After 4 days of sun, humidity and heat, the rain came a few hours before my departure. In 77 years, this is the second time that São Paulo has received so much water. There are floods, canceled flights, landslides, deaths. The hellish traffic triples my travel time to the airport.

I’m running late, but the flight attendants of my future flight are also stuck in traffic behind me. The plane will take off 1 hour and 40 minutes late, which is quite an achievement considering the situation on the ground!

Again, my Premium Economy Class ticket turns into Signature Class. This time I have seat 1D. Rogeirio greets me with a smile and asks about my trip. Breakfast is served and I will have the same omelette as last week (with a slight variation).

I use the entertainment system to listen to the film “Parasite,” which won the Oscars the day before, while I eat. As a promotion to celebrate the new GRU-YUL flight, Signature Class passengers will also receive a code at the check-in counter to use free WiFi with Boingo.

Then we take my dinner order, but again, there is no mention of Chef Park’s menu. For starters, I had smoked salmon with rice, asparagus, carrots and mesclun salad.

As a main course, the beef was good, but a little grumpy in the mouth after a while. A sauce would have been perfect as a side dish.

This time I drank a glass of port wine with the cheese and fruit plate.

The meal ended with a trio of ice cream or profiteroles. Please note that you are entitled to a variety of alcohol, wines and beverages. Champagne, Lavazza coffee, signature cocktail, wines, beers and tea. I don’t drink much alcohol and that’s why you hardly see any alcohol in the food photos.

When my flight ended, I grabbed my backpack, zipped up my light jacket, and found myself in sneakers in the Montreal snowdrifts, which had grown about forty centimeters since I left. I sulked, adjusted my hood, and braved the cold.

Only 40 days until spring.