Re: Confused in Canada (Linda's blogette)
I had a look round the shops, bought some more souvenirs (I'd already bought stuff in two souvenir shops in Ottawa) and went to my gate. After a while they announced a delay. Then on the board the gate number for my flight changed. The man at the gate said the board was wrong and we were still going from this gate. However our plane eventually landed at the other gate so we all had to dash over there. Once we got on the plane they had to spend some time de-icing it before we took off; however there was enough time between my flights for this not to be a problem.
The problems came at Toronto. It wouldn't have been so bad if they had been honest with us from the start - we could all see the plane waiting there, and they kept telling us that we would soon be boarding, once the pilots had finished "carrying out their tests". Then after about an hour they revised the departure time to an hour and a half late, saying that they'd had to check something in the engine but it was all OK now and we'd soon be boarding. Then later they said they were waiting for the mechanics to sign off what they'd done, and put the flight time back a bit more again. So all this time we thought we would be boarding at any moment (they even told us to have our documents ready to save time once we started boarding) so nobody dared to venture far. (The shops & restaurants were a very long way away at the opposite end of the terminal.) It was a full plane (nearly 300 people) and there were many families with young children. The kids were fed up - some started a game of football, others were grizzling. At midnight they gave us a new departure time of 01:10 and gave us meal vouchers (as it was now 3 hours from the original departure time of 21:00 so they were legally obliged to) and told us we could spend them in any of the restaurants in the terminal. So we all traipsed the long distance to the restaurants only to find, unsurprisingly, that they were all shut except for Tim Horton's. So we all got in a queue. It took ages. They only had 2 staff on and one was obviously a trainee. I finally got a sandwich at 12:50 and started to walk back, only to hear the announcement calling the last people for boarding. Some people were still queueing so had to go back without having got anything to eat. By the time everyone got back, we finally took off at 01:30 (four and a half hours late). The pilot told us what the problem had been - on landing, one of the engines hadn't been running correctly so it had to be recalibrated. This took time because the mechanics have to open it up to do it, then they have to test it, then repeat & repeat until it is right. If only they had told us this at the outset.
Oh, and the macaroni cheese which I had ordered due to the recommendation was not very nice after all.
Re: Confused in Canada (Linda's blogette)
So, to sum up.
I did really like Canada and would like to go back again for longer some day, and travel around more. It's a pity I couldn't do that on this trip but I was already really behind at work before the trip. The people were all very friendly (except, strangely, the ones in church!). The general surroundings were very pleasant. It seems a very healthy place, with families spending a lot of time outdoors. Although they do seem to like their tea and cakes - I wonder that they aren't all as big as houses! I suppose they do plenty of exercise, and don't drink as much wine as we do!
It was a pity that there weren't more forumites there, and that we were all staying in different places. Before arriving, I'd assumed that as SG was the only one in a hotel with a bar, we'd all meet up there every night, but she never suggested it. Now I've read her blog, I know why - she'd met a couple of Toy Boys and didn't want to share them with Helen and me! :lol:
But I still managed to socialise with the others which was nice. And it was great to meet up with Fiona again after all these years (we previously met at Wimbledon 2009) and to meet her lovely daughter Katie.
It was good to meet Helen; it was nice to have someone else in my hotel to hang around with. I suggested to her that she join the forum, but she's had a look at it now and was totally fazed by all the different threads. She'd assumed it would be like a Facebook page with just one thread. So she's not going to join but will see us at other DCs. She's already booked her travel & accommodation for Rouen and now just needs to get a ticket!
And finally it's always great to cheer for our boys and to get a win!
Re: Confused in Canada (Linda's blogette)
Re: Confused in Canada (Linda's blogette)
Great blog Linda, very interesting. You saw and did such a lot. About socialising I did suggest visiting you with my gift of wine but to be honest didn't really see you after matches except for Saturday. You would have been very welcome at the Marriott but you didn't suggest it either so presumed you and Helen were doing your own thing.
Re: Confused in Canada (Linda's blogette)
Thank you for your very entertaining blog Linda. I really enjoyed reading it. I almost felt I had been there! Well done! :thanks:
Re: Confused in Canada (Linda's blogette)
Super pics Hawkeye! Thank you for those too. Real C'mas card scenes....so pretty.
Re: Confused in Canada (Linda's blogette)
Thanks Linda, thoroughly enjoyed hearing your take on Ottawa and you do seem to have packed in a lot during your short stay. Great photos, Hawkeyes, making me shiver looking at all that snow and ice!
Re: Confused in Canada (Linda's blogette)
Great blog!!! You did miss out one tiny minuscule detail though. After dinner we walked up Banks St and had gelato before going back to mine. Sorry you had such a crappy flight home!
Re: Confused in Canada (Linda's blogette)
I am enjoying reading all the blogs. Sounds like you all had the most fantastic time, apart from some of the travelling!
Re: Confused in Canada (Linda's blogette)
Very interesting Linda - enjoyed the extra details.
