Flying home

One last photo of Paris, sigh! I'm not sure when I'll be back, it took four years last time but I've put it to the universe that I want it to be a lot sooner than that. 

Now I'm not going to bore you with my plane story, no really I'm not. Suffice to say that on the first leg I got to lie down and sleep with three seats to myself. The second leg, the very long 18 plus hour one, I had to sit next to a lady who encroached on my seat. She was a very large lady. Yes, that was a long flight. 

Thank goodness for my ipod, an interesting retired teacher from Australia; a cute young French programmer of flight simulators and a precocious, just three year old with an amazing capacity for throwing a paddy. We had words as she kicked me through my seat. Her poor mum and dad were mortified. We made friends as you do when amusing a small child.

I planned to buy some duty free at Dubai as I had time and a couple of Qatari Riyal to spend. As my purchase was 125ml and I was going home via Sydney, I had to go and get the small tube of 'make me look younger' cream put in a sealed box, a very large sealed box. I then had to lug it around the airport for a couple of hours. I was unimpressed. The box was the sort you could carry three wine bottles in, I had a 125ml tube in it. Stupid rule. 

We got to Sydney and as I went to the gate I looked at a man sitting reading his paper in these early hours of the morning. He looked familiar and sure enough he was. Murray is, now wait for this, my youngest son's first girlfriend's, now an ex, who is still a daughter to us as she has lived with us on and off for many years between adventures, father. Quite complex really. Oh by the way, Cal's dad is also called Murray.

He had been staying with the lovely Callie in Singapore, where she now lives, after traveling Europe on a bus tour. Muzz had caught up with Cals on his way to Europe and then on the way back they met when she was dropping her dad to the airport to fly home.  They had told Murray that I was flying through Sydney, as he was, so he had waited for me at the Emirates gate. Small world of impeccable timing. We yarned a while, as you do, until off I went on my last plane for a while. 

The three year old and her mum and dad were also heading home to Christchurch after a family gathering in Germany. We kept each other amused for the flight, we were all quite silly after the long trip and we had two whole rows to ourselves, luxury! 

Landing in Christchurch the cold hit me hard, very hard. It was around 5C, windy and sleeting. Muzz had arrived home an hour or so before me so had gone home, fetched the car and my largest coat. The day didn't get any better weather wise but I did sleep. Roll on summer.