I recently returned from a month in Europe, so for the time being, my TuesdayTravels posts will document the trip.

On Tuesday, Sept. 13, my traveling companion, Rebecca Anderson, and I flew to Paris on Air France to begin our month of travel. We decided to pay more for Premium Economy seats and were very glad we had done so. The seats are much roomier, with extra leg room, a footrest and leg support. The food and service are a step above regular economy, also. Before dinner we toasted our departure with complimentary glasses of champagne. My chicken dinner was not to my liking, but Rebecca’s low fat meal looked pretty good.

Air France airbus-depositphotos_46575293Copyright: Pachuli82

When we had to walk through the regular economy section and saw how everyone was crammed in together, we were doubly glad. Unfortunately, more comfortable seats didn’t guarantee being able to sleep on the plane, but we watched a couple of movies, notably Me Before You, a charming if poignant story.

travel to Paris © anyaberkut

So we were pretty wiped out by the time we landed at Charles de Gaulle Airport. After finally getting though the border check, we found our driver for the transfer to the Marriott Rive Gauche Hotel, arriving around 1PM. To our delight, our room was ready, so we could start to get settled in.

After a snack and a short nap, we walked around the neighborhood and checked out the two closest Metro stations. We’d come prepared with passes for the Metro and the museums, plus a Paris Pass, good for things like a free bateau ride on the Seine and the Big Bus. Alas, we never made it to the bateau ride.

After an early dinner in the hotel dining room, we managed to stay awake until 8PM and slept until 6:30AM.

Next week’s topic is our mad dash through the Latin Quarter in the rain.

Linda