Gotta kill an hour in the Victoria airport so I might as well start the next post. Although as I type, I realize I don't have anything to report. Valerie drove me to the airport like the saint that she is. I got a text from Jordan that he can't make it to Paris so I am on my own for the day there. I got randomly selected for the extra level of screening at security. I guess I don't have any bomb making materials on my hands because they let me through. Now I am about to start drinking my Spinnakers coffee and wondering once again, why YYJ does not have a coffee shop in the airport past security. Stay in your lane Spinnakers PUB.
Well, that wasn't an hour.
 |
| Boarding in Victoria |
-----
Well, that was 24 hours! I am waiting at my departure gate in Paris Airport. Victoria seems so long ago. I should mention that I did manage to lose my winter coat there in the first five minutes of my journey. I only noticed because someone else left their coat at security and there was a general "someone left their black coat..." message. Loser I thought. But on reflex, I checked my bag for my coat. Not there. It's blue but it is in a black pouch.
So I went to check. Not mine. But then, where's my coat?! I checked all of the places inside of security. I wasn't even sure I had not taken it out of my bag at home. Or when I sat down before going to check in. Asking someone inside security about something that might have happened outside of security is like asking someone in Mexico about something that might have happened in Kenya. There is no communication between the two. Eventually some guy took pity on me (I think he was looking for a break) so he went through the impenetrable barrier and then some other guy arrived back with my coat! Miracle!
People always assume I know what I am doing when I travel since I have done it so much but i still amaze myself at how stupid I can be. For an even better example: Apparently Morocco needs an entry form that has to be PRINTED! Did I fill out this form and print it back home? No. Did I know about this form? No. Did I first learn about this form when the ticket agent in Vancouver almost didn't let me on the plane because I didn't have it? Yes. That is a bit of an exaggeration, she said and I quote "it's your funeral" and let me on.
 |
| here is my lunch/dinner on my YVR -> CDG flight. Who says "I think I'll give a plane full of people just starting a 10 hour flight some raw cabbage"?. Someone not on that flight, that's who! |
So now in Paris, I had to find a printer. Having learned a valuable lesson from Argentinian Tourist office in Ushuaia, I went to the Tourist Info kiosk and asked if they would print it for me. They did. Crisis averted but it could have been much worse (my funeral level of worse apparently).
Oh and the tourist office had a free map and sold me the train tickets to and from the city. It was nice to walk (slowly) past the long lines at the ticket machines when I finally got to the trains.
As it turns out Jordan was not able to meet me in Paris. He had a work emergency. I would have loved to see him but I think it may have been for the best. I didn't get out of the airport until after 9:30 and I didn't get to the Eiffel Tower until 11am. Plus, and this is likely to be a recurring topic, I have seriously damaged my knee. As in I can barely walk damaged. So, I wasn't quite the site-seeing commando that Jordan was expecting.
When I visited Paris last time, Alisma and I didn't make it to the Eiffel Tower. I didn't really have much interest actually. I still don't but the neighbourhood it is in has good shopping and restaurants and parks so I thought it would be a good place to go this time in my few hours in the city. I'm sure glad I found my winter coat, cause it was CCCCCold!
It is free to go into the grounds. You just have to pay to go up. When I arrived there was barely any lineup. When I walked by a few hours later on my way back to the train, the line up was crazy. I would not have bothered. I did not pay to go up. The top floor was closed anyway.
After a very quick wander through the Eiffel grounds, I wandered around Rue Cler area. I don't know if I ever found Rue Cler proper but my knee was killing me so I stopped for a snack. I did not get my croissant. Clearly another trip is in order.
Instead I had a cafe au lait and a burnt sugar apple tart. My waiter was a master at upselling. I also has a very ordinary bottle of water for 6 Euros. But it was nice to sit and enjoy being in a Paris cafe, drinking a coffee and watching the world walk by.
A bit of a wander along the Seine and then back on the train and back to the airport. I don't even know how long I've been awake. It's over 24 hours. I am so tired. And so many more hours to go.
No comments:
Post a Comment