The Final Post

We are sitting in the Charles De Galle Airport at Paris in the Air Canada Lounge waiting for our flight back home. To say that all of the family was looking forward to being home would be an understatement. We get to pick up Rover at 8:00 tonight; hopefully she still likes us because we sure have missed her. We miss our friends, our house, our jobs, our pool, our kitchen and the kids visiting their friends and leaving us alone. That is not to say that the last few days of our adventure have been without excitement and in some cases even enjoyment.

We headed into Paris by train on Tuesday with plans to spend a night, see the main tourist spots and have a nice dinner. We even booked a Segway Tour (2 wheeled gyro-scope balanced scooter) for Wednesday morning, to keep it exciting for the kids. Tuesday afternoon we went for a walk down the Champs-Elysees and stood under the Arc d’ Triumph. We walked along the Seine River, but didn’t see many artists out. It was showery, but later on the sun came out and Chris and the kids took the elevator up the Eifel Tower. I stayed on the ground as it was during my last experience climbing the tower where my fear of heights first kicked in – and there isn’t much point trying to repeat a bad experience. We rode the subways and the trains and dined at a mediocre restaurant.

Wednesday was a sunny day and our Segway Tour started at 9:30 and was to last about 4 hours, including the orientation and safety instructions. The Segways were great – lean forward to go forward, lean back to stop – right or left to turn – actually very intuitive and easy to learn how to use. Our guide was from Denver, but really informed on Paris history. We had a quick lunch break and were making our way back to our starting point with the guide weaving back and forth on the sidewalk for fun – followed closely by Kate doing the same – then Tom, then me. I watched as Tom drove smack into a big tree! Without thinking, I hopped off my Segway without stopping and proceeded to go flying across the sidewalk on my hands and knees. Tom turned out to be fine – in his words "no need to worry Dad, I always hit trees when I ride my bike". I on the other hand got to ride in an ambulance and spend the next seven hours in the emergency ward at a nearby hospital. My ring finger, right where my wedding ring sits, got broken badly.

They set it once and put it in a cast – and then took another X-Ray. They tried a second time, but to no avail. Laughing gas and morphine helped in the process. They wanted to do surgery to put a pin in, but I convinced them to let me get that done in Canada. They put a cast on it down to elbow and I will have it looked after when I get home. I have to commend the medical service I received and all for free. No charge, not even for the ambulance. We spent a second night in Paris and headed home to pack on Thursday. We got the rental car switched over so Chris could drive. She hadn`t driven a standard for 15 years, but did well getting us to the airport.

We have had quite a few laughs over the incident, and given 8 months of travel – if a broken finger is all that happens then we are pretty lucky.
Chris asked me on the drive to the airport this morning "If the trip was all that I had hoped for". It has been great – once in a lifetime – but a little overwhelming at times. We saw so much, experienced so much and got re-acquainted with several old friends. All those memories should last at least until senility can create some new ones. All going well, Chris and I will come back to Europe by ourselves in a few years to visit those countries we missed this trip.

Cheers for now - it has been fun blogging our trip.

Ian

The Final Post