Here We Go Again

A subtitle could be "Are you Crazy?" But you see, we need to do two more trips before we turn 75 next fall: one to England to say goodbye to Carol's roots and one to Scandinavia to say goodbye to mine. After that, we won't be able to afford travel insurance any more. Of course if we win the lottery, all bets are off. (The above was written before we left)
After our travel day today, I want to change the subtitle to "tomorrow has to be a better day". Our arrival at YVR was smooth and progress through check in and security was also smooth and pleasant (no crowds) but once we got into the secure area, hints at what was to come surfaced. First, there was no more Milestone's which is where we had arranged to meet J and J so a bit of a scramble but ok. Then our flight was delayed half an hour. Again, no biggie but our antennae were starting to tingle just a little bit by now. Then our seats. Yeah we know, the romantic business class sleeping pods, cosy and spacious, right? Boy, we can get a good night's sleep and wake up running, right? Not a chance in hell. And it normally costs close to $8000 per seat! Sure they are long enough with lots of leg room even when flat for sleeping but only if you're no taller than 5'-7". It's the width that killed us. We lay there like sardines, unable to turn or move our arms because the armrests on either side were holding us tightly in place. And it was freezing in there.
But the best part was the food. For appies we had scallops, long beans, squash purée and pepper slices. ALL COLD. The main was some super tough steak (Carol quickly gave up trying to cut it), potato fingerlings and broccoli. Dessert was a pear cheesecake. All washed down with a Cabernet Sauvignon. Sound great? Carol started complaining of a bad tummy almost right away. I waited for an hour and then my tummy rebelled. I never quite made it to the washroom but instead threw up in the aisle about 5 feet from the door. Thankfully I only ruined some carpet, not anyone's holiday outfit! Inside the washroom I continued and ruined my brand new jacket and the washroom itself which was labelled unusable for the rest of the flight.
The crew were marvellous throughout, mopping up as best they could, consoling me and all that but by the time I staggered back to my pod, there was no sleep in me.
The process through Heathrow was uneventful as was our shared taxi ride in. Our hotel is ok. Great location just steps top Trafalgar Square but again our food weird experience continued. We thought a quick snack before turning in would be a good idea so went to this "Italian" place around the corner, recommended by the concierge. First we asked for carbonated water and received, in turn, a bottle of wine, flat water and then Perrier. Next we ordered a simple pizza which arrived surpisingly quickly because it was still cold! As I said above, tomorrow has to be a better day! Nighty night.
.