From Here to There

Although technically, it is now "from there to here".  We arrived safely but very, very tired in Villefranche sur Mer Sunday midday.  It was not lost on us how much we had to be thankful for given it was Canadian Thanksgiving Sunday.  

Our journey had taken us from Victoria - leaving our homes at 5:30 am to get to the airport for our 8:30 flight to Montreal.  That went smoothly and the new breakfast item on the menu in Premium Economy was delicious - French toast with a custard sauce; very yummy!  In Montreal we had a 5 hour wait for our connecting flight to Nice.  We found a nice restaurant and, after a light lunch, we just waited at the gate.  We had hoped to gain access to the business class lounge but that wasn't to be.  Our flight to Nice left on time at 8:25 and we arrived at the Cote d'Azur airport in the pouring rain.  Thankfully, my friends met us and drove us to our hotel in Villefranche sur Mer.  Both of us couldn't wait to lie down and get some sleep.  Luckily, my room was ready and it had two beds so we crashed for about 4 hours.  I can't remember ever wanting to sleep more.

The flight itself was good and the food was actually delicious, as was the Chilean wine they served.  One thing I noticed and I had never seen it before was that, during the video of the safety announcement, there was a message saying that Air Canada acknowledged that some of our flight would be passing over the unceded lands of Canada's indigenous people.  It is my guess that this is a part in the ongoing process of truth and reconciliation.  

It was great to be back in Villefranche sur Mer.  It is unquestionably one of my "happy places".  After our nap - aka four hour sleep - we walked down the hill to the quay and found a restaurant to have a drink and that was followed by dinner.  Spalato's was a good find and the food was good and, of course, so was the wine!  We are, after all in France.




So, it had been a very long day but we are here and ready to start our adventure.   


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