Both Chris and I took the day off. I ran 10 peaceful miles and Chris swam and then picked up books for all of us from the library. We packed, did laundry and cleaned the house - nothing like having a clean house when returning from a long trip - to help smooth the transition back into routine. We even had time to watch the last episode of "Boardwalk Empire" before picking Petru up from school.
After a few back and forths we decided to take a taxi to the airport. My cheap side was against it, but one of my mantras for the trip was to be very agreeable. The cab ride was smooth. The driver was an interesting character, full of good stories about his travel, which I think relieved some of Chris's anxiety. He even told us about his panic attacks and ativan pill habit, while I refrained from giving recommendations about a good CBT person that could help him out.
Me - ready to GO!
Airport security was easy and pretty soon we got settled at our gate. Per usual, I brought a salad and some fruit, and Petru used the ipad. Our flight was on time. Petru and I set together, and Chris set close by. I had a great plan that involved sleeping through the flight, but that did not work out as the light was on for almost the entire flight. I did manage to sleep for 3 hours once I figured out that I can use a blanket as a scarf to block the light. Petru and Chris played video games, we all had snacks, and pretty soon we arrived in Dublin @ 6am Ireland time. During the 1 hour layover Chris and I enjoyed lattes and pastries, and Petru enjoyed some free wifi! At some point I looked at him and he was surrounded by 5 other kids to whom he was explaining how to play Minecraft. If I had taken a picture of the 3 of us, we would have looked very happy in that little airport. Onto our next flight and voila, 2 hours later we arrived in Paris at Charles du Galle airport (Petru just corrected me saying that the airport is outside Paris!). We had great directions from mom and managed to pick up our luggage, take the airport shuttle, and the RER to St Germain Square, and then easily find Rue Monsieur Prince, a 2 min walk to number 26, where mom was waiting in our studio. The place was small but beautiful, with high ceilings which reminded me of our home in Romania. Mom looked great and in her typical style proceeded to give us all presents: T shirts from various Europe cities for Petru, a sweater for Chris, dresses, Kerastase cosmetics for me, and of course, my 40th birthday present, 2 mirror hand painted by her.
Chris and I collapsed onto the bed shortly thereafter while mom took Petru to Jardin du Luxemburg and its beautiful playground.
They returned a couple of hours later, and we all went out for a walk and to get some food. We then played some games and later Chris and I got dinner. We met a nice French men at a cafe and had a great conversation about fresh organic food and French versus American eating habits. We ended up getting lunch from him almost every day, and Petru loved waving and saying "Bonjour" to him every time we passed by his cafe. We went to bed early that night. Petru slept with no problems, but Chris and I were both up @ 3am for what seemed like forever. First day in Paris and mission accomplished: visit with mom and adjust to the new time zone.
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