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Baby Mark’s First Transatlantic Flight (We Survived!)

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
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Zhu

French woman in English Canada.

Exploring the world with my camera since 1999, translating sentences for a living, writing stories that may or may not get attention.

Firm believer that nobody is normal... and it’s better this way.

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