This is the furthest east I’ve ever been in Canada, and man, is the Nova Scotia accent ever strong! I had to listen carefully to the check-in agent. It makes Breigh‘s accent sound mild!
More flying pics here.
Halifax’s Stanfield International Airport has free wi-fi access, so I’m trying to catch up on two days’ worth of mail and messages and internet errands. The giant tree that fell behind the property where I live also took down a telecommunications pole, so the other tenants lost their landlines and cable TV. I only lost my cable internet, but since I use VoIP, that meant I couldn’t use my Vancouver phone!
The timing’s bad, since I’ve been trying to book a Paris hotel for the 20th for one night. The following nights are booked, but to make a long story short I don’t have a place for the 20th. If anyone has any recommendations for something around 50 euros or so, let me know!
In other news, I had a moment of clarity shortly before I was due to leave the house for the airport: my vehicle registration plates are due for renewal on my birthday. I won’t be in Toronto on my birthday. In a state of controlled panic, I tried to find a place where I could renew them and dashed over to the nearest ServiceOntario kiosk. I took a taxi back to the house to pick up my stuff and got to the airport with less than an hour before my flight.
Which is when I saw an ENORMOUS baggage drop-off queue for Air Canada. So I made a quick decision to not check in any luggage and tried to keep a low profile in front of the agents. My bags are over the size and weight limit for carry-on luggage. I snuck past the “no liquids or gels over 100ml” counter to security. (Where I gave up a perfectly good bottle of Jil Sander Sport on the flight to Vancouver last September.)
Just when I thought I was home-free, past the x-ray machines and doorway, there was a beep. I completely forgot to hide my pocketknife; it was on my keychain out in the open. I looked at my watch and decided I would sacrifice the pocketknife rather than get to the gate late… because Murphy’s Law dictates that a gate agent will tell me my bags are too large for the cabin, send me back to check-in, I would hold up the plane and all the passengers would lynch me as I walk sheepishly down to seat 18F. You know how it goes.
So, goodbye pocketknife #2 (?) … I don’t know where you guys end up, but I hope you have fun wherever that may be.
Next stop: Reykjavik! I booked a day-trip called “Iceland Eye-Opener” which departs from Keflavik Airport at 7:00 (!) to go to the Blue Lagoon and whale watching/dolphin spotting. It’s an excursion for those poor sods like us who get into Iceland at 05:15 and can’t check into our hotels until later, anyway.