Paris, Day 1

It could take a few installments to get this trip blogged, but here goes.
This was our little hotel room. It had one of those shower cubicles that's so teensy that you can't wash your hair without banging your elbows on the side. And don't drop the soap - there's definitely no room to bend over to pick it up! But it was perfect! Know why? Because it's in Paris!!




Out on our street.




And looking in the other direction.




The boulangerie at the end of the block was our breakfast stop.




















Okay, we're fueled up and ready to see stuff.
We weren't too far from Montmartre, so that was our first destination. Up, up, uphill, (gasp!) then up about eleventy million steps. (Wheeze!)




Montmartre is a funky, artsy area. Lots of tacky souvenir shops, cute bistros, and hundreds of artists plying their wares. We walked for hours, and miles.




















Anybody else notice the resemblance between Cheryl & the Mona Lisa? (More on that later.)




This guy was good!




We visited the Sacré Coeur basilica...












...had crepes for lunch... (oops, we dove in too fast to take 'before' pictures, this is the aftermath)




...and washed them down with this. Yes, it's pronounced THAT way.




We found the chocolate museum/candy store...












...and acted like, well, kids in a candy store!




Here's Debbie modeling the quintessential Parisian beret. (Complete with price tags. Whatever!)




That look could catch on.




These guys were pretty good.




We soon mastered the Metro subway system. It's fast, it's efficient and with only the occasional smell of pee, *wrinkles nose* it's the best way to get around the city.








Next on our list was the Arc de Triomphe.
























We walked from the Arc de Triomphe to the Eiffel Tower.
Look, an electric car parked on the street, and plugged in. Cool!




And there it is. Our first glimpse of the iconic structure that screams PARIS!




We've waited a long time to take this picture. Unfortunately, the light was fading fast by the time we got there, and the post editing to lighten it up gives us all a greenish tinge. Don't care. It's us - in Paris!




We enjoyed champagne while sitting on the grass soaking in the view (well, I did, Cheryl & Debbie are non-drinkers.)
















It was a beautiful night, and there were lots of other people doing the same thing. Ahhh...




Just behind us, a young man proposed to his girlfriend. Under the lights of the Eiffel Tower. Now is that romantic, or what? She said yes!




We hopped back on the metro to get home just about midnight.
Phew! What an amazing day! We were so enthralled that we forgot to eat dinner.

The journey

At Calgary airport, ready to roll. Sporting our new Eiffel Tower luggage tags, gifts from Debbie.




We managed to get 3 seats together, and like schoolgirls, we giggled most of the way. Our flight attendants were less than hospitable, and one of them seemed to have it in for Debbie. There was a knee bashing incident, some spilled ice water, and her elbow was knocked out from under her, once. Serves her right really, she did, after all, get an extra chocolate button on her dessert.




After a sleepless night, we arrived in Frankfurt. There's a train station right at the airport, which is so convenient. We found a small commuter train and took it to the main station, with a minimum of getting lostedness.
The signs really weren't much help to us.







We had a few hours to kill at the main station, so we got our bearings, figured out where we needed to go to catch our train to Paris, then headed out to explore the neighbourhood.




















Just your average seedy train station part of town. We didn't have time to go further afield, so we missed these sights.
























Oh well, next time.
Back to the train station to hang out for a bit.




Found a wi-fi hot spot, and while there met a delightful young girl from Edmonton, who is studying to be an environmental scientist at U of A. She's taking a course in Berlin, and was on her way back there after a quick weekend trip to Rome. Bright girl, she'll go far!




Waiting...








A series of cartoons advertising who knows what. I just found the profanity to be a little unusual.




De train, de train!




Ah, a glimpse of love through the window. These two really, really, didn't want to say goodbye.








And we're off...












...and out!




That pretty much sums up the 4 hour journey.
We have a room booked in Paris for 3 nights, but not until tomorrow night. We showed up anyway, hoping our sad, tired, puppy dog eyes would help to secure an extra night. Nope, no room at the inn. The place next door however, was more than accommodating. This sweet, smiley guy talked our ears off, let us choose between a couple of available rooms, and reluctantly allowed me to take his photo, as long as he wasn't the only one in the frame.




So we made it! We still don't quite believe it!
We don't have a plan for tomorrow yet, but it definitely doesn't involve alarm clocks.
Even so, I really shouldn't be awake right now, so goodnight.

Plan B1/2

My poor head is spinning! Trying to juggle all of the travel options is making my brain hurt.




Flying to London seemed like a do-able option, but now it looks like we would get stuck there. The trains, which looked plentiful & cheap when I originally checked, seem to be mostly sold out now, with only a few very expensive seats available.

So, we're still aiming for Monday night, but we're heading for Frankfurt instead.

Only one more sleep! We're psyched!

Destination unknown

The trusty old travel bags are out of the closet,




I have a fistful of foreign currencies,




And a complicated spreadsheet to track the various flight options,




but no real plan.
Our original idea was to fly to Paris, via either Toronto or Montreal, on August 30th. As the flights filled up, we gradually pushed it further and further forward to the 26th of August, and have now given up on that option altogether. Not that Dan & I haven't gotten on completely hopeless-looking flights before. (Hey, you just never know when a volcano might erupt and force half of the booked passengers to have to disembark from a totally full flight, suddenly opening up 75 seats for stand-by hopefuls...), but the odds are definitely not in our favor.

Plan B is to fly from Calgary to London, then take the Chunnel train to Paris. We are hoping to squeeze onto the flight on Monday night, but that's still 4 days away, and the numbers change every time I check them, so it's gonna take a truck load of luck for that to work.

Plan C is to try for the Frankfurt flight on Tuesday night. That one actually looks quite hopeful, but never having been to Frankfurt, it's a little bit out of my comfort zone. Not to mention it's a 5 hour train ride to Paris from there. Oh well, at least it's on the right side of the ocean, so we'll take it if we can get it.

Ah, the joys of stand-by travel. Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining. It's a helluva perk and I'm extremely grateful for it. It was totally worth it to give up a normal home life for 20+ years for the travel opportunities that we've had. (Shift work, working stat holidays, and irregular days off that seldom coincided with the rest of the world's was a bitch!) Just once though, I'd like to show up at the airport in my sweat pants, with a ticket in my hand, and a hotel reservation waiting at the other end.

Actually, that must be quite boring. I'd miss the challenge, the suspense, and the euphoria when the coveted boarding pass is handed over at the last possible second.

So all fingers and toes are crossed for a successful outcome on Monday. Wherever we end up, it'll be an adventure!