13-15 June 2022.
It is nearly 3pm Wednesday, 15 June and we're back in scorching Michigan.
Our last full day, Monday, in Paris was low-key. Susie worked on prepping us for departure Tuesday and early that afternoon I met up with Marie. B in Père-Lachaise Cemetery. Marie and I first met back in 2006 when I was beginning my project of photo-documenting the cemetery's artwork. Marie was one of of the co-founders of the Friends of Père-Lachaise and an incredible fount of information about the cemetery in general and so many of the stories buried there.
Anyway, we strolled and chatted for a while -- it was a gorgeous day -- afterwards we sat and chatted over a glass of beer It was four years since we had last met up and so there was lots of catching up to do.
Eventually we had to say adieu and off I went back on the metro and home. That evening I tested negative. No longer critical now, it was nevertheless good to know that I still would have the flight home with Susie.
Both of us woke up at a little after 1:00 am to appreciate the beautiful moon that was wishing us bon voyage.
Tuesday dawned sunny and warm. We showered, dressed, took out the trash and off we went to the metro. We hopped on line 6 at Nationale and got off at Denfert-Rochereau where we had our only schlepping up stairs to get to the RER. From there it was just a short train ride through the industrial heartland of Paris suburbs to the airport.
We got off the train at terminal 2 and began to make our way to 2A where we checked in for our 16:05 flight.
After going through a maze of security and passport controls we found our gate A38 located so far away that I'd swear it was close to the Belgian border-- and settled in to wait for the flight.
Takeoff was prompt and we were off the runway and in the air just a little after 4pm.
For the next 8 hours plus we were treated to the good old days when airplane food was really crappy but now with the added benefit of being wedged into a space designed for animals used in cosmetic research.
Still, I kept reminding myself how fortunate I was to be going home with my wife and not having to cool my heels for God knows how long or where. And the flight was uneventful with little turbulence.
Once in Chicago we truly appreciated having Global Entry passes and zipped right through the chaos that is so often passport control. We did have a little wait for our luggage, which we had to retrieve and then immediately recheck (goofy) before we could make our way to the connecting gate. That required us to find the train for getting us to terminal 3 (we had landed at terminal 5) and then wait for the final leg of our return home.
Our Grand Rapids flight left more or less on time and within 25 minutes we were touching down in west Michigan. Once we had our luggage I ordered an Uber and we were home a little after 11pm, or just about 5am Paris time.
Before leaving Chicago Susie had turned the AC on at home -- Nest does have its advantages -- and it was a good thing, too.
Our first day back home we went through the mail, Susie started laundry, we went out for groceries, and generally reacquainted ourselves with our home.
As promised I hope to post a short summary of our trip later this week. Numbers and basic details, of course, but also a few broad conclusions from the past two months shuttling around a large chunk of northern Europe.
Stay safe!
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