Patricia and Ashley were kind enough to pick me up and bring me to the Airport on Saturday morning (thanks, guys!) and they even hung out for a while and we ate some snacks when I found that my flight would be leaving Saskatoon about 20 minutes late.
However, I did eventually get underway, and I watched "Raising Helen" on the way to Toronto, but since I was arriving late, I wasn't sure if Yimei would be waiting for me or whether I was to call her. So I kind of stood there, trying to decide what to do, when someone walked up behind me and said, "I didn't know we were letting you take time off." It was Susan Antosh (SAHO's CEO, for those of you who don't know). She is my witness that I did indeed get on and off the plane with one carry-on bag. Hah! Anyway, she offered some helpful advice, which was to head out to the baggage check areas, as that was where Yimei would probably be waiting. Doh! And "duh."
I did head out there, couldn't find Yimei, and finally gave her a call. She asked where I was, I told her I was in the airport - duh. Where in the airport? I have no idea. I have red luggage. She said she didn't know where to go, and then said, "Oh! Red luggage! I see you!" It was kind of stalkery, because I couldn't see her. But then she appeared, and we had our happy reunion! Best of all, she bought me food! What a good friend.
Yimei asked if I had a plan to meet Jackie in Charles de Gaulle airport, and I said, "Yes. She's going to be there." Where there? I dunno. Can't be that big, right? Hee... no backup plan. We are seat-of-the-pants travellers.
Anyway, I checked on the flight board with Yimei, and saw that my plane was leaving at 20:15, which left me about two hours to visit with Yimei. We chatted for quite a while, but I wish it could have been longer. :-( It was about 7:15 p.m. when Yimei left, and she pointed out the way to the terminals and said it would be "just through there".
I went "just through there" and found out that gates 500-550 had to catch a shuttle bus. And then I looked at my boarding pass and just about had a heart attack. It said boarding at 19:15, and it was already 19:30. Ack! So I head down and wait for the shuttle bus, which was the slowest shuttle bus in the world, and started to wonder exactly what I was supposed to do if I actually had missed the plane. I got to gate 525 and they had just started boarding. The girl in front of me had a boarding pass that also showed 19:15. Anyway, I'm glad I didn't show up an hour early to board, and I'm glad I didn't miss my plane!
The plane to Paris was a Boeing 767. Seven rows of seats, and I got a window seat that had no view of any television or movie screen. Bummer. So I couldn't watch "The Day After Tomorrow".
And I have decided that it is physically impossible to sleep on planes. Stupid first class people with their fancy big chairs and extra leg room. I was squished next to girl-who-has-the-armrest-and-ain't-letting-go. At least I had the window and could lean against that. You get a kind of half-sleep, where you're sort of sleeping, and sort of grumbling about all the things that are keeping you from really sleeping. Stupid turbulence and stupid "ding ding - put on your seatbelt" sounds.
By the time it was morning, it was about 1 a.m. your time, and they were handing out breakfast to us, and the sun was rising. It was cloudy over the Atlantic, so I didn't see the ocean. Probably a good thing, since I'd just start worrying about how much I don't actually swim.
As we approached Paris, the pilot made an announcement that we were 45 minutes early due to a strong tailwind, and also that we were having to land at Terminal 1 instead of 2 due to recent events. I said, "Merde! I told Jackie Terminal 2!" And the plane just stopped on the tarmac and we had to climb down the stairs and onto shuttle buses, and then climb up some stairs, and then onto a moving sidewalk (where I almost fell on my face - I wasn't expecting the incline), then finally to Customs.
There were two customs line, each with three staff members working. One had some very efficient staff, and the other had one guy stamping books while the other two guys were chatting. Guess which line I picked. And it was stifling hot - apparently, there is not a lot of air conditioning in Paris.
I got through customs, and there was this area right out of the Jetsons or Escher. Escalators going up, down, sideways - all covered and looking space-agey. But overall, the area was kind of concrete and old-looking. No sign of Jacqueline. Hmm. Wandered around to the baggage. No sign of Jacqueline. Wonder if I can get to Terminal 2? Wandered towards "Sortie" signs, where lots of people were waiting, and looked around. Jackie suddenly appeared! Yay! All's well that ends well.
