Montréal 2025 4 - arriving in the city.

 It's Thursday 3rd April, and I'm about to describe the events of Tuesday 1st April. I will try to catch up, but when you're busy doing things it tends to get a bit difficult.

Excuses, excuses. Come on man, get a grip!

Oh no, he's back! Newish readers of this blog will not have come across this, this commentator who pops up from time to time to add.. yes, to add comments. I'll try to ignore him and he might go away.

 No chance! Come on, so what happened when you arrived at Montreal Airport, or YUL, as we in the know call it? 

Nothing really out of the ordinary, actually. The passport checks and completion of an online questionnaire on one of the automated machines worked quite well, especially with the help of a friendly member of staff. Then the brief live interrogation by immigration officers.

How brief?

Immigration Officer: Why have you come here?

Me: On holiday.

Immigration Officer: How long are you staying?

Me: Eleven days.

Immigration Officer stands aside and lets me pass.

It was brief, then!

That's what I said! 

After that there was the tense wait at the baggage carousel, hoping that both bags would arrive safely. The tense wait became tenser as my large suitcase appeared on the carousel, but there was no sign of the smaller bag. After what seemed like an eternity (about 10 minutes) I spotted a flash of bright yellow tape on a bag which was coming round resting at the top of the carousel, balance on three other suitcases. It was a delicate operation to recover it without ending up on the carousel, but recover it I did. Then a swift trolley push through the final security check and non-existent customs check, out into the public area of the airport arrivals section, where lots of people were gathered to greet whoever the had gathered to meet. For me it was straight to the point designated for Uber pickups. Ten minutes later I was in the taxi and twenty minutes after that I stepped out of the taxi in rue Maisonneuve Ouest, at 16500. I crossed the road with all bags, entered the pin code on the outer door, then the same pin code for the second door, and then the same pin code to operate the lift up to the second floor, or deuxième étage, as the voice in the lift said. Then to my room. Another code had to be entered on the keypad to gain access - no key or key card here!  This code has nine digits! Enough said! Having entered my studio-apartment, I was very impressed - everything looks news and shiny, very shiny. 

 Bear in mind, dear reader, that although it was just after 9.30 p.m.on 31st March in Montreal, my mind and body was telling me that it was 02.30 a.m on 1st April. So I went to bed.