Signs in vehicles and generally in any place have always intrigued me. The one in the gallery below was in the cab I took from the ferry terminal to YVR. Being a cab driver obviously has its ups and downs.
After an excellent pre-trip night and fabulous seafood dinner, while enjoying the view at the YVR Fairmont Hotel, I headed for security shortly after 6 am and the first leg of the journey from Vancouver to Montreal. Security clearance – which used to be a necessary lengthy but irritating process – has changed completely. No more taking out all your electronics, plus liquids and gels and putting them into bins.
All your stuff gets put in a bin (still in the suitcase) and makes a trip through a long tube that looks a bit like a CT scanner. Certainly made things go quickly. The plane to Montreal was packed and carry on bags were everywhere. I got on early so found a place to stow mine and settled into my premium economy seat. Most of the rest of the premium economy section was occupied by 30 somethings heading for a party in Athens. They started the party on the plane drinking sparkling wine with breakfast, transferring to vodka tonics by about 10 am. While they were entertaining, when we hit some turbulence in the great lakes area it was a bit of a mess. After deplaning in Montreal, I made a beeline for the Air Canada desk and got an upgrade to Business Class for the 7 hour flight from Montreal to Lisbon. Good move. Our take off from Montreal for our trans Atlantic flight was gorgeous with a clear night showcasing the city lights. Dinner was a lovely grilled sea bass with citrus marinade, rice and vegetables, preceded by appies – humus, tapenade, feta cubes and pita bread. I paired it with a BC Riesling which worked very well.
The flight went quickly: caught up on House of the Dragon, got some sleep and woke to a gorgeous dawn as we prepared to land at Lisbon Airport. A bonus was the lack of spilled cocktails over the backs of seats ????????
Lisbon airport is big and takes a while to get across from the arrival gates to the transport areas. If you book a transfer into town, turn right once you exit into the public terminal and look to your right for the ponto de encontro i.e. meeting point. There are three of them. Find your name and give it to the meeting point minder. He/she will then call your driver. I ended up with a lovely gentleman – Juan – who gave me a run down on where to eat, some history of the area and his family as we made the 30 min drive into town. The hotel let me check in early. Looking forward to a rest before heading out later this afternoon on a Foodie History walk around the old town!
Such a great start, enjoy.