France (Part 1 of many)
I can't believe that the trip to France has come and gone. I had been looking forward to it for so long and it seemed that it would never get here. Then all of a sudden, it was here and I was leaving, and now it is gone and I am back home and mostly recovered from some serious jet lag! I have so many things to blog about, that it will take several posts, so here it goes.
October 29-October 31
Phil and the kids drove Chase and me to the airport. Our flight was supposed to leave at 10:00 p.m to Portland. Then from Portland, we were flying to Amsterdam, and then to Bordeaux, where my parents were going to meet us. When I got to the airport, they told me that the Portland flight had been cancelled. They rerouted me to Denver instead. When I arrived in Denver I was supposed to fly to Minneapolis, then to Amsterdam and then to Bordeaux, but the Minneapolis flight had been delayed to the point that I would miss my connector, so they told me I might have to wait until tomorrow. I said forget it, find me something! It took the nice lady at the counter some time, but eventually we ended up going to Cincinnati and then to Paris and finally to Bordeaux. SIGH! It seemed to take forever for us to get there, but we made it. Chase was the best little traveler. I felt so blessed and really learned from his example how to be good natured even in the face of obstacles. The French were, for the most part, very solicitous towards me because of the baby and helped me with my bag and let me go to the front of every line and that was very helpful.
I had told Phil to try to contact my parents with my change of flight plans, but wasn't sure if he had been able to get a hold of them, so it was with some trepidation that I stepped off the plane in Bordeaux and found no one there to greet me. A very helpful young man who was moving his family to France so he could teach, helped me locate the area where international flights were met, luckily it was just on the other side of the building as the Bordeaux Airport is rather small, and there were my parents sitting on a bench waiting for my original flight which was due in about a half an hour. Needless to say, they were very surprised to see me since my plane was not there yet, but we had a wonderful reunion and I was so happy to introduce them to Chase.
Grandma had a great time getting to know Chase, who was in his pumpkin jacket in honor of Halloween.
We stayed at the airport until we collected everyone (Jo, Sandra and Heather flew in together from Salt Lake and Aunt Laraine flew in From Denver via London) and then we hopped into the mini bus that Dad had rented and drove back to Angouleme. We arrived at the house where Mom and Dad had been living and had some dinner. We got dressed and then were able to go to the baptism of a young lady that Mom and Dad had taught and worked with a lot. She had asked Dad to do the baptism and we had a wonderful time meeting all of the members of the Branch. Then it was home and to bed!
November 1
Our first full day in France was a Sunday and we were able to go to church with Mom and Dad. It was fast Sunday and although we didn't understand much of what was being said, the Spirit was very strong and we felt the love of our Father in Heaven through those wonderful Saints in Angouleme. After church, everybody lined up outside for pictures and hugs. Many tears were shed and we felt almost guilty for taking our parents away from them.
We went back to the house and had dinner with the Elders, then went to visit one of the members, a 99 year old lady, who is confined to her house. Dad came to give her the sacrament and we visited for awhile. It was a chance for us to see some of the countryside because she lives outside of the city and there were several interesting Chateaus on the way there. Unfortunately, I didn't have my camera, so I will have to get those pictures from someone else. It was fun, but by the end of the night, I was exhausted and happy to get back to the house and get some sleep.
October 29-October 31
Phil and the kids drove Chase and me to the airport. Our flight was supposed to leave at 10:00 p.m to Portland. Then from Portland, we were flying to Amsterdam, and then to Bordeaux, where my parents were going to meet us. When I got to the airport, they told me that the Portland flight had been cancelled. They rerouted me to Denver instead. When I arrived in Denver I was supposed to fly to Minneapolis, then to Amsterdam and then to Bordeaux, but the Minneapolis flight had been delayed to the point that I would miss my connector, so they told me I might have to wait until tomorrow. I said forget it, find me something! It took the nice lady at the counter some time, but eventually we ended up going to Cincinnati and then to Paris and finally to Bordeaux. SIGH! It seemed to take forever for us to get there, but we made it. Chase was the best little traveler. I felt so blessed and really learned from his example how to be good natured even in the face of obstacles. The French were, for the most part, very solicitous towards me because of the baby and helped me with my bag and let me go to the front of every line and that was very helpful.
I had told Phil to try to contact my parents with my change of flight plans, but wasn't sure if he had been able to get a hold of them, so it was with some trepidation that I stepped off the plane in Bordeaux and found no one there to greet me. A very helpful young man who was moving his family to France so he could teach, helped me locate the area where international flights were met, luckily it was just on the other side of the building as the Bordeaux Airport is rather small, and there were my parents sitting on a bench waiting for my original flight which was due in about a half an hour. Needless to say, they were very surprised to see me since my plane was not there yet, but we had a wonderful reunion and I was so happy to introduce them to Chase.
Grandma had a great time getting to know Chase, who was in his pumpkin jacket in honor of Halloween.
We stayed at the airport until we collected everyone (Jo, Sandra and Heather flew in together from Salt Lake and Aunt Laraine flew in From Denver via London) and then we hopped into the mini bus that Dad had rented and drove back to Angouleme. We arrived at the house where Mom and Dad had been living and had some dinner. We got dressed and then were able to go to the baptism of a young lady that Mom and Dad had taught and worked with a lot. She had asked Dad to do the baptism and we had a wonderful time meeting all of the members of the Branch. Then it was home and to bed!
November 1
Our first full day in France was a Sunday and we were able to go to church with Mom and Dad. It was fast Sunday and although we didn't understand much of what was being said, the Spirit was very strong and we felt the love of our Father in Heaven through those wonderful Saints in Angouleme. After church, everybody lined up outside for pictures and hugs. Many tears were shed and we felt almost guilty for taking our parents away from them.
We went back to the house and had dinner with the Elders, then went to visit one of the members, a 99 year old lady, who is confined to her house. Dad came to give her the sacrament and we visited for awhile. It was a chance for us to see some of the countryside because she lives outside of the city and there were several interesting Chateaus on the way there. Unfortunately, I didn't have my camera, so I will have to get those pictures from someone else. It was fun, but by the end of the night, I was exhausted and happy to get back to the house and get some sleep.
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