We're Here!!!

Bonjour from Paris!  It's 10 AM here (3 AM your time). We have been traveling all night and are awaiting our connecting flight to Rome in a beautiful Air France Lounge.  It is snowy here in Paris, (like an inch or two) and gray, but we are only here until 2:00 and then off to sunny (I hope) Italy.

Corey and Duncan came to Manchester yesterday at 11:30 to pick us up and take us to the Cedar Rapids airport.  Our flight to Minneapolis left right at 3:00 and we were in the Twin Cities by 4:10. Of Course, our little dinky plane from C.R. left us at the exact opposite side and corner of the airport from the big monster that we were flying to Paris.  We hustled on the electric walkways and made our 5:00 flight in time.

We were on a big new Delta plane, and there were some seats empty in economy, so Jerry and I each had 2 seats for the 8 1/2 hour flight.  Economy overseas is normally sort of like being a sardine in a can without the oil, so we were happy to have an extra inch or so in which to wiggle and try to get some sleep.   I was more successful than Jerry, but at least he did not keep me awake.  I am of the philosophy that one should do anything to sleep when it is night, so with a half of a Tylenol PM, and later 2 Melatonin, earplugs, eyeshades, and extra pillows and a glass of red wine, I was pretty sleepy.  Jerry, not so much. He watched movies.  He is now trying to get some shut eye as I write, but we all know he won't get much sitting up in a chair, and will be exhausted when we reach Rome at 4 PM.

First thing I did when we got here was have an espresso and a croissant   YUMMM!  They really know how to do breakfast!  We will eat lunch before we leave this afternoon so I will get 2 French meals.

I am still pinching myself that we are actually doing this, and am so excited to get there and get started.  Jerry is up now (that didn't last long) so I will relinquish the computer so he can read the paper. The internet is free here in the airport for 6 hours, so he can surf to his heart's content.  Just wanted you all to know we made it at least this far.  Until Rome, Au Revoire!