Ready...Set...Go!

It's finally travel day!  My flight from SFO to Paris is a "red eye", which is great, I can usually sleep a bit on a plane...however the problem with this timing is that the flight doesn't leave until 8:30pm!  That means a whole lot of sitting around, anxiously waiting to go, once you are packed and ready!  Oh well...c'est la vie!

I flew on FrenchBee, a budget airline that we have flown 3 round trips before...no frills, but the planes are nice, new AirBus planes.  The planes are spotlessly clean (in fact, last time we flew FrenchBee, I saw the flight attendant clean the bathroom twice on the flight!), I checked in online from home, got my digital boarding pass, and we headed to the airport.  Once we pulled in to SFO, Gary headed to the International Terminal to drop me off...I looked at my boarding pass and said "no...I need Terminal 1" so that's where he dropped me off.  I grabbed my backpack and suitcase, gave G. a kiss and started to walk off...and I suddenly realized that I didn't have my jacket. (At home I had placed my jacket and a bag of chocolates I was planning to give to the flight attendants into a red plastic bag)...I ran back to the car to look for my red plastic bag and it was not there - somehow I had left it at home.  (As I type this, Gary is probably at home eating the milk chocolate/caramel candies!).  Disappointed, I waved him good by and entered the terminal.  I asked the first airport employee where the French Bee counter was and he told me the International Terminal (that we had passed at my insistence!).  It was then that I realized that "Terminal I" on my boarding pass stood for "international", and not "one"!  I had a moment of panic...part of the reason for this trip was to prove to myself that I was still capable of being strong and independent, and not a frail little old confused lady and suddenly in a 3 minute span I was confronted with the forgotten coat and mis-reading my boarding pass!  Was I crazy for thinking  I could do this solo trip at 68?!  It was, however, a fleeting thought!  I can easily purchase an inexpensive coat in Paris (and I was wearing a down vest so I wasn't going to freeze!), and they sell candy in the airport!  Armed with my returned confidence I took off walking to the International Terminal! The FrenchBee counter was a throng of people...10 seconds in I realized I heard no English being spoken...almost all of my flight-mates were French.  As I stood in line, checking people out (cuz that's what I do!) I felt like it was a central casting call for the movie version of the book I just finished with my book club, The Paris Apartment by Lucy Foley (highly recommend this read if you like fast paced mysteries with lots of twists and turns).  I spotted people that would be perfect for every character in the book!  In the time I had to kill before boarding, I bought another  bag of Ghirardelli chocolates for the flight crew, and ate the sandwich I had purchased at home (airplane food is always "iffy". ) Upon boarding, I found myself seated next to an American couple from SF!  The flight was uneventful (no turbulence, and arrived 20 minutes ahead of schedule)...oh, and I saw the flight attendant clean the lavatories again (kudos to French Bee!).  Side bar about those chocolates:  my friend Chickie always travels with a little gift for the flight crew, something I was not previously aware of.  I asked a friend of mine who is a flight attendant for Southwest and she said that yes, this is a thing.  It's certainly not "expected", but always appreciated.  When asked what kinds of things were appropriate she said anything individually wrapped (no home-made cookies), American chocolates are always a hit, as are $5 Starbucks cards, mini hand lotions and lip balms.  I will say, that when I boarded and gave my chocolates the the FA at the door, she was SO appreciative, and within minutes I was presented with a glass of champagne and a little bag of crackers to enjoy while the plane boarded.

Arrival at Orly Airport was as smooth as could be, luggage came fairly quickly and NO line at passport control. (Oh, I forgot to mention that at SFO it is no longer necessary to take computers, bag of liquids, etc out of your bags...they have new machines that make that a thing of the past.  Just remove shoes and jackets and go right through!).  I was so tired I opted to splurge on a cab to my hotel, rather than take the metro or Orly Bus.  I was so impressed that the guy at the cab stand specifically called a female cabbie to jump ahead of the line of cabs for me.  I guess he thought a single woman traveling alone would appreciate a female cabbie?!  Whatever his reason, we were quickly at my hotel and I was all checked in!

We usually stay in AirBnBs in Paris as it is easier for Gary with his celiac diagnosis to be able to eat breakfast at "home", but I decided this time I should have a hotel...it gave me peace of mind to know that someone at the desk would know if I never made it home some night!.  I found a small hotel on the edge of the Marais called the Hotel de Roubaix.  It is family owned (has been for 4 generations), it has over 900 amazing reviews (all of which mention how clean it is).  It is not fancy, the room is very small (it is Paris after all!).  I found a cheaper rate on booking.com that included breakfast and I contacted the hotel to see if they would match the price, which they did.  Perhaps the main selling point of this hotel for me was the fact that there are dogs in the lobby at all times!  There is a dog bed under the stairs and every time I come or go, I am greeted by a variety of dogs; it seems to be a different combo of 2 red golden doodles, a wire fox terrier, and a black Pomeranian so far!  There is an old woman dressed in black that sits by the dogs (I think she is the owners grand mother).  The decor is quirky/eclectic to say the least... I'll try to include some photos later.  I dropped my bags and as much as I just wanted to lie down, I know that is a big non-no!  I headed out to get a coat.  I decided Uniqlo was the closest and cheapest option (god knows I have a million coats at home, the last thing I need is another coat, so I really didn't want to spend much on it, or take a lot of time shopping).   I walked 17 minutes, got a coat quickly, and stopped at a cafe for dinner. I wanted something light, and things seemed to be filling up quickly (it was about 7pm) so I grabbed an outside seat at a cafe.  I settled down with a glass of wine, a yummy quiche and salad, and people watched...pure heaven!  Seated to my right were 2 men who smoked non-stop and kept ordering "sex on the beach" drinks...on my right were 2 young women (one French and one American so they spoke English, making eavesdropping very easy!) conversing about their new boyfriends and their sex lives.  It seemed like such a stereotypical French scene!.  After eating, I wandered back 17 minutes (the walk felt so good after sitting on the plane for 10+ hours), called Gary and fell into bed.

It was a very good day!

my room, great bed!

lovely shower...large, modern and clean

the view out my window!

ps: excuse any typos...I'm anxious to get out and explore and don't want to keep proof-reading!