After having requested the hotel for a wake-up call at 3am, I took a cab and left for the airport at 4am, along with the 2 Chinese-Canadians (whom I had dinner with at Costa del Sol) and asked to be dropped off at Terminal 1. When I checked my flight on the board, I found out that my flight would be leaving at Terminal 2, so I had to walk all the way thereto. It’s a good thing I was very early so I had lots of time to spare should I get lost. (haha)
When I finally found the Lufthansa counter, I found out that I have to print my own boarding passes from the machine. But since the instructions were in Spanish, and having slept for only a couple of hours, my brain refused to cooperate with me. So it took me a long time to do it and a long line had started to pile up behind me. And as you may have known by now, I have mastered the art of looking helpless, so an attendant came to my rescue to help me out. And when the machine only spit out 2 boarding passes instead of 3, I freaked out. And so the attendant took me to the agent at the counter who explained to me that since the last leg of my journey (Chicago to Vancouver) is with a different airline (United Airlines), Lufthansa cannot issue a boarding pass for me but that I can get my boarding pass at the United Airlines counter when I arrive in Chicago. When I heard his explanation, I panicked because I am certain I will have a problem with US Immigration in Chicago (which anxiety proved me right).
Keeping my anxiety in check, I decided to go with the flow. And since I have lots of time to spare, I did some last-minute shopping at the duty-free shops. Happy with my purchases, I grabbed a quick brekkie (too bad they don’t have tapas at the airport tsk….tsk….tsk…) before going to my gate.
The first leg of my return journey was a 2-hour flight from Madrid to Munich, with a layover of 5 hours. I was looking forward to this flight as I have never been to Munich before. Anyhow, Madrid has probably the longest runway as it took 20 minutes for the plane to finally take off, such that by the time it did, the passenger behind me was already snoring. (haha)
Since it was a mere 2-hour flight, we were served breakfast immediately. I just love Lufthansa (because you are fed real food and you don’t have to pay extra for it!) After a hearty meal of ham omelette, yoghurt, etc (the usual thingy served), the plane has landed in Munich. The plane taxied for only 5 minutes, and we were at the gate (unlike in Madrid where the plane taxied for 20 minutes before it took off).
We then lined up at Passport Control. One thing good about Germans is that they speak English! Anyhow, when it was my turn, I gave my sweetest smile to the young (and handsome) German officer who, in turn, smiled back and asked more questions than he did with the people ahead of me.
Our parting conversation went like this:
Officer: I heard that it’s going to start snowing in Vancouver when you arrive.
Me: Oh no! Really? Don’t tell me you’re the bearer of bad news….
He just gave me a wicked wink and smiled. When I left the counter, I looked back and his face went back to the “stern” look that he had before I came to the counter. Hmmmmm…..
Anyhow, since I had a 5-hour layover, the first thing I did was to go shopping! Of course, what else can a girl like me do? I love Munich airport compared to Frankfurt airport. Happy with my purchases, I then checked out the restaurants.
When I found one particular restaurant, I walked up to the counter and the waiter asked me what I wanted to order and our conversation went like this:
Waiter: Can I help you?
Me: I don’t know what to order.
Waiter: Order a beer.
Me: I’m sorry, but I don’t drink beer.
Waiter: If I may suggest, you can try our pancake with ham and cheese with a side order of salad and potatoes.
Me: Hmmmm…… (thinking but still undecided)
Waiter (saying in a loud voice for everyone in the restaurant to hear): Try it and if it’s not good, I’ll pay for your lunch.
Me: Okay, I’ll try it.
Waiter: What would you like to drink?
Me: Just bottled water, please.
Waiter (talking to the cashier in a loud voice): 1 pancake and 1 vodka (instead of water)
As soon as he said it, I saw all eyes in the restaurant turned toward me.
As soon as I sat down, I tried to open the bottled water but it was too tight. So I tried to catch the waiter’s attention to help me, but to no avail. But guess what, 4 gentlemen called him to let him know that I’ve been trying to catch his attention. I didn’t know so many pairs of eyes followed me to my table! (haha) So he came over and opened the bottled water for me. And I gave him the biggest smile I got. I told you – charm works – in more ways than one!
I killed the rest of my time in Munich by playing crossword puzzles that I brought along with me.
The second leg of my return journey was a 9-hour flight from Munich to Chicago with a layover of only 2 hours. Therefore, I couldn’t afford to have a delayed flight. And as luck would have it, my flight was delayed which is bad news because (1) I still have to collect my luggage at Chicago airport; (2) I then have to redeposit my luggage; (3) I have to change from Terminal 5 to Terminal 1; (4) I have to pass through US Customs and Immigration (and you know how anal those people are); and most importantly, (5) I have no boarding pass. And with a layover of only 2 hours, it would be quite tight. And so I started to pray. Again, my prayers were answered as our flight was delayed by only 5 minutes.
Since I was awake since 3am, I slept most of the time during the flight, although I was able to squeeze in two movies, “Men in Black 3” and “What to Expect when You’re Expecting”, in between my naps.
It’s a good thing that the plane touched down at Chicago O’Hare Airport on time. However, it took me an hour to line up at US Customs and Immigration. And as I feared, the Immigration officer asked for my boarding pass. But when I explained to him, armed with my sweetest smile, that I still have to collect my boarding pass at the United Airlines counter, I got away with it.
I then picked up my luggage and redeposited it at the United Airlines counter and collected my boarding pass, without any problem. I then took the train to Terminal 1 and sprinted towards my gate as shown on my boarding pass. But when I got to my gate, I noticed that the departure gate had changed. So I had to rush from gate C15 to C27. (I'm exhausted just thinking about it.) It’s a good thing my flight was delayed by 30 minutes.
The third and final leg of my return journey was a 4.5-hour stinky flight from Chicago to Vancouver. Stinky because the woman seated beside me, the man in front of me, and the woman behind me were all stinky. By this time, I started to have nose bleeds due to 15 hours of dry cabin air (not to mention the last few hours of stinky air). Ayayay…..
As expected, the plane touched down at YVR close to midnight because it departed half an hour late and so I availed of the electronic version of entry instead of talking to the Customs officer. I just breezed through the airport and into the waiting arms of Ryan and his family who picked me up at the airport, as Ricky was at work.
As I often said in the past, there’s no place like home. No matter where I travel to and no matter how wonderful that country was, I wouldn’t want to live anywhere else. For me, Vancouver is where my heart is.
Epilogue:
The itinerary for this tour was wonderful! It encompassed so much of Spain - its history, culture and scenery. But as with most tours like this, there were places that I would have wanted to spend more time in. However, wanting more of a place simply gives me a reason to return – one day.
As you all know, travel is a big part of my life as traveling opens my mind to the wonders of this world. So now I'm wondering what to do next and where to go..... as it just gave me a taste for more.
To conclude, I had a fantastic time and I bring home with me the most incredible memories that are forever etched in my mind, heart and soul.
Well folks, this concludes my Spain and Portugal travelogue. Hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it.
No comments:
Post a Comment