Friday I did not wake up in Rome. Note to all travellers: Make sure you research your destinations. The port where the Sardinia ferry docks in not in Rome, and nowhere near the airport. I departed the ferry around 6:15 a.m. I naively expected to leave the terminal and bard a free shuttle to the airport. Instead I got on a free shuttle to the train station where I learned that I needed to go the the Roma Terminali (end of the line) and board another train that would take me to the airport. Okay, I have loads of time as my flight does not depart until 1:10 this afternoon. Or so I thought.
The train ride into the centre of Rome took about 1 hour. I arrived just in time to board the train to the airport. That trip took around 30 minutes. So far so good as I arrived at the airport with plenty of time to spare. My flight does not depart until 1:1o this afternoon.
Before I departed Victoria on April 19th I received notice from Air Canada telling me that my return flight would depart from Terminal 1 in Rome. I went to Terminal 1 where I was told that Air Canada departs form Terminal 2. I went to Terminal 2 to learn that no, Air Canada departs from Terminal 3. I eventually found the Air Canada counter which was tucked nicely in an out of the way location. I was told that we would board at 10:45. I must have been tired as I thought to myself that this allowed a ridiculous length of time at the gate as my departure was not until 1:10 in the afternoon.
After dogging it around the terminal, looking in shops and buying nothing, I decided to head down to the gate at around 11:20. When I got there there weren't many people around. I thought, odd, but I guess I must be very early. WRONG! The flight departure had been changed to 11:30 and I was within minutes of missing the flight. Apparently Air Canada had sent me an email advising me of the departure but because I was unable to connect to the internet since I departed the Lemon House I was still going on the information I had on my original itinerary from Air Canada. Phew! I boarded and off we flew, Canada bound.
9 1/2 hours later we landed in Toronto. At the time I may have said I was never so glad to be in Toronto. While there is no recording of my remark I am going to deny making it. I mean, really. As if.....!
From Toronto I flew to Vancouver then on to Victoria where I, and surprisingly my bike box and suitcase, arrived on time at 5 minutes past midnight on Saturday, May 7. Dana picked me up at the airport and drove me home. There's no place like home. There's no place like home. There's no place like home. It's better than Kansas, Dorothy!
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