The trip has commenced!
We began with a rushed morning finalising finances and tickets and purchases. Ian's car had to be dropped off at Uncle Nick's along with lappie! We finally set off for Heathrow airport at 13:45 for a 16:00 flight to Paris. Traffic was working with us today and we arrived in good time, only to find a very hideous check-in operation at Heathrow. Perhaps it was just British Midland but bizarrely all departures had to stand in one elongated queue regardless of their flight number and time. Panic began to set in amongst passengers who had earlier flights than us, understandably. I was far from relaxed and incredibly nervous about playing the airlines at their own game, turning up for our first flight on the round the world trip tickets with no more than a small bag each not to mention only the flight tickets for that weekend. Ian had been briefed about doing all the talking! I needn't have worried - they didn't bat an eyelid!
Our flight was terrific, very smooth and only 47 minutes long. The sky was fairly overcast but as we ascended and broke through the cloud all I could see was a vast blanket of beautiful snow white perfectly flat cloud. It was amazing, so beautiful! I had the added extra of an emergency exit seat thus providing ample leg room.
Our visit to Paris was short, a bit of an inconvenience really, but pleasant nonetheless. I was granted the task of finding us accommodation on arrival which I accepted and charged straight into a nice looking two star hotel near Bastille. Despite asking for a shower room instead of a room with a shower, we got what we wanted due to a cancellation just minutes before. Task complete. The room was basic and the bed was like suet pudding, stodgy, however I surprisingly slept like a log while Ian drank cheap beer.
Copyright 2002 Helen Fuller. All rights reserved.