The End of Our French Journey

Up at 6AM and had a leisurely morning and lots of time to catch our 11:15AM flight.  Only hitch was that the US security allows small scissors but Paris does not.  So Steve got to have his suitcase searched and the scissors are history.

The flight from Paris to Chicago was about nine hours - watched three movies so the time went pretty fast.  Watched movies I would never pay for like Bridesmaids but it was hilarious.  We had two hours to make our connection in Chicago and we needed almost all of it.  We flew through immigration and customs and then came face-to-face with the dreaded airport shuttle system.  All international flights land at Terminal 5 and we had to get to Terminal 1.  The shuttle took close to 10 minutes to show up and then sat there for 5 minutes.  And of course once you get to the terminal you get to go through security again (another long line).  Several people in line missed their flight since they did not allow enough time between flights.

Got to the gate just as they started boarding.  Had a bulkhead seat with lots of leg room - really nice.  Got all settled in and the captain informed us that there was a maintenance issue and we had to exit the plane - including all of our personal items.  They got it fixed in about an hour so we boarded again and headed to Portland.  Got into PDX about an hour late - and we were greeted by the rain - aargh.  Our dogs were happy to see us and the house seemed kinda strange after living somewhere else for a month.

We had a great time in France but it was nice to get home.  Not sure how best to sum up the trip - beautiful towns and villages, nice people, lodging that met our expectations, crazy drivers, better than expected weather, healthy the entire trip, some great dining experiences.  We were truly blessed to be able to make this trip and to really take a "vacation" from all of the responsibilities at home.

Very special thanks to Greg & Susan for taking such good care of Stanley & Regis, and all the nice things they did for us.  Also, to Dave & Vicki for the trip to and from the airport...and, Vicki walking the dogs, spending time with Steve's mom (!) and being such a good friends and neighbors. And.. the Eyman's for their help with the dogs.