Paris - Chapter 1

So, I'm not too sure how I'm going to organize my thoughts on my trip, so bear with me.

Friday, 3.28.08

I get to the airport around 3:15PM for our 5:30PM flight. I assume the place will be a zoo, and expect the worst for check-in (as I've never travelled internationally, I was ignorant to the process). Turns out I was able to walk right up to a self-check in & check myself in. *Rewind* As I'm leaving my apartment to take the Addison bus to the Blue Line to O'Hare, I'm struggling with the weight of my suitcase. In my mind, it's at least 75, if not 100 pounds. This worries me, as I know there's some sort of fee associated with that.

Ok, so I finish checking in & head to the agent to plop my 100 pound suitcase onto the scale to be checked in. beep.beep.beep, the number keeps going up. It stops at 49.8. 49.8!! I almost wanted to high-five the gate agent in celebration. She smiled, but that's all the emotion I received.

So, I'm all checked in & I head to security. Now, I don't know why I was concerned, but for some reason, I was a little worried about my expired drivers license (it expired the day before). I obviously had my passport, which I knew would work, but stupidly, I was expecting them to ask for a secondary ID. They didn't.

I make it through check-in and security in less than 15 minutes. This is faster than any other experience at an airport, even without checking bags. I was pleased. I immediately see a Chili's and I belly up to the bar and order a drink. I figured I'd wait there for Matt, once he arrived from work. Three or four Stellas in, it's time to head to our gate.

We make it there as they're boarding. I was pleased to find out that he and I would be in a 2-seater on one of the sides, rather than squeezed into the five-seat middle section. Granted, we were in economy class, so we would be a little tight, but it still made me more comfortable for the 8-hour flight.

As soon as drinks started being served, Matt and I ordered drinks.



After a few more drinks, and thanks to Jerry Seinfeld and the awful Bee Movie, I was able to drift off to sleep. I probably only slept for an hour or so, but it was enough to keep my body tired enough to drift in and out of short stints of sleep for the next couple of hours.

I was woken up a short time later with breakfast (served around 11PM Chicago time) and the end of Apollo 13 (hooray for the astronauts who survived! I know it's a true story, but I didn't know it. For those who also didn't, SPOILER!).

At this point, we began our decent into Paris. My excitement level was through the roof. I felt like a kid on my first trip on an airplane. I held Matt's hand and enjoyed the smooth landing. We were in Paris.