Final blog post of our Paris, Italy, Greece trip. I have posted Paris, Italy, and wrapped up Greece. You can read all those if you want. We had finished our tour and were sitting in the Athens airport. We had one more day, and it would be an afternoon in Paris.
Athens airport is nothing amazing. It is large and international, but the selection for eating is pretty minimal. You're not getting a great sit-down meal. Ended up buying headphones in a store and paid way too much. As our plane loaded, they started using a metal box to size up carry-on. If the bag didn't fit in the box, they were making people get rid of shit or repack. We went into panic mode; without a doubt, we are not going to fit. I'll just admit we are overpackers. So, the clothes and books go in the pockets. I don't even remember all the shit we moved, and then, just before us, they put the box away. I am not sure if it was for cheaper seats or what the hell it was, but we didn't have to use it. SO refilled our packs. I think it was here we bought a bottle of lemoncello. It is still sitting in my cabinet, unopened, but one day, one day, we will open it!
I don't remember which airline it was, but the plane was nothing special. It wasn't like our flight to Rome, where I spent the time playing some game; I read a book. The flight is about 3.5 hours. We landed in De Gaulle, and I enjoyed my night in Paris Hilton. Yes, I had to say it, and now I am over that joke. What really happened is we got off the plane and went looking for our bags with Pastor Ed and his wife. We all got our stuff and split up; that really was the end of the tour. Saying goodbye to the last people from the tour as they took a train to Paris, and we took the small train around De Gaulle to the airport Hilton. Literally the Paris Hilton…. They must have other hotels in the city to make this joke at. We were early; our room wasn't ready, but the concierge took our bags, and we went to the lounge for a drink.
So from the lounge/lobby, it looks like a massive modern hotel. I don't think it actually has that many floors, but the glass elevators and very open concept make it feel like it goes way up. The lounge is just a raised area in the middle of the lobby, covered in glass, and it was a beautiful day, so the sun was coming in. My wife had some sort of super-sweet, fruity drink, and I went with a boring old Baileys and coffee. When we got to the room, it was also great. A large room, comfy beds, probably the most comfy since we had come from Canada. Big bathroom, with a big tub and a separate shower. I could flush toilet paper again! Possibly my favorite hotel of the tour, and it was only a layover. Now it was still early in the afternoon, and we had a few more Euros to spend. So we freshened up a bit, planes always make me feel a little gross, and called a cab. This falls into my do-all-you-can category; it would have been a waste to save the remaining Euros just to have some money when we got home and not go back to Paris. Who wants to sit in a hotel all afternoon and night when you could have one more look at Paris?
Ruddy was our taxi driver. It is a 1-hour drive to the heart of the city, and the cab came out to $92. I gave the guy $100 and said, "Keep the change." I didn't think this was a big deal, but he gave us his personal number to call for a ride home, and he went from kind of quiet to pretty happy to deal with us. My wife had looked up a few places to eat, and we decided on one more Italian meal. I don't remember the name of the restaurant, but it was down by the Arc du Triomphe.
This is the afternoon you want in Paris. It was warm, sunny, and comfortable. Not a heat that you are sweating, but jeans and a tee were great to walk in. Not chilly at all. We got a table outside on what I would call the sidewalk, but I am guessing they call it the patio or outdoor seating. This isn't looking back with rose-colored glasses, but this was the perfect day for a patio, and after such a grey first few days in Paris, a perfect day to end our trip. So I ordered Cacio E pepe. Try one more version to see if it will be as good as Rome, of course the answer is no. I was all wined out and had moved on from Ozo as well. So I ordered a Grey Goose and a Coke. Now I don't wanna hear about it, yes, Goose probably should just be with some water and some lime. I wanted Coke with it! However, in France, as in nicer restaurants, they bring the Goose in a small container, the ice in a glass, and the Pepsi; they didn't have Coke in another container. I mixed it all up and had another. Again, Paris shocked me. You get billed for the vodka, and the Pepsi is another bill, almost as much as the vodka. The waitress was kind of bitchy, and then when I did the tip rounding. Say the bill was another $98, and we left a $100. She stormed away and never saw her again. I am just going to say it: Paris doesn't have great food. Maybe you have to go to a high-end place, but the few places we ate at, nothing blew my mind. We didn't have wine that night, but the earlier times this trip, when we were in Paris, the wine wasn't great. It may be my hot take on Paris, but the food and wine aren't great.
We then went to the Arc, which wasn't a long walk at all. You do head underground, so you don't have to try and get through the world's most insane traffic circle. I did not realize how detailed the actual pillars are, or that there is a "tomb of the unknown soldier" there. Originally for WWI, but then WWII was added. Not knowing that, I also did not realize it was built to celebrate the victories in the Napoleonic wars and the French Revolution. There is actually a lot of art and history; if you are in Paris, it isn't the main thing to see, but it is worth it for the $15 or whatever it is. You can take an elevator up after you pay, but that is mostly for people who can't make the walk. In general, they want to pack you into TIGHT stairs and head up. 284 steps, now one might think that doesn't sound TOO bad. Well, there is a reason the stair climber is a machine in the gym. Was I dying by the time we got to the top, or the museum at the top? No, but damn, I could feel it. This was kind of a neat find. I had no real desire to go here, but it was right by us, so we figured we'd check it out. There is a small exhibit, with some history of France in general, in the museum, or I am not sure what to call it, a small display room. This is where the public washrooms are, honestly, it kind of feels like a rest spot if the 284 stairs winded you. Then you head out to the top of the Arc.
