The adventure now begins!

September 13, 2007

When the alarm quickly awoke me I wondered why I wanted to be up so early; today I was leaving for France! In no time I remembered that I’d promised to call Pat in Louisianna to ensure that she was awake. Pat … when was the last time you were up at 6am?

My morning was full of last minute chores that needed my attention; phone calls, change the bed linens for Bob & Lynn, last minute laundry and oops .. I almost forgot my morning coffee.

I only wish that you could see Bob & Lynn’s car, two kayaks on the roof, two mountain bikes on the back and the car filled to the brim. They’ve just returned to Ottawa after being away on an RV adventure. It’s so nice to know that they’re enjoying my home while I’m away and I hope they get some well-deserved rest and enjoy lots of walks alongside the Rideau Canal. Lynn drove me to the airport, as I was soon to be on my way to Montreal.

The flight was to leave at 7:10pm however we didn’t leave on time. The plans were to meet Judy and Pat in Toulouse and since they’d have to wait 5 hours for me at the Toulouse airport, the thought of making them wait even longer was a bit unsettling.

When I return home I’ll have check with my travel agent to understand why my tickets were for window seats when my preference is always for the aisle. I did however manage to get an aisle seat on the leg from Montreal to Paris.

There was a delightful couple who shared the center row with me; they’re from Maryland and were headed back to spend some time in Bavaria; one of their favourite locations.

It was interesting to note that the customs clearance in Paris was a breeze; I really thought they’d at least ask me some questions but they didn’t. Also, the documentation that I was required to complete didn’t even include a passport #. The wait in Paris for the Toulouse leg of my trip was to have been about 6 hours and that’s more than I would expect anyone to have to wait for me. We were a little more than an hour late leaving Paris as Air France was waiting for about 20 passengers to arrive; then the delay was extended waiting for their luggage. Pat seems to think that some of these passengers were from their flight. All I could think of was that Judy & Pat had to wait even longer for me in Toulouse; this surely wasn’t a treat for them.

Imagine my surprise when, almost as soon as I arrived in Toulouse I saw Pat walking towards me; it had been about 6 years since we’d seen each other. What I didn’t realize was that due to a tropical storm their flight had been delayed hours in Atlanta.

And so, we meander over to pick up our car rental and start our journey towards Mirepoix.

Winn