Ibis Hotel - Compiegne (Sud) Compiègne

Well - would you believe the excess baggage fee cost the same amount as my ticket? I knew I would (actually work would) be hit with the charge, but the equivalent cost of another ticket? I guess it was still cheaper than having someone fly from the US by having me divert on my way back from vacation.

After leaving late from Heathrow, we got another delay in Paris. Get this, the power to all the jet ways was lost. So another 20-30 minutes of sitting on a plane. So by the time I got off the plane, got my bags, and headed for the train - I knew I was going ...

Well, I just returned from our first sketch trip to various cities in northern France. Instead of one long entry, I'm going to do smaller ones for each city so I can organize pictures and everything better. And I must admit that I love the little pushpins TravelPod uses when you visit another city.

We left Versailles at about 8 AM, all very sleepy. I can report that my hiking backpack is absolutely incredible. Not only ...

... ja viela Johannan ja Mohammedin luona Vantaallakin, mutta homma ei edennyt. Paluulennolle sen sijaan onnistuimme varaamaan mieleisemme istumapaikat. Kun saavuimme Finnairin lennolla Pariisiin CDG:n 2D-terminaaliin, juoksimme parhaaseen AMATSIN RAKE -tyyliin suoraan 2E:hen. Siella sitten check-in-jonosta meidat ohjattiin pankkiautomaatin nakoiselle check-in-koneelle, joka sekin herjasi meidan tsekkausyrityksellemme ihan niin ...

... on the beach there to sanctify it. Cy will be impressed. It is a very sad & moving thing to visit all the war grave sites. Have taken over 300 pix so far! The question of the day: Why do the stop signs here in France say 'STOP' and not 'Arret'?????????????????? Bob

... We settled on a place called the le Bouchon. It was in this pretty old looking building that seemed to be on a slight lean. We met up with Suzanne, but had to wait a half an hour until the restaurant actually started serving food. Overall the food was really good. It was all traditional French fare. The restaurant was also a wine bar, and they did something interesting with how they served the wine. When you asked for a glass they poured you ...

... chaos at the Champ de Mars. There was a concert, followed by gorgeous fireworks with an operatic background. It was truly beautiful, though there were so many people that a lot of what I saw was through my camera screen because I could hold it over everyone's heads. If you allowed yourself to forget that you were surrounded by 600,000 people, you could even imagine that you were in some old Hollywood film watching the fireworks around the Eiffel Tower. Update on the ...

Amiens, where we ate at noon was not our main goal fior the trip that day. It was Gerberoy. A beauty but a little dissappointing. Dissappointing because there was an art fair and we were not able to enjoy its quiteness that normally exists. Our daughter had a lesson in school about the crême de Chantilly. In Gerberoy we decided to visit Chantilly.

... properly). Today we had art with a French art course. It was amazing! The art teacher brought a long roll of paper to the school hall where we were standing and put it on the floor. It was six or seven meters long probably. She put it on the floor and unrolled it. Then she distributed paints to us, so that everybody got only one colour. Afterwards we sat on the floor around the paper and drew something on the piece straight in front of us. After a while ...

... films. I only have two left and that should be plenty for tomorrow. I still can't believe my trip is coming to an end. These two weeks have zipped by! I definitely enjoyed myself a whole lot and I really do feel well rested to show up at work this coming Tuesday. Even with jet lag and all.