Thomas and the beagles arrived this morning. Our furniture and other household items from the old apartment are in transit. I think we can officially say that the Nimmo-Arriola, Arriola-Nimmo family has moved to France.
Their Air France flight this morning was scheduled to arrive at 11:30. Due in part to my over eagerness and also not wanting to be late, I arrived at Charles De Gaulle (CDG) airport this morning around 11:15. Despite the fact that I verified their flight was on time (which it was when I left the apartment), by the time I arrived at the airport, the expected arrival was now 11:53. Twenty-minutes I guess is not so bad.
The good thing is that the arrivals hall for his flight was not difficult to find from the RER (train) station. The bad thing is that the arrivals hall is the most dismal place in all of CDG. Most areas of the airport are bright, sunny, and not overly crowded considering that CDG is the second busiest airport in Europe. The arrivals hall on the other hand is small, dark, dirty, and crazy crowded with people arriving and families waiting for loved ones. The Illy coffee stand was a bright spot in the darkness. I had a delicious cappuccino - a rare find in a country where bad espresso is as ubiquitous as their good wine.
I stood just outside the customs gate hoping to see Thomas and help him with the dogs and luggage. He didn't have a working cell phone in country so every time I saw the doors open I had to quickly assess who was walking out the ten exit doors. As I scanned from side to side, it was like a life size version of whack a mole, except there was neither whacking nor moles, but reflexes were key. Door one would open. Before I could see who was coming out, a second and third door would open. I don't know how, but I caught a two second glimpse of Thomas as he was walking past a door. I yelled out his name a few times. Thankfully, he heard me after the fourth time. At least he knew where I was. He apparently was trying to find the dogs. After another 20 minutes of waiting, out he came pushing a luggage cart and a behind him was a CDG staffer pushing a second cart with Molly and Scout in their crates. Molly was lying in the crate calm, but poor Scout was whimpering. At that point it was already 1pm. The poor puppies have been cooped up in their crates since 10pm DC time the previous day. As compensation, the beagles received lots of treats today.
The beagles seem to be adjusting fine to life in France. They took some time to sniff around the new apartment. Molly found a favorite spot- the floor just below the radiator in the bedroom. We met two neighbors who gushed over the dogs. We walked around the neighborhood and the beagles explored their new home. Now they are sleeping peacefully in the bed. I think they have acclimated to their new situation.