Friday Nov 6, 2015 - Departure!

Our flight was at 8:10 PM on Friday night, and the work day just felt like forever! The whole week leading up to it was very hectic, I had a group assignment due that weekend and I had to make sure to complete my part of the work before I left, and trust my team mates to do the rest.

I left work early, got home, showered and we took the UP Express to the airport at 4:30 PM. It's been very handy living next to Union Station and we're big fans of the UP Express. Our check-in and baggage drop off went smoothly, and we had time for a bite at Caplanski's Deli before heading to our gate. We usually use our gate waiting time to call our bank and credit card companies to notify them of our travel plans (not always required, but better safe than sorry), and I also downloaded a few e-books from the Toronto Public Library. I've gotten so used to reading before bedtime, it's hard to fall asleep without a book lol.

At the gate, a friend of mine spotted us and after the initial surprise of seeing her and her partner, we discovered we were on almost the exact same trip, except theirs was 2N Iceland and 6 or 7N Paris. What a coincidence! We chatted a little bit, and thought about grabbing a meal together in either city, but figured it would be hard to coordinate with our separate itineraries and activities.

Boarding started soon, and the flight attendants handed everyone a small bottle of Icelandic Glacial water. It's bottled from a natural Icelandic spring, and tasted really fresh and clean. Our seats were towards the back, and I was happy to see a wrapped blanket on each seat. Planes tend to be freezing cold, and I was prepared with a hoodie and woolen socks. The screen was in the seat in front of us, and besides the regular TV programs and movies, there was a lot of Icelandic informational content that was fun to watch.

As this was an overnight flight (landing at 6:25 AM), the cabin lights were quickly dimmed and we settled in for a nap. At least, we tried to. Some people behind us (across the aisle) were chatting and just not shutting up. I was getting more and more annoyed, as were others around us. I finally whispered to Andrew that it was driving me crazy, and how inconsiderate those people were. He then whispered back that it was one person, and it didn't seem like she was doing it on purpose.
Oh.
I instantly felt bad for my uncharitable thoughts, and I went from annoyed to understanding. Unfortunately, other passengers were getting more annoyed and someone in front of us even shouted "shut up" a few minutes later. The flight attendants got involved, but as the lady was speaking French and didn't always sound coherent, it was hard to communicate with her. A couple who sat next or close by the lady were moved to another row. This continued for the entire flight, and needless to say, neither of us got much sleep.

But that wasn't the worst of it! As we were preparing for landing, the lady got more and more agitated and would not sit down and buckle her seat belt. We gathered she was traveling alone to Paris and possibly scared of flying. I was worried for the flight attendants, and what would happen if she kept refusing to cooperate. Somehow they managed and we landed safely. I have no idea what happened with the lady afterwards, we were too tired and just wanted to get off the plane.

In all our travels so far, this was the worst flight, but really, in the grand scheme of things, it wasn't that bad. Next post, day 1 in Iceland!