We got up early Tuesday morning, and packed. While Hilary was in the shower, I went to go find some breakfast. Our regular boulangerie on Port Royal was closed, so I had to traipse up to the one by school. I also stopped by school to return my apartment keys, and picked up my certificate (that had been revised to say that I didn't do the Centre Pompidou site visit).
When I got back, we finished unpacking, checked out of the hotel and left. Hilary was helping me with my luggage, and we occasionally stopped to take breaths and/or switch luggage to carry. We took the elevator down to buy tickets at the RER Port Royal station, and then took it down one more level to get to the platform. Once there, we waited for a train and when one appeared (that was also really crowded), we wedged ourselves and our luggage on.
Fortunately, a lot of people got off before the airport, so we had room to move near the doors to position ourselves. Hilary and I said goodbye before we got there, and I wished her a good trip to Nantes. When we got to my stop (Terminal 1 and 3), she helped me get my luggage off the train and I was off!
I had some trouble with my suitcases. They were both over-packed and so were prone to falling over. A nice older English lady helped me get them through the turnstile, and when I had to go down a level to catch the tram, another guy helped me get them on. He also helped me get them to the hall where I had to check-in. I arrived there before the check-in desk was open, so I sat on my bags and waited. When I got to the counter, I was told that I was allowed to check 2 bags, and had to pay a fee for the 3rd. So I went to pay my (exhorbitant) fee, and then went through security and showed my passport (and got chided for attempting to exit the wrong way).
Once through, I went on a re-con mission to see where my gate was. There was a security portal right before the entrance, and since it was about an hour and a half before my boarding time, I decided to walk around a bit. I bought a copy of French Vogue and drank some water.
Finally, I decided to go through security to my gate. I tried to get Internet access on my laptop, but that wasn't working, so I decided to begin organizing my photos from Paris. I did this until I got on the plane.
On the plane, we took and were served lunch. (Of the two choices, I picked the chicken over the pasta.) There were actually good movies available during this flight, so I watched "American Gangster". (I had been really wanting to see it, but hadn't when it was in theaters.) After that was over, I slept for a few hours and waited until the landing.
We landed in Philadelphia, and we had to get our checked bags to have them checked by security. After getting my bag, I first went into the wrong line and had to redirect into the correct line. That line was the one where the bags were getting searched. (I was behind a teenage guy who was getting grilled about whether he had any contraband alcohol, specifically absinthe. The guard did find something, and he gave the kid a pamphlet on contraband substances.) Amazingly, I didn't get searched. I just handed over my passport and heaved my suitcase onto the table, while the lady checked my passport against the computer. I guess everything turned out OK, because she gave me back my passport and waved me through. I then went through the point I had attempted to before, and rechecked my bags. Then I waited in a long line with a ton of other people, went through security and emerged to find my gate.
After eating a dinner of a hot dog and a Coke, I went to go wait in my area. I sat on the floor (it was a small area and there weren't any seats) and organized my pictures a bit more. The plane was a bit late, but we boarded quickly and were on our way!
We landed in Charlotte about 9:30 pm, and Dad met me at the baggage claim! After getting my bags, we drove home. Kirsten was so happy to see me she got up to greet me. (This is saying a lot since she's pretty old and arthritic now, and doesn't move from her pillow too much.) Mom got in a little later, and I was happy to see her. Then, I was really tired and went to bed.
I'm ready to relax (and later, draw/paint/sew/write/read)!
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