Departure Day

Today is the day.  I woke up and frantically finished packing, even fitting in a trip to Macy's and Kohls for last minute shopping.  I'll be studying in Montpellier, France for the next four months and I didn't even start thinking about packing until I got from a two week trip to Colorado.  With one week between trips, I spent most of my time visiting family, shopping, and then finally packing.

I was lucky enough to fly out of Syracuse this afternoon on an award ticket instead of driving or taking a bus to NYC for my flight to France.  However with nearly free tickets booked with miles, there is always a catch.  This time it involved an 18 seat prop plane and flying Air Canada.  After getting to the airport 90 minutes early and saying goodbye to my family, I "checked in", which involved an agent from a different airline calling technical support after she couldn't figure out how to do it.  Air Canada is a small operation in Syracuse.  When my flight was delayed 30 minutes, no announcements were made or reasons provided, but eventually the plane (see below) showed up.  

Even the pilot had no information as to its whereabouts!  The flight was unique- no safety demo, no flight attendant, and no overhead compartment.  But, it got me to Toronto where I now sit on a four hour layover.  The airport is massive and it took forever to get from my gate (which consisted of a door leading down a long hallway, not an actual gate), through customs and on to my next gate.  Presently, the terminal is being searched thoroughly for a suspicious item of some sort!

My flight to Munich, Germany leaves at 8:25pm EST, so I have three hours to kill and a new airport to explore.  So far, I like the free wifi and all the canadians, who gleefully fit their "nice" stereotype.  Fifteen more hours of travel to go, including two more flights and two French passenger trains.

I'm going to Montpellier to study abroad, which means I will take classes in French and live with a host family.  Hopefully, I will get to travel quite a bit around Europe and make it an extended vacation as well a college semester.  I'll update the blog at least twice per week and more if I travel- with pictures and video too as the internet allows.  I'll post about the amazing french food I eat, landmarks I visit, and people I meet.

For the first ten days I will live at the Citadines Antigone hotel in Montpellier while I attend an orientation program, then I move in with my host family September 1.  My classes do not start until Sept 12 so I will have two weeks to explore Montpellier or travel elsewhere with my fellow program members.  Throughout the program I know already I am going to London, Amsterdam and Paris.  And I'm sure I will make it all over France and to Spain, Italy, and Germany at least as well.

Remember, if you want to call or text me and you have a smartphone, download the app "Viber".  We can communicate for free.  I'll post my international number here as soon as I get it. 

The next time I post will be from Montpellier, France!  If you're wondering about the name of the blog, it means "Let's go to Montpellier".  And go I shall.