Got up on Sunday at 5 AM. My sister drove me to the airport. I took a 10:35 AM to Toronto via air Canada. Below is a pic of the plane I was on.
I had about a five-and-a-half hour wait until my 5:55 PM flight to Vienna. The Toronto airport is pretty upscale -- reminds me of Paris' airport.
I ate lunch in a restaurant, LEE Kitchen. I got a bacon cheeseburger, which came with generous steak fries. Before I ordered, I double-checked with the waiter that I would pay in USD. He said yes (God bless Canada!) and when I requested the burger be cooked well-done, he said a government regulation has all meat cooked that way. Some Americans have stormed out of the restaurant when they can't get their meat pink or medium-rare. Fuckin rednecks.
I chased the burger and fries down with a large OJ. I was afraid indigestion was gonna set in, but my stomach was A-OK for the rest of the afternoon. That's how you can it's some good eats!
While waiting for my flight, I read a little and walked the terminal, which wasn't that big. I think it was only for international flights. I still can't believe on the plane from Philly to Toronto, the stewardesses had me fill out a Customs form -- nobody asked for it once I debarked.
I took Austrian Airlines to Vienna. Really nice airline. Not a lot of legroom, but they served pretzels and a beverage; a meal (I got pasta with a roll and chocolate dessert); and a muffin right before we landed.
I had an aisle seat. An Albanian, who lives outside of Toronto, had the window seat. He was a bit of chatty and had a serious case of halitosis. He watched the recent Star Wars movie with Luke Skywalker and kept asking me all these questions . . . he kept getting the Emperor from the old movies and the old guy from the new movies confused.
I took a cab to my hotel, Hotel Kaiserin Elisabeth. Got there around 10:30 AM. I had finished on the plane, which touched down at 8:30 AM, the book I was reading, Lisa See's Shanghai Girls, so I walked to the Post Office to mail it to the coworker who lent it to me. I sent it economy for €10; it's supposed to take two weeks. If she gets it before I'm back in the States, I wonder if she'll notice the two Canadian coins I threw in there because she loves the hosers up north so much (the coins were left over from when I ate lunch in Toronto).
It's a national holiday here in Austria. Thankfully some places are open. I'm in the Innere Stadt of Vienna. It's very touristy. I ate lunch at NORDSEE, which is a little on the fast-food side. I bought a pre-made avocado wrap and washed it down with stilled bottled water.
Afterwards, my room was ready. Check-in time was 3 PM, but I was able to go in there around 12:30 PM. The hotel has an 18th-century composer vibe going on. I napped most of the afternoon, since I'd been up for about 24 hours and hadn't really slept on the plane.
I rolled out of bed at 4:44 PM. A little before 6 PM I went around the corner to Kartner Street, which has a lot of boutique shops.
I ate dinner at this place:
Here's my receipt:
I got a giant piece breaded veal, a huge bowl (for me, anyway) of mashed potatoes, and mixed vegetables (broccoli, carrots, and cauliflower -- I didn't eat the cauliflower 'cause I was stuffed). I drank a bottle of stilled water with it.
Hung out in my hotel room for a litte bit. Around 8 PM I went back out. Since a lot of places are closed, I went to a McCafe and bought a McSloshi, I think it was called: vanilla yogurt with berries, and you mix in nuts. It was pretty good, I'm ashamed to say. Afterwards I came back here. It's 10:35 PM. I'm going to bed. Have my alarm set for 6 AM. Lots to cram in tomorrow because the following day, Wednesday, is a travel day to Frankfurt . . . train leaves around 8:30 AM.
Auf wiedersehen!
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