Channel Adventure Day 15

Day 15 - Sunday, April 22, 2018 - Charles de Gaulle Airport, Paris; Toronto, Canada, Denver, Colorado

We had one more croissant and one more baguette for our breakfast at the Novotel at Terminal 3 at Charles de Gaulle in Paris and then rode the little shuttle train right to Terminal 2.

The layout of the Terminal was interesting. Our Air Canada ticket office was at the far end of the facility. We checked in, got rid of our big bags, and received our boarding passes. We won’t see the bags again until Denver.

We both agreed that dirty clothes must weigh more as we did not buy anything, but our bags were much heavier today. Could be we were just tired of lugging them around?

Passport control could not have been easier; we had no problems dealing with security. Although many flyers forgot to take coins or phones out of their pockets, or tried to walk through with heavy belts or jewelry, we breezed right through.

Our Air Canada flight was scheduled to leave from Gate A50, but we walked to the lounge to relax a bit and cool off. The main terminal was so warm, even the security folks were complaining!

At 10:00 we walked back to the main area and found that our flight was already boarding. The gate agents remembered us from the check in and opened a new line for us. How nice of them. We have not flown Air Canada before and so far they have made a great impression!

The flight was 60 minutes late taking off, but we had a three-hour layover, so no worries. The purser told us that an unruly passenger had to be removed and the delay was getting his luggage off as well. The pilot told us he could easily make up the delay. The plane was cool and the meal service was very good.

Our seven-hour journey over England, Ireland, and the North Atlantic Ocean seemed to fly by! We both slept a bit, however knowing that we were going to gain 8 hours we tried to stay awake so we could sleep when we arrived home.

In no time at all, it was wheels down for the landing and arrival in Toronto. As we were transient travelers, there was no need for us to go through Canadian customs. Using our Global Entry, we went through US immigration and customs in Toronto, getting that out of the way before landing in Denver.

We found a quiet place to wait for our connecting flight to Denver in the Air Canada Lounge. At 3:30 we walked to our gate, F64 and boarded our last leg of the journey. The last flight was scheduled for departure at 4:25 pm and left right on time.

The Denver flight was 3.5 hours, nothing compared to some of our long hauls. We got a few groceries in Castle Rock and by 8:00 pm we were driving into our garage.

Buddha was very happy to see us and welcomed us home. Thank you all for following our Channel Adventure. It was a learning experience for us and after careful evaluations we just may consider another “Do It Yourself” trip.

As we have relayed many times on this journey, we appreciated the freedom that planning and following our own itinerary brought. In September we will be traveling back to Ireland with Overseas Adventure Travel. Be ready to pack your virtual luggage and have your e-passports updated!

It's a funny thing to come home. Nothing changes. Everything looks the same, feels the same, even smells the same. You realize what's changed is you.

F. Scott Fitzgerald

Accommodations: HOME! - - - Meal: B