My lay over would have been incredible but I made one major mistake and that was my duffle bag.
I was worried that my luggage was going to get lost so I last minute decided to carry on my art supplies, an extra change of clothes, and my toiletries. Why was this such a mistake…well I didn’t weigh the bag before and well it was quite heavy.
And did you know that duffle bags don’t have wheels?
So I get off of my plane and I was completely lost.
I search desperately for a board that tells me what gate I need to go to for my flight to Paris and the only signs I see reference domestic flights and I don’t see any sign that my random new airline even exists.
After lugging around my duffle bag for what feels like forever I finally decide to ask a gate agent at Delta if they could point me in the right direction.
She didn’t seem to sure about my airline but pointed me in a direction that she believed I should go…so off I went.
I walked for about 20 minutes lugging my stuff with me when I saw that I was headed past security.
It didn’t feel like the right direction and there was no one to ask so I turn around to see if I could ask someone else for help.
I found a lounge and asked the woman at the counter if she could give me some direction and she informed me that I was in fact going the right way so turning around meant I had to drag myself and all my stuff back to where I just was. She also told me that I would have to go through security again which made me feel like I wasn’t making a huge faux pas in leaving the terminal I was in.
I sighed as I mentally prepared to make the trek again - at this point I was so sweaty that I could literally feel sweat dripping down my leg like pee (tmi I know but I feel like you need to get the full picture).
I still wasn’t sure I was heading in the right direction so I decided that I should call my husband. Why did I think that he would be able to help me when he wasn’t there and had no idea what I was going though I will never know but I will tell you I almost transported through the phone when his advice was to “look for the boards that have the departures on it.”
LIKE I HADN’T ALREADY DONE THAT! - I love you Gar but man did that make me grumpy - probably because I was tired, sweaty, stressed and hungry.
Alas, I finally found a sign that told me where to go for my flight.
I checked in, went through security and made the long long walk to my gate.
I had a 5 hour layover (well 4 after I ended figuring out my life) and there was only one restaurant to choose from in the terminal I was in.
On my walk I saw a sign that said Capital One lounge so I decided to see if my credit card would give me access.
It was the Virgin Atlantic Clubhouse and when the woman told me that my Capital One card didn’t have the right access I decided that I wasn’t going to walk anymore and asked how much it would be to access the lounge.
When I learned that it was only $70 for all the food and drinks that I wanted along with a comfortable place to sit and clean bathrooms I happily handed over my card.
I was very happy with the food that they had. I ordered two pork belly boa buns and some ratatouille. I spent the rest of my layover catching up with a friend on the phone.
My flight to Paris was relatively uneventful. I opted to pay the $35 for a “sleeping seat” when I realized that my lovely budget airline was going to charge me $25 to pick a “regular seat.” I was so excited about the thought of being able to actually lay and get a good night’s rest. My flight was overnight and had me arriving in Paris around noon so I thought this was going to be my opportunity to not have jet lag.
Isn’t it fun when what we expect isn’t actual reality - haha
Instead the “sleeping seat” was simply business class. The real pods were up in first class and a price that someday I’ll be able to treat myself too. But on the bright side I was able to recline a bit more than usual and I did have some more leg room (but seeing as I have short legs that’s usually never a problem for me).
It would have been fine except for the woman behind me didn’t want me to experience any comfort. Every time I even slightly reclined my seat she made her distain very clear by violently kicking my seat repeatedly while sighing.
After this and being literally shoved past throughout the airports I decided that I am done shrinking myself to make others comfortable. Why should I have to apologize literally for standing on the moving walkway - that is what it was made for! Why should I try and make myself as small as possible so someone can pass me without even saying excuse me? I paid for that seat upgrade just like the woman behind me did so what makes her comfort more important than my own? - This is going to be a fun little life experiment going forward so remind me of this if you see me forgetting.
I finally landed in Paris grabbed my luggage and ordered an Uber. P.S. if you ever enter ORLY airport just know the spot they tell you to wait for ride shares IS NOT the actual place that they want you to go.
After wandering aimlessly trying to find my driver he finally called me to help me find him. Seriously this man was such a gift. He literally got out of his car to walk to find me. He greeted me with a hug and I was so relieved to finally be on my way to meet up with my friend Christina.
Christina is the reason why I got to go to Paris to begin with. She had signed up for the art retreat separate from me. And don’t you dare tell me that the universe isn’t watching when you hear this story
Christina and I met online during the pandemic. We both signed up for a Procreate Class that Peggy was hosting and before the 6 weeks were over we became internet friends. TELL ME HOW SHE NOW LIVES 10 MINUTES AWAY FROM ME!?!?!
Yeah that’s right? When we made the move to Vancouver I learned that our new home came with a built in friend! YAY!
So when she came over one day she helped me show Gary that adding a couple days in Paris wouldn’t be as “impossible” as he claimed.
Christina is a research guru so she was able to find the most perfect AirBnB for only $50 per person per night meaning I could have 3 nights in Paris for only $150…yeah Gar, I love you but there was no way that WASN’T HAPPENING.
I met Christina at a hotel where we booked to stash our luggage. ALSO, did you know there is a website where you can pay to have an establishment hold your stuff while you are off adventuring? It’s called stasher and it was great because we had a couple hours until we could check into our AirBnB.
Up next…our first meal, a perfect small woman owned jewelry shop, and the hilarity that was us deciding that our AirBnB was close enough to walk too 🤣