A little corner of France in Ireland!

As I have mentioned in the last post, the past couple of weeks have been quite busy and slightly stressful. Since we can't go on holidays to visit my parents this year (thanks Peanut!), they have kindly offered to take Marie so that she wouldn't miss out on the fun, sun and swimming pool. I had assumed that they wanted to take her for a couple of weeks but since my dad is now retired, they decided to take her from mid July until the end of August.

I was a bit wary of letting her go for that long (selfishly I have to admit) and I also felt a bit bad that she would miss her little brother's arrival. But after talking to her and explaining to her that she wouldn't see her little brother until a while after he was born and asking her what she wanted to do, it took her the whole lot of 2 seconds to decide that she wanted to go on holidays. Newborns, as she remembers from her little sister, are 'boring' as they only 'sleep, eat, poo and cry' (her words not mine). So it was agreed that my dad would come and pick her up mid July and fly back with her. And then my mum & dad would bring her back when my mum took her holidays at the end of August.

There was only one slight problem though, her Irish passport is about to expire. In itself, it might not sound like a big problem. I mean all you need to do is fill in the form, get it signed at the garda station and send it off. Unlike last year, there are no strikes in the passport office, so you can get it back within 10 working days. Unfortunately, it's not that easy for us. Some of you know that Mr Foodie is not Marie's biological father, although he is for all intents and purposes her dad. She calls him Daddy and loves him as such. Anyway, to cut a long story short, we haven't heard from her biological father since last summer. We don't know where he is and the last known number we have is the one of his ex-girlfriend. Since we don't know where to find him, he can't sign the passport form and since he is considered as her guardian, both signatures have to be on it. I discussed it with a garda friend who explained to me that unfortunately, the only way to go was through the courts. I have had my fill of them, I have been in and out of court over Marie and I've had enough to last me a lifetime. So I'd rather stay away from them. That and the fact that by the time we realized that her passport would be out of date for the summer, the case would probably not have been heard until they come back from their summer holidays, in September. So too late for her to go.

So I looked into getting her a French passport. She is after all a French citizen hence entitled to a French passport. And it turns out that in France, only one parent's signature is required to get a passport or an ID card, no questions asked. I have to say that finding this bit of information out made me jump for joy.

Then started the process of gathering the documents needed to request it. We had to order her french birth cert twice but eventually, we got both copies within a day of each other. Then came the fact that she had to come with me. The French Embassy operates on a very French schedule. It is only open to French citizens from 9.30am to 12 pm, the afternoon being dedicated to visa requests. You can only call them between the hours of 2pm and 3pm unless you have a real emergency. And if you manage to get a hold of somebody on the phone before 2pm, they ask you to call back within the dedicated hours. So I decided to keep Marie out of school for a day, so we could both go and get the passport.

My car has refused to start since the snow last year, and I have since let the insurance policy lapse, not renewed the car tax (since it's off the road) and not bothered with getting it NCTed (that would be the equivalent of an MOT in the UK I think). On a daily basis, it's not a problem. We walk to school (10 minutes up and 10 minutes down) unless it's raining heavily when the neighbour (who also drops her son to school) gives Marie a lift. Mr Foodie is usually home by 4pm so any shopping, etc can be done after he gets home. We have been using only the one car for the past few months and it has worked for us. But on the occasions that I need to go somewhere during the day, it does take a bit of organising. So we arranged for the girls to stay over at Mr Foodie's mum & dad's so that I could drop him off at work (leaving the house before 6am) and then went on to collect Marie and drive to the embassy. I think I went there 8 times in 13 years (4 times to vote, twice for my own passport, and twice to make the girls fully fledged French citizens) and certainly had never gone there from where we live now. So the GPS went on and we made our way. Marie was slightly nervous and so was I. What if they started asking questions about her father, what would we do if they refused to issue her passport, how devastated would she be that she couldn't go on holidays etc... I had explained to her that we had to go and get her passport and that without it, she wouldn't be able to go on holidays, so she was aware of how important this was.

