Air France to Denver, with a Slight Detour

Tim and I were up early for a change and enjoyed our last breakfast before hopping in a taxi the hotel had reserved for us. We arrived at Charles de Gaulle Airport with plenty of time to spare, but we continued our tradition of one tiny mishap after another.

Although our business class tickets promised a special Air Priority counter, we couldn’t seem to find it. Not to worry, a friendly agent helped us check in on the new self-service devices.

We then joined the line for customs, where I apparently broke the gate! I kept waiting for Tim who was behind me, but he had been directed elsewhere when the machine I used stopped working. I had no idea what had happened, but I finally saw Tim in the middle of a long line. He made it through customs successfully, and we then boarded the shuttle train to our concourse. We actually had no issues getting through security.

Once again, we walked from one end of the terminal to the other, first looking for the Air France lounge, a benefit of business class, and then to our gate at the very end of the concourse. The only saving grace was that we got to see Inès, a giant sculpture of a beautiful sleeping cat. We finally found the lounge, which was huge and quite luxurious, but there wasn’t enough time to enjoy the champagne and hors d'oeuvres that were being served. Nonetheless, the lounge was a nice respite after our long walk. We soon had to leave, and we made our way to our gate where we boarded the plane into business class.

Inès Is a Very Big Kitty

The Air France Lounge at Charles de Gaulle

The service on Air France was even better than United, which is saying a lot, and the food was excellent. The flight attendant who served me throughout the meal was so attentive, kind, and thoughtful. I happened to mention that the crackers accompanying the appetizer were delicious, and he brought me another box. When I asked, he recommended a wine for the starter but suggested switching to a different one with the main course. Both were fabulous!

I Gladly Accepted a Glass of Champagne to Start

Appetizer - Pea and Mint Puree, Mixed Green Vegetables; Starter - Shrimp with Seaweed,
Piquillo Sauce, Curd Cheese Mousse with Basil, Toasted Hazelnuts

Main Course - Salmon with Slow-Cooked Vegetables; Cheese - Our PDO Selection;
Dessert - Lemon Nonnette, Opera Cake, Mango and Passion Fruit Macaron

Another flight attendant served me coffee after lunch, but the flight attendant who had previously taken care of me said that the coffee was cold and that he would bring me a hot espresso. And he did. Perhaps it was all the wine, but I told him this was the best flight I had ever been on. I cannot express how wonderful this experience was. What an amazing way to end our trip. Perhaps I need to drink more wine when I fly!

My Favorite Flight Attendant

I certainly wasn't expecting to lie down during the flight, but I decided to take a nap after all, and fully reclining was so nice. Can I ever go back to last class? Thank you, Tim, for jumping on the upgrade offer to business! 

I don’t watch movies during a flight, since I prefer to read, but I do enjoy watching the real-time in-flight map and data tracking. It’s fun for me to see where we are, how many miles to our destination, and our speed.

Almost Everything You Might Want to Know about the Flight

We'll Be Landing in Denver in 18 Minutes

When we were very close to Denver, I noticed that the plane made a sudden hard right turn. Soon the destination was changed from Denver to Salt Lake City. That’s odd. I thought it was a computer glitch, but sure enough, we were now heading to Salt Lake City, due to severe thunderstorms in the Denver area that forced a diversion.

Um, What's Going On?  Why Does the Destination Read Salt Lake City?

Surprisingly, I wasn’t even upset, but once again, I was so grateful we were in business class. It made everything so much easier to bear. We finally landed, but no one knew what was coming next. We could not get off the plane in Salt Lake City, but we refueled and finally left for Denver after a few hours. I kept hoping that we would make it in time for us catch the last Landline bus to Loveland. 

We finally arrived in Denver about four hours late. Unfortunately, because so many planes landed at the same time, the wait to pass through customs was about an hour. Although we had signed up for Mobile Passport Control, I don’t think it saved us any time at all. I guess it’s time to get Global Entry.

Yes, We Made It from Salt Lake City to Denver!

Even with the delay, Tim and I still had another long wait for the last Landline bus of the evening. The storm continued on our way to Loveland, with spectacular lightening. I had previously texted our wonderful neighbor Fran, who was going to pick us up, telling her not to worry about us since we would be getting in so late. But, because it was so late, we were not sure if we would be able to get an Uber or Lyft. Luckily, Lyft did respond, and Gary picked us up. We finally made it home after a very long day.

Our wonderful trip to France was over.