May 29-31: The trip home
I'm home!
As expected, no blog posts Friday or yesterday. Thursday was my last real day and Friday was for travel prep etc. You won't believe it (maybe you will) but I not only got my bag and suitcase closed, I actually could zip the "extension" back up! There's a thing on my suitcase that you can unzip to get like 2 extra inches for the main compartment and I didn't need it! I was very impressed with my packing skills. All of my clothes were rolled up into little croissants and wrinkled within an inch of their lives, but hey, they came back with me... I had a pile of things I was ready to toss: shampoo, conditioner, lotion - cheap but heavy/bulky things I can buy again easily - and I didn't need to. Woo hoo!
I will say, in repacking my suitcase, I realized just how much I've bought here. And rather than being ashamed I'm excited. Besides, what did I save all that money up for if I was just going to try and save it once I got here? Exactly.
Friday's hotel switch went well. I was actually lucky enough to catch a ride from one of my new friends who also offered a side trip for a picnic lunch at Versailles! We wound our way through small towns from Versailles to the airport (ok, a nice way of saying, we got lost a couple times - but after talking nicely to the Garmin, we got there around the multiple road work detours).
I checked in to the Holiday Inn Express in its *** glory and thought I was in heaven: spacious room, spotless shower and toilet in the actual hotel room, elevator! I treated my friend to dinner for his help in getting me to HIE and was even pleasantly surprised at how yummy dinner was. In case anyone needs a spot with easy access to the airport, I would definitely recommend HIE. (Plus, the price was really reasonable.)
I set a wake up call for 5:45a on Saturday and then didn't need it. As has been the custom for me on this trip, I woke up before that and then couldn't get very good sleep so I just got up around 5:30 and started getting things reassembled and ready. I had my last pain au chocolat and took the shuttle to the airport.
My bags were checked in first thing, so all I had to do was get to the gate and on the plane. Things went really smoothly and the timing with layovers and such worked out. The day did, however, leave me with plenty of time to contemplate life: the flight from Paris to Houston took 11hrs 15 min! The flight from Newark to Paris, if you'll recall, was 6 1/2 hours... I mean yeesh. And though there was a 2 year old that may or may not need to see an exorcist on the 11 hour flight, it was really ok. I seem to have an entirely different level of patience for things when in France (or traveling to/from). I watched a movie, read my Kindle, shut my eyes for awhile. Ate every meal/snack they offered...
I arrived in Houston and had to roll through customs. I was actually quite glad I hadn't tried to bring back a bottle of wine. Turns out alcohol or tobacco will get you a secondary search at customs, but I got to roll right through. Rechecked my bags just past Customs (thank goodness) and had to take a shuttle thing to the right terminal the airport is so big.
The flight from Houston to KC went very fast: 1 hr 20 min ish. It was funny to get on a tiny plane (a total of 3 seats per row, 20 rows) after being on the huge trans-Atlantic (seats 300+ people). Mom and Dad were there at KCI with big smiles to pick me up. We headed for Brio for a "last meal before sensible eating" and I talked probably the hole time.
To answer the assumed question: no, I'm not actually sad to be back. I loved (loved) my time in France, but I'm excited to be back home. I'm only filling my schedule with things I want to do, and letting the things I don't really love fall to the wayside. I'm overscheduled I think and I shouldn't be. So I'm ready to add things back into my currently empty planner.
Plus, it seemed so natural for me to have taken the time in France. Like I was doing exactly what I should be. And I know it won't be my last trip. In fact, I think perhaps special trips for the South of France or Shopping trips to Paris with friends are in the near-er future. And then in 4 years, maybe I'll have saved up enough time off to do the "sabatical" thing again. To really go with no feeling of having to "get it all done."
Hope you guys have loved reading about the trip! All pics are at flickr.com/photos/bestofjess and I'm adding another 4 or 5 from Friday/Saturday soon.
See you all for my birthday plans -- Hope to have printed pics there for perusing.
