The Eiffel tower? Spectacular, I'm sure. Though I won't be confirming it first hand this time. We left Cincy Saturday evening with 4 children, 1 car seat, 3 boosters, 9 large suitcases, and several carry on's in tow.The plan: 8 hr flight to Paris, 5 hr layover (just enough time to venture out and see the Eiffel tower and eat some crepes), 2.5 hr flight to Madrid, hotel shuttle takes us to hotel where we can clean up and get a little rest.
The reality: 1 hr + delay due to mechanical difficulties, 8 hr flight (thankfully uneventful), 24 hr layover in Paris (just enough time to stand in 11 lines, book 4 flights, learn french -annule means cancelled, spend 70 Euro on muffins and fries, travel up and down escalators 6 times, mop airport floors with children's clothes, experience French security 3 times, collect nonexistent baggage 1 time, catch a few winks at airport hotel, and count our money in hopes that if we offer the Pilot a little extra he'll come off strike early)...and here we wait watching the monitor in hopes that our flight isn't cancelled. If so, we're throwing in the towel, going to the Eiffel tower, and will fly out tomorrow when the Air France strike is over.
P.S. -11/18 Conclusion: Some kind pilot must have sensed there was a family of 6 in need of baths, and our 4th flight went as scheduled. Our seating was split up into groups of two, which left Gavin and Eli sitting alone 4 rows behind Cohen and I, and 3 rows in front of Brett and Addie. The flight was otherwise uneventful, yay! When we finally arrived in Madrid we had just one more long line to stand in...baggage claim. Only 5 of 13 pieces showed up, and unfortunately, the pieces that were missing were the ones that were going to provide cleanliness, and a fresh change of clothes. We also found out there wasn't a shuttle coming to pick us up.
The kids have been awesome under the circumstances and we've only had a couple melt downs. Mostly they were so tired they would just lay on the floor and fall asleep on baggage carts. It's now Tuesday morning, we finally have luggage, and the kids are freshly bathed and dressed after 3 days and 3 nights in the same clothes. Our Paris highlights were the "army" men in camos with guns at the airport, French fries, French bunnies (seen on the way to the hotel), French underarms (our own), and French noogies (Poor Cohen was the brunt of most of them). And now the adventure begins in Spain.
5 comments:
I have been waiting and checking!!! I am so glad that you are finally there and clean. A good blog wouldn't be complete without a nightmare European traveling story. That was a good one. Happy Spain-ing!!!
Oh man. I just shed a few tears for you. And, knowing you, that was the edited sunny-side-up version of the story. Wow. I hope that you have made it through the worst and that they get your luggage to you, that you get all the right boxes sent over from here, and that you get acclimated quickly. Good luck this week! Wish I could be there to help you unpack.
Sounds like an adventure, alright! We're excited for you. Keep us posted on all your happenings. Love ya!
Oh man, what good timing for a strike. Let us know how you are doing. I've seen those guys in their camies with the big rifles. I didn't know whether to be scared or happy for the protection.
As for not being able to bathe, you probably fit right in with most of the Europeans! Give the kids a love from me and Papa.
Ah Europe. When we were on a train (just Zane and I mind you - not with 4 kids in tow) the train ticketers went on strike and I had to figure out what to do to get us to point B. You all sound like real troupers - better than we would have ever been. I hope the sights of Madrid thrill you more than Paris!!! So glad you made it.
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