We had a 12noon checkout so we took our time to pack and finalise our affairs. I decided to order breakfast. When my omelette arrived, it was enormous- served with breakfast potatoes and extra toast. I ate what I could and it was very tasty.

Once checked out, we walked to the Port Authority on 8th street from our hotel which took about 25 minutes. There was a bus preparing to leave but we could not pay by phone like in the subway. We needed to buy a ticket in their office or as we did, scan the bar code and buy the tickets online. It was a straight forward process and completed within the 5 minutes before departure. Tickets for seniors pay half the price for adults. The bus was air conditioned and quite comfortable.

The bus ride took under the expected hour timeframe to Newark so we were making good time. When we went to check in, we were told that we could catch an earlier flight and we accepted as Scott thought that we were flying at that time anyway, hence the early trek to the airport. I was not asked to pay for my carry on this time, go figure!

Security was easy as there were very few people here but my bag was swept into the checking zone. I forgot that I could not bring the rest of my duty free vodka back to Canada on my carry on… duh!

We settled in to the Usual Times bar in the airport and ordered drinks and food. We only ordered drinks and food until the nonchalance and disorganisation of the service. We had our drinks and went to the Belgian Bar but realised that we did not have time, so we just had beers.

I bought a bottle of Smirnoff White duty free (in case there was still a strike in Toronto of the local liquor stores). Once purchased, I wasn’t allowed to walk the 20 feet back to the Belgian Bar with my sealed bottle and was asked to return and show my receipt when we again made our way to the gate. When the time came to collect my duty free, she actually escorted me down to the gate to ensure that I went to the right place.

The weather was cloudy and thunderstorms were about so the flight had some turbulence to the extent that service was stopped just as they got to our row.

The landing was smooth at Billy Bishop airport and customs was fuss free… mainly electronic except for the final check.

We followed the escalators down to a tunnel which is a walkway under the canal and then elevators took us up to the other side of the canal where there was a car park for us to meet the Uber. It was peak hour traffic so we asked to be dropped off a few blocks before our destination as it was easier to walk than wait in traffic.

We walked past the Gloria Cocktail bar and noticed Escargot on the menu. Our bags were small enough to tuck under a table and we decided to have dinner here.

We started with Pear Martinis and ordered Escargot to share, French Onion soup for me and Scott chose the Gloria Burger.

It was Martini Happy Hour so we also ordered Dirty martinis.

The food was delicious and the experience was enhanced by watching a couple of women sitting outside having cocktails with their cute dog -Theo the labradoodle!

We continued to walk the 2 remaining blocks home and unpacked and set about settling in for the night.

New York was fabulous and now only a memory!

Good night.