The first leg ... and the thing I forgot

A lot of planning, a lot of worrying, a lot of frustration and a lot of work went into this trip to Beijing for the Winter Olympics. The last few months have been pretty frustrating at times, but there was the end goal of making it there and that was always on the mind.

While the first part of my journey is over, all of that is still around as I prepare this morning for my second half of the journey, my trip from Paris to Beijing.

The flight from Logan to Paris was smooth and we arrived at the airport earlier than anticipated. Much to my delight, my luggage arrived as well and I set out to sit around the airport for a while. I had booked a hotel, but I couldn't check in there until after 3 p.m. and I had also received an e-mail from Air France that I could check my checked baggage at 4 p.m. the day before, so I figured that would make life easier on the day of the flight.

So, I hung around the airport for about 10 hours, basically doing nothing but watching people wander by, some in a hurry, some taking their time. Obviously, I was in no hurry. I did grab a small bite to eat, exchanged a small bit of money for Euros (I will be back in Paris for a day or so at the end of my trip) and listened to Greg and The Morning Buzz on the phone. 

I also went on the air with the Buzz for 15 minutes or so talking about the journey and how long it's taken to get to this point and what the plans are the rest of the way.

The hotel was easy to find, right off the terminal train near the airport parking lot, so I was able to get checked in and settled fairly easily. I was still on east coast time, so at 5 p.m. or so, I was starting to get a little tired and I am pretty sure I fell asleep for an hour or two. I did wake up around 7 or so and went downstairs and got my free drink from the bar (I got a bottle of water, living on the edge), but came right back upstairs and fell asleep. 

I woke up at 11 p.m. thinking it was the next day, but I realized I had plenty more sleep ahead of me, I was back asleep fairly quickly and didn't wake up until almost 8 a.m. I went downstairs and had some breakfast and I am about ready to check out and head to the airport for my flight to Beijing. Here's hoping that it goes as smoothly as the last flight did.

And, I did figure out what I forgot to bring with me. There's always something and this time it was a belt. The pants I wore on the plane didn't need one, but other pairs I have in my luggage definitely do, so I am going to have to bite the bullet and spend way too much money on one at a shop in the airport.

Next check-in should be from Beijing.

I spent a good portion of my Tuesday in the Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris.