Help Arrived! - Thursday, 13 October

Well, the elevator service did not come overnight, so this morning it was encounter #2 with the stairs!  

I packed my bags and tidied up the apartment and headed out, leaving the door ajar.  Going down the stairs was different and somewhat more difficult than going up them last night, and it took me 15 minutes to go the three floors, and I had to roll my purse down ahead of me, but I made it without incident with five minutes to spare before my driver arrived!

With mixed English and French, I let the driver into the building and told him where the apartment was (just down the hall and to the left, the door is open) and asked him to shut the door after retrieving my bags.  Voilà, three minutes later he was downstairs with my bags!  Then into the car and off to the airport.  Happily, he took credit cards so no need to bother with getting cash.  When I got inside the terminal it occurred to me (duh - too late!) that I should have asked for his card in case something like this (heaven forbid!) happens again, but then I remembered that there was a private driver listing in the “helpful numbers” section of the apartment’s instruction booklet - will need to confirm that this is him.

I had requested a wheelchair for the long trip from check-in to my gate (with which I also get the express lane at passport check and at the carry-on x-ray!).  They have a comfortable handicapped corral (as I like to call it) where you can wait for your “ride.”  Here I am, still a bit moist from my sweaty journey down the stairs at my apartment!