Off to YVR we go! We are even departing our condo EARLY which is a shock for Andrew! Packed, optimized and all set for our adventure to Toronto, Washington DC, North Carolina, Montreal, Ireland and Iceland to come! Staying positive and we should not run into any issues despite them always following me around!
Quickly got checked in and through security and into the Maple Leaf Lounge-yeah-no line up like I often see when on shift, volunteering at YVR. Had a little problem with our boarding cards which was addressed and then we were able to board the plane – we were in seats 1D and 1F – what an awesome experience on my 2nd favourite plane the Dreamliner! I ought to move it to my favourite plane saying the 747 “Queen of the Skies” is no longer flying however out of respect for the “Queen”, which Lufthansa sometimes still flies into YVR, I have not retired it from my list yet. Just for you plane freaks out there – the Airbus 350 is 3rd on my list…. Was supposed to be on that plane for our flight to Toronto, however they downgraded our plane to something smaller without lay flat Business Class seats, which we had paid for, so we switched to the Dreamliner flight an hour later.
The flight was very smooth, even going into Toronto! Andrew was tickled pink (or blue) that he could watch the Lions football game LIVE on the plane – so he saw the 1st half prior to landing.
As for me, I was tickled purple that my Gluten Free meal arrived and was correct! Nothing to write home about however it is nice when I do not have to dive into my stash of protein bars within 6 hours of leaving home. I watched 2 movies – one in English and the other one in French. It was irritating when watching the French one, that you cannot turn subtitles in English OFF! Even the flight attendant commented on it!
Arriving in Toronto was a bit of a mess. No gate service for me and we had to walk to the baggage carousels. Somehow in their wisdom, Air Canada thinks they only have to take you to the top of the escalator down to the baggage hall and leave you there. WRONG. In Canada, the airline is responsible to the baggage carousel and the airport is responsible to take you to the curb, in this case, the UP train to Union Station in Toronto. We found our way to the UP station ourselves and luckily just made the train – the doors closed behind us! Very nice train service (real train not Skytrain type) that makes 2 stops and then is in Union Station.
The hotel, Westin Harbourfront Castle, where we were staying at had given me some excellent directions of how to get to the hotel from an accessibility stand point. In fact, the Westin Harbourfront actually quite surprised me with their level of service, including e-mailing me in advance to ask questions so that we had a better stay. That is when I asked how to best get to the hotel from Union Station using a mobility device. I also requested a water view room at the same time as I knew that the Toronto Airshow (similar but smaller than Abbotsford’s) was on at the same time we were going to be there.
It was a lovely, STICKY night in Toronto when we got outside of Union Station and walked in front of the lovely Fairmont Royal York Hotel and then turned towards the waterfront to get to the Westin Hotel. I have such good memories of when I worked for CP Hotels and they owned the Royal York and staying there with my parents when visiting Toronto one year.
The waterfront area in Toronto was WAY busier than I had expected it to be – however the next day we found out why. The Westin Hotel is behind the ferry terminal where 3 different ferries to the Toronto Islands. So all the people streaming by were coming home from the islands when we were trying to get into the hotel. I felt like a fish swimming up a river that wanted me to turn around and flow with them instead!
We ended up on the 25th floor in a renovated room, looking out over the Toronto Islands and could see the planes flying past to land at Toronto Island Airport. We could not see the airport due to a building in the way, however it was cool to watch the planes on their final approach. The hotel had sent us a nice fruit plate so we had some fruit and then decided to call it a night!