It is actually a pretty big observation deck with a decent view of the city. It isn't a better view than the Tower, but it is still worth doing. Again, I can't stress how much the weather can affect a trip. Still beautiful out, sun beating down, but not cooking. It was a great night for the view. Like any other view, though, you can only do it for so long before you have seen it and head back down. Now this was the only time we did any shopping in Paris, and it wasn't really shopping. We wandered into a couple of shops looking for stuff for the hotel room. Even the drugstores are fancy, though, or even the ones we were in seem to be. To be fair, though, we were likely in the most touristy area of Paris. Then we walked towards the Eiffel Tower. Earlier I had complained how shitty the walk from the Louvre to the Tower had been on a cold day when we were hungry. On a beautiful night with a full belly and a couple of drinks in me with my wife, this was a great walk. Again, a great argument to get a cell plan because it helped navigate that walk.
We stopped in a bustling little café. I guess the Tower is supposed to light up at night. No time was posted, so we sat, and I had another drink. We googled "dusk," which was when it was supposed to happen, but it didn't. We wandered to another spot, sat, and waited, watching the Tower; still, nothing happened. The fact is, it got boring sitting and waiting for the lights. Had we had something to do, maybe we would have stayed longer, but eventually I called it. Let's hop in a cab and head back to the hotel. That's still an hour's drive away. I tried calling the cabbie who had given me his number, but there was no answer, so we joined one of the long lines of cabs and hopped in. We had plans and dreams, sit in our hotel bar and have a few drinks. Enjoy our last night in Paris. An hour cab ride killed it. Basically, 3 weeks of travel washed over us. I don't mean falling asleep in the back seat, but just relaxing. We came into the hotel and saw the bar and the glass elevators leading to our room. I think we both walked around the bar and got into the elevator.
Again, the Paris Hilton airport hotel is great. We each had a bath and then crashed. My head hits the pillow, and I am out pretty much whenever, wherever. My wife often doesn't sleep well in hotels, or at all, really, on this trip, but she was out as well. Big, comfy bed.
The last day of a trip is depressing and also happy at the same time. You wake up knowing all the adventures are over. That, that night, you are going to be back in Edmonton, not seeing anything new or exciting. Realizing that, in fact, it is probably 2 years, 730 days, at least, you will likely not see anything quite as cool. Or, for me, it is at least that long to save up the money to travel like this again. I am also going to see my dogs today! Talk to my family and friends. Don't get me wrong, I could have gone on a much longer trip. Maybe someday I can go for a month or two, that would be the dream! However, it is nice to come home, back to the familiar things people enjoy. That could be a sign that a person does have a pretty good life and is happy to get back to it.
I won't go into the morning too much. The buffet breakfast was decent. Had actual coffee, not just Nescafé, in a hotel room. I did write a bunch, as it had a nice desk for that, and the TV was on again, music videos and cop shows. When I fly in Canada, I give it two hours at the airport, more than enough time for security and a meal or a drink. Personally, I thought that would be more than enough for Charles de Gaulle, even international, considering we were staying in the damn airport, thank god I listened to my wife and gave it 3 hours.
So, first we had to go through customs for the expensive jacket she had purchased in Florence. I filled out the paper and went into the stupidly long line. When I hand it in, they ask to see the actual jacket. So we do the stupid process again. Looking back, I am not sure that I actually got the tax back, so this line was a waste of time!! It was crammed, slow-moving, and frustrating. I could have screamed by the time this painful process was over. Then came the language barrier; we went to where our tickets said WestJet was. There was nothing there. My wife started to freak out, and I kept walking, thinking maybe it was further down. It was not, and there was not a damn sign saying where we should be. CDG is supposed to be a world-class airport, a major hub. Have someone who speaks fucking English! I am not saying this as an arrogant westerner because I will say that I have someone speaking the various dialects of Chinese, Spanish, English, and Japanese. Frick have a rep from all the EU nations, all the African nations, all damn nations!! Say WestJet to a few employees, and they just shake their heads and say no English. This went on and on until someone finally spoke English and said WestJet was now on the other side of the terminal. So now we are running with baggage; the truth is, we are sweating from running and carrying so much. We find the counter and check our bags! Now we have to go halfway down the terminal again for security. I know this is a much bigger airport than Edmonton, but damn, security sucked! MASSIVE lines and slow as fuck. Sitting and watching time tick by, in general, I am pretty chill, but even I am starting to get nervous. Finally get through, and we are looking at less than an hour. Then you have to get on a train. Of course, the train can't take everyone, so it's 3 rides before we get on and have to ride across this mini city of an airport.
Then we finally got to our gate, with maybe half an hour, likely less. Now, there were a lot of duty-free stores, from what I remember, and a few places to eat. Had we not been arriving just in time to leave, it might have been an okay gate. It was enough time to buy a bottle of water, take a leak, and get on a plane. That's not the end of the world. I don't like sitting and waiting for hours to get on a plane, but feeling like you are going to miss your plane is even worse.
We boarded our plane and were headed back to Calgary. I am not getting into the plane ride too much. It's a long flight. We didn't get premier back, just economy, with seat upgrades. The front row, with a bit more leg space. I watched The Da Vinci Code and Angels and Demons, and still had a lot of time left. We landed in Calgary sometime in the late afternoon, and my mother-in-law was waiting. On the ride home, I was dozing off. I had a hockey game the next night, and I was pumped for it. I skipped it and slept on the couch. In 20 years of playing hockey, I have never done that. When we landed in Paris, ya, I had some jet lag, but not like this. Being home did not have the excitement to keep me going. This was when I actually believed in jet lag. In Paris, I thought, oh ya, I am a bit sleepy, but wow, this was different. If you're going to travel, take at least a day when you get home.
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