Solblanc

Too bad. I can think of a lot of other things that are worse than balut. There's isau, which is just barbequed entrails; betamax, which is essentially blocks of blood-clot; papaitan, which is a stew of goat's stomach with half-digested grass; and many more that I wouldn't care to mention.

And yeah, the Philippines gets ridiculously Christmas-y earlier than most other countries. You're lucky you were able to stroll around Glorietta. Right now, every mall in Manila is congested with thousands of people going Christmas shopping. ick. Were you able to see the city sheathed with Christmas lights, though?

andrewp

Great report sftrvlr ^

Can't wait for the next installment...

susanita3333

yes, keep them coming...and thanks for sharing!

NCRBILL

When I looked in the Hemisphere magazine, boy was I surprised I was in the same seat you were in to get you to SIN. We were not able to meet up in SIN but I'm sure we will run into eachother one day.

I look forward to the next part of the trip report. Seems we both have a lot to say about our travels.

sftrvlr

How DARE you sit in MY SEAT!

Did I leave you any room to sign below me?

I'm glad your trip is going so well. It's been madness at work lately, but I will make time to post the next installment of my FT Dream Vacation odyssey tomorrow.

Stay tuned, folks!

NCRBILL

Thanks for warming it up and fluffing up my pillows! Made for a great return.

Look forward to reading the rest of your story.

Bill

sftrvlr

We resume our journey. Sorry for the delay in posting the next part of the report. It's been madness at work lately, so I'm just getting around to it now.

I wasn't sure what to expect with the traffic situation back to the airport, so I booked a car for 6AM from the Hyatt. My flight was originally scheduled to depart Manila at 815AM, so I figured I would still make a 90 minute check-in even if it took 45 minutes. There was no traffic whatsoever, and I was deposited at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport at precisely 615AM. The departure time had changed to 830AM, so I was making an unusually early (well for me, anyway) appearance at the check-in counter. Only ticketed passengers are permitted inside the terminal, which makes it a bit easier to find your way around. Northwest had two 747-400s leaving that morning, and their line snaked through the entire terminal. There was nobody manning the First Class counter at Singapore Airlines, but the first available Raffles Class agent called me over after a five minute wait. He questioned my seat out of Singapore to Frankfurt, letting me know that I was booked in one of the pairs of seats in the center section of the cabin, and that there was someone sitting next to me. Would I prefer a single seat to myself? I explained that I was traveling with mjmsf on this sector, and the seat was pre-selected, but thanked him for asking. Another example of the exemplary service on Singapore Airlines. They seem to do their best to spread out the First Class cabin.

Both boarding passes were printed as well as a lounge invitation, and I was on my way through passport control. Manila is one of the few countries that still requires you to pay a departure tax in cash when you leave since it's not collected on your airline ticket. I always wonder if this money ever actually makes it to where it's supposed to go. So remember to save some Pesos if you travel out of Manila anytime soon. The airport hasn't changed much. Philippine Airlines operates out of Terminal Two, which looks to be quite new. I don't remember it being there the last time I was in Manila. All other carriers are in the old Terminal One. There was only one security line open, and about 30 passengers in it, so it took about 15 minutes to get through. Bags are x-rayed, you pass through a metal detector, then have a wanding and finally a pat down. Quite thorough!

I flew Air France out of Manila on my last visit, and recall the lounge being dingy, hot and smelly, with uncomfortable chairs and nothing much in the way of food or drink. The SQ lounge was a vast improvement. Basic, but nice enough. There were two sections. One for First Class and one for Raffles Class. The First Class section was furnished with the usual armchairs, sofas and coffee tables. There was a wide screen television tuned to CNN, and two computer stations. The bar area contained mid-shelf liquor and wine, with a refrigerated soft drinks, juices and mixers. There was also a selection of dim sum, sandwiches, cereals, pastries, cookies and some nasty scrambled eggs (it looked as if they'd been cooked in the dry air onboard an airplane then left overnight to congeal and dry out some more.) The dim sum was tasty, nicely chased with a self made, spicy Bloody Mary. At 8AM, the lounge attendant came around to each passenger and announced that the flight was ready to board. By this time there were 11 people in the lounge, including a family with rather loud young children who were having fun chewing and spitting out pieces of dim sum, and being generally annoying. The magnet that I am for screaming children in premium cabins, I was sure that they would follow me into the first two rows and force me to don my Bose QuietComfort headset for the entire journey, but lady luck was with me today, and I settled into 2F to complete a cabin of three on our journey to Singapore.

