May 27-28: Return home to Kingston

Previous: May 26

No photos today for obvious reasons.

As we didn't want to go out again after daring the heat, last night's dinner was the lunch packed by our hosts Niek and Ank at Le Chene to replace the breakfast we wouldn't be able to stay long enough to eat. It was actually quite substantial, with cheese sandwiches (really good whole-wheat bread and cheddar slices), croissants, fruit yogurt (which made a great dip for the croissants), and tasty local apples. And, cleverly, it was all stuff that would keep well without refrigeration, since they knew we'd be traveling for a while without access to a fridge before we had time to eat.

Today started with a cab trip to the Jersey airport at 7 AM. Arrived in plenty of time and with no problems, and snagged a luggage trolley so we didn't have to schlep the bags on our backs. Let's hear it for appropriate technology!

Despite the message from British Air that we should arrive 3 hours before our flight, the British Air check-in staff weren't accepting passengers for another hour. Shoshanna found us a quiet, shaded, breezy place to wait outside for an hour, and when we returned to the terminal a little over an hour later, we had no trouble checking in. Security was fast and efficient, but didn't let us escape a second pass through Security in Heathrow. Annoying, but at least the check itself is quick.

Pack update: My big backpack checked in at 32 kg, or about 70 pounds. I didn't weigh the small pack, but it was probably about 2.3 of that. Yikes!

Once through security, we went to the terminal's coffee shop and had an unusual but tasty sandwich that featured hummus and avocado. Nicely tasty, and washed down with a decent cup of espresso-machine coffee.

Amusingly, when it comes to asking sales representatives and other employees for favors, Shoshanna is far more Canadian than American, and I'm far more American. She doesn't want to annoy someone or presume by asking; I have no shame about asking, since that's the job of the sales staff or customer reps and (i) I'm polite about it and (ii) I'm prepared to take no for an answer.

Today's installment was me suggesting that we go to the duty-free shop to see if they were handing out free samples of various alchohols. Shoshanna is not patient about this. Years ago, when we traveled through Heathrow on the way home from (France?), one of the Heathrow duty-free liquor shops was offering samples of what seemed like half their wares. I tasted something like a dozen liqueurs, whiskies, and vodkas before deciding I'd best stop and boarding the plane. We haven't seen such largesse since then, but I keep hoping. Shoshanna accused me today of being a pigeon who, once treated, would continue looking for more handouts even though the likelihood was small..

At the cash, I noticed that they had displayed the teeny medicine cups used for samples, and went up to ask whether I could have one. I found myself waiting with a English traveler about half my size and twice my bravado who'd already asked for a sample. I asked about samples, and the sale rep said he'd do it as soon as he finished with his current customer. While we waited, I bonded with the English traveler over the irony that the PA system was playing a Dean Martin song while we waited for our tipple; Deano was a famous drunk singer/comedian/show host back in the 1950s. (Didn't recognize the song, but the voice was unmistakable.)

When a second clerk said he wouldn't give samples, my British partner in tippling said that he really wanted to buy an expensive whisky, but wanted to taste it first. The clerk gave in and couldn't in good conscience turn me down, so we got to sample a 12-year-old Laphroaig whisky. But no sooner did my partner in crime get his taste, then he left with a metaphorical tip of the hat. Shoshanna swallowed her pride enough that she tasted the whisky and quite liked it; I didn't like the middle of the taste development process, but the start and finish were nice.

We have a 5-hour wait for our flight to Pearson airport, so we're going to find somewhere relatively quiet (i.e., where you can hear yourself think if your hearing's not bad) and get caught up on e-mail. Since it will still be about 5 hours before the plane's stewards serve us dinner, we decided to grab something now. We had a nice lunch at "Pilots", a restopub at one end of terminal 5. Our waiter was amused to see us holding hands and impressed that we'd been married for 24 years (!!!). He asked for the secret of staying together so long. Shoshanna told him that it was doing little but significant things for the other person; I suggested that it was the ability to laugh at yourself and persuade the other person to join your. I told him the story of me proposing to Shoshanna and having her call me a son of a bitch before bursting into tears. I'm not sure that my laughter was the optimal response, but it seems to have worked.

We'll be staying overnight at the Quality Inn Toronto Airport, chosen primarily for ease of access after a long flight back to Toronto (about 8 hours) and for having an airport shuttle that would take us back to the airport to catch the shuttle to Union Station tomorrow for our train ride back to Kingston. Stay tuned!

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