Home again!

I can't say that the trip back to Brazil was uneventful. There was confusion in Italy setting up Marissa's flying as an unaccompanied minor. No one seemed to know the rules and there was total chaos in the area where the children are held until travel time. We ended up having terrible connections in order to travel to Paris with her, and then found that she had to be under airline control from start to finish. The Paris airport is a HUGE, unwieldy monster. Someone with all the right intentions designed it but it is confusing and focused on moving the masses not on helping the individual. What a mess.

Upon arrival in Rio at 5:30 in the morning, one of our bags did not arrive - in fact about 12 people did not have some of their luggage. Apparently there is a process to xray incoming baggage and, of course, no one is told. When there is a question about your bag - they pull it aside and set it inside customs, of course, no one is told. You stand at the conveyor belt and watch bag after bag circle around, for an hour and a half, then when you start asking questions they say get in line (by then forty miles long) and when you get up to customs ask about your bag..... what a mess - bottom line arrival at 5:30 - out of customs at 8:30 - home and in the shower by 9am. Even with all the things needed to be adjusted to, and accepted, in my opinion the trip was a success and it is good to be home.