The plan for this trip is this:
We land in Paris in the morning after the red-eye flight. Viking personnel are to meet us at CDG and transport us to the hotel. The Viking literature says the hotel will be Le Etoile Meridien; we've stayed there in the past. There are a couple of tours in Paris.
From Paris we'll bus to Trier via Luxembourg. Then we board Viking's river cruiser Hild for the trip down (north) the Moselle to Koblenz. Then we turn up (south) the Rhine to Basel. We leave the ship by bus to Zurich where we say goodbye to Viking. On our own we continue by Glacier Express train to Zermatt at the foot of the Matterhorn. When done there, we take a normal train via Visp and the long tunnel to Milan. From Milan we fly to Miami and home.
Viking's advertisement page for this trip is shown here.
Thursday
The season is spring, the year 2018, the date April 5.
We decided to go to Orlando this afternoon so we'd be there for Friday's check-in and travel. We drove down through Saint Augustine to Bunnell to Deland to the airport region and checked in at a Hilton Garden Inn on Augusta National Dr.
We ate in the hotel dining room - small but decent food and good service. Wine price was nice during the happy hour coincident with eating. However, we are both coming down with colds. Humph.
Then we loafed.
The season is spring, the year 2018, the date April 5.
We decided to go to Orlando this afternoon so we'd be there for Friday's check-in and travel. We drove down through Saint Augustine to Bunnell to Deland to the airport region and checked in at a Hilton Garden Inn on Augusta National Dr.
We ate in the hotel dining room - small but decent food and good service. Wine price was nice during the happy hour coincident with eating. However, we are both coming down with colds. Humph.
Then we loafed.
Friday… the start, flying to Paris
4/6/18
We're scheduled to go to PHL Philadelphia and on to CDG in Paris. The last time D & I were in the PHL airport was Christmas Eve, 1996. We were returning home after attending the funeral of D's mother in New Hampshire and the only way we could get home was to change in PHL. It was a dismal cold rainy evening, which matched our mood.
We had a continental breakfast at the Hilton Garden Inn, then packed and went to the airport (way early, but ….). Checked in but had to wait 17 minutes before they would take our luggage (four hour limit). Nice ticketing agent Kathleen - we all were smiling and laughing. We went to the AA lounge to wait. My mouse rolled over and died, but the lounge people had a replacement battery - nice touch.
With the mouse healthy again, we set up camp at the power-bar for the computers in the lounge. After a bit, the plane arrived and we joined it. The flight to PHL was uneventful, but with a good cabin crew.
At PHL we had to walk from "C" to the far end of "A" - a long ways. As we walked into the International area, we stumbled across the British Air lounge and took advantage of it - they seem to share facilities between British and American. When we left to go to the gate, we saw the American lounge.
We boarded a little late because the Captain was late (probably flew in from someplace). When he arrived we started boarding. We were all seated and waiting for something to happen when the Captain announced the company radio communications was inoperative and that repair efforts are underway. So we sat.
The repairs were effected in a half-hour or so after which we departed for Paris. Food was served, with wine and other things. We bedded down and tried to sleep.
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4/6/18
We're scheduled to go to PHL Philadelphia and on to CDG in Paris. The last time D & I were in the PHL airport was Christmas Eve, 1996. We were returning home after attending the funeral of D's mother in New Hampshire and the only way we could get home was to change in PHL. It was a dismal cold rainy evening, which matched our mood.
We had a continental breakfast at the Hilton Garden Inn, then packed and went to the airport (way early, but ….). Checked in but had to wait 17 minutes before they would take our luggage (four hour limit). Nice ticketing agent Kathleen - we all were smiling and laughing. We went to the AA lounge to wait. My mouse rolled over and died, but the lounge people had a replacement battery - nice touch.
With the mouse healthy again, we set up camp at the power-bar for the computers in the lounge. After a bit, the plane arrived and we joined it. The flight to PHL was uneventful, but with a good cabin crew.
At PHL we had to walk from "C" to the far end of "A" - a long ways. As we walked into the International area, we stumbled across the British Air lounge and took advantage of it - they seem to share facilities between British and American. When we left to go to the gate, we saw the American lounge.
We boarded a little late because the Captain was late (probably flew in from someplace). When he arrived we started boarding. We were all seated and waiting for something to happen when the Captain announced the company radio communications was inoperative and that repair efforts are underway. So we sat.
The repairs were effected in a half-hour or so after which we departed for Paris. Food was served, with wine and other things. We bedded down and tried to sleep.
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