SQ 71 / MNL-SIN / Boeing 777-200
Seat 2F - First Class
Scheduled 0815-1145 / Actual 0830-1150

I was greeted at the door and shown to my seat. Champagne was offered. Dom Perignon, naturally . The steward appeared moments later and apologized that the champagne was not sufficiently chilled, but that he would be back with it in 10 minutes or so. Would I prefer something else? Perhaps some champagne from Raffles Class to begin? I waited. Newspapers, magazines, eyeshades, socks, headsets and menus were offered. Precisely ten minutes later I was sipping the first of many glasses of bubbly that day. The doors were closed and we pushed back at 830AM, lifting off for Singapore after a brief wait for some military aircraft to depart. This particular 777 Jubilee had the old KrisWorld entertainment system, which is not on demand. Unfortunate, but not a disaster by any means on this short flight. I don't generally watch much television, but this episode of Becker was rather funny (he gets an article published in a prestigious medical journal, but the photo placed next to his name is one of an obese bald man.) Our menu today:

breakfast from manila to singapore

juices
A choice of apple, tomato or freshly squeezed orange

fruit
Fresh fruit plate

wholesome beginnings
Singapore Hokkien prawns and pork noodle soup
Hokkien style noodles in rich broth garnished with prawns and pork

Selection of dim sum
Oriental steamed glutinous rice with chicken and Shanghainese pork dumplings

Fresh eggs with grilled bacon or chicken sausage, slow roasted vine ripened tomato, fresh mushrooms
baked, soft boiled or scrambled on roesti potatoes

from the bakery
Assorted breakfast rolls
Butter, jam, marmalade or honey

Hot beverages
Freshly brewed coffee
Espresso or cappuccino
Selection of tea

The wine list was the same as the one going to Manila. I had the dim sum, which was about as good as airline dim sum can be. The rice mushy and tasteless, but the dumplings were yummy, especially with a hit of Kris Chili sauce. I stuck with champagne.

As we started our descent into Singapore, the captain warned that it would be bumpy due to thunderstorms in the area. He did not lie. The stewardess made me strap my smaller carryon into the seat next to me, which is the first time I've been asked to do this on Singapore Airlines. We landed in a heavy thunder shower at 1145AM, and pulled into the gate a few minutes thereafter. Time for my long awaited meeting with mjmsf. Knowing him, I figured he'd already be indulging in the delights of the First Class section of the SilverKris Lounge, and sure enough, he answered his cell phone from his perch by the windows near the business centre. I joined him momentarily and we toasted our chance to catch up with one another, as well as our good fortune to have snagged the two seats together on Singapore Airlines to Frankfurt that day. The Silk Road restaurant at the Amara hotel was providing food that day, and it was delicious. Noodles with soup and assorted small bites from Sichuan and Beijing. Once again, I couldn't help myself and went back three times. The lounge was nearly empty this time. A vast improvement from a few days ago.

SQ 326 / SIN-FRA / Boeing 747-400
Seat 3D / First Class
Scheduled 1435-2045 / Actual 1435-2110

Our flight was on time at 235PM, and we left the lounge 45 minutes before so we could pick up some duty free along the way. The security line at the gate was lengthy, but moved fast, and we walked right onboard after handing over our boarding cards to the agent. Ahhhhhh ... back to one of my favorite places in the sky. Aboard a Singapore Airlines 747 Megatop in the lovely First Class cabin. The subdued ambiance, rich leather and wood seats that are in working order and clean (take note, United) and the Singapore Girls and Guys make the experience second to none. In the usual order, champagne was offered (Krug for me this time, Dom for mjmsf), followed by newspapers and magazines, amenity kits, sleeper suits, headphones and menus. I asked for the female amenity kit since I'm not a fan of BLV for men. Not a problem. It was brought to me in a Singapore Airlines bag. Makes a good gift. There were a total of eight passengers in First Class today, and our menu was as follows:

light meal from singapore to frankfurt

appetisers
Tian of crabmeat with avocado
Vinaigrette

main courses
Hot wok of chicken with morel mushroom in Chinese wine, leafy greens, cauliflower, capsicum and fragrant rice

