Bonjour Paris!

It is an exhausting day. Totally exhausting! Our flight leaves at 5:15 AM, and somewhere during our discussions about meeting at the airport three hours before our departure time, we had collectively decided that we would not go to bed that day. I go to Marianne’s house in the late evening of that Wednesday night, where we watch a French film about the building of the Eiffel Tower on SBS. It seems to me that the timing of the film is a lucky sign as we are winging our way to Paris in the early hours.

A little later, at the airport, we check in, go through security, and find our gate where we sit and patiently wait to be called to board.

I anticipate that once we take off, I will sleep, although I secretly hope that I will fall asleep prior to take-off. But sleep does not come easily, even during this longest part of the flight, and comes less easily during the second flight. Thank goodness we arrive in Paris in the evening, which means that we can go straight to bed.

Our arrival at Charles de Gaulle airport is unremarkable and we collect our luggage and clear customs in minutes before asking for directions for the Roissybus, which will take us to the Opera House in Paris. Roisseybus has six passengers, the four of us and two others. At our destination at the Opera House, Marianne and I decide to walk to the Holiday Inn, which is, according to Google Maps, a ten minute walk.

We place the two elders into a cab with their luggage and set off on foot with our luggage down the Boulevard des Italiens. Although it is now dark, it is not late and there are plenty of people on the streets eating at cafes and restaurants, and it is perfectly safe.