Of course, that was 10 a.m. in Paris, so the day didn't end there, but I'm running out of Internet access at the moment, and will have to fill you in later. Bye!
However, I did eventually get underway, and I watched "Raising Helen" on the way to Toronto, but since I was arriving late, I wasn't sure if Yimei would be waiting for me or whether I was to call her. So I kind of stood there, trying to decide what to do, when someone walked up behind me and said, "I didn't know we were letting you take time off." It was Susan Antosh (SAHO's CEO, for those of you who don't know). She is my witness that I did indeed get on and off the plane with one carry-on bag. Hah! Anyway, she offered some helpful advice, which was to head out to the baggage check areas, as that was where Yimei would probably be waiting. Doh! And "duh."
I did head out there, couldn't find Yimei, and finally gave her a call. She asked where I was, I told her I was in the airport - duh. Where in the airport? I have no idea. I have red luggage. She said she didn't know where to go, and then said, "Oh! Red luggage! I see you!" It was kind of stalkery, because I couldn't see her. But then she appeared, and we had our happy reunion! Best of all, she bought me food! What a good friend.
Yimei asked if I had a plan to meet Jackie in Charles de Gaulle airport, and I said, "Yes. She's going to be there." Where there? I dunno. Can't be that big, right? Hee... no backup plan. We are seat-of-the-pants travellers.
Anyway, I checked on the flight board with Yimei, and saw that my plane was leaving at 20:15, which left me about two hours to visit with Yimei. We chatted for quite a while, but I wish it could have been longer. :-( It was about 7:15 p.m. when Yimei left, and she pointed out the way to the terminals and said it would be "just through there".
I went "just through there" and found out that gates 500-550 had to catch a shuttle bus. And then I looked at my boarding pass and just about had a heart attack. It said boarding at 19:15, and it was already 19:30. Ack! So I head down and wait for the shuttle bus, which was the slowest shuttle bus in the world, and started to wonder exactly what I was supposed to do if I actually had missed the plane. I got to gate 525 and they had just started boarding. The girl in front of me had a boarding pass that also showed 19:15. Anyway, I'm glad I didn't show up an hour early to board, and I'm glad I didn't miss my plane!
The plane to Paris was a Boeing 767. Seven rows of seats, and I got a window seat that had no view of any television or movie screen. Bummer. So I couldn't watch "The Day After Tomorrow".
And I have decided that it is physically impossible to sleep on planes. Stupid first class people with their fancy big chairs and extra leg room. I was squished next to girl-who-has-the-armrest-and-ain't-letting-go. At least I had the window and could lean against that. You get a kind of half-sleep, where you're sort of sleeping, and sort of grumbling about all the things that are keeping you from really sleeping. Stupid turbulence and stupid "ding ding - put on your seatbelt" sounds.
By the time it was morning, it was about 1 a.m. your time, and they were handing out breakfast to us, and the sun was rising. It was cloudy over the Atlantic, so I didn't see the ocean. Probably a good thing, since I'd just start worrying about how much I don't actually swim.
As we approached Paris, the pilot made an announcement that we were 45 minutes early due to a strong tailwind, and also that we were having to land at Terminal 1 instead of 2 due to recent events. I said, "Merde! I told Jackie Terminal 2!" And the plane just stopped on the tarmac and we had to climb down the stairs and onto shuttle buses, and then climb up some stairs, and then onto a moving sidewalk (where I almost fell on my face - I wasn't expecting the incline), then finally to Customs.
There were two customs line, each with three staff members working. One had some very efficient staff, and the other had one guy stamping books while the other two guys were chatting. Guess which line I picked. And it was stifling hot - apparently, there is not a lot of air conditioning in Paris.
I got through customs, and there was this area right out of the Jetsons or Escher. Escalators going up, down, sideways - all covered and looking space-agey. But overall, the area was kind of concrete and old-looking. No sign of Jacqueline. Hmm. Wandered around to the baggage. No sign of Jacqueline. Wonder if I can get to Terminal 2? Wandered towards "Sortie" signs, where lots of people were waiting, and looked around. Jackie suddenly appeared! Yay! All's well that ends well.
Of course, that was 10 a.m. in Paris, so the day didn't end there, but I'm running out of Internet access at the moment, and will have to fill you in later. Bye!
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