An early morning flight back to Frankfurt and then on to Seattle forced us to awaken at 4AM! The good news is there is no traffic at that time of the day and we were the first to enter the Lufthansa lounge at the airport, where a nice buffet breakfast awaited us. Flights were on time with us arriving back in Seattle 30 minutes early only to find that our gate was still occupied with another plane. As a result we waited on the tarmac, losing the 30 minute advantage. It simply does not pay to be early when flying!

The benefit of global entry became evident as we deplaned to find huge lines of people simply trying to get into the room housing immigration officials. I had never seen it this busy. When asking about global entry we were told to simply try to move to the head of the line to access the kiosks, which brought some nasty glances from people who did not have global entry. Once we got to the kiosks it was fast and quick, as usual, reminding me once again of the value of that $100 investment (good for 5 years).

Returning to Miller Bay we were met by Denver friends (Bruce and Jan Bender) who had been house sitting for us while we were gone as they love Washington’s trees and water. Even nicer was that Jan made us a good home cooked meal of pasta to welcome us home. They spent two more days with us before returning to their home in Denver.

Epilogue: It was a really good trip, albeit, a bit too short. We would have liked a few more days on the tour. We saw some amazing sights, bonded with some interesting travel companions, had wonderful weather, avoided any illness and ate some fabulous food. What more can one ask for?

Never been to Paris?   You can never go wrong by planning a trip to Paris and/or France. The sights, the history, the culture, the food, the breads and pastries, the wine – make it a wonderful place to visit. Oh, and did I mention the bread and pastries? Once it was said the French are rude to visitors. We did not find this; we were warmly welcomed wherever we went. Yes, we did try to be somewhat proper by saying “Bonjour”, “Merci” and “Au revoir” when appropriate. There was usually English translations on menus or at least someone who spoke enough English to help us in the many restaurants we visited.

We still have not visited the southern part of France or the wine region of Bordeaux  and after this quick visit I am reminded I must move it up on my “to do” list sooner rather than later!

Au revoir!