Groceries, Old Roads, & Destroyed Tires...

welcome home.

I picked up a few groceries in Ebensburg after visiting my sister and her boyfriend tonight. They've been watching the turtle since I left for my trip. He's looking good and I appreciate their fantastic babysitting services.

En route back to my house, I decided to take the familiar old farm road instead of spending more time on the highway. Generally, the path shaves about a minute off the over all drive time. It has a few more curves and isn't always in the best of shape, especially during winter weather, but I like the old road just the same.

Winding through the curves and bends, I came across a rather unpleasant situation. In the 2 months since I drove the old road, an enormous pot hole developed. Unaware of its existence and busily watching for deer and other suicidal critters through the rain, I drove right over it.

I thought, "That's going to leave a mark," as my passenger side wheel slammed into the broken pavement.

Of course it did. Minutes after my run in with the damaged road, the tell tale vibrations of a flat tire began. As I was relatively close to home (about a mile and a half), I chose to keep going. The tire got flatter and flatter as I went, but my speed was reduced and I made it.

Parking in the driveway, it was time to assess the damage caused by the pot hole. Of course, the tire was completely destroyed by a combination of trauma and abuse, but other than the shredded rubber, there wasn't any damage that I could see. A quick trip to the garage should have it taken care of in no time.

What A Night!

We woke up this morning and a few of the students and I decided to visit the church on top of Mont St Michel. The price for admission was rather steep... especially because I bought my ticket before learning that it was supposed to be 3.50 euro cheaper for youths. There's a useful tip for you: If you are between the ages of 18 and 25, make sure you have identification with your age on it and remember to tell the person at the ticket counter. As I was unaware of the youth discount, I ended up paying the whole 8.50 euro for my ticket. Too bad, I had my ID too. Live and learn, right?

Price aside, the view from the top was spectacular. I recommend stopping by if you're ever in the area. It's no Ambialet, but it's still pretty awesome and you'll get some exercise.

After leaving Mont St Michel, we (Mom, Dad, Lori, and myself... the other 2 vehicles abandoned us) visited Omaha Beach in Normandy. It was a surreal experience. For such a scenic location, Omaha Beach sure has a dark past. Then again, how many places on this planet don't have a dark past? Not many, I suspect.



After a few hours of driving and watching a beautiful sunset from the road, we reached Nantes. In true Lynch form, we got ridiculously lost in Nantes. Bad directions and terrible traffic combined for a rough trip to the hotel. At one point, after trying to help, I decided to just check out. The decision was for the best.

Ah, Hotel Trianon. Sounds pretty nice, huh? Don't let a fancy name fool you. The place is a flea pit. My room was disgusting and my towels smelled like aftershave. Still, the sheets were clean and I had the room to myself. After a few weeks of sharing a room with my parents in Paris, Dublin, and Mont St Michel, it was nice to have my own room... even if it was in a flea pit hotel.

After the terrible traffic and getting lost in Nantes, I was ready for a good hard drink. As fate would have it, there was a beautiful neon sign that read "BAR" directly beside the flea pit. To make a long, uncomfortable story short: Bar Le Moorea is NOT A BAR!!! It is a brothel and I never did get my drink. How could we have possibly known this place wasn't a bar?

A few quick quotes from the evening, John should appreciate these: "Oh look, they have a red light!" "cinq personnes s'il vous plaît." "Champagne 200." "Let's get the Hell out of here."

Useful tips from today:
Always have a map and proper directions. A working GPS is better.
Never get panicky when lost. Tempers will flare ad it is not worth the drama.You WILL find your way, eventually, even if you have a bad sense of direction.
Bar Le Moorea is NOT A BAR!!! If you are looking for a drink in Nantes, find another place!

Mont St Michel

Welcome to Mont St Michel, a spectacular tidal island that took 500 years to complete. With its rich history, the place is as interesting as it is beautiful.

Pints, Proposals, and All Sorts of People

We left our hotel in Paris early this morning. Luke, Dad's housemate in Paris, drove us to the airport with his friend (I'm not sure of his name). With a bit of force, all 3 suitcases fit in the back and Mom, Dad, and I crammed into the backseat. We found our way to the airport easily enough and made our way to the check-in counter.
Moving on to the security check point, I set off the damn metal detector again. What am I wearing that consistently sets off the machine? Agh! After a thorough frisking by one of the personnel, I headed over to my gate.

