The Wandering Chocoholic

Montreal, Canada

Back across the Atlantic

Well, that was a fun flight: Eleven hours. Two screaming babies. One yapping dog. One broken footrest. One non-working USB port. Two clueless flight attendants who kept forgetting my requests for simple things like water. One woman behind me coughing up a lung all day. And a foul smell from the toilets for at least the final third of it. Needless to say, I didn’t sleep much.

But, it doesn’t matter: We arrived safe, sound and ahead of schedule. So that’s all anyone can ask for when it comes to air travel, really.

The first thing I heard after getting off the plane was a customs official swearing at her friend in quebecois. “Tabarnak!” Yep. I’m back in La Belle Province, all right.

I sped through customs and baggage claim — having a Nexus card rocks — and the next thing I knew, I was back in Montreal’s chilly weather, heading towards home.

By that point I’d been up for, um, yikes, best not to think about how many hours in a row. So, it was pretty much just drop bags-shower-sleep.

It’s oh so quiet

I woke up in the early pre-dawn hours. Thanks to jet lag, I’m temporarily a morning person. It won’t last.

The first thing that struck me was the quiet. After the sensory assault of India, and even the lesser chaos of Nepal, Montreal feels like being submerged into a sensory deprivation tank. No honking horns, no lights, no sounds, no smells. The peaceful stillness was a bit disconcerting. Is anyone there?

I’d done the sensible thing this time around and taken a day off to get back into the routine. I made myself a leisurely breakfast. After three weeks of restaurant food, I really appreciated the simple pleasure of putting a record on the turntable and making myself a home-cooked breakfast in pyjamas. Pancakes with maple syrup and real fresh-ground coffee – yum! It’s nice to be back.

Everything in my backpack needed to be scrubbed, sanitized or tossed out. I set about the tasks of unpacking, doing a mountain of laundry, and sorting practicalities like bills and groceries. Tomorrow it’s back to work and the normal routine, but for today, it’s a bit of a stolen day. Feels nice.

And so it goes

And with that, yet another chapter in Sari’s Travel Tales comes to a close. Soon, I’ll upload and share more photos. And I am really looking forward to seeing you all and catching up in person. But in the meantime….

To Adi, you ultimate legend: Thank you for making this trip so awesome.

To the thirteen awesome people I had the good fortune to share this experience with: Chris, Frances, Kajia, Des, Ellen, Emma, Tamara, Gemma, Max, Claudine, Matti, and “Mom and Dad” Roberta and Abdul: Keep smiling, keep travelling, keep enjoying. And if you ever find yourselves in Montreal, my guest room is always on offer.

And to all my friends and family who keep reading, commenting, messaging me and following along with these blogs, thanks for accompanying me on this journey. It’s great having you all with me on my travels. Thanks so much for the support!

Finally, to the eternal question: Where’s next? Well, you all know me by now and you know I never stay still for long. Watch this space.