We're home and I just have to tell you about our flight home. We got up on time, early in fact, I think we were both worried about not making it to the airport on time, and we're glad we did because the airport was kind of a fiasco. We did make it to the RER B in time to catch the 7:00am train to the airport, and the ride is about 50 minutes. The train was packed, so it was a little difficult to find room to sit/stand with two big suitcases and our backpacks, but eventually we did manage to find a seat and put the suitcases up on the seat next to me and on the floor in front of Stanley to make room for other passengers to sit down. We arrived at the airport really with no issues at all.
At the airport, there is no signage anywhere to lead you to the correct terminals. There are signs that tell you where Terminal 1 or Terminal 2 is, but no signs indicating what carriers (Delta, Air France, etc) are in what terminals. The night before, Stanley looked at the Delta website and it told him that Delta was in Terminal 2C, but when we walked a long distance to get to Terminal 2C, there were no Delta counters there. We finally asked an airport employee and they directed us to Terminal 2E, way at the other side of the airport. Thanks Delta for posting wrong information on your website!!!
We finally make it to Terminal 2E and after standing in a long line to get to the ticket counter, we are ushered to stand behind one of the ticket counters where it is apparent the people being helped have some kind of extended issue and will be there a while. We wait and wait and nothing is moving or looking like there is any hope for progressing, so Stanley asks one of the security people if we can stand in a different line for a different checkout counter. By this time, a lot of the people who were in line behind us have already checked in and are on their ways. I'm starting to feel emotional.
We finally make it up to the counter, check in our bags and the attendant tells us that our seats have been given away and he needs to reassign us. We are not flying first class home, but we do have a direct flight from Paris to SLC which is really nice, and when I booked our tickets I made sure to secure us an exit row seat so Stanley could have the extra leg room. So, when the guy tells us that our seats have been reassigned, I explained to him that we already booked our seats and that we did it because we needed the exit row being that Stanley is 6'4". The guy then tells me that seat assignments are not guaranteed and are only available the day of checkin, since we checked in later than a lot of people, our seats had been given away, AND we probably wouldnt be able to sit together because it's a full flight. I couldnt help it, at this point the emotions were too strong to control and I started to cry. We're standing there waiting for him to reassign us our seats apart from each other and I am trying my hardest to not boob, but no luck, the eyes are watering and the tears start rolling down my face. He looks at me and says "Don't cry madam, everything will be ok". I smiled and said "I know, it's ok". Next thing we know, he hands us two tickets that have been upgraded to First Class, sitting together. I thanked him profusely and couldnt help but smile the biggest smile. Did he give us the first class seats because I cried? Or did he give them to us because he saw that I was a medallion member and we flew first class on the way here? We don't know... it's probably a little bit of both, but Stanley congratulated me on being a "manipulative woman" and thanked me for boobing and getting us these great seats. Hey, it was the least I could do :)
I must reiterate, first class, especially for transatlantic flights, is a must. It is the only way to fly and it is heavenly. The best food, comfortable seats, amazing service, all you can watch movies, TV shows and games, comfy pillows, warm quilts, free drinks, reclining seats that turn into beds. For me, it would be totally worth it to spend the extra money every time we fly long distances to fly this way. Our 10.5 hour flight was so comfortable and it was so nice to be in SLC when we landed, and not have to connect to another flight that would take us home. I loved it and it was the PERFECT end to our already amazing and perfect Paris vacation.
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