The Longest Day On Record

So, it's finally the big day.  The day of days...the day we leave for our big trip. 

 Good morning Recife!

We got up, finished packing, gave our maid some parting instructions and down the elevator we all went.  We immediately had trouble.  All of us and our stuff would not fit in the cab.  The cabbie insists we must have a van cab, 1 hour wait.  We scoff and order 2 cabs.  Problem solved.  

Next we arrive at the airport.  Eric had been to the airport earlier in the week to make the final arrangements for the baby's ticket, to go all the way on his lap.  There is a fee for this and a ticket needs to be issued.  He was assured on his prior visit all was well and ready.  It was not so.  After about 45 minutes of button pushing and concerned stares at the screen it became evident that Eric's prior visit to the airport had accomplished nothing.  Back to the airline store (across the room) we went to wait for another 45 minutes while they issued her ticket for our whole trip (for those counting, it took 1.5 hours to check in, with no lines)...or so we thought.

Finally aboard, and sound asleep on the first leg to São Paulo.  This was a good flight.

Upon arrival in São Paulo we have 2 hours to catch our next flight.  We had to go to the ticketing counter because the airlines we flew does not have any representation in Recife, so we could not get boarding passes.  When we arrived at the counter there was more confused stares at the computer and button mashing...Where is that baby's ticket??  It was back to the airline store area across the room.  Turns out, she wasn't ticketed after all.  More waiting, more button mashing and $300 US later, she was ticketed.  Back to the counter!  Finally, boarding passes in hand and 30 minutes remain...to security!  To exit controls!  Quick stop to get a sandwich...and we made it on board with about 10 minutes to spare.  I think something like "Ultimate Last Final Boarding Call (We Really Mean It)" was displayed on the monitor.  

We settled in for the long 10.5 hour trip to Paris.  The rest was pretty unspeakable...let's just say Kylie did not sleep for the majority of that flight.  Eric and I both spent prolonged periods standing in the back of the plane by where the crew hangs out bouncing and singing to the baby so she didn't scream and ruin everyone's flight.  It was a long long trip and somewhere Thursday turned to Friday and we made it to Paris.  A baby will never travel by lap again.  Ever.

So anyway, back to my story.  We made it to Paris and our hotel was awesome and let us check in early.  Showers were had (naps were not), and we bundled Kylie up (it was cold!) to go sightseeing for as long as we could stand it...which was about 4 hours. 

A wee bundled one ready to enjoy some fresh air!

Macarons for days.

 Notre Dame.  Selected as our 1 tourist attraction because of its easy access from the metro line our hotel happened to be on.

A quaint little park.

La familia Oakley, tired but pulling it together for some fun.

An array of French snacks for enjoyment.  Barbecue here is more like kebab than KC Masterpiece.

We finally hit bed around 7 pm...when it was still completely light outside.  Tomorrow is the final leg of our trip..looking forward to getting settled!