With wings

To talk about wings nowadays is to talk about chicken or sanitary pads. But to an astute traveler, wings are those of planes that take us to farflung places in search of life and love. Here are some memorable airplane wings and the stories behind them:

My Air Madrid flight to Paris, France from Madrid, Spain. This was booked by Archie for a weekend escapade in the city of lights. However, the flights to and from Paris were delayed for hours, thus changing our travel plans. Months later, the airline was forced to shut down. End of the story.

Our Ryanair flight to Rome, Italy from Santander, Spain. My first time in a budget airline gave me a very good impression of how budget travels should be. The one thing that really bugged me was the train ride to Santander and the hours of layover in between.

My Vueling flight to Barcelona, Spain from Madrid, Spain. This was really very scary for me, since a friend had had a bad experience with the company. My flight went well -- thank God! -- despite the madness that is the Prat de Llobregat Airport of Barcelona.

My Spanair flight to Pamplona, Spain from Madrid, Spain. We left with about a 30-minute delay from Barajas, so the pilot drove the plane in Airforce 1 fashion. I was clinging onto dear life for 45 minutes. As a treat, the stewardesses distributed candy afterwards. I took five, just in case.

My Easyjet flight from Rome, Italy to Madrid, Spain. Inspite of the schmuck at the counter of the Ciampino Airport, the flight went really well. It's like Ryanair, but more organized. Highly recommendable for people who want to discover Europe on a budget.