Heading Home

We woke early, of course, and was packed and ready to leave the apartment at 7 AM.

I contacted the driver that brought us here and he was in Lithuania so obviously could not drive us to the airport. He was nice enough to contact “an associate” who was there at 7:00 and we had a hassle free ride back to the airport.

We mostly breezed through security, with a slight exception. Bryan was once again flagged for a gunpowder check, which he of course passed. That has certainly become a mystery. 

Both coming and going Bryan was a gunpowder suspect. He claims he has no idea why and hasn’t been around any. I’m thinking I better start keeping an eye on some of his hobbies. 

We arrived at the gate 2 1/2 hrs before the flight. I discovered that we had access to a free lounge at this airport but it was in a different terminal. Sometimes crossing terminals it’s not a problem, you can walk right over. Other terminals it can get messy and may even require leaving the secure area. We for sure didn’t want to do that.

Looking at the map the terminal with the lounge was the next terminal over. And there was a shuttle station directly below where we were sitting that would take us there. So with all the extra time, Bryan and I decided to go for it. We would let the others know if it was worth the trip. 

We went downstairs to the empty waiting area, got on the tram with just a few minutes wait and got off at the other terminal in just a 5 minute shuttle ride. So far it was a breeze. Now to locate the lounge. The instructions were simple, just follow the YOTEL signs. Easy peasy. 

I was taking notes for the others to make it as simple as possible to follow our steps and so far the instructions were easy. From here the instructions turned into the kind of notes you would probably get by a pair of drunken sailors looking for buried treasure on an island they’ve never been to.

Turn right, then go left, follow the path to the escalator, go down, then left, then up again to the right, go out the door then make a left, then a right, then a left, and go up the escalator, then to the right and again another right to the elevator, exit left, and left again, and right, then over, under, back right and to to the end of the long hall. X marks the spot.

Turns out the lounge was basically a waiting area to get an overnight hotel. They had no food, few snacks, and limited drinks. The place was full, smelled bad and uncomfortable. And to make it worse, we ended up out side of the secure area and would have to go back through security all over again. 

We back tracked the steps; breadcrumbs would have helped a lot here. Went through security again and to the now very full waiting area. Took the tram the opposite direction from the terminal which made it the last stop, and arrived back to join the others just as they were boarding the plane. 

My lesson, check the reviews of the so called lounges BEFORE going. 

On the plane we all had a front row seat this time. We originally paid extra for all front row seating but due to a plane change our seating to Paris got switched around. But this flight we were in the front. There were no seats in front of us and boy did it make a big difference. 

Fast forward, it was the fastest 10 hr flight I’d ever been on, and the most comfortable for the economy section. We paid an additional $55 each for those seats and boy was it worth it. 

We landed at DFW airport and breezed through customs. Joe again had a wheel chair because there was lots and lots of walking through the airport maze. 

After getting the all clear at customs we headed to our connecting gate. Larry told us gate C. I thought it was gate B. We stopped and looked at the flight screens and saw it was gate D. 

We received a text update that the gate was in terminal B. We looked at the online boarding passes again to confirm and they indeed had changed to C. We stopped and asked an agent who assured us gate B.

We were already at terminal D so we took the tram to B when we got another text to go to C. We got out at B and John’s boarding pass said C, mine said B and Larry’s had just switched to D. 

Back to the flight screens which showed the plane was definitely at B, then D then B. A friendly gate agent came to help. We showed him everything and he pulled up our flight and it clearly showed gate B. He assured us that was correct and we had been looking at the wrong information and we can trust what he pulled up. And it clearly showed B. We headed to gate B.

Checking our boarding passes they still said D. We went back to the same agent. He pulled the flight up again and assured us we were in the right place. As he was pointing at the B it changed to D.

I was wondering if this was bring a kid to work day. I could just see some dad in the control tower that went to the bathroom and left his mischievous 8 yr old in charge. 

We took the tram back to D and that was indeed the correct terminal. We talked with other passengers that were getting the same mixed up information and going all over the airport. It was a nice way to break up the monotonous waiting I suppose. 

The flight to Little Rock was short and easy. I sat next to a guy that saw a picture on my phone and asked about it. Turned out he and his wife had taken an almost identical cruise just two weeks prior to ours, also on Norwegian, but in reverse. We started in Venice and they ended in Venice. We swapped stories. It was an interesting reminder that no matter how big this world is it really is quite small after all. 

Our ride was waiting on us at the airport and soon it was home sweet home. 

Three weeks across three continents, eight countries and thirteen cities and we were finally home and ready for a week’s worth  of sleep. All except Joe of course who most certainly would be up at 6 AM.