reykjavik, I got really lucky! Window exit row seat, baby.

Best seat in the house

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Amsterdam Falafelshop, a Cheap and Quick Lunch in Fenway-Kenmore (Boston, MA)

Boston University students are lucky to have Amsterdam Falafelshop close to them in the Fenway Kenmore area. This place is perfect for a quick, cheap, and satisfying lunch (or dinner).
The menu is simple: you get falafels either in a pita or in a bowl, either small or large. There's also fries. But after you order you can go crazy with the toppings.

Amsterdam Falafelshop has an impressive topping bar with hummus, garlic sauce, fried eggplant, various salads, sauces, and all kinds of other goodies to bury your falafel under! If you order a pita, you can fill it with as much topping as you desire/ can fit in. If you order a bowl, then you pay by weight.

A small pita with 3 falafels is $6, and if you're good with fitting in your toppings you'll already get a filling sandwich. That's why this place is great for students (and postdocs like me)!

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The Little Door in Santa Monica

by guest blogger @btsunoda

Driving through Brentwood on 26th Street, you would never know that a restaurant exists at 246 26th Street. The front wall of the establishment is beautifully wood stained with decorative wrought iron and grape ivy. With the absence of a sign, it wasn’t apparent that a restaurant is just behind the little door in front.

Walking inside The Little Door, it’s almost like a protected oasis within the city. The covered patio area offers a lot of indirect light and you immediately feel like you’ve arrived at someone’s home. A decorative wall mounted water fountain and an abundance of greenery accentuated this feeling.

The Little Door is a French restaurant and a group of us were there to experience their new Sunday brunch menu. They first opened up in West Hollywood and due to popular demand, they decided to open another location in Santa Monica.

We were treated to a champagne brunch featuring Veuve Clicquot. Most champagne served in restaurants is really sparkling wine because France regulates what can actually be called champagne. Veuve Clicquot Brut (a.k.a. Yellow Label) garnered a 90 point Wine Spectator rating and is the real deal. This is a dry champagne with hints of fresh peach. I was surprised to learn that each glass of champagne only has 72 calories.

Veuve Clicquot Rosé is blended with approximately 50% pinot noir and gives it a pink hue.

Wine Spectator also awarded this with a 90 point rating. I actually enjoyed this more than the Yellow Label Brut. It was a bit drier and had notes of red berries. After nibbling on the assorted Cheese, Nuts and Fruit plate, I quickly realized that sometimes the simple things are best.

While the Smoked Salmon and Mini Waffles didn’t appear to be interesting to me at first, I really enjoyed it.

The waffle was crisp and I appreciated the warm premium dark maple syrup. The saltiness of the capers with smoked salmon nicely offset the sweetness of the syrup. The black heirloom tomato was meaty, sweet and very enjoyable.

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