Flying Home: Italy Part 9

Because we were anxious about running late, we got to the airport earlier than we had to. We had no trouble figuring out where to go, so we checked in and settled in to wait.

The remainder of the trip turned out to be not so pleasant for me. First of all, my Delta app would not load my boarding pass, even though it indicated I was checked in. It showed Kevin's and MB's, just not mine. Never did, for the whole trip home. Frustrating. I couldn't track my bags or do anything with the app. Of course, my paper boarding pass worked just fine, but the app should have performed better.

Secondly, my ear did not behave. On the descent into Charles de Gaulle for our layover, my eardrum ruptured. I have a faulty right Eustachian tube, and before the trip, my ENT put a little hole in my ear drum to help. However, but the return trip, it had healed, and in spite of nasal decongestant and Ear Planes ear plugs, my eardrum ruptured. I've had it happen before, but never with Ear Planes in. Let me tell you, this is on the top end of painful, like right up there with childbirth and the worst migraine you've ever had. The only good thing about it is that after that, it doesn't hurt anymore. You could fly to any altitude with no problem! Suffice it to say, I was not in a good mood when we landed in Paris.

Our experience in Charles de Gaulle was not good, and now that I've looked it up, I've learned that it is considered one of the worst airports in the world. I think we'll avoid it from here on out. First of all, it is a veritable maze. We had to take a bus at one point to get to our terminal. We did not have to go through border security since we were still in the Schengen area, but border security came to us. As we were standing in a line that was supposedly for Sky Priority members to board the plane, we were delayed by agents coming down the line and inspecting passports and asking those questions about where you'd been, what you did, etc. It was actually the only time on the entire trip that we were asked so many questions like that. I appreciate the security, but the Delta attendants were not handling crowd control very well, and it was contributing to some annoyance among the people standing there waiting and waiting. People were skipping to the front like crazy - just ignoring that there were people already in line. Someone standing behind us got pretty snippy with the Delta people. In truth, it did seem we were not prioritized at all. 

If all that was not enough, after my husband and I went through the gate with our boarding passes, we realized MB was not with us. She had been stopped at the gate. Nothing will make your adrenaline rush like realizing that you are on one side of an airline gate as you board an internat'l flight, and your 16-year-old daughter has been detained on the other side. We could see her, but we didn't know what the heck was going on. FINALLY, they brought her through and we saw that she had been chosen for an extra security check. They made her open her carry-on, pull out some things, she had to take off her shoes, and they wanded all around her. I know she was probably randomly chosen, but I can't imagine a less threatening-looking passenger. So, in spite of having sky priority, we were one of the last to board the plane. Nice.

The only nice thing I have to say about Charles de Gaulle airport is that they had a Starbucks. In comparison, we liked the Rome airport. In fact, the bathrooms there are the best airport bathrooms I've been in. We had no trouble finding our way around there. 

The good news was that my ear didn't hurt in the least on the overseas flight home! That's a first, but I paid a price for it. So, we arrived home tired, but happy, and ready to plan a return trip to Tuscany. (With another consult with an ENT before the trip. Sigh.)

Update:  In fact, Kevin and I did return to Tuscany in 2024! Trip Report here!

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