We Are Here!

Twenty-three hours, three countries, one midnight-snack and we’re finally here! After months of planning and weeks of prayers, we’ve finally arrived on the vacation my family has dreamt of my whole life.

What a crazy adventure it was getting here! Of course we got lost a few times but that was nothing compared to the fiasco of checking into our apartment here in Paris. Language barriers with our host and faulty key codes made it feel like a real life escape room. More than one of us thought we’d be spending the night in the street. I’m so thankful that even though we may get frazzled in some of those moments (what can you expect from six adults who haven’t slept in twenty-three hours) we ultimately all view them as adventures and just one more thing to laugh about in days to come. We prefaced our trip with, “it’s not a matter of “if” we get lost, but rather when.” Now when getting lost pops up I can welcome it as an old friend instead of an unexpected dinner guest.

Since we left kokomo we have experienced three time changes, one of which was very significant. We flew out of Chicago at five PM and landed in Dublin at four AM with a flight that was supposed to be only seven and a half hours long. I feel like I’m living in a sci-fi movie where time travel is possible and reality is allusive. Did I shower this morning or was that yesterday? When I ate at six o’clock AM Dublin time, which is one AM Kokomo time, was it breakfast or a midnight snack?

In order to compensate for the time change we all had planned to stay awake for the remainder of the day today after arriving in Paris. That lasted just long enough to visit the Arch de Le Triomphe, which is about a block from our apartment, eat linner (lunch/dinner) and pick up a few things from the market. It wasn’t long after we arrived home that I was the Lone Ranger awake by myself. Not too shabby to spend some time alone, jet lagged in Paris, even if I am just admiring the city from my balcony. Tomorrow we’ll tour the city and we’ll get lost at least once, I’m sure, but I know the day will be full of surprises!