Feelings of the Day: Most who go on vacation rarely want to return. There is more to see and/or a desire to not return to work quite yet. My 66 days away, and 40.5 of those without my wife, was enough. For me, it was time to come home.
Full Day’s Events: Waking up this morning, I was already starting to look to the future when I would be sleeping in my own bed and relishing that feeling. Oatmeal and coffee consumed there was an outing for a final breakfast with the RJGM gang at a local cafe. The vibe was good and the server was hilarious as he comically made a big deal out of small things and small things out of big things. The kind of person you want to interact with, within a busy city early in the morning, to start your day.
After putting the last items in my bags, we headed downstairs. I requested transport for myself and G&R through an app while we hung around. We said our goodbyes, as the transport arrived, as R&J would be remaining behind for just over a week. We got to the airport faster than calculated, checked in our bags, and proceeded through security with a handful of other travellers. A good start for an entire day of traveling.
The boarding also went quickly because this flight, from Madrid to Toronto, was only a third full! Once airborne, those who enjoyed themselves a little too much, the previous night, found entire rows to lay down on. After looking out the window at the landscape for a while, I read and eventually slept, then watched some Marvel shows.
Upon landing we all wandered the maze of Toronto airport until we got to customs. I used an electronic kiosk, as I had already completed the ArriveCan app, and the machine spat out a sheet of paper. Presenting it to the customs agent, they informed me that I would have to speak to a customs agent downstairs. I suspected that my two packs of cured boar would generate some interest, but it was labelled according to the parameters of the Canada customs website.
Being guided to an elevator, I descended and went to the next hall where I waited in line. Once it was my turn, I walked up and presented the sheet of paper and my passport. He said I would need to present the cured meat and, having foresight, I had them with me in my snack bag. Fortunately, he checked the computer and permitted my luggage to continue while we concluded the dialogue. Unfortunately, he seemed to think the guidelines only allowed USDA stamped cured meat (which was listed as an example on the website) but not any other countries' meats. I informed him that his decision was counter to that of the website, he clicked some things, and said that his guidelines would not allow the meat to continue into Canada. As I pushed the meat across the desk to his side, and waited for him to fill out a form for turning over the meat, I promised myself to print off the Canada Customs guidelines in the future because that cured boar was really good.
I met up with G&M at our departure gate to see how they were doing and we went our separate ways, as I had paid extra for the Air Canada lounge when I bought my plane tickets last year. Since there was nearly four hours until our flight to Victoria, I took full advantage of the services the lounge had to offer: free food, coffee, tea, drinks, and fast wifi. Well, not really free as it costs ~$50 plus tax but I consider it well worth it for a comfortable seat and solid table all to myself in a quiet area. I either wrote in my travel diary or read while eating healthy small bites.
The Toronto to Victoria leg of the flight was fuller, although there was a spare seat between myself and the other person in my row. Restful reading and snoozing were perfectly achieved and the flight arrived on time at 1015pm. My luggage also arrived with me so I said my goodbyes to G&M and took a cab home. Once there I said hello to our cats and I got into bed with my wife. No disturbing her, though, as she had to work the next day. I was home. 4.6km and 6 flights walked.
No comments:
Post a Comment