Coaching for Pizza: The Mad Rush to Come Home

Tuesday, October 24, 2017:

Our time in Italy and France was finally over after two incredible weeks of traveling, sight seeing and memory building with great friends.

Only one thing left to do on the agenda, catch our flights home to Los Angeles.

We did have one small problem, Loren and Sandy were leaving from the gigantic Charles de Gaulle Airport for London's Heathrow Airport via a British Air flight at about 7:30 a.m.

Laurie and I were also heading to Heathrow via British Air but on an 8:05 a.m. flight out of Paris' smaller Orly Airport.

Once at Heathrow, we would once again re-unite for our flight to LAX on a British Air A380 Airbus. We were going to even sit together on in row 27's middle four seats.

It would be a fun way to pass the final ten hours of our European vacation.

But first, we had to find two taxis to get us to our respective airports.

Out the door into the mean streets

of Paris at 4:15 a.m.

I walked Loren and Sandy down to the taxi stand two blocks away from our apartment to make sure that they got a taxi to Charles de Gaulle Airport at a solid price.

This guy snuck up on us just

before we got to the taxi stand

Thankfully, he was not a mugger.

This is Loren's look at 4:15 a.m.

Mine was no better at this ungodly hour.

They were off in plenty of time to catch their flight.

I felt a little as if I had just sent off our two kids to college for the first time.

Laurie and I were now empty nesters.

I walked back to the apartment to pick up Laurie and return to the same taxi stand to get our ride to Orly Airport about 15 minutes after saying au revoir to the Bruckers.

Laurie led the way

We found our taxi easily enough and were off for the traffic free, 20 minute ride to Orly. Things were going great!

Only two people were in line at check-in at Orly but we did hit a minor bump. It was 5:20 a.m. and the Security Gates did not open until 6:00 a.m.

Only one thing to do . . .

EAT!

A delicious petit déjeuner

The ads for this movie were

all over Paris . . . interesting

Going through Security was a breeze, whoosh . . .

. . . We were off!

We did enjoy the flight to Heathrow

Now it was time for

the flight to LAX

But where were Loren and Sandy who should have arrived at Heathrow at least 40 minutes before us?

You leave the kids alone just for a minute or two . . .

As it turned out, their flight from Paris was delayed due to a tire problem. Thus, they missed our shared flight but did get aboard the 2:00 p.m. flight out of Heathrow to LAX.

A bump in the road to be sure that they were able to overcome like the seasoned travelers that they had become.

Laurie and I flying our version of

the Missing Man Formation

We spread out to take full advantage of our now half empty row.

BACK IN THE USA!

A thank you to Koreen FitzGerald is in order for picking us up at LAX where the temperature was 38°C/100°F on October 24th!

Global warming is a myth, right?

Laurie and I can not say MERCI enough to Mark and Susie Johnson for organizing this great trip!

We also had so much fun showing off Lyon, Rome and Paris to Loren and Sandy, our college roommates, who were first time visitors to the Continent.

The highlight of our travels had to be seeing Sandy's face when we toured the small, hilltop village of Mombarruzo, Italy where her grandparents were born.

Magical.

GREAT TIMES INDEED!

Finally, here are a few more photos of our trip that came from the cameras of Sandy and Laurie that I thought you might like.

Sandy's Photos from Normandy

With Mark

The Emotions of Mark's

Dad surviving D-Day at nearby

Omaha Beach got to Mark

At Utah Beach where

Loren's Dad landed on D-Day

Loren and . . .

. . . Mark pointing to . . .

. . . the wonderful tributes to their

Dads that the owner of the

Le Roosevelt cafe/bar just 100 meters

from Utah Beach insisted that

they leave behind

Laurie's Photos of the Trip

Our Airbnb room in a 700 year

old home in Mombarruzo, Italy

With Sandy's new found

Cousin Luigi in Mombarruzo

St. Catharine in Roma

near Castel Sant'Angelo

Papal Mass on

St. Peter's Square

Find shade where you can

on a hot Roman Sunday

Waving to Pope Francis

as he enters the Square after

Mass was over

Bernini's Canopy over the Main

Altar in St. Peter's Basilica

Pope Gregory XIII

She took this illegal photo

of Pope John XXIII reposing

in St. Peter's Basilica

Sandy studying St. Peter's

Basilica's Door

Swiss Guards on duty

at the Vatican

The iconic Roman Colosseum

Cobble Stones

Great to set the atmosphere in Rome and Paris but hard on the feet when strolling.

Da Vinci's masterpiece

The Pieta

Chiara, Thiago and happy

Dad Bart Iaccarino

at our final dinner in Roma

Also at our dinner in Roma

The Paris Metro Map

We referred to these huge maps throughout the City of Lights on more than one occasion.

The iconic Eiffel Tower

An iconic Parisian Carousel

Two icons together

Notre Dame Cathedral

How many iconic structures does Paris have?

Lots.

Cherry Beer is right up

Laurie's alley

Cruising the River Seine

Near the Pont Neuf

N is for Napoleon

Looking down the spiral

staircase at our Paris

Airbnb apartment

We did laundry here twice in

Paris just around the corner

from our apartment

The Arc de Triumph

The French Tomb of the

Unknown Soldier at the

Arc de Triomphe

At the Sacré-Cœur Basilica

in Montmartre

Sandy and Loren were respectful as I sent photos of the day to their families back in California.

Place de la Concorde

fountain

The Eiffel Tower

at dusk . . .

. . . and at night

More wine in the evening

The Bastille Metro Stop

Crown at the Louvre

Such detail

I told Laurie that I would give

her these on our

100th wedding anniversary

The good Lord willing . . .

Nike

Winged Victory

Leonardo Da Vinci's

The Virgin of the Rocks

We checked the back of it for any remaining "Da Vinci Code" clues but it had been wiped clean.

The Mona Lisa

Probably Da Vinci's most famous painting.

At the Louvre you will often see
cultured critics like these two at
the lower right in heated discussions
over the relative merits of a
particular work of art