The Wall Street Journal notes today that airports are trying harder to pamper travelers. Vancouver, in particular, has instituted pay-per-use lounges. For $30 a pop, visitors get an open bar (the most important), plus access to buffets showers. No word yet on whether they'll be importing American Airline's own special brand of snack mix from the Admiral's Club, but one can always hope. The airport is also home to sleeping pods, which can be rented for up to two hours. They are described as "semi-private", which isn't very enticing; I don't want random Canadians telling me how peaceful I look when I'm sleeping.
Vancouver is not home to the strangest amenities in a transport hub, though: that title belongs to Metro Marché, a sit-down French restaurant opening in the NY Port Authority Bus Terminal this week. Yes, wander through dingy lighting past the Cinnabon and you too can eat steak frites at a gin-u-wine zinc bar. I can only assume they've hired the homeless people who live in the Port Authority as staff--wouldn't the specials be more exciting if they were delivered by a shambolic man wearing a tinfoil helmet?
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