The flight, itself, was rather uneventful. Oddly, Aerlingus charges a fee for the in-flight snack. After spending so much on a flight, one would think that a small drink and bag of crackers or something would be included. Apparently not if you fly through Aerlingus. Adding to the craziness, the flight attendants move on to peddling Air Mall items. Quite odd, indeed.

Flying over Dublin, it was plain to see that Ireland is really a beautiful country. Along the way, Dad pointed out every golf course he could see. I decided to insist that there are no golf courses in Ireland... just fields with spots of sand scattered around them. Lol, in reality, there are a lot of courses.

We landed and made our way to retrieve our bags. Along the way, we were passed through the immigration area to have our passports stamped. The wait in line was pretty long, but once I got to the window, the interview was pretty short and I now have my second stamp this trip! Yay!

Since Mom & Dad were farther back in line, I made my way to the baggage claim and got everyones' things piled on a cart. Once they made their way to the area, we passed through customs rather easily and headed for the rental car agency.

The small car Dad had been hoping for turned out to be a rather massive boat on wheels. Couple the enormous vehicle size with fact that the Irish drive on the "wrong side" of the road, the journey by car was relatively daunting. The GPS from National was utterly useless, but we still managed to find the hotel.

The parking garage is under the hotel. Dad's maneuvering of the boat on wheels was hindered by rather small passageways in the garage. I got out and attempted to guide him through one of the turns. Eventually, he made it to the parking space and we checked in to our hotel.

The room is nice, has a few odd features. In order to keep the electricity on in the room, you have to leave your keycard in a thing on the wall. Somewhat irritating, but a decent idea for saving on energy costs.

Mom and I went to the little grocery store next door to pick up lunch while Dad took a nap. The lunch counter has a nice value meal arrangement that includes your choice of sandwiches and wraps, a bag of chips, and a 500ml bottle of Coke... all for just 4.99 euro. After the craziness of food and drink costs in Paris, 4.99 euro for all that was fantastic.

Returning to the room, we decided to walk around the block and see what was around. The Jameson Distillery is very close to our hotel. We are going back when the Gormans get here. I saw a sign for "hot whiskey" in the distillery. Very interested in checking it out. The description sounds pretty cool.

Walking along, we found a cute little pub called The Richmond. I partook in (2) 1/2 pints of Bulmers Cider. It has a mild apple flavor and is a bit too easy to drink. Haha, this should be fun! Dad got a couple pints of Fosters. The bartender told us to come back in the evening for some music at around 10. Cool, we'll be back!

We had dinner at a relatively expensive pizzeria near the hotel. It was tasty. The soup was good and the pizzas were unique and delicious. I followed dinner with a short nap before returning to the pubs.

Mom chose to stay in the room for the night while Dad and I went pub hopping. We returned to The Richmond where I upgraded to a full pint of cider and Dad continued with a pint of Fosters. The "music" turned out to be a guy with a laptop and guitar singing karaoke songs. The average age in the pub was about 50 (that's if you factor my 25 years in to the mix). Pretty fantastic, really, if you enjoy the humor.

Leaving the pub, 2 clearly drunk individuals followed us out. They were highly talkative. One talked to Dad while the other proposed and detailed the marriage/honeymoon plans... 7 kids? Hahaha, I would advise against that. We shook hands in agreement that we would not, in fact, be getting married. Hahaha, only in Ireland, I suspect. Eventually the pair hailed a cab and left us alone.

Rather than returning to the hotel, Dad and I made our way to the Number 6 for another pint. Number 6 reminds me of a trendy bar one might find back home. It definitely doesn't have that cool Irish pub vibe, but it was still pretty nice. They were having a party for Halloween and the crowd was much closer to my own age, which was refreshing. I made a new friend from Sweden named Ace. He's a pretty cool kid and it was nice to have a conversation with a foreigner in English. lol.

Looking forward to my upcoming Irish adventures. :)

Jenn's Irish Pint Count: 3

To the Louvre! ...and more Paris adventures

We met on the square outside the Louvre for an early morning tour today. The air was crisp and the sun was shining, another beautiful day in Paris.





