Homeward bound

Over the last couple of days, I made a couple of stops at the transport desk to check on the transportation options for getting the airport. Because my hotel is not directly on a public transport line that runs to the airport, the very nice young woman, who probably dealt with a ton of idiots like me over the course of the weekend, told me that there would be a bus that came through our neighborhood at 2 a.m., 6 a.m., 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. I just had to walk up the street to catch the bus.

My original plan was to get up some time after 4 a.m. and catch the 6 a.m. bus, however I must have turned off the alarm when it went off (I went to bed about 2 a.m.) and when I woke up, it was 5:45 a.m., which did not leave me enough time to pack up the rest of my stuff and get to the bus stop. So, I went back to sleep for a bit and figured I'd take the 10 a.m. bus.

I made my way up the street to the bus stop, which I should add is not exactly in the best neighborhood. I waited. And waited. And waited. At 10 after 10, I gave up waiting and called up an Uber. My Uber driver was great, got there quickly and fought through the horrific airport traffic (753,289 people are leaving France today) and got me to what I was hoping was the right terminal. My boarding pass didn't specify which terminal, but I used my powers of deduction and was right.

Once I got in the airport, I was glad that I had kept my Olympic credential around my neck. The helpful airport staff directed me to a special baggage area where Olympic-related people were processed through. They then put priority tags on my carry-on and directed me to the gate. And the credential got me through the priority lane for passport control and through security relatively quickly given the aforementioned thousands of people trying to get on airplanes.

So, now I'm sitting at my gate, more than three hours before my flight, but the good news is, I am here and now it's just a seven-hour flight back to Boston and a drive home.


Waiting on the plane in the Charles de Gaulle Airport.

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