At 6:00 Saturday the 25th we were somewhere over Louisiana, having flown about 3 hours from Los Angeles. At the time we had 8 more hours to go.
6:00 Saturday the 25th we were somewhere over Louisiana after traveling about 3 hours from Los Angeles with 8 more hours to go. Several bumpy patches, which my Vietnam Vet husband had no trouble with, marred my serenity. He thought the pilot was being over-cautious when he suspended dinner service. I was grateful. I prefer my pilots over-cautious rather than risk taking.
The first course was the pre-dinner: a drink for some, coffee for me (loved it) served in the cutest little china cup with their logo (a flower)along with a bag of fresh carrots. After service resumed I ordered Tiki marinated shrimp with mango salse, even though I don't like shrimp. Surprisingly Delicious. The alternative was duck liver. Entree was chicken with mushrooms, carrots and green beans. Terry opted for the crab cakes and every dessert on the menu. The most interesting was an Orange Cake Dome which was not a cake at all.
As one might expect our steward/stewardesses were Tahitian, girls with flowers in their hair, guys with jet black hair. Blue seats, green stripes, bright yellow pillows covered with white flowers, a blue blanket. Their flower logo decorated every piece of china and was embroidered on the white mini table cloth. Green curtains separated first class (6 seats), business class (around 20)) and coach (a lot).
We were fortunate enough to fly business. Each seat had its own tv with access to 17 or so movies. Most we had seen so I opted for the one about surfers in Tahiti riding 20 foot waves and The Incredibles, along with bits and pieces of other movies. Music - 12 styles available from country to classical, and games - solitaire, slots, trivia, minigolf, invasion...etc. Terry played chess.
Right after dinner experienced travelers went to sleep;shades drawn, lights out, chairs reclined to near horizontal. Although we were tired, we couldn't do it, I suspect they had help, so I read a book downloaded to my ipod. Terry wandered around the cabin making friends like he usually does.
In the middle of the night after I finally got to sleep he woke me up with an offer of sandwiches and drinks. Then the stewards woke us up 3 or 4 hours before we landed. I think they were trying to make sure we were all still breathing. About an hour later they started breakfast. Terry raved about the pancakes. I was not that enthusiastic about the omlette and bacon. All in all though I give them a 4 plus for their five star rated food service.
I took my usual too-many cloud and sunrise pictures. It really doesn't matter how many times I see them, clouds and colors always please.
We landed around 9, to an overcast Paris. After we gathered our luggage and found our way out of CDG airport our pre-arranged french driver was waiting with a home made sign 'Terry Rosga'; such a relief not to have to find our own transportation since we were pretty brain dead after the flight.
Pullman Hotel is literally a block from the Eiffel Tower. It could not be more perfect for me. Fortunately they found a room for us to crash in because the two of us were definitely sleep deprived.
I took a walk around the ET while Terry unpacked. Hopefully at some point we'll be able to post pictures. Currently the hotel is 'experiencing difficulty with their in room wireless network' and the 6 computers available in the business area are constantly busy and as far as I can tell, unable to use external drives. I am being stared at as I have monopolized this computer way longer than is polite.
After our nap of 3 or 4 hours we walked to Starbucks. Now some of you might think it was my Starbucks addiction that motivated me. It was not. It was our quest for internet and fascination with all things Paris. Unfortunately this Starbucks closes at 8 PM so we didn't get much internet time in, and the signal kept dropping. We may have to investigate alternatives.
Walked the interesting, colorful, delightful, ancient streets of Paris to the Seine River, along the Seine to our hotel, stopped at a floating restaurant for supper - gazpacho with a whole tomato in it, chicken pieces floating in vegetable broth, kindof crock pot like, and cappacino - while the Eiffel Tower sparkled right beside our table (well not literally). Every hour for 10 minutes it is a monument of blinking lights. We took way too many pictures that we may never be able to load. It was a magic moment for me.
Our traveling companions, Mary and Mary, should arrive tommorrow. I am deliberately ignorant of our plans. It is much easier traveling without expectations.
I'd love to be able to live here for a month or two. Just call me Patricia Never Enough Rosga.
Well I really need to go before I get mugged by the computer starved.
