Final morning and observations

5:30am came quickly and soon we were in the Metro heading to the Opera station where I would catch my airport bus. I was determined not to pay another 68 euros for a cab ride so the bus provided a nice alternative for 9,10 euros. Francis made sure I got safely on the bus and when I departed he went back to the hotel and would stay until check out and then move to the train station and take the train back to Metz.

I wasn't sure what terminal I was supposed to depart and we had speculated that terminal one of the three would be my best bet. So when terminal one came into view I quickly scanned the parked aircraft for any Delta logos...there were none but the airplane carrier list was quite long on the signs outside the terminal. I didn't see Delta but surely they would be here with all the airlines..right? Anyway, due to the fact that I didn't realize the bus stopping was the actual stop for terminal one I ended up staying on the bus.

Now I was heading towards terminal two and thinking how would I get back to terminal one. As terminal two approached I did the quick scan of aircraft again with now luck and looked at the ticket counters through the window as we passed with no luck....and there were numerous sub terminal two's..like 2A, 2D and so forth. This was not being fun at this point. But alas, I did see a Delta ticket counter and made sure I didn't miss this bus stop. Everything turned out well with check-in, security, boarding and the flight to Cincinnati. I connected on a smaller plane for Columbus and arrive home around 6pm.

As I reflected back on the past week and my time in Europe I made a couple observations.

1. Europeans still smoke way too much. I'm continually amazed. In Madrid they smoked in the restaurants and it was a terrible experience. The bars, of course there is more smoke. In Paris there is a law against it but there are some loop holes about the size of the place and whether you allow children but overall it was a much better experience than Madrid. I could still get a wift of smoke from some of the segregated areas but oh well they try.

2. Eating in a cafe or restaurant is still not a rushed event. I think we Americans are in a hurry most of the time and our eating habits reflect that...fast food and eating in a hurry. Plan on spending a considerable amount of time eating in Europe. Of course you can ask for the check immediately after eating your main course but that is not the norm.

3. I still couldn't find overweight Europeans. Yep, they eat slow, walk allot more than we Americans and it shows. If using dating websites in Europe you don't necessarily have to worry about seeing pictures of folks from the neck down :)

4. I couldn't find Europeans wearing sweat pants in public as a generally accepted fashion item. Of course once I got to the airport then the Americans showed up in sweats for a comfortable flight I suppose. I did find a couple baby strollers in Europe and that was disappointing. I really hate these monstrosity strollers that we use here in America, stocked with everything to include food. Moving on the sidewalks with these baby-mobiles is ridiculous....carry them (kids) if you want them. I hope Europeans keep there use to a minimum.

5. Lastly, my poking fun at Europeans. They use Coke Light instead of Diet Coke. I think that is ridiculous. Apparently, there is a stigma about being on a diet and hence using the word diet in Diet Coke would be a bad business decision. Of course here in America there isn't a stigma about the word diet...and of course is why we have accepted that being obese is okay...ugh.

Off my soap box now, I will return to Spain and France in the summer! Thanks again Francis for being the planner and keep up the work outs!!