We had a great practice at Say Yes on Sunday morning and a good lunch and then headed out to the airport.  We were greeted outside the terminal by the KLM check in woman who was on her break.  She was very excited (!?) to see us and quit her break early so she could be the one to check us all in.  Check in was VERY easy and everyone was very kind.  We were able to watch as all ten dogs were loaded on the plane.  We had an uneventful flight and were pleasantly surprised by the food and beverage service—something most of us haven’t seen in a long time!  They came by three times offering beer & wine.  I got caught up on some recent movies and played a few games of Tetris.  Our North American airlines could learn a thing or two!

We had no line-up to have our passports stamped, our luggage arrived quickly and the dogs soon after that.  We headed to the “Customs” door with paperwork and microchip scanner in hand only to find that the exit labeled “Customs” just led us right into the main terminal.  That was easy (and a little strange)!!

Our dogs happily came out of their crates.  Fly bounced out, ate several cookies, emptied himself, played some tug and then jumped back in his crate where he promptly fell asleep.  Fly had had a tiny baggie of food taped to his crate (in case he was delayed somewhere and needed to be fed) and it turned out that some kind soul divided that bag of kibble amongst all the crates.  Wonder if they got the same beverage service we did back there in cargo?

Lightning, Peter, Minnie, Bogey & Fly and happy KLM guy!

We eventually found our bus that would take us from the Amsterdam airport to our hotel in Kortrijk, Belgium.  We had a huge coach all to ourselves and the dogs made themselves right at home on the bus.  We ran into a little bit of traffic, so our driver made a little detour through a small town where we were very impressed that the bus could actually squeeze between the buildings/parked cars/trees!  The trip took about 4 hours which included a stop at a roadside McDonalds.

Our hotel is gorgeous.  It’s very old, with narrow hallways and even narrower staircases, but its very comfortable and I’ve got to say the shower is to die for with jets everywhere (okay, it did take me several minutes to figure out how to get hot water and I did flood the bathroom floor, but it was worth it!).  Fly and I have a great view of a canal and two little turrets out our window.  The only downside is that the internet access is not free, but I guess I should be thankful I have access at all!

Fly and I just got back from a walking tour of Kortrijk with Craig, Robin & Bogey.  Bogey so reminds me of Brody in his mannerisms, size and a little bit of looks.  He and Fly are hitting it off great. 

Tonight should be an early dinner and to bed.  What a long day!