It%26#39;s Monday September 5,2005 and I%26#39;ve slept untill noon. This is thanks to staying up late and dear Husband who has somehow managed to keep all three kids away! My flight is at 6:00am tomorrow morning and a million thoughts are in my head.
I spend the day trying to be relaxed and hanging with the kids. This trip will be the longest that I will have been away from them. { two girls and a boy 7,6,3,who now can%26#39;t wait untill they go to Paris!}
It%26#39;s late now and I%26#39;m double checking my packing, aiming for just a carry on and bigger purse bag. I%26#39;m way too nerved up to sleep afraid I will miss the alarm. We are down in the nowhere corner of New Mexico, so I%26#39;m driving to Roswell to Fly to Albuquerque, LA, London, and Finaly Paris! I napped for and hour and set off at 5:00am.
At our small airport we wait somewhat patiently and our tiny plane rolls up.
Now I should insert here that for the past ten years the running joke has been that I%26#39;ll finaly see Paris when I%26#39;m an OLD Woman and I%26#39;ll bum around Paris wearing a Purple Floppy hat telling stories of the old days. So when my travel agent gave me a purple ticket holder and bag, the purple theme was set and seem to be a good omen.
As I look out I realize the tiny plane is painted in Purple! All of a sudden it%26#39;s time to go (security is apprently very relaxed here!)So huggs and kisses all around and off I go! An hour later I%26#39;m in Albuqureque. Love the mirical of Flying. Security is much tighter. I ask a very Tall and large security man to hand check my film-%26quot; No Mame%26quot; with a very stern look and I guess the look on my face said it all cause he lauged and wisked me over to another counter. With all that done I have a two hour wait. Time just went way too slowly. Finally on to LA. A very nice man gave me some advice about my London side of my trip. Then we were in L.A.
At this point I have to find Tom Bradly and manage the longgest flight of stairs. I sadly remember what Randy had said once about taking very little luggage and mangaging stairs. I wished my bag was a tiny back pack. I then have a forever wait to check in. Then on to Security which wasn%26#39;t any worse then Albq. Another hour and I%26#39;m on the plane. by now its 2:30 in the afternoon and I%26#39;m hungery. I%26#39;d had breakfast and a coffee, but,refuse to pay 8.00$ for an Airport sandwich. I get out a granola bar and spent the 2.00 and a tiny bottle of juice.
On the Plane now and I%26#39;m in between a very snotty girl and a very talkative man. He was very nice and gave me bits of advice. The one thing I wish I%26#39;d have been able to remember is the French cuss words- I could have used them later on!! Well, all that lack of sleep paid off! I watched some horribe movie had my first French wine of the trip, after diner fell asleep. Then woke up 3-4 hours later. This is when I realize that Jet lag thing is going to be strange.
Then it%26#39;s breakfast time and we are almost there!(London that is) by this time I%26#39;m getting tired of Airports, and I vow to move closer to an international airport! Lodons airport was very nice compared to L.A. I got a little turned around and asked someone how to get to my terminal.I%26#39;m way out of the way!! So I get to the right terminal and about 10 minutes before the flight is to leave they annouce what gate to go to.
Finaly I%26#39;m on the last Flight into PARIS! I%26#39;m very tired and then I see France! AHHHHHHH. We land and I%26#39;m very happy.But I just want to unload my bags and get that stamp. I have to leave you here as I don%26#39;t think I can get too much more on here!
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Oh my Moonwisper, what a journey!!! Good thing you%26#39;re there now! I remember my first flight down to South America... it lasted 28 hours! I thought I was going to die! I just simply needed to not sit anymore, wash up, and get a good nights sleep. In anycase, enjoy it while you%26#39;re there and please fill us in when you can! Can%26#39;t wait to hear more! Less than two weeks and I%26#39;ll be there too!
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What a journey thus far. I understand completely...In 12 days I will be taking my first trip to Paris..everyone that knows me, personally and professionally knows that this is the trip I%26#39;ve wanted to complete before I turned 50. I will be 52 in January, so I am only a few years off, and my husband is being very supportive, worried that I am traveling alone- can not wait to hear more about your journey- enjoy.
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HI Moonwhisper - I%26#39;m waiting anxiously to hear the rest of the story!! I%26#39;m so glad you decided to write up a trip report! Is it helping with the post paris depression??
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Great story! Curious...Did you do write this from memory or
did you keep a journal of your trip? Anxious to hear the rest of
your trip.
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Thanks for reading.It%26#39;s alot more fun to write this than I thought. Parisbaby2 -Yes, I kept a journal but mostly for reference. Mustseeparis yes this is really helping and like I said kinda fun. Piibre Wow !I%26#39;m glad your able to go even if it was a little late on your timeline. I was lucky and had aLot of support is going. More later!
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Thanks for the report. Have read 2 of yours so far. Very nice. I am glad I live in Florida, it is so much closer to France than New Mexico. I am dreading the long flight but I don%26#39;t know if I could have managed yours, especially alone. Keep sending your reports.
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This is post #1 and %26quot;Airport neverland%26quot; is #2. Someone pointed out that is sorta important.
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