After seeing the incredibly long line of tourists waiting to enter the museum (think "Eurotrip"), we decided to go to La Defense and work our way back. La Defense is a major business district in Paris named after the statue "La Defense de Paris" which commemorates the Parisian resistance during the Franco-Prussian War.









The artwork and architecture around the statue were pretty cool too. After snapping a few pictures and listening to Gerry's spiel about Paris, it was time for lunch. A few of the students and I went to the mall and picked up a pretty decent lunch at Pomme de Paine. I also picked up a pair of gloves at H&M... the crisp air is pretty chilly here in Paris!




We met with the group and headed back to the Louvre. After patiently listening to Gerry's introduction, I stayed with the group for another 10 to 15 minutes before venturing off to enjoy the museum on my own.

What a collection! I barely got through a portion of one wing before it was time to leave. There were just so many things to see! Funny story: I was so busy looking at the paintings and sculptures surrounding me that I almost missed the amazing ceilings above. Another visit or 2 are definitely in store while I'm here in Paris. Stay tuned for tales of those visits.









Later in the evening, 2 of the girls and I went to a bridge with a fantastic view of the Eiffel Tower. The location of the bridge vs the tower allowed for some fabulous "prop" pictures. Here I am holding the Eiffel Tower in my hands on a beautiful night.





I ended my evening with a tasty, albeit pricey (it is Paris, afterall), meal in a little restaurant near my hotel, La Chope Da Guerre. I had a Cuba Libre with the platte du jour (a spicy pasta dish with bread, today)and finished with a hot cup of strong coffee for around 30 euro with tip.

It was a pretty fantastic day and I'm looking forward to more Paris adventures over the next few days.

Useful tip of the day: Always remember to look up, you never know what you might miss!

Let's go to the dentist!

I made it to the dentist today. It was an interesting experience. Luckily, John was there and he translated for me. The office was very clean with a modern look and high-tech machinery. The price was unbeatable at 21 euro. The dentist was nice and she performed a check-up and drilled/filled the chip all in under an hour. Quite efficient, I must say! Perhaps dentists in the US could learn a thing or 2 from the French.

On our way back from the dentist, we stopped at an area overlooking Ambialet. It was stunning. We could see both branches of the Tarn river and the priory in the middle. Incredible. :)

When we got back, lunch was ready. As I still couldn't feel part of my face from the dentist's novocaine, I ate carefully. We had the best hot dogs I've ever tasted, macaroni and cheese, and a rice dish. Delicious!

After lunch, the canine duo and I went for a short walk through the woods. We didn't encounter any new animals and the walk went smoothly. Jay-Z plowed ahead, as usual, and Bruen stayed by my side. I love those 2 crazy pups.

My trusty translating friend, John, and I at the overlook. Thanks for everything, John!

Crazy Dogs

I went on a walk with Jay-Z and Bruen again today. At the bottom of the hill, there is a Y in the path. Normally, I go left past Nadine's coffee shop. Today, the dogs and I went right. I was curious as to what might be in that direction and Jay-Z led the way. Let's just say that staying left would've been a far better choice. Jay-Z got into a little scuffle with a grumpy neighborhood dog.

No one got hurt and the dogs stopped their little battle the moment I yelled at them. Bruen, of course, stayed back with me. She paid full attention to the other 2, ready to spring to action if her brother needed her to. Gladly, Jay-Z and neighborhood dog broke it up relatively quickly and we went on our way to the river while grumpy dog went back to his porch.

Interestingly enough, the owners of the grumpy dog didn't come out of their house or even look out the window to see what was going on. The dogs were barking and growling in their little fight and I yelled... surely somebody heard us? Oh well, no harm no foul. Just have to make a mental note: don't turn right at the bottom of the hill when with the dogs.

Otherwise, it was another beautiful day in Ambialet and the dogs and I had a nice time by the river.

Ferries, Flights, Language Barriers

We left quite early this morning in order to catch the ferry to the mainland. Of course, as we were in Italy, everything was in Italian and my parents weren't sure where we were going. Thus, another Lynch family saga began before the sun came up.

The online ferry itinerary said the first boat was scheduled to leave Lido at 4:50. We left extra early in order to make it. The dock was completely silent without a life in sight. Accompanied by nothing but the rain drops crashing against the windshield, we found ourselves to be in a difficult situation. Perhaps there is no ferry today? Could this be the wrong place? What's going on?!? We really need to catch our flight!

