Le voyage commence

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Geo: 48.8667, 2.3333

My flight from SeaTac left 25 minutes late, but we got in to Heathrow just five minutes late. It took a little while to get through Security (but at least I didn't have to take off my shoes again!), and I thought perhaps I could make the earlier flight to Paris. When I went to the gate, however, I was told I would have to actually go back to the ticket counters and rebook the flight. By the time I did that, of course, I would miss the earlier flight so no point in even trying. Still, provided my flight leaves and arrives on time, I should be able to get into Paris a lot earlier than I had originally thought, thanks to not having any checked luggage. We'll see.

I'm actually writing this in Terminal 5 while waiting for my gate to be called. My trusty mocha is by my side. I did try to get on the Internet, but one connection I found just wouldn't let me do anything, and the other one wanted me to pay. I think I'll wait till I've got free wi-fi at the hotel. At least, I hope I get free wi-fi at the hotel!

The flight from SeaTac was mostly uneventful, though a bit choppy. I really miss having John when it's choppy because I can't exactly squeeze a stranger's knee till it's over. I couldn't have squeezed a stranger's knee anyway because the seat between me and the guy at the window was empty. Nice. I even managed to get a little bit of sleep, though not much; thus, the mocha. Watched "Land of the Lost," which was your basic Will Ferrell movie: silly but not bad if you're not expecting much. The perfect distraction for a long flight. BA have upgraded their video system so that it's a bit like On Demand: I was able to choose from a whole bunch of movies and TV shows and start them at any time and even pause them.

I'd better finish up my mocha and go check on my gate assignment now. Next post from Paris!

LATER: Result! Free wi-fi in the hotel.

The Heathrow-CDG flight landed more or less on time, but then it took for-flippin'-ever to get to the gate, which wasn't even a gate: we had to descend a set of rolling stairs and then take a shuttle to the terminal. Going through passport control took very little time, but then it took (once again) for-flippin'-ever to get to the train platform. On the way to the RER, I stopped and bought some Smarties so that I could get coins for the ticket machines. The guy gave me a five euro bill back, and when I asked, “Puis-j'avoir de la monnaie?”, not only did he understand me, he also was completely unwilling to make change. What is it with Europeans and change? He insisted that the billeteries would take bills (though everyone on the ETBD Travelers' Helpline insists otherwise), so I went merrily on my way. But when I got to where I could buy my ticket, the line in the ticket office was non-existent, so I went to the window (where the lady understood my French, so I'm two for two) and bought the ticket rather than messing around with the machine. It only cost 8.50 euros.The ride to Gare du Nord took about 40 minutes, and I was supposed to transfer to the RER D line to get to Gare de Lyon. I swear I transferred to the D line but after Chatelet-Les Halles, the next stop was most definitely not Gare de Lyon. I was on the B line and going in a completely different direction. Fortunately, the nice man across from me on the train spoke English and wished me luck. I managed to get back to Chatelet-Les Halles and transferred to the right line to get to Gare de Lyon. But I guess the Seattle bus tunnel doesn't really prepare one for the enormousness of European train stations. I got lost so many times. And then when I finally got to Gare de Lyon, I couldn't figure out how to get outside. My ticket wouldn't work in any of the turnstiles. I finally found a turnstile that was stuck open, so I went through there. Nobody came after me with truncheons or machine guns, so I guess that was an okay thing to do. Honestly, I probably wasted about 30 minutes in the train stations. I could easily have been to my hotel by 7:00 p.m. (my goal), but I didn't walk through
the door till 7:20. Still, at least I got here and it didn't cost a fortune.

The hotel is the Pavillon Saint Louis Bastille (www.pavillonsaintlouisbastille.com), and it's nice enough. My room is very small, but I won't be spending much time in it so I don't mind. The man at the desk was very nice, particularly when I had to go back down to reception because I couldn't figure out how to work my key. It's one of those where you only push it in halfway, and then turn it completely around. I felt like an idiot when he showed me.

As I was freshening up, our guide, Rolinka Bloeming, called from the restaurant where the group would be having our first meal. She had given directions to the restaurant to the man at the desk, and I was able to walk there in about 15 minutes to meet the group. Les Bonnes Soeurs (near Place des Vosges) is small but very good, with an energetic and patient wait staff. Because I was late, I ended up next to Rolinka, so I was able to talk to her quite a bit. She's a Dutchwoman who moved to Paris as soon as she graduated from college, and she is married to a Frenchman. They live in Montmartre and also have a house in the Pyrénées.

Dinner was very good. I had a salad with some sort of cured meat and baked goat cheese for starters. The main dish was roast chicken (which was amazingly tasty) and mashed potatoes, and dessert was chocolate cake. Very, very yummy, and I feel a bit sick now.

It's 10:49 p.m. now, and I'm absolutely shattered. But I'll probably be wide awake at 3:00 a.m.!

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