Behind in posting, this is for 3 September.
We were onboard our flight to Toulouse, but it wasn’t easy. After the Lufthansa pilots strike yesterday, Frankfurt being Lufthansa’s main terminus and the third busiest airport in Europe, the airport was in total chaos this morning. With boarding passes on our phones, we only had to check our bags at the self service baggage check station. But the line to security was unreal. We estimated the line was in the vicinity of a quarter mile long, winding back on itself from one section of the terminal to another. Because of all that was going on all flights were delayed, though we actually boarded on time.
Eventually our flight took off and soon we were over France on our way to flying across the entire country.
Even with the delay in our departure from Frankfurt, if everything worked out we would arrive at the Le Boat base Castelnaudray with about an hour to spare. The bus from the Toulouse airport to the train station arrived a few minutes after we got to the bus stop, so we really could see everything working out.
Unfortunately our bad luck was back in spades. We bought our train tickets and hurried out to the platform, which was the farthest one from the station, only to have the train leave just as climbed the steps. We got a quick bite to eat and got on the next train to Castelnaudry that would get us there with about 45 minutes to spare, only to discover I had got us on the wrong train and it was going in the opposite direction we needed to go. Late doesn’t begin to describe when we finally got to Castelnaudray.
We did smile a few times during our problems. Once when this pigeon landed on our table while were having a snack at the train station. The other time when we met a wonderful young couple on the right train to Castelnaudry. We had a great time talking with them and it really was just what we need at the time.
We made it!!! Everyone was wearing the tee shirts with our Canal du Midi emblem that Linda and I designed and gave everyone as a gift.
Nothing like an appetizer our two to start of Happy Hour.
Our Bon Voyage meal prepared and grilled on board by our shipmates.
Night settled over the boat basin and with it we just knew our bad luck was now a thing of the past. Tomorrow morning we set off on our way down the canal toward the Mediterranean.
