Well now. THAT wasn't on the itinerary.

Hello all,

Wish I had much more time to tell this story, but internet cafe time in Paris is pretty pricey, so the Coles notes version will have to do for now.

So...we check in at Heathrow Terminal 4 around noon on July 3, and begin browsing the departure lounge for some lunch before boarding. All of a sudden we're told we need to evacuate the building. EVERYone. It felt like everyone in the terminal was looking at each other and sighing a collective "Oh no." So we spent about 5 hours out in the carpark, where we got rained on pretty hard a couple of times. Then they said we should go down to the *sheltered* carpark. Sweet. We like dryness. We still don't know the exact nature of the security risk, and I don't think it made international news, but some idiot terrorist has created mayhem for thousands of people. Eventually we were let back into the building, and virtually all flights between 2-9pm that day were cancelled.

Then came the really fun part. Finding our bags. Since we had checked in but didn't fly, who knows where our packs could/would/should be?!? (Tony, I hope you're reading this. Lightning did indeed strike twice in the same place.) So by asking a lot of questions Chad and I got let back into the baggage reclaim station, where we were told a number of cancelled flights' bags would be eventually brought back in. That was about 7pm. Well, we waited there in bag hell (you should have seen the place. People and bags and overflowing baggage carousels everywhere...), waiting for an announcement to say something like, "BA flight 314 will be brought back to carousel 3 in about 15-20 minutes" so that we could get our packs and then get on with our rescheduled next-day flight (which we booked quickly thanks to out unbelievable travel agent Eunice) and subsequent bloggable adventures that you all are waiting to hear about. See. We're SO thinking about YOU.

Well, that announcement never came. At around 1am they apologized for having to announce that they would not be bringing any more bags from cancelled flights back into the terminal. So we left that area -- quite frustrated, to say the least -- and were reunited with our wives, who were back in the arrivals area with blankets and floormats that had been distributed. Nothing left to do but stay the night at Heathrow and be ready to leave the next day around noon.

We arrived safely in Paris, and our bags did not follow us, so we got to go shopping for some new clothes and have tried to do a full-on turbo Paris experience. We've seen a fair bit in the short time we've had: Eiffel Tower at night, the Louvre, Arc de Triomphe, Notre Dame, two meals at Cafe du Marche (see the previous pre-trip post on this place), and even a bit of sleep :).

Tomorrow morning we easyJet off to Milan, and then to the Cinque Terre/Genova. We've given British Airways our address in Genova, so maybe they'll be delivered there. Anyway, we've been separated from our stuff, but not each other. I know that sounds incredibly cheesy, but you've gotta be thankful for what's really important in situations like this. OK gotta go cruise the Seine. Take care and please pray for a quick reunion with our bags! Blessings to all...