- March 21st -
David and I walked out of our apartment and began walking in the SNOW to the bus stop to go to the Gare. The snow was very thick, but didn’t even last 5 minutes. It was nice though. A lot nicer than rain! We got to the Gare, bought my ticket, and waited for the train to come. It came and I got on…it’s always hard to say goodbye – even when I know I’m coming back. I’m sorry…I just don’t like it, and it never gets easier for me.
The train ride from Metz was not bad. I was sitting in a block of 4 seats and I had them all to myself the entire time, which was nice. For almost the entire ride I watched the first Indian Jones movie; Raiders of the Lost Ark. Then my computer battery ran out so I was forced to stop watching. I looked out of the window for the rest of the time as we approached Paris. It was a direct train to Paris so it was a little less than 3 hours.
Once the train stopped I got off (at Gare de l’Est) and went in search of the Metro, line 5, headed toward Gare du Nord. In order to get there you have to cross the street to go down into the metro station. At this time it was hailing outside. Hailing A LOT! It was heavier than the snow from earlier. I didn’t want to wait for it to stop so I started walking through it to go to the metro. Walking through it was worse than I thought it would be so I stopped at the nearest bus stop and it about 1 minute it was already over. It’s pretty nice that none of this bad weather is lasting that long…although we would love to have snow stick on the ground every now and then. I went down into the metro and found the billeterie (where you buy tickets) and bought one. This would take me one stop, from Gar de l’Est to Gare de Nord. From Gare de Nord I had to make my way to the RER (Paris’ regional rain network). I found the right RER just as it was arriving and got on. At this point I realized…I didn’t buy a ticket…and I didn’t see a place were I was supposed to buy a ticket…Did I do this right?...Am I riding for free?? In fact I was. Then I remembered that when you get off the RER you are usually required to have your ticket with you so that you can leave the station. This began to make me nervous…especially because the trains are controlled every now and then…and I was pretty sure my metro ticket wouldn’t pass the check. So, I started praying that if the train was controlled that the controller would have pity on me for being an unaware American.
When I got off the RER I was at Charles de Gaulle Terminal 1 – the right place! …the controller never came…now exiting the station… I went up the escalator and voila! No place to insert a ticket. ??? Now I’m really confused. I guess I just got a free ride that would usually cost me 8.20 euros.
Then I had to find out where to catch the shuttle to go to my hotel; Comfort Hotel. I saw a sign that said “Hotel Shuttles and Taxi pick-up” but on my hotel confirmation print out it said to look for Place Dublin Taxi rank because that is where the shuttle picked up. I didn’t see that anywhere. So I went to ask at the information booth. I spoke with an Asian girl in English (BUT I asked in French first! …”Where is Place Dublin Taxi rank”…so I’m trying David) I wanted to make sure that I got the right information, so this was best. Anyway, I showed her my print out and she told me that my hotel was INSIDE of Paris (where I had just came from). She pulled out a map and told me what metro lines to take and then told me where I could buy my tickets. Whoa…not cool. This is not what I had thought…it was not what the map showed when I booked my hotel…it would be another hour or so to find the hotel. It was SUPPOSED to be right next to the airport! So I went to get in line to buy an RER ticket. =o\ While in line I thought to myself…”There is no way this is right…I need to ask someone else…” So I went back to the information booth area (avoiding been seen by the asian girl who ‘helped’ me before) and found a guy to ask that was standing next to the booth. He pointed me in the direction of the first sign I was going to follow…where the hotel shuttles and taxis picked up. Argh. I was right the first time. I hate that. This is what I used to do on tests in high school….I’d end up picking the wrong answer because I doubted my first instincts. So then I waited. I saw shuttles going by for almost every hotel you can think of for about 30 minutes …Ibis …Radisson …Etap …Ibis …Ibis …Mercure …Ibis …ahhhh! Where was mine? Comfort Hotel! I ended up asking 2 different bus drivers if they knew about my shuttle. One said it was the next one coming…5 minutes. Liar. The next one said to wait 30 minutes. Nope – it came in fifteen. Thankfully.
