Finally home and little bitchy
We have to check out of the Mundial Hotel by 12 so we are packed and ready to go to the Melia Aeroporto Hotel beside the airport. It is a lot less stressful on our old bodies to be within 500' of the terminal when our flight leaves at 10:45.
Picked up a taxi outside the Mundial. In Lisbon it helps if you write your destination address on a piece of paper. All of the taxis use a GPS systems where they enter the address. This is largely because of the language problem but also a result of Lisbon's very complicated street structure. They are quite inexpensive at 9.50 euros to the airport from downtown.
We spent the night in the Melia (very modern and efficient) only 500' from the airport departure. None the less we took the hotel (we are starting to get smart) shuttle and glad we did as the next 14 hours were a little tiring.
For a starter boarding was via bus. So we were bused to the plane at the far end of the airport and walked up the stairs. As it turned out our plane was well over an hour late departing because of a mismatch in passenger/luggage count (terrorism, etc.). The flight was ok and the crew was excellent but it took over 8.5 hours (headwinds and slow over the ground speed) and then we endured the customs in Pearson which can only be described as bloody havoc and the a shame on our country. We have been out of the country at least 15 times in the last 20 years and every time it gets worse. Last night there were literally thousands of people (no kidding) stacked into one big room trying to manipulate machines that only an idiot could have designed. Someone had to have been paid off in government to get the contract for the hundreds of oversized, underpowered and poorly thought out version of a customs officer (who you never see). I think they should ship the whole damn bunch of them to Easter Island where they would be a good match for the local stone residents.
Once we were through customs we picked up the luggage and Mary phoned for the shuttle to our parking lot. For some reason (and I said this to Mary hours before-our car might not start) and I don't know why but the damn car battery was dead. Because of my foreboding I tried it before the driver left. Fortunately there was enough battery power to open it so I could pop the hood. He said he would send another driver with a boost and almost an hour later he arrived and we finally got away. By that time it was dark. Fun.......
Twenty hours of ?&(((&% since getting up in Lisbon but sometimes it's the price you pay for travelling (I hate that word because half the world spells it with one l).
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