that was different

We are finally back home

     We landed at O'Hare sometime about midnight on Wednesday morning, which meant we did not get to the house until about 2:30  a.m. Wednesday.  Emily, John and Camryn picked us up at the airport...and we are deeply in debt to them for doing that.
     It was a day of confusion for the traveling twosome.
     Julia got us to Geneva airport in plenty of time for our 11 a.m. flight.  Using the wheelchair services offered by every airline, we had no problems checking in, getting to the gate, or going through security.
     Well, almost no problems.
     They took us back at 9:50....so I had a last semi tearful wave to Julia and stepped into the security area.
     (For those who are not aware, generally I am blubbering like a brook when we part.  The last couple of years it has only been a few tears and this year I did very well in holding back   I do miss my daughter in Switzerland.)
      At this point, we were passed security, luggage checked and there was no gate posted for our 11 a.m. flight to Zurich, where we catch a 1 p.m. flight to Chicago.  So we waited.  And waited.  And waited.  At noon special services came to get us and take us to the recently posted gate for a flight that would hopefully depart at 12:30, or in other words, well too late for us to catch our flight to Chicago.
     We were offered a choice......stay overnight in Zurich and hopefully leave Wednesday if they could get us on the flight or fly to New York and then pick up a connecting flight to Chicago.  And the New York flight was leaving in 20 minutes.
     We opted for the New York route.
     Unfortunately, our phone service was non existent at this time.  We tried calling and texting Julia, but nothing went out.  The attendant said service was good, but ours was not.  So we boarded a plane for New York without being able to tell anyone.
     The plus:  We were upgraded to business class for the 7 hour flight.  I have never had champagne at noon before, but it was pretty sweet.
     And the food!  Salad, entree, cheese plate, dessert....all served on our linen covered tables attached to our huge, puffy, comfy uprights that converted into lounge chairs and even extended out to a bed if we wanted!
     Those dinky little ear plugs you get for movie watching in economy?  Screw those!  We got big honking head sets that blocked out all noise except what the sound system was producing.
     (By the way, watched Water Diviner on the flight back.  Amazing film.  If anyone thinks war is glamorous, or glorious, watch this movie.  You will come away with a new appreciation for peace.)
     But being in JFK for six hours has a downside.  I thought we might grab a slice of NY pizza, but the only place that had pizza looked like a Casey's on steroids....so we passed.  Plus, we were pretty full.
     It stormed in Chicago Tuesday night.  That delayed our 8 p.m. flight for about an hour.  Plus, the route was changed to avoid turbulence, so it became a little longer time wise.
     But enough about that.
     My next few blogs will be about the experiences I didn't tell about already.
     And since entering US airspace....the Cubs are 0-2.
     Donations for business class travel back to Europe so the Cubs can get back to winning are being accepted.