Up early for our journey home. Carolyn called an Uber for the airport. 18 minutes wait. We get our now heavy bags down the long stairs to the street, set the house alarm, and stand by the road. The car arrived at 9:13 and Uber said that we would arrive at 9:27. All good. 

We get in Ilas’s car and drive one block before I remember that we are going by train to CDG. Then flying. Yikes!!!  We explain to Ilas that we need Brussels-MIDI instead of the airport. Luckily the time is about the same. Whew! All good. 

We found the TGV tracks and the specific track for our train and with plenty of time to spare. A display indicated that our coach would be the last so we boarded the train at the end. A big mistake. It turned out that our seats were several cars in the opposite direction. It was suggested that instead of moving through the cars we should take our bags off the train and then rebound further along. If the coaches had been labeled on the outside that might have been an option. But it was clear that there were many people boarding with a lot of baggage and they were all as confused as us. We did not want to risk not getting back on the train before it left. As it went, it took us about 30 minutes to get to our seats.  By then the train was moving. People who were boarding had blocked all the areas between trains and the aisles. It was a mess!!!

When we finally arrived at coach 8 the baggage area was full. But a lovely Mexican man helped us get a couple of bags in the overhead and rearranged the storage area for us. Sadly he and his wife and 2 young daughters were in the reverse situation as us. Their seats were in coach 3!!  The trains need some improvement. 

While traveling on the train I searched Google for directions to Terminal 2E. Not only were there instructions, there were photos. Terminal 2E has 3 sub-sections K, L, and M. Both of our flights were departing from 2E-M. One at gate 45 and one gate 47. That was nice. We were able to stick together until Carolyn’s boarding. While I wait for my flight (an hour later) I am adding to this blog.

It was a very nice trip. We were so lucky to have beautiful weather always. Stephanie’s house was conveniently near a metro stop and was very comfortable. Her housekeeper was extremely kind to us – brought baguettes when we arrived and brought Belgian cookies when we left. Being able to reach other towns in 1-2 hours and only having to pay $8 round trip in the same day (senior rate) made exploring the country so easy. We had a lot of laughs trying to get through turnstiles, where to tap, when to tap. For whatever reason I estimate we only paid for 1/2 of our rides. Sometimes the entry gates were just all open. And, Belgium is lovely. I would like to return and venture out of the cities. Next time…

My flight home was easy. Window seat, no one beside me. Nice lady on the aisle. David picked my up with a ready made gimlet. At home he had made 3 arrangements of fresh flowers. I asked if the flowers meant that he was happy to have me home or saying thank you for going away.