One Crazy Day

Being gone for two weeks without cell phones, regular access to email, and TV other than the BBC and CNN International can be kind of strange. While we were gone there was an engagement, a new baby born, a college graduation, and my brother – wait for it – found.a.job! And a good one too. The live in and I are very proud of him.

Leaving Paris on Friday was, to say the least, a little rushed. The live in and I aren’t necessarily racking up the frequent flyer miles every year, but we certainly aren’t newbie’s either. Trip after trip we’ve learned a few things that make our travel experiences even that much better. However, for some reason the one thing we can’t learn is how to get to an airport on time. This has always been an issue for us, regardless of the country.

From the time we woke up in Paris to the time we went to bed in Portland it was just over 26 hours. There was not one point during any of that time where we sat down in an airport. We managed to arrive at the airport in Paris just in time to hear, “Chicago! Chicago! The baggage door is now closing.” So we shouted back, “Chicago! Chicago! {while waiving our passports in the air like Charlie when he found the Golden Ticket} pa-leaz don’t leave with out us!” They hurried us to the front of the line, checked us in, and told us to cut in front of any security lines we came to. We sprinted along and came to our gate just as the boarding has begun. We had made it.

Never once did we get a lecture about arriving to the airport two hours in advance for international flights, and for that I thank all of France. You were nice to us. You waited for us. And you never judged, at least not to our face.

We had a connection in Chicago that was, to say the least, and little chaotic. It’s always nerve racking going through customs in the US. It takes forever, and there is always the moral debate about what to claim. We were bringing back wine and herbs from Provence, which could go either way with them. My mind always says to claim clothes. Tell them you bought only clothes and they won’t blink…tell them you bought wine and unlabeled herbs and you’re probably going to get a full cavity search. However, when the passport agent asked if we were glad to be back home, the live in started talking to him about college football season and he never asked us another question. Good travel karma we have. And it’s a good thing we have nice travel karma because during this time {while cell phones are prohibited and will be confiscated} our phones were ringing over and over again from our pockets…

During our connection in Chicago we had just enough time to grab some food. We decided on McDonald’s, which was the greasiest food we could find. I tried to order a hamburger by pointing and making a circle with my hands, forgetting that English could now be spoken. The live in tried to order a milk shake, which when the McDonald’s girl told him they did not make those, he replied “then I’ll just have a regular drink” followed by a long stare. She said, “like a Coke”, trying to coax a response out of him. He stared again, and then I jumped in and informed her we had already had a long day, sorry for the ratard-ness, and yes please a coke will be just fine. We make good travel buddies, the live in and I do.

It was a crazy day.

We are happy for all of our friends and family and the exciting events that happened while we were gone. However, right now, I’d really like to go back to a cell phone-less, TV-less, regular email-less environment we had grown so found of. Its just nicer.