Char siew and wanton noodle soup
Egg noodles in rich broth garnished with honey roasted pork, pork dumplings and leafy greens

Prawns sauteed in tarragon sauce, buttered asparagus, carrots and mousseline potatoes

dessert
Mosaic of fruits in waffle basket

from the bakery
Oven fresh rolls
with a choice of extra virgin olive oil or butter
Garlic bread

hot beverages
Freshly brewed coffee
Espresso or cappuccino
Selection of tea

dinner from singapore to frankfurt

canapes
Satay
With onion, cucumber and spicy peanut sauce

appetisers
Chilled malossol caviar
With melba toast and condiments

Duck foie gras terrine with mesculin and red onion jam

soup
Broth of chicken with white beans and vegetables

Cream of cauliflower with poached quail egg and sauteed mushrooms

salad
Fine field greens
Coriander vinaigrette
Singapore dressing infused in shallot oil with sambal, lime and honey

main courses
Roast lobster with saffron-spring onion risotto, rocket and shaved parmesan cheese
Exclusively created by Gordon Ramsay, London

Braised soya sauce duck with leafy greens and yam-rice

Seared 8 oz ribeye steak in black pepper sauce with caponata and new potatoes

Salad of oven-dried roma tomato with mozarella cheese, couscous and rocket
Basil pesto and balsamic dressing
Specially prepared meatless selection

cheese
Selection of cheese with garnishes

fresh fruit
A selection of fresh fruit

dessert
Warm soft-centred chocolate cake with cookie ice cream and berries salad

from the bakery
Oven fresh rolls
with a choice of extra virgin olive oil or butter
Garlic bread

hot beverages
Freshly brewed coffee
Espresso or cappuccino
Selection of tea

pralines
To end on a sweet note

The wine list was the same as every other Singapore Airlines flight I've taken lately. Maybe it's time for a change. I was going to order my main meal first, then have the light meal before landing, but mjmsf was having it the other way 'round (and the way it was suggested on the menu) so I did the same thing. Next time, I'll go with my instinct. I would have much preferred the larger meal first, and the lighter meal prior to landing. It was hard to wake up and eat all that food when your body clock says it's the middle of the night. The soup was excellent, as always, and the crab/avocado combo was one of the tastiest treats I've had on an airplane ... rich and slightly spicy. Satay and caviar superb. Big mistake in choosing the lobster. Again, I should have known better. I misread the menu and thought that it was a risotto cake with poached lobster and salad, but they actually attempted to make risotto like a restaurant, which is never a good thing on an airplane, especially after 10 hours in the air! The lobster was tough and dry, and the rice the same. I normally stick with the Asian selections on SQ, and will do so in the future.

The service was impeccable throughout the journey. When I went into the lavatory to change into my sleeper suit, I was met outside by a stewardess with a hanger for my clothes. Another stewardess went immediately into the toilet to make sure I hadn't trashed the place . I hadn't. My bed was made up when I wanted it, and I amused myself with KrisWorld, chatting with mjmsf, and several gin & tonics before catching a 5 hour nap in the more than comfortable bed. The cabin was kept cool as well, which was an added bonus. I noticed on this flight that announcements were made in the standard English, as well as German and Chinese. All of my other flights on Singapore Airlines have been English only. After a 20 minute hold for ATC delays into Frankfurt, we touched down in a chilly 0 degrees Celsius with light snow. Raffles Class was held back while the First Class cabin emptied and we bade farewell to our wonderful crew and another all too short flight aboard Singapore Airlines.

What can I say? I simply loath Frankfurt Rhein Main airport. I've been through there many a time and still find the signage confusing or non-existent. After figuring out how to get to passport control, we looked for signs to the Sheraton Hotel that is attached to the terminal. Not seeing any, I asked the frau sitting at the Information Desk. She looked at me like I had two heads, then barked some instructions about going straight, up the escalator and over the bridge. A warm German welcome if ever there was one. The Sheraton has been recently renovated and has a sleek, minimalist look to it now. The front desk agent frowned and said they only had smoking rooms available. Mjmsf jumped for joy and pulled out his lighter in sweet anticipation after 14 hours without a nicotine fix. I pulled out my clothespin to plug my nose . Nice room. Fabulous bed and duvet. A quick nightcap and we both fell fast asleep.