We drove over to the bus/vaporetto ticket booth, as it was the only populated business on the island, to ask for assistance. Through broken English and really bad Italian, we were able to communicate with the men. We learned that the ferry would leave at 5:00 and it was only 2 kilometers away. Ok, so the dock we found earlier was the right one... where are the people? How do we get a ticket?

We waited at the dock for a few minutes until deciding to go on another search for the ticket booth. Driving around the dark streets of Lido, we eventually found the proper signs and followed them to the booth. As it was quite early on a cold, weekend morning, there weren't many cars waiting to board the ferry. It left at 5:30.

The ride lasted about half an hour and we were not permitted to stay in the car. We went to sit in the lounge on the second floor. It was freezing and the coffee counter wasn't open yet, but the furniture was more comfortable than it was on the way over. So, half asleep, I relaxed in the chilly room on my way back to the mainland.

We returned to the car shortly before we docked and I fell asleep promptly after securing my seatbelt. As far as I know, we made it to the airport without getting lost. I'll never know. :)

It was a bit of a hike from the car park to the airport, but it wasn't bad. We were pretty early, so our flight hadn't been assigned a check-in desk. The gate was assigned, but we couldn't check in... weird. Eventually, after every flight listed on the screen had been assigned, our flight was assigned to desk 13. The girl behind the desk took a very long time to get everything in order, but she gave us a map of where we'd be landing and how to get around once there. It was a nice gesture and quite appreciated.

Going through airport security, a very polite security agent asked if he could inspect my purse. He was not rude or pushy like the TSA people at home tend to be. I said, "Of course, I have nothing to hide." He looked through the bag, found nothing out of the ordinary, and tried to close it. Well, of course, the zipper decided to act up and he was a bit embarrassed, but I just smiled and said not to worry. The zipper gets stuck when opened fully.

Our gate was pretty easy to find and I took a short nap before the flight, using my backpack as a pillow. When it was time to board the plane, we hopped on a shuttle and waited about 10 minutes or so for everyone to get on. The shuttle went about 30 yards, stopped, and we were at our plane. It would have been so much faster if we could have just walked over to our tiny plane. Oh well, that's airport security for you.

The flight was pleasant. At one point, the puffy white clouds we were flying over were broken up by the peaks of a mountain range. That mountain was huge, climbing higher than the clouds. Interesting, beautiful, and slightly terrifying... nothing should be that big! :)

As we were en route to Paris for our connection to Toulosue, I was curious to see if the demonstrations and strikes had made their way into CDG. Gladly, it wasn't and we were able to pass through relatively smoothly. Hindered only by the ridiculous practice of having to exit the secure area to pass through carry-on security yet again to reach our connecting flight, everything went smoothly. I doubt I will ever fully understand the reasoning behind leaving a secure area only to pass through screening again before a connecting flight.

There's a bit of advice for all you happy travelers out there, if you'll be flying internationally and have connecting flights, make sure you leave plenty of time to go through security again.

We arrived back in Ambialet and it was another beautiful evening at the priory. :)

How is this thing still afloat?

We had lunch at a charming little tourist trap in Venice, today. Of course, in true Venetian fashion, the price was over the top. A plate of spaghetti with tomato sauce and a few mushrooms should never cost so much... but this is Venice and they will bleed you dry. On the plus side, the lunch was filling and very tasty. The staff were also very attentive and courteous.

After lunch, I explored on my own for a few hours. There is something great about exploring a new place on my own. While I do enjoy occasional sight seeing with others, the freedom of exploring on my own is fantastic as well.

As I explored, I rediscovered the cute little pen shop I'd seen on my first day in Venice. It only took an hour and 15 minutes to find it! I purchased a very nice set, complete with a bottle of ink and 5 or 6 pen tips, and a pen with a tip shaped like the Eiffel Tower. It should be quite fun to give the pens a try when I get home. I just love using dipping pens, they're just so classic.

Passing through Saint Marco's square, I encountered some of the fattest pigeons I've ever seen. Seriously, those pigeons are obese! If you factor in the incredibly high number of tourists that feed them every day, their weight is kind of sad. How can they still walk or stand? How can they possibly fly? It's crazy! They can fly and they fly right at you! Silly, silly birds.


