We’ll fly for 8.5 hours overnight to Paris on a throbbing Delta 767-300, then spend the day and night in and around our hotel Le Meridien Etoile. A welcome dinner is planned, and a local area walking tour. We should have some time on our own as well. If we walk to the nearby circle Porte Maillot, we should be able to see down the Avenue de Grande Armee’ to the Arc de Triomphe.
Schedule:
Depart JAX 1145 DL1258 Arr ATL 1303
Depart ATL 1526 DL 28 Arr CDG 0610 (5 Nov 2013)
Actual:
Depart JAX 1152 Arr ATL 1305
Depart ATL 1530 Arr CDG 0550 (5 Nov)
Nice in Jacksonville & Atlanta as we started the trip. The airplanes did their thing well, staying close to schedule. The Delta cabin service was its usual minimum. Day end finds us over the Atlantic with one heck of a tail wind.
20131105 Paris Cloudy with light rain, low 40's.
We kept going over the Atlantic, not able to sleep much since our bodies just won't nap at 0300 Central European Standard Time (CEST) because the body thinks it's still 9pm at home. So we stayed amused in various ways until the plane landed at 0550 CEST, just before midnight on our bodies.
Then the plane taxied for what seemed to be hours. When it finally pulled up to a nearly-deserted terminal, we then walked for what seemed to be hours to immigration and baggage. Our single checked bag took a long time to appear but it did show up around 0620. A planeload of Chinese from Shanghai came in just before we did, and used the same carousel, complicating matters. We went through an area where some customs people were standing and talking but payed no attention to us, so we went through into a waiting room.
Where we waited for someone from Vantage to arrange our passage to the Le Meridien Etoile. And waited. At 0630, we called the hotel and found a Vantage person who told us they had a person in the terminal. At 0700, we called again and were told to take a cab – they would pay for it.
Our cabbie started a never-ending telephone conversation and whipped into the leftmost lane and stayed there. It was now full rush hour and the going was slow. But eventually, at 0830, we arrived at the hotel and were greeted by George Bihoi. He arranged a room for us in very short order and had our luggage brought up to the room. We never did find out what happened to their person at the airport.
We went to the room and quickly fell asleep. We awoke (in a manner of speaking) at 1430 and decided to stay awake to get onto CEST ourselves.
Down to the lobby to the Vantage desk, where we met Louise Timmer from the Netherlands, who will be our Program Director. Very nice young lady. I was told the Jacksons were looking for us, and along came D to tell me the same. So we met in the bar over wine and began exchanging information. We were told to meet for dinner in the “-1” level Monet room, where we will learn about the trip and get acquainted.
The Jacksons went off to nap before dinner. D & I put on outerwear and grabbed our umbrellas. We then took a stroll to the nearest circle, Porte Maillot, and down the Ave de Grande Arme’e to the Arc de Triomphe. We circled it, with D taking pictures of all the angles. Halfway round, we walked onto the Champs Elysesee’ to say we’d done it, and to change money to Euros. On the way back, we stopped in a small shop and bought a couple of bottles of wine and some cookies. Back to the room then, figuring we’d done enough exercise. Oh, yes, we did see the Eiffel Tower from a distance.
Link to a few pictures
We met again for dinner. We were briefed on the happenings tomorrow, and told there would be a briefing each day of the next days events. All the Program Managers were introduced and told what group (of 4) they would lead. George Bihoi (native Romanian), Annick Rolling (native Belgian), Werner Krai (native of Bavaria), & Louisa Timmer (ours)(Netherlands).
The dinner was quite good, a nice shrimp & spinach salad, then a chicken breast with marscapone & gnoccheti, and a fruit cup with yoghurt dessert. Nice Sauvignon Blanc.
We were tiring again and everyone headed to bed to get up early tomorrow for the bus/TGV train/bus trip to the ship via Dijon.
Link to Dolores’s photos from the walk & dinner.
Paris map of arondissements (districts). We’ll be in 8 & 17.
Zoomed to the part of Paris we’ll use. Hotel at upper left.
Link to the Paris Metro map.