Three airports, two flights, one propeller plane, no problem!
I got lucky when I booked my flight to Paris. Looking at international round-trip flights from Detroit, even during off-peak tourist season, prices were upwards of a thousand dollars. Flying out of Canada, though, with a direct-to-Paris flight from Toronto, was less than half the price. So, I booked that flight, and in order to get to Toronto, I also booked a small, local flight from Windsor. Both were with Air Canada.
The flight from Windsor really was small. Even the airport was small! Security consisted of two officers, one X-ray machine, and one metal detector. They had one of the fancy machines the TSA uses to X-ray people, but it was off in the corner and didn’t seem to be used much. When I went through, there was one other person in front of me. I didn’t even have to wait in line.
Once through security, there was just one open waiting area, with three “gates” (read: normal doors) that opened directly onto the tarmac. There, propeller planes would land to take small groups of people to either Toronto or Calgary, or other closer airports. I say “would,” because the only plane that landed while I was there was mine.
There was a bit of confusion at boarding time, because another girl with the last name Reid had somehow gotten her ticket linked with my Paris flight, too, by accident. She didn’t want to go to Paris, but the airline employee wanted to check her bag through to Charles De Gaulle airport. The plane was small enough that any larger carry-on bags had to be checked. I tried to explain that I was the one going to Paris, and at first she told me to be quiet and stay out of it, but then she realized what I was saying actually helped the situation, so she later apologized and thanked me for clearing it up.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BKmGhS3hpAC/?taken-by=arrpirate1
The flight to Toronto was short and uneventful. They gave me some pretzels and water. I spent the time in the Toronto airport finishing up a couple of work-related emails, sorting through photos and getting the addresses I needed for Paris. That kept me so busy that I forgot to exchange my currency! When I fly, I always carry a little cash on me and exchange it before international flights. This time, I ended up exchanging it at Charles De Gaulle, which meant I waited in a long line and paid a little extra commission. I could (and should) have exchanged it somewhere outside the airport, but I didn’t.
The flight itself was fine. I tried to sleep, to minimize jet-lag, but I wasn’t really able to. Even with calming travel music (see my playlist!). The woman next to me was sleeping and kept sticking her elbow into me on accident, which probably had something to do with it. I ended up just watching some movies and attempting to eat the sub-par airplane food they brought us. I picked the pasta option (instead of chicken) and it was shells in a tomato-almond sauce, but the flavor was strange and I didn’t enjoy it very much. There was also some iceberg lettuce and a few kernels of corn on the side. With ranch dressing, it might have passed as a salad. I did eat the bread and the brownie, and I drank the water, but it didn’t exactly feel like a meal.
When we landed, 7+ hours later, and I got off the plane, I actually started tearing up. Just a little. And it was probably also due to the lack of sleep. But I just felt so happy to be back in Paris. People, you don’t understand. I love Paris! It may not be my home, but it kind of felt like it when arrived.
More on the first day later!
My airplane playlist, for relaxing:
case/lang/veirs: case/lang/veirs (takeoff)
Radiohead: A Moon Shaped Pool (calming down)
Jonsi and Alex: Riceboy Sleeps (sleeping)
Sing Street: Soundtrack (I watched the movie)