I've asked Kerry to post this blog for me because we have been unable to do it from this side. Yesterday in the airport at Dulles, I first heard and then saw a little guy--about 15-16 months--throwing a screaming fit near the gate where hundreds of us were waiting to board the flight to Paris. I told Robin that if he was on the plane, it could be an unpleasant experience. Not only was he on the plane, he was on his mother's lap in the seat next to Robin--the seat for which we paid a lot of money for upgrade to feel more comfortable. Except for about 30 minutes, he cried the entire way to Paris--7 hours! Every time we tried to doze off, he let out a screech.

France is six hours ahead of us, so we arrived at Charles de Gaulle airport about 7 a.m., Paris time. The first thing that struck me after getting off the people mover was the overpowering smell of perfume. They sold it duty-free on the plane and, even at 7 a.m. the stores in the bowels of the airport were open with good deals--I guess--on Lancome, Chanel, etc. We then got into a mob scene and waited in line for about 90 minutes to show our passports. Then on to baggage that made me imagine what a day in the streets of Calcutta might be like. (I've never been to Calcutta, just my version). I expected to see live chickens coming out of the crowd. It was a challenge, but Robin retrieved our luggage in the crush of the crowd, and we were off to find our driver.

We read every sign that drivers were holding up as we exited baggage and could not find our names. Robin parked me with two big suitcases and two carry-ons and his laptop bag, and he went to the information desk to find out if anyone had been looking for us. About that time a policeman came near me and started shouting at everyone to move back (in French)--to keep moving from Exit 4 where I was to Exit 8. I asked him why and he pointed to a lone suitcase sitting in the middle of the concourse and said not to go near it. He dragged my suitcases and orderied me to move. Keep in mind, Robin was on the other side of the suitcase causing all theconcern, and he was being forced away in the other direction. I begged the policeman to let me go on the side with Robin; he had little patience, A kind Frenchman took pity on me and helped me load all my suitcases into a cart and let me use his cell phone to try to call Robin. (Robin had the phone off on the plane and had not turned it back on.) A special squad was called in to check out the suitcase, and, without warning, BANG! I thought someone had been shot for moving across the line because a guy in camouflage was standing at the blockade with a big rifle. The French react to abandoned suitcases by making them explode. This whole adventure took over an hour, and I finally found Robin, who had not found the driver that had been prepaid from Richmond. We were there for over three hours searching and finally had to pay 75 euros (over $120) to be driven from the airport to our quaint little hotel on the Left Bank. We agreed tht we will never deliberately fly into Paris again!

We spent part of the afternoon exploring the Boulevarde du Montparnasse near our hotel and having lunch at a little outdoor cafe. We decided to have a power nap since we hadn't slept for over 24 hours and ended up sleeping over four hours! Then we hit the pavement again tonight. So far we're just getting acclimated and we hope to be more oganized tomorrow--or as organized as Robin and I get.
Joyce

They're off to see the wizard....

Where's my passport? Do you have Euros? No, do you? Well, where are they?

After all the last minute details, they're off! We dropped them at the airport where Cooper insisted on going in to "help Grandma and Granddaddy get to France." Mom was thrilled to learn they could upgrade their entire flight and get 5-1/2 extra inches of leg room. Yippee!! So, with Cooper's help and plenty of leg room, they should arrive safely in just a few hours.

So this is blogging. Well,well,well

The day before departure - are we ready? Of course not! But now we can blog away - or at least one of us can.