We got there without getting lost (which with my sense of directions is quite an achievement). And after queueing up for a bit, we got seen to. I decided to also get her an ID card. You see, an ID card is valid for 10 years and allows you to travel within the EU and it's free too. Which means that the ID card would expire after her 18th birthday, by which time, she will not be considered a minor anymore (hence sorting my visiting Papi & Mamie for holidays / passport requests problems for the next 10 years). She got fingerprinted, measured, her eye colour was noted, her picture was taken and the ID card and passport requests were sent. The girl behind the counter did ask if I had a letter or a copy of her father's ID but I quickly explained the problem and she said that it wasn't compulsory anyway. So, after we came out, we both sighed a big sigh of relief. Half of the problem was solved. All we had to do now was wait for the embassy to send me a text to let me know that the passport was ready to be collected. The girl said that if I didn't hear from them by the end of the week it meant that there were no problems with the request. I immediately called Mr Foodie to let him know how we got on, as well as my mum and dad who didn't waste any time booking the flights that very same afternoon.

A week to the day later, I received the text. Her passport had been issued, and was ready to be collected. I was extremely impressed at the speed the request had been processed, especially when you know that the passport gets printed out in France. It left Dublin on the Tuesday, the following Thursday was a bank holiday in France (and most companies would also be closed on the Friday) and the following Monday was a bank holiday in Ireland. So it really took less than 3 working days for the passport to get printed and flown back here. A weight was instantly lifted off my shoulders. All the stress and worry of the past few weeks wondering would she be able to go or not, would I need to go back to court etc just dissolved. It took a little more organising so that we could go back and collect it. Marie had to come with me, as she needed to get fingerprinted again to ensure she was really the passport holder. We went to collect it last Friday and you could see the delight on her face when we stepped out of the embassy. She too was extremely relieved and even let out a small squeal when we closed the door of the consulate. She turned around, beaming and announced proudly: 'It's official. I can go on holidays!'

It feels strange to me to see her name and picture and written below the words nationality: French. I don't know why but I have always considered her to be more Irish than French. Probably some kind of unconscious reaction to the fact that her biological father didn't want me to speak French to her. I subconsciously suppressed her Frenchness. But, in the past year (since her father vanished really), her French has come on so much that she is able to hold a conversion on the phone to my mum and dad, she speaks mainly French to her little sister and she wants to learn more. And she will. What better way to do so than go away for a few weeks and be completely immersed in the language, and the culture! So roll on the holidays! I just wish she would stop asking me everyday how many days are left until she goes...

Blessed.

After a few days of uncertainty, we have made it home in time for Christmas. We were set to fly out on the 22nd at 5.30 pm to arrive home at 10.30 pm. With all the disruptions at the airports both in France and in Ireland, the picture looked ever so bleak. I couldn't find the courage to pack, almost certain that we wouldn't be travelling. I was stuck to the Internet and the news, feeling disheartened anytime the snow started falling again, anytime the airport had to be closed again. As long as we got into France, anywhere, we would make it home even if we had to drive hom for more than 7hrs, I didn't care. But getting to France seemed like the hardest part to achieve. The airport was closed on the 21st in the afternoon, flights were cancelled. I packed but my heart wasn't in it. I had to pack carefully, making sure I had some warm clothes on hand for the girls, enough nappies and snacks for Noelie should we get stranded anywhere and have to sleep on an airport floor.

On the 22nd, at around 12 noon, we set off for the airport. Mr Foodie's brother kindly picked us up from home. The roads in the area, being secondary roads that have never been grited or salted since the snow came, and where, in parts some of the first snow (the one from Novemeber) was still lingering, were treacherous. We took our time and made it to Mr Foodie's parents house in not too bad a time. Mr Foodie was set to finish work around 3pm and we were to set off for the airpot straight away, our flight supposedly taking off at 5.30pm. Thankfully, his boss let him go a bit early and we arrived at the airport around 3.15pm. The scenes in the arrivals hall were nothing like what I had seen on tv the previous days. The massive queues were not there. Some people were queueing for the desks but the queues for check ins were relatively normal. No desperate scenes of utter chaos, all seemed fairly normal. We checked in and made our way through security. We had decided not to take the buggy with us and Noelie was walking along and being very good. Marie knew that there was a chance we might not make it but was also extremely good. We went to our departure gate and then it all started. Our flight planned initially for 5.30pm was delayed until 7.20 pm. Not a big delay but enough for us to know that we wouldn't make our connection. I kept saying to myself that once we are in France, it doesn't matter we would make it down South somehow. Our phones kept ringing, people were asking us what was happening, we kept telling them that so far so good, delayed but still flying. Then, the flight was further delayed until 22h30. A long way away, as long as the snow kept its distance, we were going to make it to France. Then it was put forward to 20h40. My dad, ever the joker, asked me if it was today or tomorrow. Not so funny, but hey, at least it's not cancelled. The flight planned to depart after us took off, we were still waiting. There seemed to be a lot of children on our flight, all trying to go home to their families for Christmas. We had no public announcement, no vouchers for food or drink and the coffee shops in the airport were starting to run out of food. They replenished their stocks but nothing but chicken stuffing sandwiches could be found.

