London calling but apply for that ETA first!

I have applied for Britain’s new (as of this year) ETA visa, the first of what will be another electronic visa (ETIAS) non-Europeans will have to obtain prior to travelling to the 29 country Schengen Zone. That second visa keeps getting delayed and is now scheduled to come into effect late next year. But I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s delayed again, as various countries have to sync their Customs and electronic systems to accept the new ID. It’s all about security, you see. But Britain successfully launched theirs’ Jan. 8. I’m heading to Blighty this weekend so applied a few weeks ago. It’s a relatively simple online application. It costs 16 UK pounds or just over $30 CAD and lasts two years. The application asks basic information. It took about five minutes and you upload your passport after a few security questions and essentially syncs the “visa” to your passport. So that all you presumably show or insert into a security gate is your passport as you did in the past.! The last couple of times I entered the UK, crossing the border was a breeze. All I had to do was insert my passport into the turnstile-like gate, which read it, and a door opened and I was allowed through and on my way; no need to talk to a Customs agent. 

London has become my new “go to” city. After spending two months there in fall 2023 I was there three times late last year and now for the first week of May. In 2023 I stayed in a shared (with the owner) Airbnb on the border of Hackney and Islington in NE London, half a block from the magnificent Regent’s Canal. Last year I/we stayed at a small hotel on the South Bank near Westminster Bridge and then in Central Finchley in far northwest - but well built up – London. This time I’m staying even further out in Harrow, site of the famous Harrow Public (private) School, whose alumni include several prime ministers, Royal Family members and Nobel winners. That’s not why I’m staying there. After swinging through the area on a city bus last December the “high (main) street” looked magnificent with shops, cafes, pubs and restos. It looked like a great place to spend a week. And despite its relative distance from central London it’s still London and connected by the Metropolitan tube line from “Harrow on the Hill” station.

I’ve also settled on a regular hotel chain for London stays. I found Travelodge to be absolutely great. In North America Travelodge, as I  remember it, was a tired chain with humdrum amenities. Sorry if they’ve improved. But in London they have been completely refreshed with modern sparkling clean rooms with midcentury Scandinavian-type furniture, funky colourful resto-bar (opened all night for food) (photo) and a great hot breakfast. The price is reasonable enough. The chain has locations throughout greater London so you can choose a different location each time to get a better feel of the city’s neighbourhboods.

- Ron Stang, Windsor Ontario Canada, a frequent traveller

Contrast in attire between flight crews and passengers could not be greater

After travelling through six airports, in North America and Europe, the first week of April, one thing caught my attention. The footwear and more generally clothing of my fellow passengers. Almost universally running shoes or as the British call them “trainers” or a version thereof. It was quite remarkable how running shoes have almost become the universal norm of attire at least for travelers. Besides shoes the top form of garment is athletic wear especially on women and jeans on men. And don’t forget sweats and the universal hoodies especially on younger passengers. As for me, a shoe in between formal and trainer - kind of like what waitstaff wear - and creased “formal looking” yet casual lightweight and wicking golf pants. It’s also a visual phenomenon the clash between the typical airline passenger and airline flight crews. Pilots still look like they always have, in crisp suits, hats, white shirts and ties. A similar look, minus caps, for male flight attendants. And female flight attendants look like they eternally have – skirts or tailored slacks, heels and blouses and tunics with often stylized hats. It seems that in the airline business the iconic traditional crew look remains, continuing I suppose the mystique of air travel. Long may it continue! As for the passengers…

Having travelled on three different airlines crossing the Atlantic over the past year I must say Air Canada, for all the derision it takes, is still the best. Its long haul flights to Europe still offer free wine and beer and a superb seatback entertainment system with myriad movies, TV and music choices. This contrasts with my Azores Airlines flight last week that had no seatback system, no free booze and a smaller portion dinner tray. Same for SAS (Scandinavian). Yes, it had seatback entertainment but not with the breadth of programming offered by AC. The dinner was okay but again no free booze.

