A tip TO ROLL WITH THE punches

Posted: 07/28/2014 | July 28th, 2014

Bonjour from Paris! Today I start my next European group tour. For two weeks, I’ll be taking 12 readers to some of my favorite bars, restaurants, and locations around Europe.

We start in Paris, a city I can’t get enough of. My many visits here never get boring. walking down its cobblestone streets, gazing at the Eiffel Tower, lounging in one of its parks, and smelling fresh bread and cheese at the markets fills me with joy. It’s like falling in love all over again.

My a lot of recent journey to Paris was meant to be easy. After my annual trip to vegas with friends, I was to board a flight, land in Paris, and be kicking back on the Seine before you could say Les Misérables.

But it wasn’t indicated to be.

After checking in with the world’s nicest agent, I proceeded to my gate. sitting down, I observed our flight time had changed from 10:40 a.m. to 12:40 p.m. That would put us in nyc 17 minutes before my flight to Paris. However, as 11 people on my flight were connecting to Paris and JFK was on a total ground stop, there was a chance my Paris flight would be delayed and all would be ideal with the world.

I went off to get lunch and do some work.

But when 12:40 rolled around and we hadn’t boarded, I got nervous. Suddenly, we weren’t scheduled to leave until 2 p.m. Now, I would absolutely miss my flight to Paris. The gate agent couldn’t tell me anything, so, frustrated, I called up American Airlines reservations.

Yes, they knew about the situation and had already rerouted me.

Their solution? A 10:55 p.m. flight to London, a six-hour layover in Heathrow, and then a final flight to Paris, landing at 4 p.m. local time.

I was silent as my mind slowly ran through what such a long day of travel would be like. I’d get to Paris the same day, but as a zombie from such little sleep. I imagined myself shuffling my feet on the way to my hostel, chanting “sleep” instead of “brains.”

No, that was not appealing to me.

I asked if I could just come back for a flight the next day and keep my original itinerary. “No problem,” they said. I’d land in Paris Friday morning, but after a better night’s rest and without a long layover.

Hanging up, I informed the gate agent of my plans. She called down to see if they could offload my bag but couldn’t, so it would wait for me at JFK like a waiting lover before we ventured to Paris together.

Yes, this was a huge inconvenience, but it was better than all those connecting flights. If travel teaches us anything, it’s to roll with the punches.

The next day, I got on the plane in Vegas, arrived in a zombie-like state to JFK and proceeded to find out where my bag was. having lost bags before, I never assume my bag will get where the airline says it will go.

The agent checked her system and said, “Yes, your bag was scanned into JFK last night.”

Phew, it had made it.

“It’s all identified for tonight’s flight, right?” I said.

“Hold on. I’ll check,” she replied.

Silence. and then disaster.

“Hmm, well that is odd. They don’t see it downstairs, but they will check another holding area.”

Minutes later…

“Nope, it’s not there either. We don’t know where it could be.”

Now I’m confused. If my bag made it to JFK, where would it go? Bags aren’t meant to fly internationally without a passenger, and the bag was noted to go on my flight with me.

The agent investigated a lot more but with no luck. I began to anxiety and panic. Don’t tell me I lost another bag! getting new clothes in Paris is going to be expensive. What the hell, American Airlines?!

After some a lot more investigating, it turned out my bag had been identified for an earlier Paris flight, but it was never scanned showing it left JFK, nor that it had already arrived in Paris.

“The bag must have been scanned,” I was told.

But it wasn’t, and no one was sure where it was.

It wasn’t in the hold for my flight, it wasn’t downstairs, and it hadn’t scanned out on the previous flight. Their best guess? It went unscanned to Paris, and I’d just have to wait and see if it was there.

We’re all slaves to our past experiences. I’ve lost bags or had them arrive late before, and I was nervous that this was going to happen again. When an airline says it can’t find your bag, it usually doesn’t end well.

Stressed and tired, I got on my plane and hoped for the best. I barely slept as nightmare scenarios played through my head. After we landed, I nervously proceeded to baggage claim.

And when I got there, I saw it. My beautiful grey backpack was sitting there, waiting for me.

Despite a baggage handler’s failure to simply scan the bag into the system, it made it to Paris. I slung my bag over my shoulders and headed toward immigration.

My anxiousness melted away and all was ideal with the world.

Travel is about rolling with the punches, and it’s situations like this that remind you no good will come from stressing over mishaps. delayed flights happen. Itineraries change. Bags get misplaced.

Whatever happens, will happen.

Situations like this simply remind you to opt for the flow and relax.

…and to find myself a smaller carry-on backpack when I get home.

Book Your trip to Paris: Logistical ideas and Tricks
Book Your Flight
Use Skyscanner or Momondo to find a cheap flight. They are my two favorite search engines because they search web sites and airlines around the globe so you always know no stone is left unturned. start with Skyscanner first though because they have the greatest reach!

Book Your Accommodation
You can book your hostel with Hostelworld as they have the greatest inventory and best deals. If you want to stay somewhere other than a hostel, use Booking.com as they consistently return the least expensive rates for guesthouses and cheap hotels. My favorite places to stay are:

St. Christopher’s Canal

3 Ducks Hostel

Les Piaules

Don’t forget travel Insurance
Travel insurance will secure you against illness, injury, theft, and cancellations. It’s detailed protection in case anything goes wrong. I never go on a trip without it as I’ve had to use it lots of times in the past. My favorite companies that offer the best service and value are:

Safety Wing (for everyone below 70)

Insure My trip (for those over 70)

Medjet (for additional repatriation coverage)

Looking for the best companies to save money With?
Check out my resource page for the best companies to use when you travel. I list all the ones I use to save money when I’m on the road. They will save you money when you travel too.

Want a lot more information on Paris?
Be sure to visit our robust destination guide to Paris for even a lot more planning tips!