Montreal 2018: Parlez-vous francais? - Day 10: Finally Going Home and Final Thoughts
 

I woke up at 11.45 pm and thought oh no - going to be a long night! But thankfully I nodded off again, woke up at 6.15 and then dozed until 8.30! A successful night!

I made my way over to the airport to pick up my breakfast voucher. Whilst at the Air Canada desk, I asked if they could just check if the afternoon direct flight had seats available. The agent looked on the computer, said it looked full but would ring Brussels Airline for me. Success, there was a seat which they would deblock for me. I swear that being nice yesterday paid off!

She advised me to check in immediately, which I did. I then got a cheese sandwich and latte for breakfast.



The airport was quite busy. I headed back to my room until midday when I had to check out.



I love the old fashioned flight boards!

I forgot to say that when I checked in I was actually in what Brussels called their Fast and Flex seats - front of plane, free seat next to you, fast track and priority boarding! So for the first time ever I went through the no queue line!



Once through l got myself an apple lime and ginger juice. It was lovely - just what I needed. I found a quiet place and sat and tableted.



Boarding started on time! We were probably about 10 minutes late taking off and also arriving.

Passport control was a zoo but surprising my bag was there!

J and F came to pick me up and I was home by 6.30pm - only about 29 hours late!



My final thoughts:

:) I loved doing the statue walks - it was such an interesting way to see things that often just pass you by. This one was my favourite statue.



:) Using the RESO underground tunnels. Once I got my bearings it was such a fabulous way of getting around.



:) Visiting the churches - so visibly stunning and so restful. Though I did find St Joseph's Oratory very odd with all its escalators.



:) The food - especially the fish and chips! It is a lit easier feeding one than four!



:) The snow - indeed I would have liked even more of it! The city is obviously well set up to deal with it!



:) I thought the hotel was good - well situated, big room though the breakfast did get repetitive! I would definitely recommend it!



Not many low points:

:( The snooty cafe! No coffee and an expensive piece of baguette and cheese!



:( My french course in the sense that it didn't really meet my expectations. The teacher spoke way too much. One positive is that I feel I am making more effort to not make so many mistakes.



:( The detour to Brussels - arriving 29 hours late was not really on my agenda. I made the best of it but I would have preferred just to get home!



So overall I had a great trip! The rest of the family survived!

I calculated that I walked over 150km! No wonder I was asleep by 9pm most nights!

Many thanks to everyone who has read along with me - it is much appreciated!

Next trip is New England in July! See you then!

New Photo Added by Melbatb - 5 Mar 18 7:57 PM.

I'm glad you got home safe in the end. Your highs far outweigh the lows. The statues were a brilliant part of your walking tours. It must have felt odd being by yourself, but also quite liberating only having yourself to please.

I look forward to your New England adventure.

Hurray you are finally home. I will miss reading your daily reports...until July! Thanks as always for sharing your travels.

Awwww Mel I'm glad you got home eventually, and yes being nice obviously paid off for you to get on the afternoon flight. It was, as it always is, such an interesting read following along on your trip. I really appreciate you sharing your adventures and I can't wait to see what you get up to in New England. Welcome home.

That was a fantastic trip report - so much detail. Thank you. We only saw a few of the sculptures that you saw - perhaps a benefit of being on your own and taking your time.

I’m really glad you are home 🏠 well done on getting a direct flight :spin: so much better than going via Frankfurt :nonono:

Once again thank you for doing your trippie :spin:

Joan :wave:

Glad to hear you are finally home. Thoroughly enjoyed following along. Thanks for sharing. Looking forward to your July trip :wavey:

Welcome back Mel. :wave:

Yet another great trippie. Hope the delay didn’t put too much of a dampener on it.

Looking forward to reading your summer report. Enjoy the planning. :)

Thank you! I like walking but my two teens will only tolerate it to a certain extent!

And thank you for reading along! I know if I didn't do it live I would never write them!

Thanks Jackie! It was good to get home and have some time with the family before sterting back at work!

Travelling on your own is so very different! A week is about right for me! I saw so many things that I hadn't seen before!

Thanks Joan :) Avoiding Frankfurt is always a positive!

Thank you! Looking forward to New England. Only 4 months to go!

Thanks Jo! I work on the philosophy that you can't help these things so best to just make the best of it!

Now onto what to do in New England (though all accommodation is booked as is the car!)