Coming up:

A nasty surprise at check-in for Spanair and the best scrambled eggs I've ever had in the air ...

Stay tuned.

RTW4

First of all thanks for the great report. Second of all, I also am amazed at SQ's ability to make every FC passenger feel as if they are the ONLY one in the cabin. I usually fly oneworld alliance, but last year I flew SQ for several medium hal sectors and loved every minute of it...

sftrvlr

After a short night in the very comfortable Sheraton bed, we wandered bleary-eyed over the roadway and through the terminal to look for the Spanair check-in counters. Lufthansa handles check-in for all Star Alliance carriers at Frankfurt (I think) so we went to the Lufthansa Business Class area. Without so much as a word of acknowledgement, the agent pulled our flight coupons, checked our passports and handed us each two boarding passes. As I turned to leave the counter, I noticed that my connecting boarding pass from Madrid to Tenerife said ECONOMY on it , even though the seat assignment was 4C. Mjmsf looked at his and sure enough, the same thing. His seat assignment was 9A. Not even seated together and in Economy?! I don't think so. The agent reseated mjmsf to 4A, but his new boarding pass popped out showing Economy Class again. She tapped away on the computer for a few minutes, then said there was nothing she could do.

Agent "Sorry. Check when you get to Madrid."

sftrvlr "I'm sorry, too, but that doesn't seem right. I notice that the connecting flight is operated by AEBAL Spanair Link. Do you think that the Business Class cabin is very small today and we've been accidentally seated in Economy Class?"

Agent "I can only check customers in for other carriers. I work for Lufthansa, not Spanair. I can't even see the seat map for these flights."

sftrvlr "How did you manage to move mjmsf from 9A to 4A if you couldn't see the seat map?"

Agent "Seat 4A was available."

sftrvlr "OK. Can you try to move us to row 1 or 2 on the connecting flight and see if a Business Class boarding pass comes out?"

Agent "Rows 1 and 2 are full."

sftrvlr "How do you know? I thought you couldn't see the seat map."

Agent "I'm sorry, sir. You'll need to check when you get to Madrid."

sftrvlr "I'm sorry, too. I would like you to send a message to Spanair Customer Service in Madrid to advise them of the situation and have it sorted out by the time we arrive so we don't have to explain the whole thing again."

Agent "I will."

sftrvlr "Could you please do it now and print a copy for me to take with me?"

Agent "I'll do it for you, sir. I assure you."

sftrvlr "I don't doubt that, but I'd like a copy for myself. I'm beginning to feel that you are merely passing the buck to someone else, and I'd like to know that my request has been taken care of before I leave this counter."

That last statement came out a little more harshly than I anticipated, but she was really getting on my nerves at this point. Mjmsf was doing everything possible to distance himself from me now . The agent thumped her hand on her desk, leapt from her chair and over the baggage scale. I wasn't sure if she was going to attack me or was just going to the printer. She went to another check-in desk across the hall and spoke with one of her colleagues (supervisor?) for a few minutes. Some furious typing ensued, and the agent came back to hand me a copy of the requested message. I smiled and thanked her for her effort. She frowned. So much for a "seamless" travel experience on the Star Alliance network.

I felt that a Bloody Mary was in order after this debacle, and told mjmsf that we should head to the Senator lounge for a few minutes since we still had just over an hour before our flight departed.

"But isn't the Senator Lounge the other side of passport control?"

"Well, yes, but it doesn't take long to come back. You just explain to the immigration officer that you went to use the lounge."

So off we went through security and to the Senator Lounge. I should have known better. It was standing room only at that hour of the day and the air was heavy with cigarette smoke. Mjmsf had a fix and I had a Bloody Mary. We left at 650AM to head back to gate B12 and our Spanair flight to Madrid. To my dismay, the line at passport control had about 25 passengers in the "non EU" lines, and I humbly accepted by stern reprimand from mjmsf who now had a panicked look on his face. After waiting for 10 minutes with the line hardly moving, I told mjmsf that I was going to go over to the EU passport line and plead my case. The officer simply could not understand why I would leave the country to go to the Senator Lounge and went on and on about the fact that I was in the wrong line, he really couldn't help me, I was breaking the rules, etc. Then he stamped my passport and waived me through ... whew! After giving mjmsf the same treatment, we were finally on our way back to gate B12. A stony silence between us.

