April 26, 2019
Layover in Toronto
Killing Time
It was the middle of the night when the alarm went off at 3:15 AM. Keith and I both have chest colds (isn’t that remarkably bad timing) and he had a very poor sleep...a great deal of coughing. That, of course, meant I also had a very poor sleep. We should be feeling just peachy keen by the time we get to Zurich!
Our good friend Nick gave us a ride to the airport. That was such an amazing thing to do and made the logistics so much easier. We forgot to take a picture. Such heroism and we didn’t document it.
The airport was smooth but slow. We were there two hours ahead of our flight and it took every minute of that. I had this fantasy that we would breeze through security and have time for a leisurely breakfast on the other side (Victoria is a very small airport) but there was barely time to grab a snack to go. Opening the bike boxes and having them hand checked took much of the time. The personnel were terrific though, cheerful and friendly even at 4 in the morning. Ours weren’t the only bikes on the plane, there was one more in addition to a dog, golf clubs, skis and more unidentifiable oversized items. And no, they don’t send the dog through the X-ray machine, just the kennel. I was a little concerned. That pup was deeply unhappy about being popped back into the kennel and taken away and he had all my sympathy. The security lineup was the longest we have ever seen at Victoria Airport. Maybe it is time to consider Nexus, although their line, while shorter, wasn’t a quick one either.
The flight was a good one and we discovered an old friend on the plane.
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We are now killing time in the Toronto airport by eating, playing on our phones and just generally relaxing.
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5 years ago
5 years ago
I have been thinking of how much easier these jaunts to Europe would be if you lived in Toronto. Shorter flights, shorter time difference, direct connections. But for those benefits you would have to actually live in Toronto. We will take the trade off. Island life (especially retired island life) more than makes up for a longer than ideal layover. We are so fortunate to live where we do. Victoria is so gorgeous it is hard to leave.
A few days before we left Victoria we had a super visit with Anne Mathers and picked her brain about our route. It was a lot of fun and we gleaned great information. I have reread Anne and her husband Dave’s blog about the French Alps, as well as Scott and Rachael Anderson’s. Anne also sent us a terrific email with some favourite accommodations.
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I am going to try and find a spot to nap. Three more hours until our flight. Next entry will be from Zurich.
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5 years ago
5 years ago