The Journey to Vietnam

The last time we went on a big international adventure, we drove to Montreal from Boston. The time before that, we flew to South Africa, but the kids were certainly too young to remember that. So by all accounts, this was their first fully conscious international air travel experience. 

We left Atlanta on Friday afternoon at 3:30, bound for Paris. The 8.5 hour flight was uneventful, but badly timed - we slept very little on the plane and basically arrived at midnight according to our bodies, primed for sleep, but at daybreak local time. It turns out that unlimited screen time does get boring after a while, but everyone approached the long flight goodnaturedly, bolstered by frequent snacks and sugary drinks. Louise even spent a long time chatting with a young woman traveling to Italy. 

We landed uneventfully, and after an unsuccessful attempt to sweet talk our way into the Air France lounge, we set up camp at the flattest surfaces we could find. Holly was well prepared with sleep masks and the blankets and pillows we had stolen from Air France. We were trying to get a little bit of shut eye during our 7 hour layover before our flight to Hanoi, but as you can imagine, the sleep was fitful at best. 

Elliot and I are both trying to keep up with running on this trip. He's logging summer miles for cross country and I'm training for the Twin Cities Marathon in October. We are both aware that we could come home the most well conditioned or the most dehydrated runners in America. Possibly both. I couldn't sleep, so I decided to try my hand at running along the 2E international terminal at CDG. When I offered the idea to Elliot, the only possible response to the scathing pre-teen look I received was to run away, which was part of my plan anyway. 

Running in an airport without a suitcase in hand and a panicked look on your face is met by the people you pass with looks that span bemusement, annoyance, or frank confusion. The funny thing is - the vast majority of folks who are shocked turns over every 20 minutes, so you are constantly a surprise. 

The kids enjoyed using their personal debit cards to make purchases in another country, and Holly and I were too sleep-deprived to monitor or manage it. Plus we're on vacation anyway, so good on you, kids. 

The Vietnam Airlines leg was super long and another wacko time adventure. Departing 2 pm Paris time and arriving at 7 am Hanoi time. I could start another blog just cataloguing the movies and media we consumed on all these flights, but definitely not gonna do that here. 

We arrive without incident and rendezvous with Charlie and Emily, who have arrived at about the same time on a Qatar Airlines flight from Doha. With the international travel element complete, our journey truly begins!