Home again ..

We had a long and tiring trip back to the US ..

Friday evening - early Saturday morning:

• 9:30 pm India time - get picked up at our hotel
• 10:30 pm - arrive Indira Gandhi airport
• Get our boarding passes and check luggage
• Stand in line about 30 minutes for passport control
• Stand in line for at least 20 minutes for security
• Both have our carry-on suitcases pulled for further inspection (charging cords, glasses cases, a small travel alarm clock) and rifling through bags by security guards.
• Find place for drink and snack
• Get to gate

Plane originally scheduled for ca. 1:30 am departure

• Notified previous day that departure would be after 2 am
• Actual departure was closer to 3 am
• Slept about 4 hours out of 10 hour flight
• Flight 10 hours rather than usual 8 because it had to take route over Persian Gulf rather than Pakistan/Afghanistan/Central Asia because of current Indo-Pak tensions

Arrived Paris ca. 9:40 am to catch 10:30 am flight to Seattle

• Walk mile from gate to airport train
• Take airport train to proper gate are
• Take time to read sign to see exact gate
• Have to go through security again! Have to toss out bottle of water purchased in Delhi
• Run from there to gate
• Make it about 5 minutes before they close the doors
• Slept a couple of 1-2 hours stretches

Arrived Seattle on time

• Discovered checked baggage had not made the close connection in Paris
• Met at the baggage level by very kind friends who drove me home
• SF still had to wait several hours for her plane for the 45 minute flight to her home
• Got home!
• Puttered around unpacking bags
• Just got into shower for a nice hot shower in a warm house when phone rang - airline calling to say my suitcase had come and would be delivered
• Managed to stay up until about 8:15 pm

Sunday morning

• Slept til 4:30 am
• Trying to stay awake waiting for suitcase delivery!
• Month's mail should be delivered tomorrow.