Paris... too soon

I didn't think I'd be writing mid-way through my trip home. Yep, that's right... I'm not home yet. This morning, Maria Pia dropped me off at the airport in Florence at 8 am. The place was flooded with Americans that were going home after their semester abroad. I was pleased to see that they were all waiting in a different line than I was. Little did I know, they'd get home today, and I wouldn't. I spoke with the check-in lady and she wasn't able to get anyone taken care of right away because they were waiting to see if my flight had been cancelled (it was coming from Paris to get us in Florence and bring us back to Paris). An hour later, it wasn't cancelled, but just slightly delayed. I was relieved. So, I got checked in and even had a chance to buy a special treat for my family from duty free. By the way, all of this trouble was because it snowed about 2 inches in Paris last night. So, I got on the plane around 11:30 (original time would have been 10:15 am), but we didn't take off until 12:15pm. On board, I was assured that I would not miss my connector to the States (scheduled for 1:40) because "all of the flights are delayed due to the snow."

We landed in Paris around 2pm and I rushed to the info counter. "Your flight left at 1:40, miss." Sweet. The reality didn't hit me until I reached the terminal that I was meant to take off in. (Charles de Gaulle Airport is enormous, so I had to go to another building about 15 minutes away.) Once I arrived at my terminal, I tried asking people where to go, but no one spoke English. So, I found a Customer Services desk and got in line. I was in line breaking the news to Paul via text and started to cry. Two Japanese girls turned around and actually spoke to me in English, asking if everything was ok. I looked like a fool, but I couldn't help it because it was my first time flying alone and I had no idea what I was doing. One of them helped to make sure I was in the right place. She brought me around the airport while her sister held her place in line. She brought me to another area, which ended up being wrong, so I found myself back in line with them. We waited for three hours. That line CRAWLED. Her sister bought me coffee because she felt so badly for me. She didn't speak any English, but was adorable. I don't know what I would have done if I had waited in that line all alone. It was really nice to have someone to calm me down and just talk to me about things unrelated to airport troubles.

At 5pm, I made it to the ticket counter and waited 5 minutes for the lady to finish typing all this crazy stuff for me. At that point she broke the news: "There is absolutely nothing available tonight." I started tearing up and I could tell she felt so badly. We talked about availabilities and I tried to get myself on a flight to JFK instead of Newark that was scheduled to arrive at 10:00am EST tomorrow. Unfortunately, it was completely booked and I ended up getting a flight into Newark, same time as it was supposed to be today. The lady handed me a hotel and meal voucher, told me not to talk to anyone, and go straight to the hotel and then come back in the morning. So, now I'm here, writing this unfortunate blog entry. The airline has my checked luggage with tons of money's worth of Christmas presents. They said that it will safely arrive in Newark with me tomorrow. I have my carry on, but am without a toothbrush, etc. So, I'm going to go on a search for something. I'm glad I have my computer to keep me occupied. I'm waking up at the crack of dawn tomorrow. I can't wait to get out of here. Who would have thought I'd say that about Paris? Not to worry, I'll like it when I come back on the 30th for New Years, when I'm SUPPOSED to be here.

Well, that's about it. Off to find something to eat and I'll hope for a smoother day tomorrow.