So it's now 710AM and our flight started boarding at 705AM. We're just leaving passport control. As we walk back the way we came, towards B12, we notice that we cannot simply enter the gate area. We have to go back through security again, and the line is 20-30 deep at this point . I stayed two steps ahead of mjmsf so he couldn't throttle me and calmly said there was no need to worry since gate B12 was just the other side of security. Thankfully the line moved fast, and they were calling our names for immediate boarding as we were going through the x-ray station. We receive a stern look from the gate warden as we hand in our boarding passes and scramble downstairs to the bus and passengers that had been waiting for us. I tell mjmsf that I owe him dinner in Spain, but he is not amused, so I just shut up. Won't make that mistake again!

JK 116 / FRA-MAD / Airbus A320
Seat 2C / Avante Class
Scheduled 0735-1005 / Actual 0740-1000

Boarding at the remote stand was taking place through the front and rear doors of the aircraft. We were greeted by a smiling flight crew dressed in a snappy blue and gray uniform with gloves and overcoats on. The Avante Class cabin was the first eight rows this morning and had a total of only 9 passengers. The layout was the standard intra-European Business Class with two seats on one side and three seats on the other. The "two" seater side is really just a row of three seats where they leave the middle seat empty. Newspapers and magazines were offered along with a pre-packaged moist towelette. There were no English language papers. The door closed right on time, and we pushed back about five minutes late, taking to the skies shortly thereafter in a light snow. I noticed that the safety demonstration video reminded us to "extinguish our cigarettes" before putting on our oxygen masks. How long has it been since I've seen that? Spanair is a non smoking airline, so it's irrelevant anyway, but I found it amusing in my own weird way. Mjmsf was still frowning . This aircraft was equipped with audio/visual programming, too, and they were going to show a movie to Madrid. I cannot remember ever seeing a movie presentation within Europe. The aircraft was brand spanking new and clean as a whistle. I'm impressed so far!

After takeoff the crew drew the curtains between Economy and Business Class, as well as the forward curtain to the galley. I heard things clink and clank for a good thirty minutes before anyone appeared again. The two flight attendants serving Business Class that day came through with a drinks/meal service all at once. Economy had the option to purchase snacks. There was no choice of main course. It was a hot breakfast with scrambled eggs and cheese, ham and hash browned potatoes. There was small fruit plate, some hard cheese (Manchego?) and a small dessert on the tray as well. Warm rolls, croissants, butter and jam were then offered. Drinks choices consisted of assorted juices, bottled water (con gaz or sin gaz), red and white wine, and some Cava Brut. We both opted for the Cava and some coffee, which was strong and tasty. Mjmsf finally spoke as he and I tasted the eggs and both commented that they were possibly the best we'd ever eaten in the air. And they were! Creamy and rich with melted cheese and chives. Simply delicious. The ham was dry and the hash browns soggy, but the eggs made up for it. We were both hungry since we had not eaten much of the awful main course on SQ the day before.

Madrid was having visibility problems that day, and the pilot warned that we may be delayed, but in fact we landed 15 minutes early into a dense fog and stopped at a remote stand at 10AM on the nose. We then had to wait 15 minutes for the busses and stairs to arrive . A superb first flight aboard Spanair.

Upon arrival at the terminal we followed the signs for connecting flights and walked upstairs. I was surprised that we didn't have to clear security again. The Spanair Customer Service counter was bedlam. Many flights were canceled or delayed and nobody was happy about it. Passengers or employees. Not seeing anything that resembled a queue, I joined the scrum and reached the counter after twenty minutes or so. I explained about the seats and handed the agent our boarding passes and the printed copy of the message that had (supposedly) been sent by Lufthansa in Frankfurt. The agent didn't even look at the computer. He simply said that 4A&C were in Avante Class, not Economy, and that we were all set to go. I asked whether we needed boarding passes that showed "Business Class" to get into the lounge. He said no. All that for nothing! We headed for the lounge. The agent at the desk said that lounge access was for Business Class customers only , at which point I repeated the spiel that had become all too familiar that day. He typed away for a while with a puzzled look on his face, then let us pass.

