The Big 30 in Paris Day 1: Wow, What a Surprise
As I write this, I’m currently flying over the United States on my way to Iceland and then to Paris. It was only a day ago I woke up, went for my normal morning run, and came back to have my entire world flipped upside down. I had a late meeting so Jenn in her not to casual, yet forceful way, offered me a cup of coffee. Who am I to refuse the leader of our household? As she walked my morning coffee over to me she had an odd look on her face and I noticed she was also holding her phone unconventionally. She walked up with a mug we had purchased at a Starbucks in Paris. She exclaimed like only Jenn can, “you see the city on the mug, we’re going there tomorrow to celebrate your 30th birthday!”
I was both instantly horrified and overjoyed. I don’t normally do “tomorrow”. I’m a planner, I like to comprehend things, and yet somehow Jenn through hard work and incredible maneuvering managed to book an entire trip to Paris without me having one ounce of an idea. Twenty-four hours after I sipped and spilled the coffee all over our couch and ottoman, I’m now sitting on a plane going to my favorite place in the world. It still hasn’t hit me. I know I’m going to Paris but I’m not sure its sunk in that I will “be in Paris” in a matter of hours.
Like many trips before, we had Jake, the best LAX driver I know take us down to our flight. We had a pretty uneventful drive down, battling the Los Angeles traffic. Nothing new there.
We checked into Wow Airlines (Jenn was a little nervous of this little known Icelandic airline) without issue for our 12:40pm flight to Iceland and made it through security faster then we’ve ever done before.
We walked around the Tom Bradley International Terminal for over an hour before Jenn spotted a Mexican restaurant that was still serving breakfast and we took a seat. We both went with a hearty breakfast burrito and chips. It was a very solid breakfast burrito, not too fancy, but did the trick. We spent the rest of our time waiting for our flight, walking around the terminal, stocking up on some snacks, and making our way to the back area of the terminal where we boarded a bus to our plane.
The flight to Iceland is a little over eight hours and for us now that’s a piece of cake. We watched two movies during the flight, Zootopia and Deadpool. We both really enjoyed Zootopia, a children’s cartoon that had some great adult overtones and some truly insightful societal commentary. Deadpool on the other hand completely lacked any substance but was a decent way to pass the time.
The best thing I can say about the flight is that it was uneventful. We left on time, it was a smooth flight, and we arrived safely to Iceland. In a couple of hours (which is tomorrow) we board a plane from Iceland to my favorite city in the world, Paris. Until then, Vive le France.
