Day 23: Toulouse Airport Hotel, 🌞, 34°

Quite The Friday The 13th!😅😎

This morning I hung around the apartment as long as I could. It was destined to be a busy day! I had a good breakfast, cleaned up the place, packed up my gear and did everything that had to be done so I could get to the hospital and onwards from there. I also checked in for my flights tomorrow morning that I booked last night. The prices were rising, but I was still able to get decent flights with a last minute booking. Instead of flying the way I came via Montreal, I’m now flying to Frankfurt and then a straight shot into Vancouver. I have a 2 1/2 hour wait in Vancouver and then I’ll take the puddle jumper into YYJ. I arrive there about 5 PM tomorrow night.

On the way to the bus, I stopped at my favourite patisserie. There was actually a lineup to get in, so I knew it was probably the best one around this area.

Of course there were all sorts of brilliant things to eat!

I ordered a sandwich so that I had something to eat through the afternoon, and a little dessert.😊 My daughter Erin and her husband Seth wanted me to get a chocolate Eau Claire, but there weren’t any. So I got something else a little chocolatey.😋

And then it was on to the hospital. What a process that was! Trying to figure out how to check in when nobody spoke English. However, I mentioned my friend Isabelle‘s name, and Presto! She walked up and greeted me. She helped me to finish off the check-in process, and to pay for my emergency visit a week ago, and then she actually walked me upstairs to the cardiology department. What a lovely person.

So the technician put me on a bike, wired me up and said cycle at a set speed. The plan was to get my heart rate up to 150. She kept asking me if I was having any pain. None at all! My heart rate never got up to 150 even though the machine got harder and harder. Just up to into the 135-40 range. She said it must’ve been those two weeks of climbing in the mountains. 😅Maybe? Afterwards I changed back into my hiking boots, and the technician was nice enough to take me to the next part of the hospital where I met with the cardiologist.

He went through all the results of the stress test and then he did a check of my heart using ultrasound. He said everything was great, and I told him I had a train to catch so he typed the report himself instead of dictating it for someone else to type. I finally had the clearance in my hand and the bill to be paid for this portion of my hospital stay. Knowing that I was in a hurry, the doctor actually took me down to where I had to pay. I guess it’s the policy of, don’t let them out until they pay!

It took a while to get through the payment process, and I was hurrying because I knew there was a bus leaving in just moments.

All finished, and I was off for the bus at a run. I was just buying my ticket from the machine when the bus pulled up. I was just able to get on board before it took off! I purchased my train ticket on the bus with my fingers crossed that I would get to the train station in time. I made it, and I was delighted to discover the train was 10 minutes late. I even had time to buy some water and a Snickers bar!😮‍💨

I now have a 2 1/2 hour train ride ahead of me, which will take me to the central station in Toulouse. From there I’ll catch an express bus out to the airport. Just moments ago I booked myself a hotel right at the airport. These phones sure are handy when travelling! You really can’t travel these days without a smart phone because everything is geared to them. I actually saw a foursome using a street map from the tourist office yesterday. That’s a rare thing to see nowadays.

So it looks like everything is ready.

I eventually made it to Toulouse, and walked out the front door in the direction of the bus depot

I figured out where the bus departed from and I confirm with the fellow sitting there who turned out to be the driver. I stepped on, paid my fair, and he immediately left for the airport. As we drove through the city, I noticed how many people are out on the streets dressed in summer clothes. It was still darn hot. I also noticed just how quickly we got out to the airport sometime after 8 PM. When I arrived here 3 1/2 weeks ago in the early morning, Hitchcock me a while to sort out where the bus was at the airport, and then the bus got caught in morning rush-hour. It took about an hour to get into the centre of the city. Additionally, it was really cool when I arrived here and I had to put a coat on. I never planned, of course to fly out of Toulouse to go home, but there you go.

I had noticed that some high cloud was coming in, and I recall, having checked the weather forecast and discovering that the heat wave is going to break tonight. In fact, it was going to rain.

Arriving at the airport, it was just a matter of figuring out where the hotel was. I’m now in my room with this enormous king size bed! After all the strange and odd beds I’ve been in during the last 3 1/2 weeks, this is pretty nice. 🙂

So there you have it. It was amazing that this plan came together as well during the execution of it as it did when I figured it out last night on my phone. I guess I haven’t yet quite lost my touch!😉

I don’t have to be up tomorrow morning until 7 AM, and I’ll plan to be through security by 8:15 so that I have time to find something to eat before my flight at 10 o’clock. I have nothing to check in, so things should be fairly straightforward. I don’t have to deal with passport control until Frankfurt.

Again, thanks everyone for all the messages, emails and texts. It made a long week feel just a little shorter. Appreciated. ❤️

And now the lightning and thunder is starting and down comes the rain. Some big booms right over my head! I guess this means that it’s time to go home.

Geoff🍻