Except I'm sadder, more tired, and more frustrated.
My original intent was to post one concise, "that was such an easy flight home, I'm so excited to be home for Caitlin's party tomorrow night," kind of post. As most of you know, that wasn't quite how it went.
So, for those of you who don't know, the last few days have gone kind of like this.
Saturday:
3:30 a.m. - Wake up.
4:00 a.m. - Walk down to the Gare Routiere (bus station) to wait for the bus to the airport.
4:40 a.m. - Take the bus to the airport.
5:10 a.m. - Arrive at the airport, learn that all flights to Amsterdam are cancelled.
5:30 a.m. - Get in line to get my ticket changed.
8:00 a.m. - Get to the front of the line, have the lady at the desk tell me that there are no flights out of Europe until Monday. Get her to change my flight to Monday at 8 a.m.
9:00 a.m. - Get back to Aix, go to sleep again.
Afternoon - Wander around Aix with Bessie, who isn't going home for Christmas.
Evening - Go over to Bessie's house and watch The Holiday.
Sunday:
11:00 a.m. - Wake up, wander down into town and eat lunch.
12:00 noon - Fiddle around online.
2:00 p.m. - Wander back downtown to take photos of the carousel; end up watching neat Provençal dancers and musicians.
3:00 p.m. - Realize I'm freezing and go back home to take a nap.
7:30 p.m. - Go to The Olde Bulldogge and eat a hamburger and listen to live music.
11:30 p.m. - Skype in to Caitlin's engagement party. Pioneer electronic hostessing in the style of George Jetson's boss.
Here are some pictures from being down in town:
Monday:
4:30 a.m. - Wake up
4:45 a.m. - Walk down to the Gare Routiere.
5:10 a.m. - Take the bus to the airport
5:40 a.m. - Arrive at the airport, learn that the 8 a.m. flight is delayed to 12:30 p.m.
6:00 a.m. - Get put on Priority Standby for the 7 a.m. flight and told to come back in 20-25 minutes.
6:25 a.m. - Get back to the gate, loiter for 45 minutes, learn that flights into Paris aren't going, but that the airport is still sending flights out.
7:15 a.m. - Finally be told that the 7:00 flight is suspended, ask about taking a train to Paris, get advised to call a certain number and to go as quickly as possible to the TGV station.
7:20 a.m. - Take a taxi to the TGV station
7:45 a.m. - Learn that the earliest train would arrive in Paris 10 minutes before the flight overseas is supposed to leave.
8:00 a.m. - Take a taxi back to the airport.
8:20 a.m. - Learn that the Paris airports are closed.
8:25 a.m. - Get advised to go home and call the Air France phone number (36 54) to try to work out another flight.
8:26 a.m. - Get back in line to avoid having to speak French on the phone and to avoid having to recharge my French cell phone before I get back from the holidays.
11:45 a.m. - Get to the front of the line just as they are closing all of the desks and announcing that there are "absolutely no solutions" and that everyone needs to go home. They issued hotel vouchers to the people who didn't live nearby.
12:00 noon - Go back to Aix.
12:45 p.m. - Sleep
6:00 p.m. - Wake up, Skype with Dad while he calls Delta from the states, get a flight confirmation for tomorrow at 7:00 a.m.
7:00 p.m. - Go over to Bessie's, make dinner, and watch Billy Madison.
11:00 p.m. - Come home.
11:10 p.m. - Try to check-in to my flight online. Receive a message that says, "We could not find a reservation that corresponds to the information you entered. Please check that the information is correct. If you still have problems, please contact us. You can find our contact information in the "Contact us" section of our website."
11:15 p.m. - Get back on Skype with Dad while he calls Delta again, who give me convoluted instructions that don't inspire confidence in my ability to get on a flight tomorrow.
So, tomorrow, I'll get up at 3:30 again (that's in, like, 2 and a half hours), book it back down to the gare routiere, and hope that I get to go from Marseille to Paris to Pittsburg to Atlanta to Jackson and get home around midnight tomorrow night.
If at any point in the near future I am unkind to me, please forgive me; I'm exhausted.
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