Paris: The End of the Story. Epilogue

So you've figured out that we made it into Chicago... you're correct. Although for the first time in my life I checked the seat back in front of me to make sure they had a barf-bag included with the in-flight magazine and SkyMall. Something I ate later in the flight must not have settled well, and I was actually feeling queasy... something I don't usually worry about. All fears aside, I kept my lunch on the inside, which was better off for everyone concerned.

Once in Chicago we had three hours to kill before the next flight, and I was looking forward to relaxing, maybe finding a Starbucks and enjoying NOT being on a plane. Boy, were we in for a treat.

Little did we know that as soon as you get off an international flight, you're herded into a corridor that goes on and on for what must have been the length of a half-marathon. Turn left, turn right, up an incline, down an incline... this airport Bataan Death March seemed like it would never end. Skeletons of the people who didn't make it were strewn along the side of the walkways, still clutching their carry-on baggage.

Finally, we got to the U.S. Customs and Border area, and passed through. Then we got to go claim our bags... all of them. For some silly reason I had assumed that once checked they'd go all the way to Boise from Paris. I assumed wrong.

Then we get to wheel our bags through another check point, then go to a spot on the other side of said check point and have our bags rechecked for the remainder of our flights. After that we got to find our way to a different terminal, and go through the TSA screening one more time.

The whole point of this little rant is that by the time we finally got to the actual gate for our flight they were starting to board! So much for relaxing...

Our flight routed us through Denver, where we switched planes and then headed back to Boise. Nothing out of the ordinary here. In fact I was feeling hungry and brave enough to put some more food back inside of me, so I got a little pizza from the Pizza Hut near our gate and chowed down. Valerie found some treats at a pretzel stand.

Anyway... we're home, and have gone back to work. I'm missing France, and the little pastry shops and bakeries that seem to be found in every village and small town. I really enjoyed the rural areas, and the peaceful bike riding opportunities that they afforded us. I'm missing the family we stayed with, as they made this trip something more for us than just the usual tourist's vacation. We got to see the spots that most people on a commercial tour would never stop and see, and experience life as it's happening, rather than as it's planned in a daily itinerary.

Thanks to the dear friends we stayed with; we had a great time! And thanks to the folks who were curious enough to follow us through this blog, and also to those of you who added comments or sent e-mails to us.

I will now put this blog back into a deep sleep until our next biking vacation...