I caught the vaporetto and journeyed over to a lovely park. On my way, I noticed an interesting figure in the water. It looks like a fallen statue, but I think it was always meant to be there. It is beautiful.

The park is in the midst of a lovely garden with lots of trees. The statues are quite worn, but they add a touch of elegance and beauty to an otherwise average park. I sat on a bench and filled out postcards as I relaxed. If you are ever in the mood to get away from the crowds of San Marco's Square, head over to the park. It provides an escape from the hoards of people without leaving you completely secluded. Quite nice.

After leaving the park, I wandered around the crowded alleys of Venice and road an incredibly cramped Vaporetta to the vending area at Rialto. my aversion toward large groups of people grew exponentially. It will be a pleasant change of pace to return to Ambialet, where the canines seem to out number the humans. Venice is lovely and I hope to return one day, but Ambialet can not be beat in its rustic charm and peaceful atmosphere.

Watch out, Italy! Here I come

I'm enroute to Italy today, with my parents. We will be visiting the lovely Venice as the students explore London for their long weekend break. I plan to do a bit of exploring on my own while in Venice. I enjoyed exploring Barcelona by myself, it always provides for a more interesting adventure.

The flights, themselves, were pretty uneventful. I enjoyed not being frisked going through the security check in Toulouse. I just had to have my bag looked through. Apparently my haphazard way of packing my electronics' cords looks rather alarming when going through an x-ray machine. Ha ha. Oh well. Take that into consideration when packing for your next vacation by airplane.

Our flights were on time and we had no delays in getting to Venice. Both suitcases made their way to Baggage Claim in a timely fashion and we went to pick up our rental car from Hertz. The car is an adorable little model from Fiat called the Panda. It is small, but spacious enough for everyone and the bags to have a comfortable fit.

In true Lynch fashion, we got lost on our way to the ferry. Then again once we reached the island to look for our hotel. When I called the hotel, the woman at the desk was less than helpful in telling us how to find our way. I told her where we were and she merely said things like "No, not there." No helpful words like, "Oh, you're almost at the golf course? Ok, turn around, follow this road, turn here... etc." were provided. Then, as I hadn't charged my phone before leaving, it died halfway through the conversation anyway. Ha. What luck!

Everything turned out alright in the end. We made it to our hotel and I can safely say it is a rather nice place. The lobby is spacious and clean. There are beautiful plants, including orchids, around the main desk and entrance. Our room is pretty nice and the shower's water pressure is fantastic!

I am disappointed that I will not have a usable internet connection this evening, we arrived pretty late and the front desk didn't provide us with the access code. Not to worry, though, tomorrow is another day.

Monsoons, Fire Codes, and Getting Lost

We left the apartment in Barcelona early this morning as it slowly began to rain. En route to our "home away from home" in Ambialet, we met with the group at the Dali museum in Spain. With little more than a "follow the signs" to direct us, the journey to the museum proved to be rather difficult.

After a series of wrong turns down one way streets and stopping for directions, we finally found the Dali museum. Mom & Lori got out while Dad and I went off in search fo a place to park. As the weather continued to decline into monsoon-like conditions, we grew increasingly aware of the hopelessness of ever finding a spot.

Miraculously, there was one open parking space in the entire city and we found it! Granted, parking a car with a stick shift, on a slope, in monsoon-like conditions is a daunting task, but Dad did a superb job. We had finally found a parking space 9 blocks from the museum... lucky us.

Amazingly, the moment we exited the vehicle, the monsoon got even worse! Before today, I honestly did not believe that such an amount of water could possibly fall from the sky. Even with my trusty umbrella, I got completely soaked.

So much water had already fallen from the sky that a small, but angry, river had formed in the middle of the street. As I waded through the rushing liquid, my flip-flop was taken ferociously down the hill. "Oh no!" I cried, "My shoe!"

In all his heroic glory, Dad dove into the rushing stream to rescue my fallen shoe. All hope for an inch of dryness on his clothes lost in one fateful leap... but my shoe was saved.

The 2 soaked Lynches finally reached the meeting place at a small restaurant just outside the Dali museum. My meal was rather tasty and its warmth was quite welcoming after my harsh journey through the rivers and monsoon.

After lunch, still completely soaked from head to toe, I visited the much anticipated museum (I find Dali's work to be incredibly interesting). How many people can say they went to an awesome museum after wading through a river in a Spanish monsoon? Well, at least 2 by my count...

