The flight was rather uneventful. Pretty much like an other 7 to 8 hour flight. So I'll skip the flight and the stop over in Philadelphia and jump to the end of my final transit flight to Montreal in Quebec, Canada.
I had brought my guitar with me as part of my hand luggage. Since the guitar is too big to actually go into the cabin, it's handled as valet luggage. That means, it's still stored with the rest of the checked bags, but you don't pay for it and it's put on top of the other suit cases. So I had to hand the music instrument off before I entered the plane and I was supposed to get it back just after the flight. Well, that's the theory. On both flights I had half of the cabin crew sorting out the ground personal to locate my guitar. Both times it worked out fine, but it meant a good 20 min delay. Something you don't want when you're already short on time. Anyway, it didn't make much of a difference to me, but I'll definitely keep this in mind for my next flight.
Then after I had my guitar, I went to the Canadian immigration office at the airport in Montreal. There was no queue, so I got to an immigration officer right away. He was a really cool, mid-aged guy with long, curled, grayish hair, who actually appreciated my text message tone (the tune of 'Eye of the Tiger') very much. So there was a lot of "sign this here, here and here" and "I'll make you a copy of this". But essentially, it was over in a couple of minutes without any complications. I then had to see the Quebec officer, which was even quicker... That actually meant, I was now a PR (permanent resident) here in Canada. Woohoo!
Now it was time to pick up my luggage. I noticed that one of my (rather expensive) suit cases was damaged so I logged an according complaint with a really young and grumpy service assistant from US Airways. There is little chance I'll get something back, she said. But that remains to be seen, I have convinced myself. Anyway, I did get all my suit cases back, so I'm very happy about that.
I know this is turning out to be a long entry, but I had a very long day as well. So bear with me.
All there was left for today, was the car rental, finding the way to the hotel and checking in. At the car rental, a very nice woman handled the booking. She was convinced that the best car for me would be a massive, brand-spanking new Jeep SUV. So she tried everything to upgrade my booking. After I saw the size of the truck, I made a point that I would never be able to park the beast and stuck to my original reservation. So I got handed a Chevrolet Impala, which is well enough for driving on North American roads for a week, I guess.
Thanks to the navi, the Impala made the way to the hotel in Montreal pretty much on its own. Which was a good thing, because I was so wrecked tired at this stage, that I could barely keep my eyes open. The night man at the reception must have seen that, as he happily hauled all the heavy suit cases manually into the 2nd floor whilst I parked the car. Amazingly he finished his task as quickly as I did mine. Well, I wasn't that quick shifting the car into the parking space, but my suit cases were very heavy. So it was very impressive. Especially since he, a man well in his forties and with a bit of a belly, didn't look quite as fit.
Having everything sorted, I changed and happily passed out on my bed due to exhaustion.
A little bonus for those, who have made it through this looong entry.
Some photos of my first day in Montreal.
I had brought my guitar with me as part of my hand luggage. Since the guitar is too big to actually go into the cabin, it's handled as valet luggage. That means, it's still stored with the rest of the checked bags, but you don't pay for it and it's put on top of the other suit cases. So I had to hand the music instrument off before I entered the plane and I was supposed to get it back just after the flight. Well, that's the theory. On both flights I had half of the cabin crew sorting out the ground personal to locate my guitar. Both times it worked out fine, but it meant a good 20 min delay. Something you don't want when you're already short on time. Anyway, it didn't make much of a difference to me, but I'll definitely keep this in mind for my next flight.
Then after I had my guitar, I went to the Canadian immigration office at the airport in Montreal. There was no queue, so I got to an immigration officer right away. He was a really cool, mid-aged guy with long, curled, grayish hair, who actually appreciated my text message tone (the tune of 'Eye of the Tiger') very much. So there was a lot of "sign this here, here and here" and "I'll make you a copy of this". But essentially, it was over in a couple of minutes without any complications. I then had to see the Quebec officer, which was even quicker... That actually meant, I was now a PR (permanent resident) here in Canada. Woohoo!
Now it was time to pick up my luggage. I noticed that one of my (rather expensive) suit cases was damaged so I logged an according complaint with a really young and grumpy service assistant from US Airways. There is little chance I'll get something back, she said. But that remains to be seen, I have convinced myself. Anyway, I did get all my suit cases back, so I'm very happy about that.
I know this is turning out to be a long entry, but I had a very long day as well. So bear with me.
All there was left for today, was the car rental, finding the way to the hotel and checking in. At the car rental, a very nice woman handled the booking. She was convinced that the best car for me would be a massive, brand-spanking new Jeep SUV. So she tried everything to upgrade my booking. After I saw the size of the truck, I made a point that I would never be able to park the beast and stuck to my original reservation. So I got handed a Chevrolet Impala, which is well enough for driving on North American roads for a week, I guess.
Thanks to the navi, the Impala made the way to the hotel in Montreal pretty much on its own. Which was a good thing, because I was so wrecked tired at this stage, that I could barely keep my eyes open. The night man at the reception must have seen that, as he happily hauled all the heavy suit cases manually into the 2nd floor whilst I parked the car. Amazingly he finished his task as quickly as I did mine. Well, I wasn't that quick shifting the car into the parking space, but my suit cases were very heavy. So it was very impressive. Especially since he, a man well in his forties and with a bit of a belly, didn't look quite as fit.
Having everything sorted, I changed and happily passed out on my bed due to exhaustion.
A little bonus for those, who have made it through this looong entry.
Some photos of my first day in Montreal.
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