Many of you now that Karen’s niece Marie works for Expedia Cruises in Barrie. She was fortunate enough to win a free river cruise for two from Scenic Luxury Cruises & Tour that had to be used in 2024. She asked Karen if she would like to go and so they began their planning back in August. The cruise that they chose was the Rhine Highlights which would start in Basel, Switzerland and end in Amsterdam. From the beginning, they both said that Nana and I should come along. When I got the initial quote, it was too expensive and so I said no. But Marie was able to find a “discreet” code which would give us 50% off of the fare. This was an opportunity I could not pass up. I originally booked us an inside stateroom. But after some thought and discussion with Karen, I upgraded us to a balcony but did not tell Nana. It would be a surprise.
I did not get a lot of sleep last night so it made for a long morning at work. By 11:00am, I was able to call it quits and start my vacation. The rest of the morning and early afternoon was spent relaxing and doing some final packing, while Karen was off to Paris to drop Maui off at our friend Darlene’s house. She graciously offered to look after Maui while we were gone.
Nana and I picked up Karen at 2:50pm and by 3:00pm, we were on our way to Toronto. With it being a Friday afternoon, it took us 1-1/2 hours to get to Karen’s brother’s house. We were able to visit with Ross and Susie for about 45 minutes before Ross dropped us off at Toronto Pearson International Airport.
We arrived at the airport at 5:30pm and by 5:45pm, we had our boarding passes and our bags were checked in. We got to security by 5:50pm and at 6:15pm, we were sitting in the Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge. I was very happy that we were able to get into the lounge because I have been reading that many people have been refused entry because of it being full. The three of us were only there for a few minutes before Marie joined us.
We spent about an hour enjoying all of the food and beverages that the lounge offered. Earlier when we were walking through the airport, I spotted Sarah Richardson from HGTV. And so when I saw her in the lounge, I made sure to go up and say hi.
By 7:15pm, we started making our way to Gate E72 for our Air Canada flight ($1202.97 CAD / person including taxes and fees). I could not figure out why boarding was starting at 7:25pm for an 8:30pm departure. Once we got to the gate, it was only a few minutes before they called Zone 2 for boarding. We settled into seats 35D, 35E, 35F and 35G for our 8 hour flight to Zurich, Switzerland.
It was nice having just the four of us in the row. This meant that the people in the middle only had to disturb one person if you wanted to get up. I spent the time watching Jersey Shore Family Vacation and listening to the SmartLess podcast. I tried to sleep but all I was able to manage was a few catnaps.
To be continued.
ohhh I love “discreet” codes.