Ah, the Dali museum. Quite possibly home to one of the most interesting collections of art I have ever encountered. Sadly, I never got the opportunity to fully enjoy the experience this time around.

Apparently, there are no fire codes in this portion of Spain. If there were, the enforcers of the code would have made a hefty sum from the fines collected. There were so many people crammed into the small museum that, had a fire broken out, hundreds would have perished... not me of course, I was carrying enough water in my clothing that I could have doused the flames myself, but still WAY TOO MANY PEOPLE!

Luckily for the mass quantity of dry people in the museum, there was no fire... just a complete lack of room for one to stop and admire anything. The pushing, shoving, and an increasingly evident desire to punch someone in the face quickly grew old so I opted to leave the area.

After a very quick stop at the gift shop to pick up a book about the museum I almost saw, I waited for the rest of the group in a slightly less crowded hallway near the exit.

As we made our way out, the monsoon had finally trickled into a simple downpour. Dad retrieved the car (I'm still amazed that he found it) and we made our way back to the Priory through the storm.

I hope to return to the Dali museum one day. Preferrably on a day with better weather and fewer people. Even with the weather and over-crowded museum, I can't complain. It was an interesting experience.

"I don't talk to strangers..."

True to my travelling form, I went exploring on my own today. I couldn't really tell you exactly where I went for most of the day, but I enjoyed the freedom of being on my own and came across some interesting things.

I wandered through the streets and alleys of Barcelona, stopping in at a few shops, picked up a shirt and sunglasses. By lunch time, I got a bit tired of wandering around aimlessly, so I stopped at a nice little tapas place. They were out of one of my choices and gave me the wrong thing for another choice. However, the food I did get was pretty good. A lovely lunch complete with crab salad on a toasted bagguette, skewered barbecue flavored pork, and skewer of shrimp, mushrooms, and bacon. I finished the meal with a cup of coffee and looked at my map.

Making my way around the city, I decided to treat myself to a bus tour. I purchased a ticket from a rather strangely grafitti'd booth and hopped on the bus for the green line. It was a nice way to get off the street and see a large part of Barcelona. I would definitely recommend taking a bus tour of the city on the first day. It allows for a brief overview of everything there is to see and lets you know where everything is.

The bus had started at a park filled with statues, once the ride had come full circle, I decided to check them out. It was a lovely experience until a rather creepy man started talking to me by the fountain. Strangely, at the exact moment he started talking to me, the vast collection of tourists swarming the park suddenly vanished. Leaving little time for mistakes, I executed my escape perfectly. I simply asked him if he had the time. He told me the time, I said I had run to meet my group for dinner (or else I'd be late, of course), and left.

Of course, I didn't have to meet anyone for another hour and a half, so I made my way to the open market with all the delicious fruit. There, I came across a few of the students, so I just hung out with them until it was time to go to dinner.

We all ate dinner at a trendy restaurant near our apartment called Tasty. I ordered the seafood spaghetti dish and it was delicious! There was the perfect amount of garlic and everything was cooked perfectly. I guess it's time to add mussels to my list of tasty things to eat!








After dinner, a few of the students and I wandered around and came across a cute little sports bar by the water. The bar is called Nit Borbo. I ordered a Bellini and watched the futbol game. It was a good time.

My bags are packed, I'm ready to go...

but the plane is not...

I get to the airport, quite ahead of schedule. Check-in and security go smoothly, with limited hassle. On to the gate… all is well, flights appear to be running on schedule. Europe, here I come! But wait, the 4:50 flight to Washington (IAD) has been delayed! Oh the humanity! It has been bumped back to 6:45 and there is no way I will ever make it to my 7:00 flight out of IAD for Frankfurt, Germany. Time to stop at the United desk and get a new flight plan.

New plan: 8:15 out of IAD to Munich, Germany for my connection to Toulouse, France (TLS). Okay, it will be tight, but I can make that work. I think I’ll relax, grab a cup of coffee, and Skype with my family for a little while. There is plenty of time before the PIT-IAD flight leaves.

Fast forward 20 minutes, I’ve checked the flight times online. Uh oh, PIT-IAD has been bumped back yet again. 7:40 this time. I’m not going to make my connection to Munich now. Damn, better go back to the desk.

