Day 14. Dublin --> CDG --> NYC!

Today I was technically supposed to be in Paris. Spend the night there and then head out tomorrow morning to make my very long way back to Los Angeles.

But just a few days into my trip, with all the craziness of Michele's death, I didn't want to be away from Steve for as long as originally planned. I called the airlines in Paris at the start of the trip, and had hoped to try and cut the trip a little short. For financial reasons, it just didn't make sense to make that happen. But I was able to divert my travel plans through New York and instead of spending the money on a hotel in Paris or near the airport (which was no longer appealing), I was able to fly to NYC, spend the night with Meghan and Rob and Quinn and then fly to Los Angeles on Saturday, getting home just 30 minutes early :)

It didn't accomplish my original goal of getting home to Steve & Katie earlier. But it did mean I could see my family. And that made it more than worth it.

My day today has been bananas!

Although I wanted to leave earlier from Dublin, I was stuck with my flight which didn't have me leaving until nearly 1pm. This also meant that I had a short layover in Paris. Having no real comprehension of the size of Charles de Gaulle, I knew that it was likely going to be tight.

The Dublin to Paris flight was easy. And quick.

But then I got to the airport.
Got my bag (not a long way- phew).
Hopped on a tram and discovered that I could not have landed farther away from my departure gate for the JFK-bound leg of my journey.
Got off the tram.
Walked about 3/4 mile from the tram to the ticket counter.
Checked luggage.
Speed walked about a mile and a half (NO JOKE!) from the ticket counter directly to my gate.
Stopped to get a bottle of water and use up the last of my euros.
Heard my group called.
Got onto the plane feeling and looking like a sweaty pig and stayed there for the 8+ hours until I landed at JFK.

Susannah picked me up at the airport. And a super fun surprise was that she was actually waiting for me outside of the baggage claim. I looked right at her and walked right on by, never once expecting anyone I knew to be inside the airport to grab me! After a laugh and a hug, we made it to her car which whisked me into Brooklyn.

Meghan had dinner waiting for me (hello NYC pizza!).
We all visited for a few minutes.
And then after being up for more hours than I can count, I sunk into the couch and attempted to fall asleep.

I'm grateful for the airport pick-up (thank you Susannah!), for the visit with Meghan and Rob and I'm excited to see Quinn tomorrow- and finally head home!