Taking an early morning international flight is a hell of a birthday present for an old man.  Over and done, and the less said about it the better really.  Just a few details and comments about the really good stuff, and then we’ll move on to a much more enjoyable topic, a retrospective on the last year.

Facts first:

• Our flight left Nice at 6:45.  We’re advised to arrive three hours early, but not mentioned in the advisory is the fact that the Lufthansa desk won’t be staffed until 4:30 so there’s no point in arriving earlier and standing outside in the dark and cold for 45 minutes waiting for the lights to come on.
• It’s a three legged itinerary: a short hop to Frankfurt, followed by a five hour layover; a ten hour flight to Seattle, followed by a four hour layover; and the short hop to Portland.
• If all goes well, we’re due in to Portland at 6:30, early enough to catch a taxi to our Airbnb, stop by Elizabeth’s to pick up the mail and the Raven, and go to the grocery store.

The good stuff:

• Our hotel warned us in advance about the opening hours and said we should order a the taxi to arrive at 4:15, since the airport is only a ten minute drive away.  We took their good advice, set our alarms for 3:45, and our taxi was waiting when we made it downstairs at 4:10.
• The hotel agent offered us each a coffee to go.  I accepted on behalf of both of us, and downed them both myself.
• Check-in went very smoothly.  We were the second in line when we arrived at the nearly empty airport, and there were no issues with our suitcases or the enormous duffel bag we’re taking.  We love the Nice airport.  
• The duffel bag worked great.  We packed differently since we lost our packing materials, by emptying out all the panniers and padding the bikes with clothing and other soft stuff.  The duffel bag was large enough to hold three flattened panniers and enough stuff so the only one we carried on (plus our two rucksacks) was only half full.  Much easier.
• We arrived in Portland pretty much on  schedule, and in time to meet Elizabeth and go grocery shopping.
• we couldn’t reserve our seats, but we both were seated next to each other on all three flights.
• On the long flight, we were seated in middle of the row seats in the center section - not the best on a ten hour flight.  Happily, the woman moved to a different row before departure so we shifted over to the aisle.  I’m not sure why she changed rows, but it could be because we look like we’ve been homeless and on the road for 9 months, I need a shave and haircut, my Pendleton needs a trip to the dry cleaners after 9 months of daily wear, and the clean clothes we left behind for the flight home disappeared with the suitcases.
• All of our baggage arrived intact and on time.
• We didn’t lose anything, at least as far as we’re aware of so far.
• Our new AirBnB looks terrific.  It will be great for the ten days we’ll be here, and would work well for a longer stay.
• The Raven is raring and ready to go.  Now if I can just remember how to drive.
• My new glasses arrived in the mail.  I can see again!
• Also in the mail was a delightful birthday present - a Stacey Kent CD, from a good friend with great taste in music.  Thanks, good friend!  If we ever tour again we’ll include a number on one of the videos and dedicate it to you.

The interesting stuff:

• The first flight’s departure was delayed by 45 minutes for a maintenance issue.  No sweat!  We have a five hour layover in Frankfurt anyway.
• The second flight’s departure was delayed by 90 minutes when a pair of passengers either changed their minds or were turned back.  Unfortunately their luggage was already in the belly of the beast and had to be found and removed.  No sweat!  We have a four hour layover in Seattle anyway.
• The flight to Seattle took a half hour longer than expected, so we’re down to two hours now.  We’re still not sweating, but it has our attention.
• Clearing customs in Seattle and transferring our luggage went smoothly.  It’s the first time we’ve used our Global Entry cards, and they definitely saved us some time.
• OK, now we’re starting to cry and sweat a bit.  Going through security for the final flight I realize we don’t have Rachael’s iPad in the array of electronics we’ve splayed out.  She left it in her seat on the Condor, back on the other side of customs.  Our flight is due to start boarding in a half hour, which doesn’t leave much time for getting it to us assuming it’s found.  Phooey.
• Fortunately (this belongs in the Good category obviously, but that would have spoiled the story), we found an extremely helpful agent at the information desk.  She took the problem on - took our contact information, and then started working with Condor to get the iPad.  Also very fortunate is that the flight to Portland was delayed by a half hour also (three for three!), giving just enough time for the agent to rush up to our boarding gate and hand Rachael her iPad.  We love this woman (Sandip Kari), a five star Sea-Tac employee.  We’ll make sure they know what a prize they have working for them.
• Our AirBnB, as nice as it is, was our third choice.  Meaning that our first choice, which we booked nearly a year ago, canceled when her HOA put her out of the hosting biz when they busted a party of twenty having a big party.  No sweat!  We fortunately found one nearly as convenient at the last minute.
• Well, actually that wasn’t at the last minute.  We got cancelled about four weeks ago, and found our replacement the same night.  Two weeks later though our second host also canceled without notice when they decided to sell the condo and move out of town.  Fortunately the third one came through for us.  So that was interesting.

The bad stuff:

• The Frankfurt airport is a complete zoo! It took us a full hour to find our departure gate, through a series of fiascos and bum steers.  We hate the Frankfurt airport!
• We never had a window seat, so I don’t have any nice shots of mountain ranges, clouds, or the sea.  Use your imagination.
• The Safeway doesn’t carry my favorite brand of peanut butter (Adams) any more.

All in all, that’s a pretty short list of bad stuff.  Now, on to the retrospective!