The ride to the hotel was about 5 minutes long – HA, inside Paris…I can’t believe I almost went all the way back into Paris! I checked in – room 124 – and turned on the TV to see the information channel. I found out that dinner…in the restaurant downstairs starts a 7pm. I have to eat here because there is really NOTHING in this area. I was looking as we were driving down the street on the shuttle in hopes of seeing where I might be able to eat. Oh well…I’ll be eating alone in the hotel restaurant. Until then I watched CNN.
They are doing a special on India. They are talking to Indian students and young adults as well of some famous people from the younger generation talking about the government and traditions. They talked about arranged marriages for a really long time. I was surprised. A lot of the people there said they would do an arranged marriage if their parents wanted them too…and some said they would just by choice anyway. They also said that there are only 3% of the Indian population that uses the internet everyday. Wow. I thought it would be a lot higher. Although everyone in the audience said that they did use it everyday. But they are a very motivated people. Most of them go to the US, get good degrees, and then go back to their country – well, about 50% do. I think this is good and many other countries should do it. Then their economies will improve and it will be better for them. Anyway, I will watch the rest of Indian Jones after dinner. And then start the next one =o) I brought all three with me.
Dinner was interesting. It was just a buffet. You had the option of the starter buffet, main buffet, and dessert buffet. You could pay for one two or three of them. It was 12.50 euros! (for one buffet) I just had the main course one. They had A LOT of meat. Chicken (white and dark meat), a roast, some other kind of meat…but I couldn’t tell what it was so I skipped it…whipped potatoes, a vegetable medley, and these donut hole/hush puppy – like things. It was ok. Everything had a good flavor there just wasn’t much of a variety. And, eating by yourself is strange… It was funny though, there were these two guys that came in and the didn’t speak French or English very well. But, they did know how to say “Beer.” So, naturally, at first I thought they would be German. But they weren’t. They were speaking something that sounded kind of Russian, but it wasn’t Russian, so I’m thinking maybe it was Czech? I don’t know. Other than that, dinner wasn’t very exciting. I don’t know whether I will eat breakfast here. I think there will be more of a variety at the airport. Although, it did say that they had fruits, yogurts, croissants, and pain au chocolat. I’ll take a look at it in the morning…but it is probably going to be way more expensive than I want to pay. Probably 7 euros. Well, time for Indian Jones! Then bedtime.
- March 22nd -
I didn’t sleep very well last night. I guess I wasn’t tired enough because every little noise kept waking me up. The heater would make a noise about every 15 seconds because it kept heating…so I turned it off. Then…although I was an entire room away from the elevator I could still hear it every time it moved. One of this hotel’s main advertisements is that they have sound proof rooms. Well, they do not. Starting at 4:30am people started waking up (I guess to make their way to the airport to catch flights) and they would talk so loud in the halls. They didn’t even make an effort to whisper. It was very rude. Around 6-6:30am most of them were gone and I think I got the most sleep between then and 7:30am when I just couldn’t sleep any longer.
So I decided to get up and get ready and be extra early to the airport. I think this was a good idea because when I got down to the hotel lobby everyone was there. At first I thought they were all in line to check out, but in reality, they were all just standing around taking up space after they had checked out. David and I have decided that people in Europe just don’t know how to get out of the way. Is it a pride issue? They think they don’t need to move out of anyone’s way? Or are they just completely clueless to other people around them? We don’t know. I made my way up to the counter and checked out. At first I thought he said that he had just charged the credit card I used to make the reservation, but then I realized that he had only done that for the price of the room. I had to give him the card again in order to pay for my dinner buffet and telephone call I made. I called David =o) I’ve never made a call from a hotel that you have to pay for before. I’m getting so adventurous =oP Nah, I just thought I should call David, plus I wanted to, to let him know that I made it alright, and that I officially need a full length mirror at our apartment. I have seen all of myself in 3 months – it’s strange! It’s amazing that I walk out of the house matching everyday.
I took the shuttle to the airport, well, where they drop us off. I then had to take a bus to terminal 1. Once there, I had to find my way to the US Airways check-in counter. It’s weird how they do it here…I guess if you know the system it will be more efficient…but I don’t so it wasn’t efficient at first for me. The have many check-in counters based on your destination, and each one is assigned a number. BUT, these numbers and corresponding destinations aren’t listen anywhere so you have to ask someone or just look around until you find it. After meeting a nice old couple traveling to Chicago, I was told I needed to go to counter number 22.
