Mercure Compiegne Sud 3m 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.

... be late.

The trains were operating on an adjusted schedule due to a work strike. So I took what I could then jumped a cab when I got into the city. Only made 1-1/2 hours of the first day of meetings. I was supposed to make almost 4 hours. Oh well.

... we climbed over the stones and half-walls to get the best vantage point. I’ve noticed in Europe that there’s not many signs or regulations in these kind of places; We basically had free reign of the place, whereas in the US, I’m pretty sure we would’ve had security guards and employees chasing us all over the place. So when we discovered that to get to the top of one of the walls, all you had to do was ...

... together airport like many major US airports are. The older terminals were designed before terrorism had to be taken into account, and all the enhanced security that goes with it. So to get from terminal A where I arrived, to terminal E from where my next flight would depart, I had to leave the secure zone, head outside to the sidewalk and either walk or take a shuttle bus and then pass security screening once again (pull out all liquids – in 3 ounce bottles or less ...

OK - made it to Paris, but we left 15 minutes late, so I wasn't sure I would make my connection. But this was a first. I was sitting in the 2nd to last row. But during our long taxi, the main flight attendant comes back to me and tells me to grab my stuff and to move up to first class. They will hold the plane for me, but they didn't want to wait the 10 minutes for me to get off from the ...

After arriving at Charles De Gaulle Airport Terminal 2A on a direct flight from Dallas, I sped through the terminal to the rail station to catch the TGV to Brussels.  When we left Dallas, the pilot told us we would probably arrive 20 minutes early.  That would be great since I only had a 20 minute window to catch the train to Brussels or wait another hour and a half.  Well, we arrived only 5 minutes early but I still made the train with 5 minutes to spare.   I tend to get one word ...

... for every person that ordered. I guess it will forever remain a mystery. We got a prix fixe menu, so we each got an appetizer, entree, and dessert. Suzanne and Jason both got the cassoulet, which is something he has been wanting to try for quite some time, and he was satisfied. I got a fried leg of duck, and it was tender and savory. During dinner, Suzanne told us about a bowling alley in Compiegne she has been trying to get the other assistants to go ...

... I am not pleased. I tried two different ones and they were both disgusting. Then I had one today and since I chose to sit on the terrace, it cost me double: €7.50 for about five bites. I can't even say that it was great; tolerable is a better description. Also, I am planning to try some brasseries in the near future, with some real French cuisine. P.S. Jérémie, thank you so much for coming to Paris, it was such a lovely weekend. I'm sorry you missed the fireworks.

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.

... moved one step to the right and added something to the drawing which was already there on the next piece of paper. We did it like that for some time, until the paper was filled up. It was so fun! We could draw anything we like - but only abstract thing like dots or lines, we could somehow destroy the drawing which was there previosly by drawing something over it, but we could also just let it be or add something to make it even better. After we finished ...