As expected, no blog posts Friday or yesterday. Thursday was my last real day and Friday was for travel prep etc. You won't believe it (maybe you will) but I not only got my bag and suitcase closed, I actually could zip the "extension" back up! There's a thing on my suitcase that you can unzip to get like 2 extra inches for the main compartment and I didn't need it! I was very impressed with my packing skills. All of my clothes were rolled up into little croissants and wrinkled within an inch of their lives, but hey, they came back with me... I had a pile of things I was ready to toss: shampoo, conditioner, lotion - cheap but heavy/bulky things I can buy again easily - and I didn't need to. Woo hoo!
I will say, in repacking my suitcase, I realized just how much I've bought here. And rather than being ashamed I'm excited. Besides, what did I save all that money up for if I was just going to try and save it once I got here? Exactly.
Friday's hotel switch went well. I was actually lucky enough to catch a ride from one of my new friends who also offered a side trip for a picnic lunch at Versailles! We wound our way through small towns from Versailles to the airport (ok, a nice way of saying, we got lost a couple times - but after talking nicely to the Garmin, we got there around the multiple road work detours).
I checked in to the Holiday Inn Express in its *** glory and thought I was in heaven: spacious room, spotless shower and toilet in the actual hotel room, elevator! I treated my friend to dinner for his help in getting me to HIE and was even pleasantly surprised at how yummy dinner was. In case anyone needs a spot with easy access to the airport, I would definitely recommend HIE. (Plus, the price was really reasonable.)
I set a wake up call for 5:45a on Saturday and then didn't need it. As has been the custom for me on this trip, I woke up before that and then couldn't get very good sleep so I just got up around 5:30 and started getting things reassembled and ready. I had my last pain au chocolat and took the shuttle to the airport.
My bags were checked in first thing, so all I had to do was get to the gate and on the plane. Things went really smoothly and the timing with layovers and such worked out. The day did, however, leave me with plenty of time to contemplate life: the flight from Paris to Houston took 11hrs 15 min! The flight from Newark to Paris, if you'll recall, was 6 1/2 hours... I mean yeesh. And though there was a 2 year old that may or may not need to see an exorcist on the 11 hour flight, it was really ok. I seem to have an entirely different level of patience for things when in France (or traveling to/from). I watched a movie, read my Kindle, shut my eyes for awhile. Ate every meal/snack they offered...
I arrived in Houston and had to roll through customs. I was actually quite glad I hadn't tried to bring back a bottle of wine. Turns out alcohol or tobacco will get you a secondary search at customs, but I got to roll right through. Rechecked my bags just past Customs (thank goodness) and had to take a shuttle thing to the right terminal the airport is so big.
The flight from Houston to KC went very fast: 1 hr 20 min ish. It was funny to get on a tiny plane (a total of 3 seats per row, 20 rows) after being on the huge trans-Atlantic (seats 300+ people). Mom and Dad were there at KCI with big smiles to pick me up. We headed for Brio for a "last meal before sensible eating" and I talked probably the hole time.
To answer the assumed question: no, I'm not actually sad to be back. I loved (loved) my time in France, but I'm excited to be back home. I'm only filling my schedule with things I want to do, and letting the things I don't really love fall to the wayside. I'm overscheduled I think and I shouldn't be. So I'm ready to add things back into my currently empty planner.
Plus, it seemed so natural for me to have taken the time in France. Like I was doing exactly what I should be. And I know it won't be my last trip. In fact, I think perhaps special trips for the South of France or Shopping trips to Paris with friends are in the near-er future. And then in 4 years, maybe I'll have saved up enough time off to do the "sabatical" thing again. To really go with no feeling of having to "get it all done."
Hope you guys have loved reading about the trip! All pics are at flickr.com/photos/bestofjess and I'm adding another 4 or 5 from Friday/Saturday soon.
See you all for my birthday plans -- Hope to have printed pics there for perusing.
Labels: France
posted by Jess at 3:00 PM
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