Elle Takes Europe 2026 - Day 1: The Curse of the Atlanta Flight
After months of planning (mostly on the balcony of the JW Marriott in Cancun in March), we finally set out on our nearly three-week trip to Europe. Similar to last year, we are building off of a work trip for Jenn, this time in Dublin. Before we arrive in Ireland, though, we are starting our trip in Venice, Italy. It’s the first time we’ve been to Venice since 2018, and Elle’s first time in Italy. The day before our trip, we received a text message from Delta Airlines saying our flight to Venice, with a stopover in Atlanta, was likely to have significant delays due to weather, so they suggested we switch flights. Jenn and I attempted to change both online and by phone, and after nearly 2 hours, we were able to secure a new flight via Paris. That worked out even better, moving our flight from an early morning all-day flight to 6 PM, allowing Elle to hopefully sleep on the plane.
We slept in on Thursday, June 18th, and let Elle have as restful a day as possible. Jenn dropped Frasier off at a new boarding place in Irvine Spectrum, and we had lunch at Flame Broiler before Elle took a long, nearly three-hour nap. Unfortunately, we got word from Delta that our new flight via Paris was delayed by 3 hours, forcing us to push out our connection to Venice. We looked for another alternative flight, but now everything was sold out. I spent most of the day rapidly refreshing my phone, hoping we would ever make it to Venice.
As the day went on, it looked more promising that we’d be off to Paris a few hours late. Our bags were finally packed, and the driver we hired picked us up at the house at exactly 4 PM. We arrived at the Delta One entrance and lounge at 5:30 PM. There’s nothing better than showing up to a first-class entrance where they take your bags, give you a hot towel, and you make it through security without anyone else there. After security, the three of us sat in the exact same spot we did last time when we were flying home from visiting everyone when Elle was 6 months old. Jenn had champagne with sushi and pasta; Elle had macaroni and cheese; and I had a small wedge salad and their steak frites with a Martini. Jenn and I took turns walking Elle through the lounge, and we concluded our time there with some ice cream and cookies.
We left the lounge a little early to give Elle time to walk around the terminal before boarding our 11-hour flight to Paris. The plane ended up taking off at 9 PM (3 hours later than originally scheduled). Because Elle is now 2 years old, we had to buy her a business-class seat. The hope was that she’d warm up to being in her own seat and that she’d eventually fall asleep in her chair. Sadly for us, that only happened for the briefest of times, and for at least seven of the eleven-hour flight to Paris, Elle was in different states of tired, wide awake, and somewhere in between. Jenn and I took turns sitting with her, trying to coax her to sleep. Jenn got the longest run early in the flight, with nearly two hours of the two cuddling in one Delta One seat. We made it through the flight only to have one of the scariest 30 seconds we’ve ever had on a plane, where the plane took a few sudden dips and lifts, leaving some of the stewardesses falling and scrambling to find purchase. Fortunately, we made it through and landed in Paris.
We only had a few hours in Paris and eventually made it to our gate, where we got some food at Starbucks before boarding our flight to Venice. Between waiting for the plane in a boiling hot terminal and then sitting on the plane while they tried to fix the air conditioning, it was a brutal lead-up to an uneventful flight, yet another delayed flight. Elle had a bit of a meltdown right before boarding (hard to blame her), but Jenn masterfully redirected, and after two hours, we landed in Venice. The palpable feeling of exaltation when we finally boarded a water taxi to the Hilton Molino Stucky was palpable. It was dark by the time we boarded, a little after 10 PM, but we made it into our upgraded Family Suite, had room service for dinner, and went to bed.
