I made it!

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YAY! I made it in one piece....24 hours door to door! The 4 hour flight from Calgary to Montreal was good except the landing. There was a LOT of turbulence on the descent and the landing. I did not like that one little bit! But I landed and actually got to the next gate for the flight to Paris with about 15 minutes to spare. I must say, the service with Air Canada is SORELy lacking. I wasted 10 of my precious 45 minutes between flights trying to find an agent who would answer my question as to what gate I had to get to. Well, water under the bridge. The 6 1/2 flight to Paris was smooth and uneventful. The landing was good but they taxied forever to the gate to disembark! In the end, I liked the break in the hours in the air because a 4 hour and a 6.5 hour flight is easier to take than the marathon 9 hour flight which is what a direct flight would be. Once we got off the plane it's a fair jaunt to the baggage claim. Customs was a breeze....simply a stamp and I was on my way. My worst fear was alleviated when my bag appeared on the baggage conveyor. Now, all I had to do was find the TGV gare (station). Wow! Another LOOOOONG walk to the station and a 5 hour wait. I think I dozed off and on while waiting but only enough to rest my eyes long enough to keep them open for a little while again! The TGV ride was good. Another 4 hours and, again, a few nod offs before we got to Bordeaux - just enough to make me feel like staying up until 11 pm! I think I'll sleep great tonight! Jean-François and his friend, Alain, came to meet me at the station and we walked the 5 minutes to his lovely house in the centre of Bordeaux. We had the French summer dinner I adore....salad, paté, breads, cheeses and fresh fruits for dessert....all eaten in the garden! OMG! I LOVE the French lifestyle. Jean-François and Collete are amazing hosts. Signing off not to head to la-la land. J-F and Collette have the day all planned out....I'll tell you about it tomorrow and, hopefully, upload some photos 😊 Bonne nuit tous!

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