Eventually, a plane arrived and was disembarked and deiced and we made it on board. It was past 11pm. We were going to make it to Paris around 2 am (French time). Marie and Noelie were being very good still although none of them had slept more than 20 minutes. Marie found a little friend and was playing with her while we were waiting. We were desperately trying to keep Noelie entertained. We took off and made it to Paris landing at 2.30 am. Noelie had not slept yet, neither had Marie. The stress of the day and the adrenaline still pumping meant that they couldn't sleep. When we arrived, we went to the transfer desk. The girl there got us to skip the queue because of the children, not a passenger made a comment, there was about 20 off us having missed a connection, some of them to far away places like the US or even Honk Kong. There was no quibble, no shouting, not an ounce of frustration amongst them. The girl at the desk gave us a voucher for a hotel and promptly renooked us on the first outgoing flight to Toulouse at 7.15 am the very same day which meant a very very short night for us. The girl ecplained that she had gotten a special authorization to put us on that flight since we had small children and they had released seats for us on the plane and shuffled some passengers around so that we could seat together. One of her colleagues drove a group of us to the hotel. A 4 star one with as big a bed as I had ever seen. The 4 of us would easily fit in it so we didn't bother using the other room they had booked for us.

I had never seen Noelie so happy to see a bed in her life. She was hugging it and kissing it, shouting 'dodo, dodo' (sleep in french). So we put the girls to bed, I climbed in beside but I couldn't sleep knowing that we had to be up an hour and a half later to catch our second plane. As soon as their heads hit the big fluffy pillows, the girls were gone. Mr Foodie had decided not to sleep at all, and went down to use the Wi fi in the hotel. At 5 am, we got up and took a shower. We put on our previous days clothes, still feeling dirty and smelly from the day before. We got the girls up (not without a fight though) and went down for breakfast. We made our way to the airport, got pas security and onto our flight. It was delayed by an hour as we had to deice but we made it home around 10.30 am yesterday with very little sleep.

It took us 22hrs to get home, with an 18 month old baby in tow and no buggy, and a 7 year old on less than 2 hours sleep. But we made it. As we got home, we checked the Irish news, only to find out that the airport was closed again and thousands of people were being stranded, again. And all I can say, is we were trully blessed. We made it, not that easily but we did. And the girls were amazingly good, not once did Marie complain that we were being delayed or that she was tired and had to walk, not once did Noelie cry because she too was going on less than 3 hours sleep, taking cat naps here and there. I was probably the worse of them all, being snappy and quite unpleasant to Mr Foodie although none of it was his fault. So Mr Foodie, I apologize for my very not nice behaviour. Today I will spare more than a thought for those of you who had to cancel plans, or are stranded somewhere, and those of you who were as lucky as we were and made it. It's been a tough journey. Wherever you are though, I wish you all a Merry Christmas.

They have landed (not on the moon but close enough)

They're here!! My mum and dad have arrived for the week end. Well, nearly..They just landed.

And what a journey! The South of France was under heavy snow. Considering that they live 2 hours away from the airport, they decided to set off early and so did I. I was up at 6 this morning, just to be able to check the french news on the french channel. Heavy snow all night.. Right. No major announcement of airports being closed. Sigh of relief. First phone call at 6h41 to check with them, motorway seems OK, airport not open yet. Fine. They set off at about 8h00 to make sure they didn't get caught in traffic.

8h00: Checked Dublin airport website. Checked Ryan Air website. Checked french airport's website. Checked East Midlands airport website.. Yes East Midlands. the first flight that was due to land in Carcassonne left from there. Another sigh of relief, it had departed.

