Memories of a Tough Travel Day

Delayed flight, train ride, metro line closed, two wild bus rides, and a late dinner...

Kathy and Brian...

Lily...

Peyton...

Riley...

Learning About Travel Delays

Sometimes delays just happen. We walked to a more distant Metro stop so as to make an easier connection to CDG.

We transferred to the RER, and got off one to wait for the one that goes to the airport, no big deal. 

We got off at Terminal 1 and walked several hundred meters to Terminal 2.

We waited in line for 30-40 minutes to check our bags and get our boarding passes.

We then went through security with a much shorter wait.

We waited for our gate to be announced and stood in line.

Suddenly, and we were among the first to notice, the on-time message changed to a nearly one-hour delay.

All roads may lead to Rome, but some flights obviously don’t arrive on time.

Luckily, we found comfortable seats right next to the gate.

 

Our flight landed an hour late and it took some to claim our bags.

We did manage to catch the airport train into Rome with few minutes to spare.

However, our metro Orange Line A isn’t running for some reason, and we were directed to a bus.

That was a fiasco, to use an Italian word. We learned through great efforts that we had to transfer buses.

We made it in time to eat a late dinner and fall into bed.

Our ticket time at the Vatican tomorrow is 10:00AM. It’s supposedly only a three-minute walk so hopefully we’ll make it.

Travel Day

We fly to Rome today. Kathy is giving the girls some packing lessons before we go.

We fly about 3 and are due to land in Rome about 5, so we’re checking out at noon, a busy day.

Dessert and a Final Spectacular View

A late night but well worth it.

Our Final Dinner in Paris

The best-rated restaurant within walking distance of the Eiffel Tower was Firmine, an Italian restaurant.

La Tour Eiffel

We made it through two security lines and up first one elevator (up on a slant along the supporting pylons) and took in the views.

Then it was another queue and the elevator all the way to the top.

Great views...

Finally, it was back down for our second - no, third - stop of the day at a souvenir store.

We took the warnings seriously all day, and Kathy even pickpocketed Peyton’s phone to show how easy it was.

More photos at the bottom before we finally depart. These panels have been installed since our previous visit, another sad reality.

Our Day in Paris Begins

We walked across the Pont Neuf Bridge on to the 

Île de la Cité, the little island in the Seine, and past the Palais de Justice to Notre-Dame de Paris, a sad sight after the fire.

From there we strolled back along the Seine and arrived just in time to catch the Seine River cruise that Brian had booked online earlier. We sat outside at the bow and took in all the sights, as far as the Eiffel Tower and back up and around Notre-Dame and the 

Île de la Cité before docking an hour later.

It was a healthy walk from there to the Eiffel Tower, but even with a snack stop we made it.