The woman at the desk tells me to wait half an hour to see if the flight gets bumped up. I think to myself, “the only way I’m going to make that connection is if we fly through some sort of magic, time changing, worm hole.” I keep my thoughts to myself and do as she asks, time to wait again. Of course, the flight is not bumped up to an earlier time. To the contrary, it gets pushed back to 7:56. Now I can be absolutely sure I’m not going to make my connection to Munich.

Back to the desk… fingers crossed that they can find a new flight for me. After 20 minutes of waiting to catch the woman’s attention, she searches for a flight. What luck! A seat has just opened on the 9:59 flight to Frankfurt. It’ll be close, but with any luck I can make the flight to Europe. As long as the 4:50 turned 7:56 flight departure doesn’t get pushed back yet again and we leave “on time”, I’ll finally be on my way across the sea.

PIT departs at 8:00, another 4 minutes have been lost, but there is still hope if the gates are close to one another. At 9:03, the PIT to IAD plane has landed, in a couple of minutes we’ll be taxied into the gate. Man, this is cutting it close, I hope the next flight is nearby. Of course, the travel gods are laughing so hard they have started to roll out of their first class seats. The next gate is on the other end of the airport. Better start running!

I reach the gate just as they are preparing to close the doors. I’m the last passenger to board the plane, but I’ve made it. Now to find my seat. .. 17E… yuck. It’s directly in the middle of the row. I won’t complain though, I’m lucky I got on the flight to begin with.

Wait a minute! 17E is in the front of the Economy Plus section! I got a free upgrade. Thank you, travel gods, perhaps I’ve misjudged you. The extra leg room and cool dinner tray and TV screen set up are pretty sweet. Plus, I’ve made a new friend, Kyle. For the next 8 hours, we spend the time chatting, watching cartoons, and listening to music. Probably should have gotten some sleep, but who can pass up friendly conversation and watching cartoons? I know I can’t. It’s just too much fun!

The plane lands, it is time to get off and move onto the final leg of my journey to Toulouse. First, a stop at the passport check counter. I’m pretty sure everyone and anyone that has ever had a passport decided to fly today. The line is incredibly long and slow moving. Will I make it to my flight on time?

I’m finally through the passport check. On to the gate? Nope, on to security checkpoint 2. Apparently the US security workers don’t do a good enough job of checking travelers, so this airport decides to go through the bags again. Of course I set off the metal detector for some reason, the wand is passed over me, I get frisked. Ok, that ordeal is over, time to move on to the gate. I better hurry, there is barely enough time to make it.

Is this some kind of a joke? Where is Gate A9? Ha! Let me tell you where Gate A9 is… it is in what looks like a refurbished basement down a series of corridors, elevators, stairwells, etc. As you can clearly guess, I didn’t make it to the gate in time. Fantastic. Now what?

I am told that the flight has already left. Ok, where can I get a new flight to Toulouse? Well, apparently I have to go to the United desk in the B Gate area.
Ok, time to find the United terminal in Gate B. That’s odd. There is no United anything, let alone terminal, in Gate B. Panic starts to creep in. How am I supposed to get to Toulouse? I can’t even find the airline! I wander around some more, frantically searching for the United name. As the wandering around has gotten me nowhere, I decide to ask someone.

There is an employee at the gate of an airline I have never heard of in my life. He doesn’t have any passengers to deal with yet, so I’ll ask him where I should go. Success! There is a United Airlines area in the airport. Failure… it is outside the secure area. But I know where it is now. What a helpful and friendly man.

After another series of scavenger hunt style flight booking, it is time to go through flight security yet again. My bags are checked for the 3rd time in this series of flights, the metal detector goes off for the second time, and I get frisked yet again. Ok, on to the gate.

Finally, a gate that actually looks like it belongs in an international airport! I find a seat, pick up a carbonated apple juice, and relax until it’s time to fly. After such a long day, I’m glad I’ll be in Ambialet in a matter of hours.
This new flight arrives on time, departs as scheduled, and I land in Toulouse shortly after 6:00. Later than originally scheduled, but I’ve made it and my next stop is Ambialet. Miraculously, my bags have succeeded in meeting me at the pickup area. Now that took some serious skill and organization on the airport community’s part.

Off to Ambialet…