6.12 SUNDAY - BONJOUR PARIS!

OR

Let the U-TURNS BEGIN!

First... about last night… 

After the hearty {?} meal on Flight 84, he finished the previous post and tried for some sleep.  She was already sleep-masked up and snoozing like a baby, being one of THOSE that can put her head back and be out like a light. He on the other hand, couldn’t find a comfortable spot, positon etc, and of course his leg cramps kick in so needless to say, Chucky got no sleep on the plane.  And he knew that and jet-lag were gonna catch up with him a lot sooner than normal.

The Pilot found Paris without a hitch, [we thanked him on the way off Flight 84] and with a wave to Grouchy Blonde Flight Attendant, getting out of the terminal and to the trains was the next challenge.

Customs was a breeze:

“Bonjour, et Bienvenue a France, Monsieur.”

“Merci Monsieur, Happy to be here.”

Glare-Glare/Stamp-Stamp

“Au Revoir Monsieur, enjoy your stay in Paris.”

And we were off to find tickets and trains.

Wellll almost.

After explaining to her that there would be several stairs getting to the RER B train from CDG to Paris, and then a small hike [airport concourse type distance] more stairs for the change to the Metro 10 at the Saint Michel-Notre Dame, and then more stairs and a small hike from the Charles-Michel Metro stop to the Airbnb flat… Then came the debate: Train or Uber.

You just know Uber won that one and he orders one at e20 more than trains and hauling with a better anticipated outcome.

Finding Sortie 16, Terminal E to meet our driver Hamid in his Peugeot was another thing, with Chucky heading one way, then another, until he can figure out the correct direction...

and DL grumbling all the way,  

"Can you PLEASE pick a direction?!?" 
for sortie [exit] 16-2E, where he expects his Uber driver Fouad to show up in 10 minutes... then 9... back to 10… then 9… back to 10 and on and on.
  
30 minutes later, after a text and  a phone call, Fouad finds the right entrance to the lot outside Sortie 16-2E and rolls up with a big smile…

“Bonjour!”

Chucky Note:

You must always greet someone with a Bonjour or Bonsoir before anything else can happen 
{Our Latino subscribers understand this}

Fouad apologizes for the delay – well it was raining les chats et les chiens... 
{and SHE remarked that hiking and hauling in all that deluge would NOT make a happy Dragon Lady}

The trip to the flat was an easy 35 minutes and e10 cheaper than the estimate so it all worked out well.

Our hostess Yana, a cute, tall, and thin blonde who works in Ladies lingerie, was in the hall waiting for us with hugs, and kisses and Bonjour's all around. 

After explaining the keys and gate access token, showing us around, [not much to see, as with most European flats - pretty sparse] and giving us a few suggestions for dinner with Rod & Juanita later, she was off to her parents place for the next few days.

Settling in was easy and a call to Rod arranged a meeting at a Brasserie that Yana had recommend across from the Felix Faurer Station at the North end of their street. 

Since their flat was just South of us on the same street this seemed easy… 
Until…

Chucky and DL decided to stroll around and check out the Brasserie only to find that, being Sunday... 
it was closed.

A call to Rod with the change and they found that he and Juanita went out to do a little sightseeing by the river and got caught in the rain and had to hike back to their fiat to dry out to meet us at 7:30 – still down the block towards Felix Faurer.

We also got caught in the brief downpour [this would prove to be a constant thing] but WE had umbrellas, and it was back to our flat to dress a bit warmer after getting a little damp ourselves.

As we were leaving at 7:15 who comes bouncing past our front gate {that’s  how he walks - like Mr Bean, as Juanita calls him} but Rod and Juanita who had just stopped at the FranPrix market downstairs  from our flat.

Hugs and Kisses all around and we head out in search of somewhere for dinner, drinks and catching up.

Dinner at Brasserie A La Tour Eiffel [no Website] and drinks and deserts across the street at Charlie Birdy {both fairly unremarkable-although the last was a cute British Style Pub-Resto-Music-Spot with loads of FUTBOL FANS watching multiple games on the Teley} 
and just then... the jetlag finally caught up with Chucky.  DL wasn’t doing much better so they begged off a stroll or Seine Riverboat as originally planned since it looked like rain again and they had a very early day to meet WEGO WALKING at Notre Dame for the stroll around Paris.

Rod was unable to book a spot for WEGO so they opted to find other distractions and/or the Louvre and meet up for dinner later Monday. 

Hugs, Kisses and Au Revoir’s around and it was home to Crash…

The next post will cover Monday’s Hike through Paris, along with Chaos & Drama, U-turns and all. 

What... after all the Trip Gremlin inspired drama at the start of this trip, you expected it to be smooth sailing from there???

Silly You.

Ciao Pour L’instant,

Uncle Chuck & The sooo tired she napped in the elevator

Dragon Lady