Day 28

Tyler and I made it home safely yesterday on Day 28. Did we land in Montreal or Toronto?

Well, way back on October 6 (Day 5), I e-mailed Air Transat to see about changing our final destination to Montreal from Toronto, since our plane stopped in Montreal on the way to Toronto. The reply I got back on October 7 said that it was impossible due to the "Terms & Conditions" of our tickets. Well, that didn't stop us because on October 28 (Day 27), I phoned Air Transat and asked the same thing. This time the woman on the phone informed me that it's possible to do, but only 22 days before our flight. Interestingly, I had actually e-mailed them about it 23 days before our flight, so Tyler and I decided to print out the e-mail I sent on October 6 and argue with them when we checked in for our flight on October 29. On October 29th, we arrive at the airport and ask the lady at Air Transat if we could change our final destination to Montreal from Toronto. The lady replies: "Yes, no problem." It just goes to show you that it's always better to speak to someone face to face, rather than over the phone or e-mail.

Our flight was delayed an hour and a half due to fog at the airport in Paris, but once it got off the ground the flight was smooth and uneventful. The movies were Iron Man and The Incredible Hulk. Both good movies.

We finally touched down in Montreal at 3:55 PM, after a 7 and a half hour flight, and made it out of customs and baggage at 4:20 PM. If we were going to Toronto, like we were originally, we would have only arrived in Toronto at 6:00 PM and then would have had to drive back to Ottawa (another 4 and a half hours).

I appreciate how Ottawa has welcomed us back with cold temperatures and 15 cm of snow on the ground. It really makes me feel at home ;).

Our 28 days in Europe was a great experience and I'd certainly go back to some of the places we went. All of our destinations were very interesting and offered us a unique cultural experience.

Europe also made me appreciate Canada more. Why? Here are some reasons:
1) Europe (with the exception of Switzerland) is very dirty and polluted.
2) The smokers outnumber the non-smokers. In some countries, you can even buy cigarettes from a vending machine on the sidewalk.
3) The houses and apartments in the cities are very tiny.
4) In some places, one litre of normal gas in Europe costs 3 euros. We can't complain about our gas prices in Canada anymore.
5) No parking spaces. When Tyler and I were in Paris the first time, we witnessed a car parking. Unfortunately there was no parking space available, so the driver backed his car up into a small VW Golf and pushed the Golf into the next car behind it. Basically the golf was sandwiched in between 2 cars and was riding up the hood of the car behind it. That's the parking situation in Europe. Oh, and make sure you don't buy a VW Golf, or some bigger car may beat you up.
6) The cost of living is very high and on average people only make 500 Euros a month.
7) It's just not Canada.

Thank you to everyone who has read my blog and also to those people who left comments. It was a fun experience and I'd probably do it again if I went on another long trip.

13) BEST PLACE WE VISITED: Barcelona, Spain.
WORST PLACE WE VISITED: Carcassonne, France (see Day 06).

14) MOST BEAUTIFUL PLACE WE VISITED: Gimmelwald, Switzerland.
MOST DIRTIEST PLACE WE VISITED: Budapest, Hungary.

15) BEST CASTLE/PALACE: Schonnbrunn Palace in Vienna, Austria.
WORST CASTLE/PALACE: Residenz in Munich, Germany (although it was still pretty good).

16) BEST TRAIN STATION: St. Pancras International in London, England.
WORST TRAIN STATION: Budapest-Keleti in Budapest, Hungary.

17) BEST AIRPORT: Charles de Gaulle in Paris, France.
WORST AIRPORT: Gatwick in London, England.

18) BEST DAY: Day 22
WORST DAY: Day 06


Blog you later,

Jim