- Preparations for Paris honeymoon, heading to PHL, BA Galleries First lounge
- BA First, Concorde Room, BA Club Europe, Hotel Le Grand, Bonne Annee!
- Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame, cruising on the Seine, Louvre
- Hotel Indigo, Musee de l'Armee, Arc de Triomphe, Versailles
- In the midst of Charlie Hebdo: Louvre, Louis Vuitton flagship store, Musee d'Orsay
- Crazy journey home - United flight cancellation, compensation, Global Entry, surprise upgrades
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When Kaleb and I entered the first class cabin on British Airways flight 66 going from Philadelphia to London Heathrow, the blue lighting along with the funky seats, buttons and gadgets made it feel like we were on board a spaceship.
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The flight attendant asked if I would like a pair of pajamas...sure! I forgot to take a picture of what was inside the amenity kits (and I've since used them) but there are plenty of pictures on Google. There were men's and women's sets.
Time for second dinner!
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The soup, shrimp and gnocchi were really good. The salmon was a bit dry. Dessert was yummy. I could have eaten a whole box of those Lauden chocolates!
Since our flight was only 6 hours long, it was time to sleep, versus watching movies on the personal entertainment system. When I went to the lavatory to brush my teeth and change into my pajamas, the flight attendant asked if I wanted my bed made...sure! By the time I got back to my seat, a plush seat covering and duvet was set up. The pajamas were soft and comfortable...you could take them home! (we still use them...Kaleb wears the bottoms around the house during winter)
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All too soon, it was time to wake up and have breakfast. Kaleb wasn't able to sleep at all and just watched movies.
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We got off the plane in London, then made our way to the terminal and entered the Concorde Room through an unmarked door located along the far wall near the south security checkpoint exit in Terminal 5. (after entering the terminal, walk by Harrod's and through the shopping area to reach the security checkpoint area and you'll see a door ahead manned by staff) As long as you have a boarding pass showing you had flown or will fly a transatlantic flight in BA First, you have complimentary access to the Concorde Room.
As mentioned in the planning portion of the trip, I contacted the You First team to secure a private cabana reservation (four-hour maximum) so we could take a nap and freshen up with a shower before taking the Tube into London to do a bit of sightseeing, but I was so tired and jet-lagged that my nap ended up taking all the cabana time. The day bed wasn't wide enough for a second person so poor Kaleb ended up hanging out in the lounge. We should have reserved two cabana rooms.
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Once the cabana time was over, I found Kaleb in the "outside" portion of the lounge. (a loft overlooking the terminal) By this time, we had less than 8 hours left before our flight to Paris so we decided not to chance riding the Tube into town (approximately 1 hour each way, not including time through immigration, getting to the station or coming back through security) and just spent the rest of the layover in the lounge. So sad, but we did visit London last year so it wasn't a must-do.
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It was noon, so time for lunch. There was a restaurant inside the Concorde Room which served complimentary breakfast, lunch and dinner. I probably would have had second breakfast in the morning had I not been so tired.
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The dining area consisted of private booths that can seat up to 3 comfortably. There may have been a bigger booth to accommodate a larger group. There were a lot of patrons so we waited a few minutes to be seated. The food was pretty good, especially the sticky toffee pudding.
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| cream of mushroom soup |
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We hung out in the lounge reading and surfing the internet for a few more hours before returning to the restaurant to have dinner. The menu was the same, so this time Kaleb got the lamb and I got the avocado bacon salad and a different dessert, not as good as the sticky toffee pudding.
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| the lamb was better plated this time |
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Finally we got on our plane to Paris! We sat in Club Europe, which was exactly like coach except that the center seat was blocked off by a table.
Paris at last! Our first hotel of the trip, the Intercontinental Paris Le Grand, was just a few blocks away from the Palais Garnier opera house. RoissyBus offered a direct route from Charles de Gaulle airport to Opera for 10.50 euro per person. The bus stop was not hard to find as there were signs posted in the arrivals hall. We purchased our tickets at the vending machine using a credit card, but I read that you could also pay cash to the bus driver. I was unable to locate an ATM in the arrivals hall; if I looked harder, I'm sure I'd find one. There were currency exchange booths but all of them were closed at this late night hour. If for some reason our credit card didn't work, we had just enough euros in hand from our trip to Ireland last year.
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We caught the next to last bus of the day...had our flight been late, we would have either taken the RER train or a taxi.
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| on the RoissyBus to Opera |
After about an hour's ride, the bus dropped us off west of the opera house, in front of an American Express travel agency. Our hotel was just one block south, the entrance decorated with many white lights for the holidays.
It was close to midnight so there was no wait at check-in. Our upgraded room (thanks to having the IHG credit card that offered complimentary Platinum status) had been assigned earlier in the day based on the melted ice bucket in which a bottle of champagne was waiting. Included also was a note from the general manager wishing us an unforgettable honeymoon...a very nice touch! (I did add a note that we were on our honeymoon when I made the reservation online)
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The next day was New Year's Eve. We were so exhausted from our journey that we slept in until early afternoon. Eventually we emerged from our hotel to look for supper. We stopped at a nearby brasserie that had a lot of people in it, the Triadou Haussmann. The food was okay; we both did a set menu that included a starter, entree, and dessert for around 25 euros. The wet towelettes they gave us after we finished our meal were pretty interesting to open.
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Wet towelette that eventually popped out (0:37 clip; click here if you cannot see the video link below):
After dinner, we walked around the area for a bit, then took the Metro to the Champs-Elysees to gather for the New Year's Eve celebration. (in hindsight, we should have just walked...) I used a credit card at a vending machine in the station to purchase a carnet of 10 single-ride tickets for the two of us to share. We eventually made our way onto an M1 train and there were so many people on board. I was planning to exit at the Charles de Gaulle Etoile station, which was a bad idea. I didn't know at the time, but the police closed the exits and stood guard, so when everyone got off, no one could exit and there was a human traffic jam. We were stuck in the underground tunnels for about 20 minutes, unsure of what was going on, before slowly making our way to an exit and learned they were blocked off. :( We thought that people were slowly exiting, but in reality, folks were turning back into the station. Kaleb and I managed to fight through the crowds to get back on a train and got off at the next stop, then walked back to the Champs-Elysees. FYI: during that whole fiasco, there were pairs of young people pushing their way forward while the rest of the crowd was patiently moving slowly, and when one of them pushed past me, I felt a hand slide into my coat pocket! At first I thought it was Kaleb trying to keep his hand warm but he didn't do it. I fortunately didn't have anything in there, but in a crowded situation, be alert for pickpockets!
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The Printemps display windows were decorated with moving musical puppets: (0:16 clip; click here if you cannot see the video link below)
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| Paris Metro map |
The Champs-Elysees was closed to traffic...so many people lined the streets! It reminded me of when Kaleb and I spent New Year's Eve in Las Vegas. (but less rowdy)
29 second clip of all the people hanging out on the Champs-Elysees: (click here if you cannot see the video link below)
About 15 minutes before midnight, a gentle soundtrack started playing with synchronized moving images projected onto the Arc de Triomphe.
Then we counted down to midnight, thinking that was it, since earlier that week, there were news reports saying that Paris wouldn't have a fireworks display. But voila! We ended up being surprised with one exploding off the Arc. That was probably why the Charles de Gaulle Etoile Metro station exits were closed, due to the festivities and safety.
1:52 clip of Paris ushering in 2015 in a sea of sparkles and sound: (click here if you cannot see the video link below)
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| Happy New Year!!! Bonne Annee!!! |
What a way to start the new year! The next few days will be filled with Paris sightseeing...stay tuned!
