The Flight to Nice

I'm on my third full day in Cannes, France and so much has happened already. However, in the words of a very wise woman: "Let's start at the very beginning." After all, it is a very good place to start.

My parents dropped Fernando and me off at the airport at a little after 2:00pm on Wednesday 19 August from the International Terminal at the O'Hare Airport in Chicago. The flight was due to leave at 5:25pm, but rather than make goodbyes even more difficult, we opted for this early drop off.

Fernando is a friend of mine from St. John's, and he came to Chicago so that we could fly together. I will say, international flying is much easier when you have someone you know along. That way, if no one else will speak to you, or if they don't speak English at least you have someone else with you who does and also makes the time pass in a much more enjoyable way. Thanks Fernando!

While I've flown through O'Hare multiple times, it was the first time being in the International Terminal, as well as being my first time out of the country (not counting Canada). I was scared out of my mind. My heart was pounding like I've never knew it could. I couldn't even cry. I was just paralized. It just didn't seem real, and in so many ways it still doesn't. Anyway, I decided to take a picture right outside of security. The flags are quite lovely, n'est-ce pat?

Fernando and I thought arriving early wouldn't be so bad. We knew that airports have places where you can gain a little liquid encouragement, which would help the flight overseas. However, as you can already see by our faces, bars do not exist beyond security. It was an unfortunate realization to have once you have gone through security. And, being it was the first time traveling international, I was not about to see what would happen if we left security, only to go back through later after having a drink. It just didn't seem like a good combination. And, it was probably a wise conclusion.

But the question still remains, what is one supposed to do in the flight gate area when there isn't even so much as a restaurant? Well, I had a pack of cards and it was time to teach the Fernando how to play some card games. We played the good ol' games of Crazy Eights, Kings in the Corner, and Speed. He managed quite well with the games and was kind to put up with my memory loss on just exactly how you play Kings in the Corner...

We finally boarded the plane a few hours later. While Chicago had been having nice weather all day, wouldn't you know a rainstorm came right as we wanted to leave. So, if the flight wasn't already going to be long, we sat on the plane for a good 30-45 minutes before even leaving. Planes can't fly when there's lightning, well, shouldn't.

Shortly after take off, they came through with the beverage cart. The joy of international flying that I had only heard about came to fulfillment when we were offered alcohol free of charge. It's not a myth! I imagine it's the airline's way of keeping people happy while being crammed in coach. My dad told me when I got to France to have a glass of wine and toast him. Well Dad, I'm sure I'll eventually have a picture of me in a French Cafe with a glass of wine, but for now, here's to you!

Dinner wasn't too terrible, as you can see below, and to be honest, I was actually quite impressed. Cheese-filled tortellini with spinach, side salad with a balsamic vinagrette dressing, a dinner roll, cup of water, piece of cake, and yes, another little bottle of wine. All while watching Knowning, the new movie with Nicholas Cage about the world ending. What I have to say about it is, while the myth of free alcohol came true, so did the myth of bad movies on an international flight.


I was able to sleep for a couple hours on the plane. They shut off the lights at what was 9:00pm back home, so my body was not ready to sleep then, but I did a little bit later.

Getting in to London was a mess. They were overbooked getting in to London, so we circled for probably about 45 minutes. My stomach was not too happy with me by this point. Miraculously though we arrived on time, I suppose airlines have gotten used to allowing for plenty of extra time to allow for such delays and still say that you arrived on time. Alas. So, we arrived at 7:00am their time. We got off the plane, then had to board buses. The London/Heathrow airport is a mess. There is so much construction, and either because of when we arrived or what gates we opened, they just dropped us off via bus. Either way, we got in to the airport and had to go through screening again. Our boarding passes were checked and we had to go through another security check point, the entire time being herded like cattle around the airport.

All in all, Fernando and I had about 45 minutes to spare before our flight to Nice. So, we went to a pub and had a beer. Yes, it was 7 am in London and everyone else was eating breakfast and having coffee, but for us it was still 1 am. Having made the journey over the large lake, we felt justified in our choice of beverage. The flight to Nice left on time, and we arrived in Nice just fine, though rather warm weather. Below are two pictures out the plane's window. I'm not sure now which part is Nice and which one is Cannes, but I'm guessing the more populated area is Nice.

It was an extensively long day. By the time we arrived, we knew it was 12:30 in France, 5:30 back home, and it was 20 August. However, I had been up for almost a full 24 hours, and didn't end up sleeping for about the next 12, so I don't know what day or time I actually thought it was. It's absolutely amazing what an effect adrenaline has on the body. We were quite happy to have Landed in Nice, and snapped this photo as we approached the gate.