We have made it to fly out day, finally! We have jumped through all the hoops for international travel in this new world, checked in with success and now sitting in the airport bar about to drink our first holiday beer!
Now I can be happy and relax. The pre-travel stress is done – they are going to let us on the plane ☺️
The lead up to this holiday, like most, has been intense. Have I completed all the forms, do we need a covid test, will Qantas change our flights for the 4th time, has my hand over at work covered everything enough, how early do we need to get to the airport, will my dogs be ok, are my grown children ok, have we packed too much… questions running around and around in my mind while the only question my husband asked was ‘have I got my wife’!
I set the scales, accidentally on pounds instead of kilos – only discovering this at check in when our bags weighed substantially less than anticipated. Guess Wayne could have packed those extra pair of jeans after all! Hahaha
Our first leg of our final itinerary was via Sydney.
In my usual fashion, we arrived to Brisbane airport extra extra early. My kids have always complained about this tendency, but I don’t care.. I will not miss a flight! On this occasion, because we arrived so early, they bumped us to an earlier Sydney flight which was okay with us. Wait in Brisbane domestic or wait in Sydney international, the choice is clear.
With Sydney CBD in the background and expense airport beer to drink, the holiday has definitely started. After around 5 hrs, a few beers and a airport lunch we boarded our flight to Dallas, Texas, USA. 14 odd hours later on a packed flight we land to a much larger airport than anticipated.
Not sure what I thought Dallas airport would be like, but it is massive. The lines to move through customs, then security, then skyrail and finally to board our last leg to Toronto matched the size of the airport. We were herded through each obsticle with minimal delay. Security here is pretty intense. Each passenger having to pass the sniff test by the security dog who seemed to enjoy the work!
Touched down in Toronto some 30 hours after leaving home, eventually found our hire car and airport hotel. Crawling into bed after midnight local time hoping to get some sleep and fight the jet lag this to no doubt ensue! Happy to be here, just in time for Canada Day celebrations 🇨🇦
My Happy Travels 