Waking up on Monday morning, my roommate confirmed that I was welcome to join the party for breakfast, and so down we went to meet up with Zxarr, and none other than the volunteer who had helped in setting up the wiring on Thursday night (whom I later learned to be a certain ). We walked to Fran’s Diner, where I had some excellent scrambled eggs over delighted conversation, after which we returned to the hotel to allow my roommate and I to check out. All bills settled, we proceeded to Zxarr and Lanakila’s room to chat for a little while longer, taking advantage of their extended check-out time. When that time elapsed, we headed back down to the lobby, bode a fond farewell to Zxarr, and found ourselves wondering what to do before our early dinner. Lanakila very kindly suggested a trip down to the old docks for a great view of the city, and so with the weather being excellent, off we went. The view was indeed fantastic, and even better for me given its location right beneath the approach path for flights into Toronto’s Billy Bishop Airport. ^__^

Dropped off back at the hotel, Soba and I meandered over to the CN Tower, taking time to explore the external exhibits of the Railway Museum while we had the time. It was a pity that the lighting made a good picture of the steam engine there impossible, but that surely leaves a further reason to return, right? With the time approaching the booked hour, we headed through security to the base of the tower, and when the time was right we headed along to the elevators.

The ride was as thrilling as I remember it – I’m not great with heights, though I’m fine so long as I’m in a plane – and the restaurant offered a breath-taking view of the city as it slowly turned one rotation per hour. We saw the Westin, which looked ever so small from that height, the planes making their turns to final for Billy Bishop airfield, and all the new buildings which had gone up in the previous year. Over excellent conversation and company, the food was incredible; I recall having salmon chowder, a large steak with carrots and parsnips (which were STUNNING), and a dessert of apple cheesecake which I really, REALLY didn’t want to spoil, so beautifully had it been presented. We also tried new drinks; myself ice cider, which I can highly recommend, and Soba a glass of mead, something of which neither of us could make heads or tails.

3 hours after our first ascension, and it was time to head back down to get to the station, though not before a quick browse of the gift shop to look at all the bears (Alright, Canada. We get it. You like bears. :P). Having been curious to see Union Station, I led Soba there, and we commented on the disappointing lack of such station in our respective hometown. With the UP Express waiting for no one, I shared a final hug with my ursine friend before heading for the train. It left on time, though a delay of about 20 minutes just outside the airport had me feeling nervous, but with no further issues I made it to the boarding gate in good time for the flight. The plane was another Airbus A310, which would take me to Manchester over the course of six hours, though not before an unexplained error caused the pilots to shut off all power inside the plane, and turning it back on again, which meant that they had to re-enter the entire flight plan into the computer before we could depart. Still, we did eventually get off the ground, and with a final look out at the vanishing city, thoughts of all the wonderful times I had had over the previous four days, and the stewardess bashing my shoulder every bloody time she went by with the trolley, I shut my eyes and went to sleep.

Well, what can I say but thank you for reading! I hope that I’ve summarised my experience of FE 2019 well for you, and if there’s anything I can elaborate upon, please do let me know! I shall be giving a shout-out in my monthly journal to all the artist from whom I purchased pieces this year, and I hope you’ll consider them for future commissions. I hope you’ve enjoyed!

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TL;DR – Woke up and met with Zxarr and Lanakila for breakfast at Fran’s Diner. Came back to check out of the room, settle the bill, and load up Soba’s car. Returned to Z&L’s room and chatted. Bode farewell to people, including Zxarr, and Lanakila took Soba and I to the docks for a good view of the city. Came back, bode farewell to Lanakila, and meandered to the CN Tower for dinner. 3 hours later, walked to Union Station, hugged Soba goodbye, and got the train to the airport. Rushed through security, got onto the flight which was delayed anyway, and fell asleep.