One of my favorite online services is Going, which was formerly known as Scott’s Cheap Flights. Subscribers can choose their favorite airports and receive email notifications when there are airfare deals. Most of the emails are read and moved to trash, but in late August, I received an alert highlighting cheap flights from Chicago to Dublin via Copenhagen. Soon, more deals to Europe were popping up and we began contemplating a family vacation around Thanksgiving.
In the end, we zeroed in on a trip to Paris, a city we’d visited just once and for only about 24 hours. To add a new country to our count, we found an itinerary that took us from Chicago to Brussels via New York with a direct flight back from Paris. I read Rick Steves’ books on Paris and Brussels from cover to cover, booked lodging and train tickets, and then largely moved trip planning aside during a busy fall.
We filled in a few itinerary holes over the past couple of weeks, securing our tickets to the Eiffel Tower and Catacombs and booking an Airbnb experience to learn to make croissants. By Tuesday morning, we were packed and ready to begin our 20-hour journey to Belgium.
Emmie and Eilidh each read a bit about Paris and France on the five-hour drive to O’Hare.
I made Noah take a selfie on the bus to get us from the parking to the tram to get to the terminal.
Everything went smoothly en route to Chicago until Amanda was stuck in a long security line in Terminal 5, which was home to Delta’s operation at the O’Hare Airport. All things considered, she made it through with plenty of time to spare for a hodge-podge fast food lunch before we boarded our delayed flight to New York City.
Popcorn at Garett is the best, and we had no problem devouring a large bag of their cheese and caramel mix while we waited to fly to New York.
Emmie is very excited about the digital camera we equipped her with to document the trip. Her first project was creating a commercial for the airport Burger King, where the kids had lunch.
Even though the flight was delayed an hour, we were told of a great tailwind and anticipated landing at JFK Airport just behind our original schedule. As the plane’s snack and beverage service came to a close, turbulence kicked in, and we experienced what must have been our bumpiest flight ever. Amanda comforted a worried Emmie, Noah dug into his book, and Emmie and I distracted ourselves by sharing my AirPods and watching classic episodes of The Office.
Our airplane photos were pre-turbulence.
Emmie knocked out the overview chapter of Rick Steves’ Belgium book.
The Injury episode from season 2 of The Office is an all-timer.
Our itinerary called for a 2-hour layover, but by the time we were off the plane, our flight to Brussels had already started boarding. Aggressive walking/running through the airport got us to our gate before the final boarding call, but we were on the plane late enough that overhead bin space was at a premium, and our five carry-on bags were scattered from first-class to the 47th row of the plane where we were sitting.
Eilidh was happy with her headphones and the video screen, Amanda was tired after running through JFK to make our plane.
Airplane dinner was the usual choice of chicken or pasta, served with a potato salad and lemon blondie brownie. Amanda, Eilidh, and I enjoyed the entrees the most, Emmie doubled up on the dessert, and Noah managed to eat a few spoonfuls of rice. Emmie was soundly asleep a few minutes after dinner, but the rest of us were less successful. I at least managed to finish our summer trip blog with a couple of hours to spare before our scheduled arrival in Brussels.
Looks fun!