8h15: More Internet checks. Oh no, due to the weather conditions, Carcassonne airport will be closed this morning. All flights to and from will be cancelled this morning. Glimmer of hope, their flight doesn't leave until 1pm. Technically, it's the afternoon. Frantically, check the Dublin airport website for the flight due to leave for Carcassonne at 9h30. If that one is cancelled, they will not make it here today or this weekend even.

8h30: Check Ryan Air website. Due to weather conditions, we are sorry to announce that Carcassonne airport is closed (amongst others). Oh no....Please find below the list of flights that we regret to have to cancel.. Scroll down frantically... Wait, flights to and from Carcassonne do not show up as cancelled. Sigh of something (relief or hope, I don't really know).

9h00: Phone call. They are at the airport but it's closed. I update them from my end. Flight out does not show up as cancelled on either Ryan Air or Dublin Airport's websites.

9h15: Dublin airport's website will not load up for me.. I curse everybody under the sun, Dublin airport, Ryan Air, the weather... I get a phone call from Mr Foodie with his own weather update, it's snowing in Bray and working its way up. Please, please, please let Dublin airport be OK.

9h20: Update from their end, the flight from East Midlands has been rerouted to Perpignan airport, some 200 kms away from Carcassonne. Update from my end, flight out still doesn't show up as cancelled on either website.

9h30: Plane from Dublin due to take off now, website not updated.. Arrrgghhhh......

9h40: Update from their end, they are putting passengers due out of Carcassonne and travelling to East Midlands on buses so they can get the plane in Perpignan rather than Carcassonne. The airport will be closed until 2pm.

I couldn't move away from the computer for more than 5 minutes at a time, refreshing website after website, wishing that plane to take off. If it leaves, they will be over. If it's cancelled, they won't.

10h30: Update from their end. They're having lunch (great, I still haven't had breakfast and they're eating!!!!). They will keep me updated.

10h40: Update from their end: they are still having lunch but announcement was made that the airport will not open. The airport people are saying that they don't know if the flight from Dublin will be cancelled or not, Ryan Air is checking to see if they can get all their flights to land in Perpignan for the day.

10h45: Tried to explain to Marie what was going on. That Papi et Mamie were at the airport but that it is closed. That another plane landed in another airport instead of theirs and that maybe they will be able to get a plane from that airport instead. She replied in a very pragmatic way: 'Why don't they do that then!'. Tried to explain that it was not their choice but the airplane people's. Not sure if she got it.

11h00: No updates on websites. I thought they were supposed to be LIVE updates! Really need to get in the shower while Noelie is having her nap. But keep getting in and out of the bathroom, my head is up in the clouds (unlike that stupid plane!). Finally managed to get in the shower.

11h15: Website is updated!! It has departed. Frantic phone call to them, it's gone. They still haven't heard anything from their end. Frantic phone call to Mr Foodie. It doesn't matter that I am only wearing one sock, that my hair is soaking wet and that my jeans are not buttonned yet.

11h30: Finally get to have something to eat. Have a massive headache from all that trying to stay positive and wishing I was Superwoman and I could get that plane to take off just by thinking about it.

12h00: Update from their end: they are being shipped over to Perpignan by bus and will get their plane from there, it's official.

13h00: Feed Noelie (not for the first time today, I was worried but not completely unable to function), give her a bath, get her ready for her hospital appointment.

14h15: Nearly at the hospital. Phone call to check with my mum to see if they're at the other airport yet. Just getting there. Need to turn off my phone when in the hospital. Told her to give me a text when they board the plane. It's not over till the fat lady sings as they say!

15h30: Out of the hospital. Noelie's kidneys have not been affected by the infection.. Another sigh of relief (much bigger one than all the other ones today). Another call, they're in the plane about to take off.

18h00: They landed. Received a text: We're here (in french obviously). To which, Mr Foodie replies: 'Which airport?'.. 'Cork'...Only a joke...

18h45: They are now on the M50, on their way over.

Despite what a lot of people say, I have to take my hat off to Ryan Air this time. They found an alternative for their passengers and got them to their destination, even if 4 hours later than planned.

More bad weather is announced for the rest of the weekend, schools are closed until Thursday. Will they be able to leave on Monday morning? I don't care!!! They're here and it's all that matters!!! I just hope they don't brake a leg on the icy driveway!!