The Roundabout Way to Paris

 Golda and Ruby left for their 7-week European adventure early in the morning on Golda's 18th birthday.  Happy birthday!  The night before, the girls had a party with friends coming and going from 6 until midnight.  Scott and I tried to stay out of their way, and so nobody took a single picture of all those great kids.  Most of the boys are headed out on missions, so it was a big farewell.

 Scott and I went inside the airport with the girls because the line for security was insanely long, and we were nervous.  We were a bit on edge sending the girls off.  Turned out, the line moved like lightening and before we knew it, Golda and Ruby were gone!  They made it to Chicago with no trouble and were waiting for their connecting flight to New York when that flight was delayed, then cancelled.  What followed was 8 hours of pure adrenaline-soaked chaos for Scott and me.

Because the girls had limited money, we did what you should never do, and booked two separate legs of the trip with two different carriers on two separate reservations.  If something goes wrong with the first flight, you have no recourse for the second flight if you miss it.  I was worried about it, and prayed every day for 4 months that everything would go smoothly with those flights.  It didn't.  Not at all.

At first when their flight was cancelled, it looked like they could still make it to New York for the flight to Copenhagen.  They had had a six-hour layover, so there was a small amount of leeway.  Then they were on standby, then they didn't get on that flight, then they got on standby again on another flight...etc, etc.  With each new possibility, there were new contingency plans.  Scott and I were in his office with the door closed for the whole afternoon.  We were calling our friend Audrey who works at JetBlue, we were on the phone and on dozens of screens online, trying to figure out what to do.  It was awful.  In the end, miracles happened.  We got the girls a last-minute flight from Chicago to Istanbul to Paris, for super-cheap.  Super.  Cheap.  When we booked the flight, we opened the door and I joked, "A new flight has been selected!  Send up the white smoke!"

Golda and Ruby still had to get from Midway to O'Hare, and with Chicago being Chicago, we were terrified they would get stuck in traffic between the two airports and miss the new flight!  I called my friend Ryan McLaughlin who lives in Chicago, and he advised the train and told us what lines to take.  Scott looked it up and sent the girls the map with the route highlighted.  It was still stressful when we called them and they were on the train, but not sure which direction they were going.  I was talking to Ruby and she shouted out, "Does anyone know if this train is going toward O'Hare?!"  I heard a subway car full of Chicagoans yell back, "Yes!  Yes!  It is!"  Thank heavens!  I have never been happier than when they got on that Turkish Airlines flight to Istanbul.  For the next 10 hours, nothing could go wrong.  They were en route!  Scott and I had looked up Turkish Airlines and discovered that they are the 4th ranked airline in the world.  The girls were in for some serious pampering.  They got gourmet meals, a travel kit with socks, an eye mask, lip balm, ear plugs, headphones, and a pillow and blanket.  Best flight ever!  Ruby texted and said, "How much did this flight cost, like a million dollars?!"  Au contraire!  It was six hundred bucks.  And the best part is that Southwest credited my points for the cancelled flight, and Norwegian let us change the reservation for the flight they missed, so we didn't lose that money.  We had to choose something to change it to on the spot, though, before the flight took off.  We were so fried from 8 hours of stress that we couldn't think.  We ended up booking Golda on the trip we have planned to Europe in November because we couldn't think of anything else to change the flights to, without coming up with a whole new trip.  All things considered, it worked out better than we could have hoped.  And!  The girls got to Paris at almost the exact same time they would have originally arrived.  They missed out on 6 hours in Copenhagen, where they were going to go into the city for dinner and exploring, but that's no price to pay for arriving safely.  Had it not been for Scott and me at home, I don't know what the girls would have done, but it would have taken a lot longer and cost a lot more money for them to get to Paris.  We kept saying to each other, "At least everyone is safe.  Everything is fine."

Victor had arrived in Paris a few hours earlier, so he had checked into the apartment.  He met the girls at St. Michel Fountain and they were off for a week of exploring Paris!  I was so happy when they finally arrived!

It's fun for us to get little pictures and updates.  I was proud of these three for visiting so many museums and monuments in Paris, for walking so much and seeing so much, and exploring just like they've been taught.  They didn't leave any stone unturned and had a marvelous week.

 Meanwhile, Victor's mom and dad, Juan and Sonia, were in Portugal scouting for the best places to stay when the girls go to Spain in a few weeks.  The Altieris are so great.  We love them!

 Versailles

 When it was time to leave Paris, Victor left first.  Them Golda and Ruby schlepped to Gare du Nord where it was hot and muggy.  And of course, the train was delayed two hours.  What?!?!  When does that happen?  I got an apology email from the train company.  Scott had found an article that said how dangerous and seedy Gare du Nord is.  It is undergoing a renovation, but still. I'm sure it would have been fine if it weren't so hot and if the girls had been able to decipher the train schedule.  They were a little stressed.  They finally arrived in Lille after midnight.  I bet they were so tired!  I didn't realize how much energy it would take to wonder if the girls were Ok as they get from one place to another.  It's fun, though, and I am glad they're there.  I feel a little sense of relief in the late afternoon when they are sleeping.  Then at midnight, I start waiting for texts and pictures to come in from the girls as they wake up for the day.  What a fun time in their lives!

 Gare du Nord

 Museum in Lille with Olympe.

And this was yesterday in Ghent, Belgium.  Proud parenting moment when Golda messaged me, "I'm in the same cathedral as the Ghent altarpiece and I can't see it!  Tragic!"  I guess it was being renovated.  Then Ruby said she was blown away by the cathedral in Ghent, "even after a week of being impressed by cathedrals in Paris."  I could not be happier.  I love these girls!