There, I waited in the slowest line in history. Of course, there was someone having a problem with checking in. It seemed like a problem with the airline because whatever these people were being told, they were baffled by it. But you could tell they had been in France a while because they kept saying things like “typical” and “that’s the best story I’ve heard yet.” I finally went to check-in and when I told the lady that I wasn’t checking any baggage, she looked at my bags, asked me if they weren’t to heavy, and when I said no she looked at me and made a face that, to me, meant “yeah right.” Do I look that weak? There is hardly anything in my bag… argh.
I hadn’t had breakfast yet so after I checked-in, found ‘satellite 5, I bought a pain au chocolat for breakfast and headed to the gate. On my way I saw a sign for a “worship area.” It had a graphic of a person kneeling and praying. I’m guessing they do this for the Muslims? I don’t know, but I thought it was interesting that they had a designated area like this at an airport. I’ve never seen one before.
At the gate I went through another security check. Here, they took away my peach tea =o( AND my gel deodorant (luckily it as almost empty) and my toothpaste. This is why it is convenient to check your bags. But at least I won’t have to wait at baggage claim in Atlanta at 10pm when I get in – that will be nice! So now, I still have 45 minutes until they begin boarding my plane…then another hour until it takes off. We will get into Philadelphia at 3pm and then I have a 4 hour lay-over (3rd Indiana Jones movie) then off to Atlanta! I don’t mind traveling especially when you aren’t pressed for time, but it isn’t as much fun when you travel alone. Hopefully I’ll only have to do that one more time – on the way back to France. Then David and I should be able to travel together. BUT you never know.
Well, this was going to be the end of my entry but in Philadelphia my flight got delayed. So far it is an extra 45 minutes. I tried to call my dad to let him know but the pay phone wasn’t accepting coins and his cell phone doesn’t accept collect calls. (I was going to do one where when they ask for your name I say really fast “myflighthasalreadybeendelayed45minutes!” then hang up) So I couldn’t do that…and I don’t feel right about asking people to borrow their phone…even if they do have free long distance – ya know? So, I hope he checks the times online first. Supposedly flights have been delayed a lot today. I don’t know why though, the weather is great. When I first got here there was a flight going to Miami. It was supposed to leave at 6:05 but didn’t start boarding until 6:30ish. It was going to be an interesting flight though. I HUGE group of elementary aged (maybe 5th grade) students and a HUGE group of Italians…plus some regular US passengers.
I was thinking about it a few minutes ago – I’ve been awake since 2am this morning (US time)…If we get delayed any longer it may end up being 24 hours. I don’t think my body realizes that in France right now it is 12:30am, I’m usually in bed by 10.
Well, we just got a new departure gate…time to be moving along!
…ok…we’re still leaving a 8:45pm so it says. I’ve had more flight changes when flying with US Airways. I think it is time to try a new airline. Except these guys are the cheapest. Ok, I’m sure you are sick of reading so I’m going to go now and just wait around to leave. Bye.
We ended up leaving Philadelphia after 9pm and arriving in Atlanta at 11:40ish. We got home pretty late and I wasn't in bed until after 2am. BUT Duncan remembers me!! So I'm very excited!
I still am a little stuffed up, but my nose isn't running away from me. And, I've actually been able to breath out of it a few times! It's wonderful. So let me tell you how it works over here with over the counter medicines. You know how in the US you can usually buy things like Advil or cough medicine right from the grocery store? Well here, the grocery stores don't even carry that stuff. You have to go to the pharmacy, and you usually have to ask for it...because they don't have many things sitting out on shelves for you to just pick up. It's kind of annoying because you have to wait in line behind people that are asking questions about certain ailments etc, but that is what it is like. 
(this is us at the top of the Eiffel Tower)
Constantine helped us move it in. He got one too. They are twins - just with two different homes. This is David and Constantine trying to figure out how everything needs to be connected. 
Yep. Of free pans from the 50 piece set have reached their limits. I can't cook on these things anymore...they are terrible. They were good for starting out, and it definitely helped to have money to spend on other things, but the bottom of this thing is about to break through. So, with a promise to provide really good meals David bought me some new pans! They are really nice...some of the nicest ones you can get at IKEA - oooh, ahhh!
(zucchini, scallions, egg, pepper, four)
