Field School: The Journey Home (Bonjour, Paris - Encore)

     I knocked on Cyrene's door around 4:50 a.m., since we had decided that's when we were going to head down and catch the airport shuttle as we arranged the previous night. When we were checking out, I was prepared to pay the city tax like I did last time, but the fellow may have remembered me from when I checked in, and he didn't ask for it, which was cool. Cyrene and I stood outside to wait for the driver to come and get our luggage in the shuttle.
     We got to the Sofia Airport around 5:12 a.m. because he had to drop off someone at the other terminal, and then unload all of our bags (two other people had taken then shuttle with us), and Cyrene and I parted ways so we could check our bags at our respective airlines. My bag was a little over 21.60 kilograms, but it was still under 23, and that's what mattered. Once I was checked in and headed to my gate, it was barely 5:45, so checking the bags and going through security didn't take long at all.
     Cyrene messaged me and told me where her gate was, so I meandered over to her to say our goodbyes, and we went to grab some things from the place that had snacks and drinks. I bought two bottles of water and a Coke, and it cost me over ten leva, which is bonkers; that is way too much - the Coke was 5 leva on its own. Cyrene and I hugged and went back to our gates, and I ate my breakfast (mini croissants filled with chocolate), and drank one of the waters. The boarding started shortly after that, and it felt like we were waiting forever to board. Luckily, I had an aisle seat.
     But I was next to a baby and their father.
     I reassured myself that it wouldn't be bad because I was only on a two-and-a-half hour flight. The kid did sleep for most of the flight, and I read the guide to Plovdiv I had bought at the museum there. That took up most of the flight. The baby did kick me a lot, and the father kept moving and getting into my space, but I was trying my best to be patient because I know traveling with a kid that has to sit in your lap on an airplane can't be easy. He was very apologetic about things, though, so I had no problem with them. The baby wasn't screaming the whole time, and when they were awake, they were just saying "WOW" about what was out the window or babbling in French.
     We arrived in Paris around 10 a.m. Sofia time, 9 a.m. Paris time, and had to go through security for the connecting flights. Apparently, I can't bring soda or water even though I had bought them in the other airport, so I chugged the Coke, threw away the water, and the little water that they had given me on the Bulgaria Air flight (which honestly I should have drunk as soon as I received it because it was small). The attendant also put my hand sanitizer in a bag because I had forgotten to put it in one because I carry it in my pocket. Other than that, I was able to get through security pretty easily.
     The next challenge was my boarding pass for Atlanta saying "check screens" for my gate. So, I had to find one of the screens, but none of them listed Atlanta as a destination for the time it was leaving, just Vienna. I had seen a machine that lets you scan your boarding pass to tell you your gate, but since I was in line for security when I saw it, I couldn't get to it. Since the screens didn't say where I was supposed to go, I had to find another one to tell me where I was supposed to be. I needed to be in terminal 2E, so I found my way there and where we waited for the bus shuttle, there was another machine. It gave me my gate number, and I took the bus shuttle when it came and got off at the second stop.
     There were a lot of shops on the way to my gate, so I popped into a few of them to check them out since I still have a little Euro left from my mistake at the beginning of this trip. Nothing caught my fancy, and I found my gate. None of the outlets were working, so I gave up on trying to charge my phone or my laptop since I won't really be able to use either of them on the flight over anyway. I ran to the restroom and then back to the gate. I finished the last two blogs and have been uploading my Bulgarian photos to my personal Facebook before I add them to my Ancient Geeko-Roman pages. Since I don't have my waters anymore, I might get some before we board. It's still about an hour before we're going to be getting on the plane, so I'll probably just walk around for a bit, and then come back before boarding time.
     Atlanta, here I come! 

Field School: Sofia

     Well, I finally made it to Bulgaria! It's almost 9 p.m. Sofia time, and I'm in my pajamas relaxing in bed, so let me fill you in on what happened between my last post and now.
     We started boarding, so of course, the line was down to the designated smoking area, where I kept coughing because I cannot handle the smoke, ever. My throat is still tingling from it, and that was hours ago. When we finally got away from the smoke, I saw my carry-on bag that had to be checked as I passed, so at least I saw where it had gone. What frustrated me the most was that when we were boarded, I saw plenty of spaces where I could have stowed my luggage. I know that it was probably as a precaution because they couldn't know for sure whose would fit, etc. etc., but I was finally near the front of the plane this time around!! I had the seat 3F, which I was surprised about. It was at the front of the plane and a window seat. I have a love-hate relationship with window seats; this is because I want to be able to get up and move around without disturbing too many people, but I like watching the take-offs and the descents. Two young dudes were next to me this time, which was fine. I accidentally sat in the wrong seat at first, but the person in the middle seat was fine moving when I told him I was actually on the other side of him.
     The plane was taking forever to take off, and I had no idea why there was so much of a hold up (spoiler alert: we got to Sofia at 6 p.m. instead of 4:45 p.m.) Once we did take off, I was trying to read one of my books on Sofia, but I didn't get too into it because I was passing out. I didn't really sleep on the plane, but I did conk out a few times for a catnap.
     One thing I did wake up for was the food, which was fish.
     I'm allergic to fish. And seafood.
     Once I told him this, he looked distraught and said it was the only thing they had (which is weird because I thought I had told the airline about my allergies, but I'm going to double check before I go back home. I gave it back to him and said I was fine with the rest of the stuff and he didn't have to bring me anything else. Despite that, he brought me fruit, cheese, a quinoa and bean salad (which I also couldn't eat, but I didn't want to tell him that again, so I took it with me and threw it away later), which was really nice of him. I ate most of it and was full by then anyway. The smell of the fish was really overpowering and nauseating for me, so it made it hard for me to get anything else down with that scent pervading the air.
     We landed over an hour late from the originally scheduled time, and I had to figure out my way through the Sofia Airport so I could find my luggage. Also, I needed a bathroom because every time I'd try to get up and go, the "keep your buckles fastened" light came on. After a winding journey that made me wish I had brought some enchanted string along, I finally came to the passport check and got my passport checked for Bulgaria. They used to stamp you into whatever country you were in and then the next stamp wouldn't happen, but I guess that's changing now, too, huh?
     The hotel I'm staying at has a free shuttle, but there was nothing that indicated which one was their shuttle. Either I was supposed to schedule it, or I just didn't know where to go, and ended up taking a taxi instead. It was €5. I checked into the hotel and went to my room and showered. It felt so good to get the three flights and 20+ hours of travel off of me. I scheduled my checkout and my shuttle for tomorrow, and breakfast is only €7, so I think I'm going to get breakfast from them tomorrow morning. Then I'll study a bit, get all my stuff together, and check out.
     But, right now, I definitely need to sleep.