Day 1 ½. September 25 and 26, 2016

With the long travel day and huge time change - these two days actually blend into one day for us.

The trip has started well.  Departing from YYC,  we arrived at the airport and rounding the corner saw the longest line that I had ever seen going through security.  For some reason, Sara and I were randomly and immediately pulled from this line with two other guys and put through the empty Nexus line.  No waiting.   Very likely ticked off 200 people.  Awesome!

We had an eight hour flight from Calgary to London Gatwick, followed by a short 1.5 hour flight from London Gatwick to Paris.  Rented a car and took the 1.5 hour drive up to Albert, France.  This town is a significant site in relation to the Canadians that fought during the First Word War.  Literally every Canadian that served for the first four years of the war marched through this town at least once.  As it specifically relates to our trip, Albert housed the initial Canadian Field Hospitals for the Battle of Flers-Courcelette.  It is likely, though I don't yet know for sure, that Tim Kelly would have been moved through Albert on his way to the Canadian General Hospital in Le Havre where he later died.  I hope to add more about Albert when we visit there this week.

It has been a terribly long day - but a few things that we learned today.

1.  No matter how annoying a father can be on an eight hour flight with repeated meowing, it is never OK to cover him in coffee during the flight.  Ever.
2.  Discount airlines are called that for a reason.  Service was great and we are here alive, but holy crap!  Day #1 already had an emergency run for hand sanitizer and handi-wipes.
3.  If you are going to rent a car and drive in a foreign country, it is advisable to double check that your daughter's GPS and Google Maps aren't set to "Pedestrian".  The route assigned is much more direct if you select the "Driving" settings.  On the bright side, we did get to see a number of small out-of-the-way French towns that all look like Saving Private Ryan was filmed there.  We literally went where no small Renault has probably ever been.  In hindsight, I appreciate that pedestrians can walk along the sidewalk going the wrong way on a one-way street.  It was however the cow pasture that brought the whole operation to a screeching halt.
4.  I had no idea how big the Eiffel Tower really is.  From the air, it dwarfs the Paris skyline.  I'd suspect that they had some sort of ordinance to keep it the biggest structure, but still very very impressive.
5.  After having travelled through London Heathrow a couple times in the past, I was looking forward to using the smaller and less congested London Gatwick Airport.  That was an eye opener.  It was super crazy busy.  Maybe more hectic than Heathrow.  My respect to the people that work there every day and somehow keep their sanity.  I found myself standing in a sweaty, moving mob - dreaming for the quiet, wide open spaces of home.  Since Sara and I both hate crowds, noise, and people in general, we were very happy to get out of there!
6.  Real authentic French bistro cheese is delicious.  Just don't smell it first.  Kinda like a ringette bag circa late March funk.  But if you can plug your nose -Mmmmmmmmmmm.

A beautiful day in Calgary to start our trip

Sara is sooooo happy that Dad is doing another Blog!