The night before our flight to London, we mapped out a detailed plan of our trip to the airport that involved a Disney tram, the Paris Metro, and an ungodly amount of luggage. We gave ourselves an extra hour to make the journey. 

Plans first went sour when the Disney tram arrived an hour late. Fueled by rage and stress, we managed the Herculean feat of hauling ourselves from the tram into the the metro station. After dragging Desmond through Paris, he'd developed an apocalyptic aversion to his stroller, but as each of us had a hundred pounds of luggage strapped to our person, we had no choice but to buckle him in and let him scream.

Pouring sweat, we barely squeezed ourselves through the closing doors of the next train to the airport. We had one hell of a giggle when we found our seats, but the celebration fizzled when the train came to a stop 30 seconds after we managed to catch it. How odd? No announcements. No doors opening. No passengers. Nothing.

We'd boarded an out-of-service train.

I pulled open the doors we'd just passed through, stepped out onto a platform, and saw the conductor walking toward me, looking less than impressed as he demanded to know if I was an American. Sandy picked that moment to push the stroller out, and her little charmer made all the difference. After Desmond worked his magic, the conductor made some calls, cleared the tracks, and chugged us back to the station.

Miraculously, we made our flight, but it wasn't pretty. We ran Home-Alone-style to our gate, nearly assaulted a flight attendant over illegitimate luggage charges, and pinched together our last euros for mini bottles of prosecco to celebrate.

We spent our final week of vacation using Sandy's and Chad's home as a base to explore Cambridgeshire, Cambridge, and London. With the exception of a fast and furious tour of London, we slowed the schedule down and enjoyed the simple pleasures of wandering markets and exploring cathedrals. It's hard to pick a favorite moment on a three week trip in vastly different cultures, but the afternoon we spent punting on the River Cam certainly scores near the top.

Ladies, I love you dearly! Let's do it again!