Off to France?

Jason and I have been working with this French company.  They had trekked to Scotland to look at the Site, and it was our turn to return the favor.

I was looking forward to it. I'd made the travel arrangements.  It was not easy to get there; it was going to take two flights, a two hour train trip and then an hour drive.  

We started our trip in Wick.  My heart sank just a bit when I got closer to Wick and there was fog, but by the time I got to airport, it was lifting and I was optimistic.

When I checked in, I was told the flight was late.  Although the fog had lifted in Wick our alternate landing locations were fogged in - it was a safety issue.  This seemed quite odd to me because if you look on the map the flight from Aberdeen to Wick is over the water and takes about 20 minutes.  If there is an issue, wouldn't you just return to Wick or on to Aberdeen - in an emergency, aren't those the closest landing spots...bar the ocean?

But wait we did, they gave us a voucher and we had more tea and bacon sandwiches.  It was very pleasant.  

An hour and a half later we got to Aberdeen.  Our flight to Paris was gone.  We went through a very crowded airport and found out that there was another flight at 1700, they changed us over with no hassle - a miracle considering we were flying on two different tickets and the fault was on us.  

We had to wait 2 hours before we could collect our boarding passes so we sat in the bar and ate onion rings and drank beer - seriously, not bad duty.

When we got our ticket, we found out the flight to Paris was delayed because the plane from Paris had to return due to a technical fault.  We went through security and sat in another bar - we ate candy for a while.

Jason changed our train tickets based on when we thought we were going to land. A further delay and another voucher - omelets and wine were ordered.  Jason read; I played Sudoku.  Jason says to me - why are you smiling - I feeling a bit exposed caught in my own world - start to tell him a fib and then admit, I'm just happy.  

We agreed that at 1900 we would start to make some decisions.  I checked and verified that we could no longer get a train to Lyon tonight and that the hotels at the Charles de Gaulle were full for the night - our options are whittling away.  

So I went back to the ticket counter and asked the other airline if we could catch the last flight back to Wick - they were very nice and said sure no problem - it's delayed you know.

Back through security, I send Jason to collect his boarding pass, and we watch the monitors.  All of a sudden, the Paris flight and the Wick flight are boarding.

We scurry down to the gate and board the plane.   

Twenty minutes later, we are back where we started. 

Twelve hours invested, and we didn't even manage to get out of Scotland.