Arriving in Montreal’s Trudeau airport last week I was surprised to still see separate Customs lines for people using the ArriveCAN app (image). They were mostly empty of course for this pandemic-era app that often didn’t work (I was almost stuck in Athens back in 2021) and scandal-plagued cost and how it was awarded contractually.

Two minor missteps: At the Ponta Delgada airport in the Azores, trying to find a fountain to fill up my water bottle and told there was one beside security I moseyed over until I heard a stern “Sir!” as in "you-are-not-supposed-to-here!" And then on the flight from Mallorca to Lisbon I was told to remove my jacket that was draped over the back of my seat exposed to the passenger behind me. I had done so upon boarding with an empty seat behind but should have known better.

- Ron Stang, Windsor Ontario Canada, a frequent traveller

How to be an untourist

Arriving in Lisbon (Lisboa) I hadn't researched a thing about the place. Call it laziness, as I'm increasingly neglectful of looking up the places I'm travelling to. I'll deal with it when I get there, I suppose. The arrival in from the airport (named Humberto Delgado, a national hero and early admirer of Hitler who started TAP Portugal's national airline, though he seemed to become more a democrat later, and was assassinated). All you need is a credit/debit card for the metro, and it was an easy two line transfer to the station closest to my hotel. The next morning I set out down my street, a main one called Ave Almirante Reis, heading, I thought, in the direction of the port. I hadn't looked up any historic sites or museums. I simply headed off. And lo and behold, after a half hour, I was in the city's historic centre, jam packed with colonnaded arcades, monuments and restaurants  (I thought the Greeks are big on food, the Portuguese could give them a run.) Ah, here is the tourist mecca! I kept walking to the waterfront and wandered through the vast and stunning Praça do Comércio. Then along the waterfront where three massive cruise ships, which had disgorged their passengers, were tied up. I kept walking not at all knowing where I was going. When the port road went no further I started walking inland and up the hills with their narrow ever-so-cobblestoned streets (and sidewalks made out of the smallest stones, some with inlaid crest-like designs called Calçada Portuguesa ). And all of sudden I was again in "tourist central" near the famed St. Mary cathedral. Wow, the tourists were in droves! Conga lines up and down each side of the street. Obviously they were seeing "the sights" with pre-planned guidebooks and maps. I just happened upon it. In fact, in all my travels in Europe, I have seldom seen so much tourism except, say in London or Prague. So is this "over tourism?" The Portuguese seem to like it since there are myriad restaurants catering to the crowds. Fine, but being an "untourist" means no "preset" discovery, not fallowing the crowd, and discovering for yourself, where even the obscure nooks and crannies can reveal riches.  

Which brings me to the subject of photos. I, like everyone else, has long desired to take the "just the right" pic of a cityscape or historic site. But this trip I've changed. Sure, I might take a pic of that historic church or castle (no monuments please). But I will often take it in its present day reality. If that means there's a construction crane to the side, or traffic in front, so be it. It gives a sense of what the city is really like. 

Airline online check-ins can be problematic. Flying from Malaga to Majorca on Spain's discount airline, Vueling, online check-in was only in Spanish. I used a translator but still messed up. I thought I'd selected an option which allowed a carry-on in addition to an "under the seat" bag. Nope. Despite paying $66.80 CAD for just the under-the seat (with seat selection!) I got to the boarding gate and was dinged another $95.71 to bring the overhead on board. And today, checking-in on TAP for my next flight to The Azores, the same problem. My Booking.com receipt allowed one overhead in addition to the under-the-seat. Yet the TAP website asks if I want to put a bag in "hold" for an additional price. Screw that. I'll check in, in person, at the airport (no charge) like I did my last flight to Lisbon and pay only one fee, and hopefully not that. 

- Ron Stang, a frequent traveller, Windsor Ontario Canada