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5/16/2001 - 6/3/2001 Jason Victor I wrote that last entry when I thought we were taking off at 11:40 am Paris time. The plane was delayed for almost 5 hours! We took off after 4:00 PM Paris time. They supplied us with a small sandwich and a soda for lunch, but we tried not to complain, because we didn't have much to do when we got back anyway. Plus, we were glad knowing that whatever the problem was with the plane that would cause them to delay flight for 5 hours, they were fixing it. We were surprised to find out that even as we were boarding the plane, the cabin wasn't pressurized yet, because they were still installing a part for the airplane! They were still fixing the plane up until the moment we took off! This made me very anxious, and with good reason as you'll soon find out. The flight was only a little bumpy and we didn't hit too much turbulence. The in flight entertainment system was awesome because you could watch whatever you wanted! Then we got close in for the landing. We descended faster than I was used to (or comfortable with) and the plane came down with a loud jolt. But we didn't hear the screech that you're used to hearing when a plane lands. We also didn't decelerate that fast and it took an enormous amount of time to stop. We eventually just nudged the airport terminal to come to a complete stop. No joke. We found out later that the airplane didn't have any brakes. The part that they were fixing was the braking system, and it failed AGAIN while we were in flight, so they requested the long runway so that we could slow down gradually. We might as well have taken off without repairing the plane. Anyway, when we got in, we breezed our way through customs (we even got that Dutch cheese into the country)! heheheh ... and Hilary's Dad and brother (Josh) were there to greet us. It was great to see a familiar face. I couldn't wait to communicate with a group of people who didn't need a translator to understand me! The trip was fun, but there's no place like home! Jason Victor
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