We made it to France! And without much drama. Phew.

The trip started at the Ottawa Train Station, where we took a Greyhound bus to Montreal. The two-hour drive was pretty quiet as Mark slept (well, kind of slept) in the sling. I ate a croissant and read a book on my Kindle, so the three of us arrived fairly relaxed at Trudeau.

The airport was packed and pretty chaotic but thanks to Mark, we were invited to skip the line up at check-in so we only waited a few minutes. We checked in my backpack and a suitcase (Mark’s stuff) and each took a small bag to carry on, plus the stroller.

The security process was efficient and Mark was amazingly quiet, playing with toys in his stroller. We grabbed a quick bite, shopped at the duty-free and boarded the KLM Amsterdam-bound flight at 7 p.m.

The flight was late and we were stuck in line for what seemed like forever before boarding but we eventually made it and again, Mark was quiet in the sling.

We had been given the two front seats of a row where, technically, a bassinet for babies is hooked to the wall… but the attendants never brought the bassinet so I kept Mark in the sling for most of the flight. I was worried about how he would react in the plane, a small and somewhat stuffy enclosed area where I couldn’t let him go crazy. He hates fitting rooms in stores, for instance, he freaks out in there. But he didn’t seem to mind the plane and didn’t cry once, even during take-off and landing. Yes, I am proud of him!

That said, none of us really slept. For some reason, the KLM staff only turned off the lights for about an hour toward the end of the six-hour-long flight. Mealtime lasted forever, and they tried to sell duty-free products, and then gave info on various connecting flights and airport info… no one could sleep.

By the time we got to Schipol, we were exhausted. Fortunately, the connection was smooth and we boarded the plane to Nantes at 9 a.m., tired but quite happy.

Mark is a real traveller now, he has an Amsterdam stamp on his passport!

Leaving Ottawa
Leaving Ottawa
In the Greyhound to Montreal
In the Greyhound to Montreal
Waiting in Montreal
Waiting in Montreal
Feeding in the Plane
Feeding in the Plane
Above the Atlantic Ocean
Above the Atlantic Ocean
Above the Atlantic Ocean
Above the Atlantic Ocean
Exhausted in Amsterdam
Exhausted in Amsterdam
Exhausted in Amsterdam
Exhausted in Amsterdam
Exhausted in Amsterdam
Exhausted in Amsterdam
Exhausted in Amsterdam
Exhausted in Amsterdam
Amsterdam Stamp
Amsterdam Stamp

Get the latest story, cultural shock and travel pictures right in your inbox

I don't spam, promise.

I literally don't have the time to write ten stories a day.

Visited 33 times, 1 visit(s) today

13 Comments

  1. Dennation June 28, 2013 at 9:08 pm

    Looks like Mark is a natural born flyer. When I was a kid I had horrible air sickness when flying. It was so bad that all I could do was just stare straight ahead at the back of the seat in front of me. It took me a few years and lots of flights to get used to flying without being sick. Now I only feel sick every now and then.

    Reply
    1. Zhu June 29, 2013 at 5:28 am

      Poor you! I had motion sickness twice in my life, once on a epic bus ride in the mountains in Mexico and once on an equally epic boat ride to Belize, and it was awful.

      Reply
  2. La Madame June 29, 2013 at 12:34 am

    Wow, j’ai pas autant de tampons dans mes passports! 😉

    Ton petit Mark est un bébé parfait dis-moi! 🙂

    Passe de belles vacances en France Zhu! 🙂

    Reply
    1. Zhu June 29, 2013 at 5:29 am

      Merci madame!!

      Reply
  3. Jeruen June 29, 2013 at 8:39 am

    Sounds like an awesome first flight! I remember my mom telling me about my own horror stories and misadventures when I first flew, it wasn’t pretty and quite embarrassing to tell!

    Reply
    1. Zhu June 30, 2013 at 4:22 am

      Oh do tell:-)

      Reply
  4. Holly Nelson June 29, 2013 at 11:03 am

    I have an Amsterdam stamp in my passport too! Sounds like it was a long ride, but I am pleased Mark was still smiling throughout!

    Reply
    1. Zhu June 30, 2013 at 4:24 am

      I am pretty proud of him, he did well!

      Reply
  5. expatraveler June 29, 2013 at 11:20 pm

    You look amazing!! That’s awesome that mark made it so well. Cam did super at 6 months old, but it would not be the same now.

    Reply
    1. Zhu June 30, 2013 at 4:27 am

      I think it was the right time for Mark, it would have been harder earlier, he was very clingy and got scared easily.

      Reply
  6. shionge July 2, 2013 at 8:20 pm

    Hey Zhu…….I flew back from France on 27 June 😀 We might just cross path ya 😉

    You are looking great and wishing you a happy family bonding ya 😀

    Reply
    1. Zhu July 3, 2013 at 7:31 am

      Funny! We should have waved each other on the passing planes!

      Reply

Leave A Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *