Sunday November 10, 2002
Today was travel day to Paris, and we got out of bed around 8ish to begin the adventure. There was light rain as we headed to the airport. Our Le Meridien was a nice hotel, and I wish we had explored it more while we were there. Two more things I wish we had visited were the London Eye as well as visiting St. Paul’s Cathedral. We arrived at London Heathrow with minimal bag trauma. The trip to the airport from Piccadilly was about 45 minutes. Thankfully, it was Remembrance Day here “Please Remember My Daddy” as the signs indicate, and the tube was not crowded.
When we checked in at Terminal 4, the British Airways lady who was making sure people were going the right places, gave us a scowl and had us check in at the Business Class desk. We arrived 1h 45m prior to departure, but apparently that was not good enough for them. After checking the bags, it was off to the Security Checkpoint where Roger got full wand treatment due to the little metal “Guess” label on his wallet. After wandering the terminal again, we decided to risk eating at Garfunkle’s. I had a pretty good bacon and egg omelet, but then again, it is hard to screw bacon and eggs up. Well, at least they were not runny! Our flight was delayed 30 minutes due to the ‘everything stops to remember my daddy’ moment at 11am on Remembrance Day as well as a late arriving plane, and waiting for a departure window at the every overcrowded LHR.
I was looking forward to getting into Paris’ uber-retro CDG and then getting on the Air France Bus to the Le Meridien Etoile. Our flight was on a smaller plane, but it did feature cool flip down screens with up to the date position maps and flight information. Helping the good spirits, the plane was not very crowded so it was a nice relaxing time had by all. Once we arrived at CDG, it was smack in the face with cultural differences time. In the heat of being in Paris (ooh-la-la) we neglected to remember that they were in fact on the Euro, not the Pound, and we needed money if we were going to get on the bus. We also noticed Roger’s bag had developed a nice big tear similar to the one I received going from LAX to London. Also since we were in France, my brain had forgotten that some pantomiming and bad French were required just to get out of the airport. Somehow, we managed to get our money at the ATM and get onto the correct Air France bus to take us to the hotel.
We arrived at the stylish hotel and immediately felt out of place. This Le Meridien had more of a business feel to it than even the Piccadilly hotel and there were suites and dresses as far as the eye could see. The decor and furnishings were very nice and once everything was settled we headed to the room. It was certainly smaller than the Piccadilly, but then again, this is Paris and I have stayed in some very small rooms here. I do find it hard to believe that this room went for over 500 Euros a night! I was glad we were on the employee rate plan.
We telephoned Nathan and agreed to meet up at the Cafe Boubourg next to the Pompidou Centre down near to where Nathan lives. Seemed like a simple plan as it was on the same Metro line that ran next to the hotel. Sadly, we got stopped a few stops down from where we got on the Metro by some sort of calamity. We ended up having to exit the Metro train we were on in a flurry of rushed French shouted over the loudspeaker. Luckily, the locals took pity on us and motioned to us to get off the train. We sat there for about 30 minutes before another train arrived and service resumed. We were both tired, but we pressed on and had some major issues trying to find the Cafe. We arrived 45 minutes late to the Cafe and Nathan was no where to be seen. Of course, we did not have mobile phones and after waiting around for another 30 minutes we decided to head back to the hotel. I telephoned Nathan and left a message apologizing for the mess and told him I hoped we would try again tomorrow evening after we got back from Parc Disneyland. After the message, Roger and I took a nap which turned into sleeping for the rest of the night. We both had a lot taken out of us by the whole day, and in hindsight I am glad we got some rest so we would be ready for the next day.
