Thirty hours, three airports, two flights and five airline meals after leaving home, we’re actually in Paris!

Our adventure started when Pete drove us to the airport.  I am not allowed to mention the en-route cordial incident.  We duly checked in and boarded our plane.  We flew on A380s and they were pretty comfortable with plenty of leg room, until you tried to actually sleep.  Departing at 10.30pm meant an all-night flight – 14 hours of darkness as we flew west – but sleeping proved impossible thanks to the toddler in front who talked incessantly and loudly from about midnight till 3 or 4 am.  Dad was oblivious, too busy playing with his laptop, smartphone and inflight entertainment system, all simultaneously. Mum was past caring.  The woman sitting next to us came up with some fascinating foetal ball positions up against the window.  The food was good – Ian will fill you in on that front.

Much more pleasant, and quieter, was the flight from Dubai to Paris, where we scored an empty seat next to us so we could take it in turns to nap.  From the air we saw the Burj Khalifa and all the other developments, then we flew over vast white deserts punctuated by high density cities such as Kuwait and Baghad.  Skirting around the Syrian border, we crossed Turkey which looked greeny-brown (browny-green?) and rather hilly.  Flying on over Europe, we had a wonderful view of the Swiss Alps, looking just like peaks of meringue on top of chocolate cake.  We picked out the almost perfect pyramid of the Matterhorn.  Then it was on to France and an on-time touchdown at Charles de Gaulle.

Last time we travelled extensively, the internet was in its infancy, only accessible in the odd public library as we cycled across the United States (and I usually had to show the librarian how to use it).  The Web was brand new – I’d done my trip research using Gopher (yes, showing my age) and I had a shiny Hotmail account but didn’t hardly knew anyone with an email address.  This time around, the net provided so much information, and we were fully prepared for our trip into Paris – we knew how to find the station at the airport, which of the many passes to buy and where and how to do so (Navigo Decouverte – one week for all zones), which metro line to take from Gare du Nord, and of course Ian was armed with a google map for the short walk to the apartment.  All that remained was to meet Rudy, the owner of our apartment on Rue de la Roquette.  It is compact, in the typical style of Parisian apartments, but comfortable with an elevated loft bed, and a small balcony overlooking a courtyard.  We feel quite at home already.  It is surrounded by restaurants, cafes and shops and the area is bustling, but inside it is lovely and quiet – it’s a very old building with thick walls, partly built from stone from the Bastille prison which once stood nearby.  Our only mission then was to find food nearby, cook a quick meal and collapse into bed.  Tomorrow – the city awaits!

Debbie