Time for a cigarette (mjmsf) and a Bloody Mary (both of us.) You can still smoke in the Spanair lounge and the smoking section has the best view of the apron. It was about half full, mostly with customers for the US Airways flight to Philadelphia that was just about to board anyway, so the lounge emptied out shortly. There was a selection of medium priced booze, red and white wine, Cava and assorted mixers, soft drinks and juices to choose from. There was a stack of pastries next to the coffee and tea station. A second bar area without alcohol is located on the lower level in the smoking section. It had three gigantic bowls with potato chips, mixed nuts and fantastic olives. I fixed the Bloody Marys while mjmsf fixed the snacks. We passed an enjoyable hour or so before heading to the departure gate for our connecting flight to Tenerife.

As we arrived at the gate, the flight was being called for boarding. I was apparently in some dreamlike state and didn't realize that the queue of passengers to my left was actually waiting to board my flight. So I simply said, "perdon," and walked right up to the gate agent to hand over my boarding pass, cutting off two nuns in the process. As I turned around to tell mjmsf how empty the flight appeared to be, I noticed the glares coming from the 50 passengers waiting patiently for their turn to board . Not wanting to have anything to do with me at this point, mjmsf held his newspaper in front of his face to prevent even the slightest eye contact that would link him with the pushy, ill mannered Yank. The glares continued as I waited for each and every one of those passengers to board the bus. Ooooops!

JK 5076 / MAD-TFN / Boeing 717-200
Seat 4C / Avante Class
Scheduled 1320-1505 / Actual 1315-1510

I was paid back in kind on the bus ride to the aircraft. I spent ten minutes with my nose practically buried in the armpit of a passenger who appeared to have traveled a very long way without a shower, as our sardine can crawled across the tarmac to the farthest remote stand. Off the bus and up the stairs to our shiny new Boeing 717-200, operated by AEBAL Spanair Link. It was my first time on a 717. It's a tiny airplane. Not a whole lot bigger than some of the larger regional jets. The aircraft was equipped with it's own stairs and boarding was via the forward door only. The Avante Class cabin was in a 2-3 configuration, as was Economy. Only the cabin divider and headrests differentiated it. The seat pitch was extremely tight (30 inches?) There were 9 rows dedicated to Avante Class today and 29 passengers, including 3 Spanair pilots and 6 flight attendants who were headed to the island.

No video screens on this aircraft meant a manual safety demo. We were buttoned up and pushing back at 115PM, but there were 12 aircraft ahead of us for takeoff, so we lifted off into the fog at 150PM. There appears to be a beautiful brand new terminal at Madrid, but nobody using it. Did they run out of money? Mjmsf said it was the same as when he was there a couple of years earlier. Inflight service was excellent again. Two rounds of drinks, followed by a hot lunch, which was some sort of pot roast, and not particularly good. I liked the cheese and the fruit tart for dessert, though, and managed a few glasses of Cava . Arrival into Tenerife was only five minutes late at 310PM local time. We docked at a real gate this time, and made our way into a brand new, light and airy, well signposted terminal. Two minutes later we were walking to our Hertz car in the parking lot outside. All very efficient.

A glorious day of lounging around the five star Sheraton Luxury Collection in La Caleta was followed by a leisurely day trip up to the volcano and two days at the lovely Hotel Mencey in Santa Cruz (also a Luxury Collection property.) Our final day was spent exploring the much less developed north coast, especially a beautiful town called Garachico, with it's cathedral, whitewashed houses, cobble stoned streets and sea front restaurants. A relaxing time was had by all and before we knew it, the time had come to head back to TFN for the marathon journey to Colombo, Sri Lanka.

Up next:
More Economy Class boarding passes on Spanair, flight delays and the incredible Lufthansa First Class Terminal at Frankfurt ...

essxjay

Love it, love it, love it!!! Keep it coming!!!

nfc

Great trip report! Look forward to the next installment.

Seat 2A

Listed as an appetizer on the SIN-FRA menu:

Duck foie gras terrine with mesculin and red onion jam

I tried to look up mesculin, but to no avail. Is this a misspelling of the popular 1970s hallucinogen or is it an exotic Asian plant? Either way, I'd like to have been on this flight!

andrewp

It's a type of field green that is a popular salad base. It's not rare at all, in fact, you can buy it at your local supermarket as one of the pre-packaged salad blends. My wife and I often buy the "Mesculin Blend" and chuckle every time...

ylwae

It's actually mesclun.

http://www.m-w.com/dictionary/mesclun

andrewp

Thanks

I've found that the correct spelling is much less prevalent than the incorrect...