We’re almost home. Last night, we enjoyed our last meal of our trip in a brasserie in Paris not far from the damaged Notre Dame cathedral after a day of trying to pack in as much as possible, from several hours in Musee d’Orsay to hanging out in street-side coffee shops where we watched the flow of Paris life. It would have been easy to stay, but so it goes—we got up early this morning to start the long road back to Portland.
If things could go haywire, they did. We’d built in considerable slack just in case. We used every bit of it. But the train to CDG worked out. We figured we could get coffee and one last round of French pastry before our flight to Vancouver. However, a glitch in Delta’s system had us waiting and stewing to get our tickets sorted out and our boarding passes in hand. We had to run through that enormous airport to be about the last to board the plane. We got in a good nap en route and deboarded in Vancouver with two hours to kill before a hop to Seattle.
If things could go haywire, they did. We’d built in considerable slack just in case. We used every bit of it. But the train to CDG worked out. We figured we could get coffee and one last round of French pastry before our flight to Vancouver. However, a glitch in Delta’s system had us waiting and stewing to get our tickets sorted out and our boarding passes in hand. We had to run through that enormous airport to be about the last to board the plane. We got in a good nap en route and deboarded in Vancouver with two hours to kill before a hop to Seattle.
Another Delta glitch: they’d mistakenly mislabeled my luggage and it was sequestered by customs in BC, requiring us to sit in the limbo room while it got sorted out. No time to pee or have coffee. We were simply trapped as the clock ticked through more than an hour. When Delta fixed things, we again had to run to our flight, which then had to sit on the runway for about an hour with the engines off because of storms there and in Seattle.
Finally, we were in the air, but we’d have gladly been anywhere else. We’ve had a few wild plane rides, but this beat ‘em all. The passengers were giving each other that look: “It’s been a good life. Sorry to have it end like this.” The poor guy behind me threw up violently. At one point, my coffee cup levitated (fortunately, I’d drunk the brew). When we landed in Seattle, the pilot came out and asked if anyone had been hurt. But, hey, we were all alive and the storm broke into a beautiful sunset.
Next we waited in one more airport before we got the shuttle to Portland, though I think we’d have been okay with hitchhiking, too. And so it goes. A thrilling end to an outstanding trip. Eventually, we crawled into our own bed and let the relatively few crazy, weird, scary parts recede into the background.
Now, here are a few photos of our rental in Port-Vendres. Pardon the disarray. We enjoyed amazing views and great light from this hilltop apartment. Two verandas and a sun porch gave us the outdoors no matter the weather. Several sliding glass doors brought light in. The temperatures were mostly comfortable for shorts and shirts, though we usually carried our light rain slickers and didn't dress like tourists.
