I believe that date is Sunday, October 5...and it is 6:10 a.m. We have no internet access from the room, and the internet cafe is stinky and dirty, so I have decided to write my blog into WordPad (as we seem to be lacking the Office programs here on P's laptop) and then to transfer it at such a time as we have our own villa and our own internet access.
First things first: YYG to YYZ (Calgary to Toronto).
Well, first off,the luggage really stressed me out. I packed and re-packed our three suitcases, in the hopes that they would all be under the 20 kg weight limit imposed by Etihad airlines. My heaviest bag was about 45 lbs...and that was the best I could do. Leaving behind my family was very sad and emotional, but I have had a 'no crying' rule in place for all of my 'see you later's'. Mom and Dad took me to the airport (I drove) and we all got very sad at the security clearance point where we had to part ways. I have a lovely picture of mom and dad, with A, and though they are smiling (on demand...at my request) you can see they are also crying. What a lovely daughter they have!!
I was very ticked with the security lady who removed the freezer packs from A's food cooler. I had packed enough yogurt and cheese to get me through to AD, and she felt it needed to be removed. I have travelled to Phoenix, to California (twice) and to Vancouver Island with those ice packs...thankfully, mom and dad were still waiting and I didn't have to throw them out. Then it became Air Canada's problem (and later, Etihad's) to keep A's food cool for me.
Three very annoying things happened on this leg of the trip. The first: I met a bible-thumper (King James' version) from Muskoka country, who was working in Fort Mac, and heading home. Though he seemed nice enough, I started to tune him out once he started talking to me about "Your country..." (I believe I mentioned I was from Edmonton) and when he went on about how the Nazi SS soldiers were really a joint Canadian-American enterprise. He seemed to jump from one of these conversations to the next, with no segueway other than 'it's really interesting...". I was very thankful to the young mother of three from Halifax who interrupted our one-way conversation to talk to me about my Go-Go Babyz Travelmate (the trolley I bought to make it possible for me to travel with the car-seat, stroller, carry-on bag and A...a must have for people who plan to travel a lot with their little ones).
The next annoying thing: our car-seat was a pain to install and remove from the plane. The AC flight attendant was not very happy with me (although she was the one who had snapped it in). It took over 10 minutes for her to get it out, and that was after everyone else had left the plane!! I believe she ended up with several gouges and scratches on her arms from the activity!! OUCH!
And lastly, I decided to be super-woman (or stupid-woman...more of the latter really) and take all my luggage to the Toronto Airport Sheraton ON MY OWN (with all of the accoutrements mentioned in the last paragraph). I arrived at the Sheraton about 45 minutes later (did I mention my cart was crappy and one of the wheels kept sticking?) sweaty and stinky as all, to find that my room was not ready!! But hey, we had our lunch (at 4:30 pm Toronto time) and then A got a Sheraton bear, so that made up for it!
We had a lovely visit with our friend Neeraj, who looked very preppy in his new fall pea-coat from Zara. It was great to see a friendly face in Toronto. And then it was off to get ready for bed. That night, A had two 'firsts': she flushed the toilet for the first time ever, and she cut her lip of her one little tooth (and boy, did it bleed!!). After a snuggle, some Tylenol and polysporin (for the pain) and some milk, A and I went to sleep.
Second: YYZ to EUH (Toronto to Abu Dhabi)
We got up at 6:45 and were out the door by 7:15 am. I hired a lovely porter who took us from the Sheraton the baggage check-in without breaking a sweat (at least nothing that I could smell). Sadly, we were the first ones at the gate (177, for posterity) at 8:00 a.m. So, A had a very relaxing breakfast and I scarfed down a chocolate filled croissant and milk (had to use up a Starbucks GC). Etihad decided (wisely) that my car-seat had to be gate-checked, and A and I killed time walking around and around the gate area.
It was raining in Toronto. As we sat down in our seats (38A and C), I allowed myself a quick minute to cry...just for everyone and everything that I was missing and would be missing. Our plane was a little late departing (I believe we left around 11:00 am) and then 12 hours of flight time.
I discovered one thing that is more annoying than a screaming baby on a 12 hour flight. Try an Indian guy (over here...we drop the 'East' as there are no other kinds) watching a Bollywood moving with his headphones, banging out the bhangra beats on the tray tables with his hands, snapping his fingers to the music and snorting back mucous like it was cocaine and he was in New York in the 80's (yes...that much mucous). This was during "sleep' time on the plane (where all the lights had been dimmed and the windows closed..hint, hint Bhangra-guy). We had switched seats to the opposite side of the plane, as I wanted to spare the older Indian couple in front of us the joys of having a baby bounce on the back of their seats for 12 hours. And our A...she definitely is an energizer bunny that one. I would say she slept for about 3 hours (total) on this trip. She passed her time by singing, calling out 'buh buh' to the airline stewards and stewardesses, walking back and forth to the bathroom (she pooped about 7 times...lucky number 7), dancing and just generally being active. Suffice it to say, momma was very tired when we landed. I was too tired to look out the window and enjoy the sunrise. I did see the desert sand, but was just counting down the minutes to landing.
The airport was beautiful. I found my way to customs and had our passports stamped with our visitor's Visa (as that's what we are, until we become residents). There was a bit of stress as we waited a very long time to get our gate-checked items (car-seat and stroller). And then, there we were, finally, walking out the gate in AD, and P was walking towards us to meet us. I think I was way too tired to process my own happiness. A was strapped into the car-seat and was rolling along. She did not seem over excited to see her daddy, but neither was she shy or bashful.
For 8 in the morning it was very bright and very hot. My first order of business: take off socks (for me and A). The ride into the city surprised me...so much more greenery than I had expected. The buildings were a combination of Cuba-old and New York-new. We got into the hotel (in case you want to check out the new digs...check out the Millennium hotel: http://www.millenniumhotels.com/ae/millenniumabudhabi/index.html), and I ordered my first taste of AD: french fries!! We topped off our first night with a walk along the Corniche (which translates to "Road on a ledge"). Although it was too dark to see much of anything, the weather was gorgeous and warm, and it was filled with people who were on vacation (end of Ramadan). Besides, I had already seen the beautiful views from my hotel window!
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