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Published: April 21st 2023
The day finally arrived, after a year of planning our trip to France to search for our potential retirement home, the day to leave had come. We no longer fly out of Newark, but now out of Boston. It turns out it is much cheaper to fly round trip to London and take the Chunnel to Paris, than it is to fly to Paris. Much cheaper. Yes, there are many options you could choose that would get you there, but for us since we only fly United or a Star Alliance carrier, Boston is out best option.
Our flight did not leave until 11 pm, so I was able to get a full day of work in before we left to head to the airport. The trip overall would entail a Lyft, Acela (Amtrak), Bus, Plane, Train, Taxi, Train, Taxi. We normally walk to the train station from our apartment, but with luggage, a Lfyt is just the best option. The drive was very friendly but spoke zero English (no we haven’t left the country yet). I had to immediately switch my language thinking to Spanish to direct him back to the entrance of the apartment complex where Jerry was
waiting with our luggage. We really need Carson and Mr. Bates from Downton Abbey to be with us on these trips, to assist with luggage and unpacking in each city.
We then took a quick 45-minute train right to Boston South station where we transferred to the Silver Line bus directly to Logan Airport. Had a pretty quick and painless trip through security, if even TSA precheck was closed, then about 3 hours to kill in the United Lounge. This was not a Polaris lounge so just the basics, limited food options, but plenty of Prosecco. Amazingly enough there were no frantic texts from the office. I of course had to bring my work laptop, but promised myself that I would not check my e-mail until Sunday evening.
We boarded the plane at 10:10 and were in the air on 11. They served dinner, but it was just ok. The lesson here, eat in the lunge, skip dinner on the plane and have a couple of drinks and go to sleep. Then have breakfast in the morning. If you happen to be flying business class and have the time, you can also opt to have breakfast in the
arrivals lounge. Flying via Heathrow is fairly painless, except the 3 mile walk to customs and baggage claim (it feels like three miles when your tired and want a shower). If you have one of the 7 preferred passports, you get to go through kiosk customs, for me it never works and always have to go to the agent anyway, but still a much short line.
Next up baggage claim and the long walk to the Heathrow Express (15-minute train to Paddington Station, central London). The only issue here is that the elevators to the train level are very slow, and the travelers have zero ability to stand in a line, a bunch of pushing and line cutting, you think you were getting on the 6 train in Manhattan. After the very quick into London, it was a 20-minute taxi trip to St. Pancrease Station to catch the Eurostar to Paris (aka Chunnel). Here we had about a 90-minute wait. There is a train to Paris just about every hour and today all of them were full. We did splurge a little here and went from cattle class to Standard Premium, which is similar to being in Business Class
on Acela. The difference is that you are served a light meal and wine. The food was fairly decent, a chicken roulade with mushroom for me, quiche for Jerry, most important Rose number 1.
Two hours and fifteen minutes later you are in Paris, Gard du Nord. The trip under the channel use to bother me, but this time we were halfway through before I even realized we were in the Chunnel. The train ride itself was very entertaining, our attendant was quite humorous and made the trip very enjoyable. We were in coach 1, which meant the end of the train so at Gare du Nord we had quite a long walk to the station and then to the taxi rank. They have really stepped up their crackdown on unauthorized taxis at the station. There was lots of security making sure you were guided to the correct line. The line was long but moved very quickly and once they saw how much luggage we had, they made sure we got a van. Yes, we pack to much, but we are gone for three weeks, so we have a lot of clothes to pack, I am not a 20
something that can wear the same thing every day, we dress for dinner, and then there is the medicine/vitamin bag and of course the shoe bag. Hence the need for Carson and Mr. Bates.
The taxi ride to the hotel was wonderful, got to see a lot of Paris on the way, and there is something about that roundabout at place du Concorde and of course your first sight of the Eiffel Tower.
30 hours after we left our apartment, we were finally in our cozy room in Hotel du Champs de Mars. This is our preferred hotel when in Paris, right in the center of the 7
th. Jerry did a quick unpack, we freshened up and were off to dinner.
End to “A Long Day’s Journey into Night” If this was the Eugene O’Neil play that would mean a spiral into morphine addiction, but we are not Katherine Hepburn, so instead we end with a wonderful meal at La Flormand. This has become our traditional first night in Paris dinner spot. The owner is wonderful, known for his wild ties. It is a classic small French bistro. The menu is small but always seasonal and
exceptional. Traditional French fare, with out the need to get all fusion on you. We of course started with a copa de Champagne.
The Meal The Amuse Buse was a warm asparagus puree with cream and some herbs we could not place, but it was very good. Fresh baguette slices were of course served throughout, a real baguette, with a crispy crust and soft inside.
The entrée was a Tarte fin de légumes de printemps, hulie de courge fumée. For the non-French readers that translates to, Spring vegetable tartlet with a smoked squash oil. What the description leaves out is the fantastic green garlic puree that was on the top. This was clearly the dish of the day.
The plats: Jerry Caille au foie gras, asperges, savagnin, pommes grenalles (Quail with foie gras, asparagus, potatoes, with a sauvignon sauce. I had Confit de canard de Corrèze, gratin de pommes, purée BBQ, (House made duck confit, gratin of potatoes, BBQ Sauce). Do not let the BBQ fool, you it was anything but BBQ sauce, roasted tomatoes and squash with a hint of vinegar. This however was not the sauce that made the dish, that was the Veal Demi-glace.
With dinner we had a nice bottle of Saint-Emillion Grand Cru, Chateau de Fonbe (2016) would have benefited from about 30 minutes of decanting but was still very nice for the first meal in France.
For dessert Jerry had Miellefeuille a la vanille Bourbon de Madagascar. A Tower of puff pastry layered a Bourbon Madagascar Vanilla pasty cream. I went with the Tartelette aux fraises. Strawberry tart. Next to Oregon, French strawberries are the best.
It was a very long travel day experience ending with a perfect French dinner. When we got back to our room, we had a bit of wine (7 euros for a good bottle of Bordeaux, which is about $8.5). Jerry did a bit more unpacking, and I passed out on the bed.
Tomorrow is unplanned, we will decide in the morning at breakfast, and sleep in.
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Home and Away
Bob Carlsen
I look forward to your house hunting...
and more delicious French food!