And We're Off!

Day 1

We got away this morning right on time even after a night full of assorted events… and actually getting packed, finally.

Mark took us to the airport and we certainly appreciate the lift. The flight to IAD was on time and it was a pleasant trip. It was our first time aboard an Embraer 170 and I have to say… my expectations were exceeded. Midway through the flight, the FA came to me and said, “Brainrot says, ‘Hi… and your itinerary will need to be reworked because we’re delaying ya.’"Turned out we got to Dulles well ahead of schedule. Thanks to all involved for the speedy handling.

The move from the arrival to departure gate went well. There was plenty of time. We were all a little tired plus Lachlan had gotten zero sleep the night before after having attended a birthday party. Pushed back on time but were delayed a bit due to weather in the DC area. I had sent a note to the flight deck saying why we were on board and got a nice mention about it in the Captain's in-flight announcement.. Also, our neighbor (a United CAPT) has gotten in touch with the purser and had told her what we were up to. I was not able to pay for any drinks on the flight and the cabin crew also gave us a bottle of bubbly to celebrate. Thanks, Tom!

This trip was as good as any transatlantic flt I’ve ever been on. The B777 is a very nice and comfortable airplane. Lachlan had good naps all the way, Zeb god some "z" time, too. Susan and I got the usual... about an hour (if that) of fitful sleep.We arrived in Paris at 0644. Immigration was smooth and relatively fast considering that there were 270 showing up at the same time. Customs pointed us to the door.

We opted to take the bus into town then a cab to the hotel. At this point I will mention that the fewer bags concept was a bad choice. The number is a good idea but only when combined with less stuff overall. What we have is 2 bags that none of us can easily manage alone. Plus it put us in the excess weght charge zone. It appears that we may be getting some souvenir luggage on this trip. There is also the option to mail stuff home. We shall see.

Traffic into Paris was murder. The bus trip took a long, long time and there didn’t seem to be any means on it of circulatiing air. We finally reached Montparnasse and got out bags lugged up to the Taxi stand. There was a long line of taxis, but no one apparently needed the fare, as they all sat there for a long while... many with no driver in them. We finally did get a cab and had a good ride to the hotel.

The room was not yet ready when we arrived at the hotel (around 10:00am) so we stashed our stuff and hit the streets of Paris. We are a few blocks from the Eiffel Tower so we went there for a quick look.


Walked back toward the hotel while discussing how to kill the next 3-4 hrs. We decided to have a bite to eat then take the Metro to the Louvre, so we got the cultural stuff done early.

Back to the hotel afterward, check in and have shower and the best ever three hour nap. Woke up about 930pm and hit the Tower again. Arrived in time to see it lit then went to have a nutritious meal of crépes, frites and ice cream… stopped at a café on the way back for a night cap, then to bed. Ahh! Paris!

Day 2

Hey Susan Page… you’ve just finished a quarter-century career in service to your government… whaddya gonna do now???

With a few exceptions, Disneyland Paris is very much like the one in Orlando that we are so very used to. Most notable among the differences is the occasional French phrase. Also, it was not at all crowded so there were plenty of opportunities for the boys to make multiple trips on some of the rides. We all had a good time.

We made it back into Paris in time for some more junk food under the Eiffel Tower and for a trip to the top. The weather limited the view somewhat, but it was still a good experience. On the walk back to the hotel, we passed a café where we had stopped for some refreshments the evening before. The waiter that had served then us greeted us as we passed, restated our order from the night before and indicated where we had sat then. You just can’t pass up another stop at a place like that… so we didn’t. This is now my new favorite café in Paris.