We Are Home! We are home!

Wow, what a shock to be back in the U.S. Gas prices have soared since we left. Lots of little changes in my surroundings. New flowers in the back yard, my grocery store finished a big remodeling project, a neighbor is redoing his yard. Big palm trees have been taken out, the ground tilled and now we are waiting to see what he does. Maybe a big Italian fountain? I could only hope.

Our trip home was a logistic nightmare. I guess things ended on the down side to make us REAL happy to finally be home. When we checked in for our flight from Milan to London, British Airways had us listed on the passenger list but would not let us board the flight because there was a paperwork glitch through American Airlines. They have a partnership with British Airways and booked that leg of our return trip through them.

I won't go into all the details but what ended up happening is...........we had to fly to Paris, France, spend the night and fly home the next day. We had to fly from Paris to Dallas/Forth Worth, Texas and then to LAX. Great, right? Ugh!!! We checked in at American Airlines in Paris and told our sad story to a wonderful British woman who was working the service desk. She helped us through the process of getting our boarding passes, checking 5 heavy bags, and making our way to the gate. She noticed that Mom was using a cane, so she called for a wheelchair and VIP treatment. She noticed that we were not sitting together, so she called the service desk at the gate and had them change our seats so we were sitting in the first row behind first class which gave us so much more leg room! It was awesome. Mom could stand up and stretch anytime she needed to and we didn't disturb anyone else. AND, no one disturbed us.
Since that flight lasted 10 LONG hours, it was a great place to sit.

When we got to Dallas/Fort Worth, we had to go through customs, so we had to collect our luggage, go through customs, recheck our luggage and make it to the other flight in 1 1/2 hours. As we waited for the luggage to come down the baggage carousel, Mom sat in a wheelchair with a porter at her side the whole time. Well, we waited and waited. Three of our bags arrived but two were missing. Of course, they were the two with all the good stuff in them. All of the art work, gifts, things we had bought for ourselves, wine, some clothes, medications, and the CHOCOLATE!!!! (I know, I know, always keep your medications and chocolate with you.......we learned that lesson.)

In order to go through customs, we had to fill out paperwork on the lost bags. I guess D/FW airport was having a bad luggage day because we were in line with 25 other people who didn't get their luggage either. We finally had the paper work in our hands so we could proceed to customs. We got through that just great. As we walked out of the customs department, we were met by a customer service representative who took our luggage to the re-check place while we proceeded to security.

Security went pretty well. We were frustrated because we were running so late for our flight and we had to go through the entire take-your-shoes off, take your coat off, have your passport and boarding pass handy routine. In Europe, you go through security fully dressed. You do not have to take off your shoes. With Mom in a wheelchair, we got pushed to the front of the line and went through a special section for wheelchairs and other disabilities. That was slick.

When we got to our gate, they had already pre-boarded first class and people traveling with kids, etc. They had called for sections one and two to begin boarding, but they all had to wait until Mom was taken aboard.
Carol had stopped for diet Coke, bottled water, and a snack on our way to the flight, so I waited until she got to the gate to board. We were in section 2 so we were able to get in line and get seated. Whew! We had been so nervous about missing the connection to LAX because of the paperwork glitch over the lost bag.

Tah-dah! We were on the way to LAX, a day late and not a US dollar to our names.

At LAX, Dennis was there waiting for us. It was so great to see him and know that at least this part of the journey was going right. That feeling lasted about 5 minutes.... Mom's suitcase wasn't on the flight... Sooooo, we had to go through the process of reporting her bag and our two lost duffel bags all over again. At the service desk, we were told that they had found Mom's suitcase and my duffel bag and that they were on a flight to Chicago and then on to LA. Oh, boy! Our bags are such good travelers. LOL Carol's duffel bag was still missing. Of course, when these things happen and it just happens to be the bag with all the goodies in it, you can't help but think someone stole the bag. We all did our best to keep up good thoughts and said prayers to get that bag home.

Mom and I had our bags delivered around 2:30 on Saturday. Whew! We were so happy to get them but we felt guilty and sad for Carol. Her bag was still in Luggage Hell somewhere in the US or France. Well, around 4:00 in the afternoon, American Airlines called and gave us the happy news that her bag had been found. It was delivered, intact, around midnight last night. I was in bed when it arrived and since it is 2:52 in the morning and she is sleeping, I have not been able to ask her if everything was OK. I noticed the bottle of wine she had been carrying is on the kitchen counter and there are no wine stains on the packaging so I am fairly sure the bottle didn't break during it's wild ride from Paris to Riverside.

Bryan, Shannon, the grandchildren, and Sam were here with us for a delightful afternoon and dinner. We shared tales, laughed about all of the funny things that happened. I broke the news about buying the designer coat for me and the designer bag for Cari's graduation gift. When we told of the huge discounts we got, Dennis breathed a lot easier. We saved 1800 Euros ( That is about $2970 US dollars) through the grace and kindness of Felipe Asti, the owner of the shop where were go the goodies. He had sold us our things at his cost. We will always be so grateful to him because we would not have been able to afford to buy these things without his kindness.

Now, we are trying to get our bodies back on California time. We were up early yesterday; Carol and Mom around 4:30 and me at 5:00. Everyone is sleeping right now except me. I woke up about an hour ago - wide awake, so I decided to use the time (and the quiet) to write this entry. It is so much easier when I'm alone and things are quiet to collect my thoughts and write.

As I go through the pictures, journal entries, and talking about things with Cari, Carol, and Mom, I will be adding a lot more things to this blog. I hope you will check back and read some of the highlights and our memories.

Love, Kathy