The Trip Home

Up early for a change. We finished packing and set about cleaning the apartment. It hadn’t been dusted for far longer than the month we were there. Ed made several trips to garbage and recycling and we were done. Aiko actually showed up on time to check us out and proclaimed it perfect. We again reminded her about the short in the lamp cord and then went downstairs to wait for our shuttle. The street was blocked off for “works” so the shuttle driver had to back up to our house from the corner. Because of this, he was late so I telephoned and was reassured. He arrived within minutes and we were off on a mini-tour of Paris so I got out my phone and took some pictures.

We picked up one more couple and headed for the major traffic jam on the Peripherique. Arrived at CDG to an airport nightmare . . . people everywhere. It’s July! Bonnes vacances . . .

Ed got in line while I attacked Delta's blue automatic ticketing machines. The machine had no trouble reading his passport but refused mine. Back to the line. We finally got to the point where we were separated into either a very long line to the left or an equally long line to the right. We were sent left and spent the next hour in the line. Finally got boarding passes and bags checked. After that, it went fairly quickly. They herd you to a train and then through duty-free shopping before your gate. Of course you’ve stood in line so long that you don’t have time to shop!

At the gate I got some water and we waited a few minutes before being herded into another line where a couple young, polite blondes and little old ladies were pulled for an extra bag check and pat down. Somehow both of us escaped. Hooray!

Later:
Arrived in Minneapolis-St. Paul (MSP), went through passport check and Customs, rechecked our bags and went to our gate. We got bulkhead seats to Sacramento (SMF) so had some extra space. The First Class seats ahead of the bulkhead couldn’t recline into our faces. We loved it!

Home safe and sound and a very nice shuttle driver. Tired . . . but what a fun month. We may do this again on our sixtieth anniversary!

If you have questions about traveling in France, you may find some answers here. Check the table of contents. FeeI free to ask questions in the comment section and I'll see if I can answer them. Click here: Questions about France

Planning a trip to Provence? You may find useful information on my Provence blog. Click here:
Provence in September

Want to see all of France in one trip? We tried it once and here's the story. Click here: France in Thirty Days

Curious about the Christmas Markets? Here is our visit to the Christmas Markets. Click here: Christmas Markets in Paris and Strasbourg