Monday, January 05, 2004
Have not been looking forward to this. Our flight over was hell and that Erika was now sick, the trip back did not bode well.
We got up early in the morning, had a quick breakfast and Josef took us to the airport. We watched the sun rise across the Mediterranean while listening to the insistent English natterings of the morning commute show on Riviera Radio. The twisting route through the numerous roundabouts and breathing in diesel fumes made all of the passengers feel queasy, and Erika faded in and out. I thought for certain Vanessa was going to be sick again, but she held up well. Unfortunately Annie didn't and with little warning she was sick all over herself before I could get her a bag to contain the rest. A traffic jam immediately prior to the final toll station on the way to the Nice airport allowed me enough time to get Annie out of her clothes and change her. She and everyone else was happy when we arrived at the airport.
Erika said her goodbyes to her Father and grabbed the tickets while I kept the kids entertained as we watched all of the inhabitants of a giant salt-water aquarium filled with colourful fish – a living ad for a nearby dive shop I believe. Just as we made our way to security Vanessa started to cry about leaving her Grandpa Josef and his place in France – I think she had a good time here.
Didn't have a lot of time once we got through customs, and it wasn't long before we boarded the plane leaving for Frankfurt. This flight was a lot less bumpy, and neither child was sick, though Erika got very queasy and I was left in charge of the kids. The air attendants gave the girls a Lufthansa "kiddie pack", which included a colouring book, some crayons, a small jigsaw puzzle and a plastic cartoon figurine of their stork mascot – which kept both of them occupied for most of the trip.
We got to Frankfurt, checked our gate and made our way to our connecting flight heading home. While we didn't have to run this time, we made our check-in with only a few minutes to spare – if you ever have a trip that goes through Frankfurt, I suggest you allow for more than the half-hour our travel agent provided for. (There were a couple of passengers on our flight over who were heading to somewhere on the west coast of the U.S. Their travel agent only gave them 15 minutes to get to their connecting flight, and it turned out to be at the complete opposite end of the Frankfurt airport from where we end up – and because of headwinds our flight was running a bit late. I bet they didn't make it).
Like the flight over we got four seats together in the middle row of the plane. It was a longer flight going back, and Erika lapsed in and out of bouts of her illness, leaving me to entertain both kids for the most part. Played various games with them, dug out the triusty Dora computer game for Annie's benefit, and took them on walks through the plane. Most memorable part was when we all looked out of the windows and saw the snow-covered hills and sinuous ice-covered ox-bow rivers of northern Quebec, eliciting several "wow"s from the girls – and me. The movies were Matchstick Men (which fascinated young Vanessa, who kept asking me awkward questions as to what was happening and why), and a second completely forgettable film (I honestly can't remember what it was – it was that good). During one of Erika's more lucid moments she got herself a bottle of Grand Marnier and I went and got some Bombay Sapphire Gin. Was hoping to get some decent Scotch for Erika at the duty free along the way, but as there no time in either Nice or Frankfurt for such a purchase, we had to rely upon the relatively anemic selection offered by Air Canada.
The flight was long, but at least it was heading home. We had an uneventful landing on a runway bracketed by fields of snow. We were back in Toronto!
It took a long time to get through customs. Several planes must have arrived at roughly the same time as ours, since with all of the customs booths occupied it still took at least half an hour before we got through this stage. In the meantime the girls played with each other and with some of the other kids, and as I shoved our carry-on baggage inches at a time in front of me, I had time to ponder such things as who would program the Canadian flag waving breezily on the numerous red LED displays overhead so that at least one frame depicted an asterisk instead of an ersatz maple leaf. Interestingly both Vanessa and Annie were asked whether we were their Mommy and Daddy – I guess on the theory that kids either don't lie or are easier to catch in a lie than adults.
The wait was at customs was long enough so that our suitcases were waiting for us by the time we got to Baggage collection, and without much further ado managed to grab a cab. Both girls conked out on the ride home, but were really happy when they woke up in front of our home. Erika crashed out on the bed soon after we got home primarily as a result of her illness, and I sorted out the kids for bed, did the general unpacking an started a load of laundry. And had a large glass of beer afterwards.
It is good to be home...
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