Adventures in Travel 101

We made it to Paris!!!! There were a few minor adventures but nothing of any consequence







Our flight from Seattle to JFK was a bit late which made our connection dicey but we made it. When the bags came out, we could not find ours but it turned out the baggage handlers put it somewhere else (no I did not meltdown - ask Lori - I was quite calm). Then we lost each other in the Paris airport for about 45 minutes. Since we do not have cell phones to call each other, I was a bit worried. I didn't think I could call Gary 4,000 miles away and tell him "I lost your wife - has she called you looking for me?" I wasn't too worried since I had all the info for the apartment and how to get there. We did find each other and she had been waiting at the Roissy bus which was suppose to take us to the Opera where we were going to change money and take the Metro to the Rue Cler.


We got on the bus and it took us on a tour of the very big Paris airport. The bus also had to sit for 15 minutes because another bus was blocking the road. We were suppose to meet our rental agent at the apartment at 11:00 but we did not even come close to making it. By the time we changed money, it was after 11:00 - I tried calling him but that was an adventure in its own right. It was all in French and they were speaking way to fast for me to understand. I left a message on a phone that I hoped was Francois.



We did the Metro with only a slight problem. The escalator was out and we had to lug our bags down 4 flights to get into the Metro and 2 flights to get out. It wasn't too bad for me - my big bag was only 31 lbs. Lori's bag was 52 bulky lbs . . . She mentioned that we should have taken a taxi. As we learned, that would not have been possible.


We got to the apartment but Francois had left (it was 12:30). So I had to go out to do the phone thing again. No one used public telephones anymore - everyone has cell phones. I had to ask three people before anyone knew where the public phone was. Then I had to make it work for me - yeah, right. I was actually successful - Francois was very nice and made it to the apartment in 10 minutes. I had visions of sitting in a cafe, exhausted with heavy bags for hours waiting to find him. We got lucky.


We got up to the apt which is on the second floor - the internet lied - there is no elevator but Francois carried the bags up. We got situated and then headed out to find something to eat.
















The first thing we saw was all the taxi's blocking the roads. The taxi drivers were all on strike and blocking roads. Then they were driving all thru Paris honking their horns and blowing whistles.


We walked over to the Eiffel Tower and took some pictures. Then we walked back towards the



Rue Cler. We were lost but I wasn't going to tell Lori - she was hungry and tired and there were no taxis.












We did walk past a very cool Art Nouveau building - I don't know the name but door was very cool and it had incredible iron work. I am going to do an Art Nouveau walking tour this Saturday (with a little help from the green guide). Sorry you have to view it from the side - I can't figure out how to turn it and I am too tired (and all the directions are in French).














We eventually found our way back to our street. We had a wonderful lunch at a cafe. It was raining and windy but the food was great. Our next challenge was getting back into the apartment. I tried and tried but could not do it. So Lori finally got it.










When we got back in, I check our reservations for the Segway tour and discovered that I had made it for last Thursday, not tomorrow. So I got my shoes and yes, I went back to the phone booth. I actually got the Segway Tours on the first try and Mike spoke English! He fixed my muck up but we are doing the tour at night! Should be interesting.



When I got back to the apartment, I could not get the door open. Lori was laying down so she tried to let me but she couldn't! We spent some time trying to get me back in. Lori is now sleeping and I was thinking of going for a walk but I am afraid if I leave the apartment, I will never get back in!


Tomorrow is yet another adventure. We will post after the night Segway tour. Watch our Paris. (Mike said it is safer for the pedestrians at night - there are less of them).