Paris, Take II

Friday, October 28

Okay, so we're trying this again. Back to the Pisa airport via the oh-my-god-I'm-really-on-a-bus-at-5am shuttle. It looked pretty foreboding again this morning, with the fog worsening the closer we got to Pisa. Dang.

Nevertheless, we went through the motions and checked in. This time, the airport security folks weren't letting people in to the departure lounge until it was time to board the plane, which made me immediately suspicious. It seemed WAY too much like they were wary of a repeat of yesterday's disaster. But, eventually, they allowed us in, and we lined up at the departure gate. So far, so good. At one point, the gate agents even started printing passenger manifests, which is always a good sign. So we waited.

And waited.

By now it's about 10:00, and the plane that would be used for the 7:00am flight to Gerona, Spain, hadn't shown up yet. But we waited patiently, hoping that the fact that they hadn't changed the departure time (even though we were already late) was still a good sign.

So we waited some more.

Finally, out of the fog comes a Ryanair arrival. The Gerona passengers cheered. We were filled with hope.

Then an Alitalia arrival rolls to the gate. Things are looking up!

Now, it's about 10:45. Air Dolomiti boards a flight headed for Munich. And my feet are starting to hurt, but I'm excited because I'm thinking, yes... we're actually going to Paris!

And then, at 11:00, the monitor over our gate flashes a succinct message: "CANCELLED"

Now, I'm nothing short of furious. I call EasyJet on my cellphone, explain we'd been waiting to depart for over 26 hours, and ask exactly what they plan to do with us. The guy on the other end puts me on hold for a few minutes, and then comes back and says the flight is still scheduled. Incredulously, I tell him that at the airport, they seem to have different ideas. So he puts me on hold again, and a few minutes later comes back on the line and tells me that he spoke to operations, and the plane has made a stop at Genoa, but will be inbound as soon as it's been refueled, and that he would contact Pisa airport so that they can get their story straight. Hmm. Okay.

So we go back to the departure lounge. They have no information on the monitors at this point, and they're not letting anyone in past the security checkpoint, saying that only those whose flights are boarding immediately will be allowed in the lounge. Wow. Nothing to do but wait and hope a plane shows up. So, we headed up to the observation deck, staked out a couple of seats, and waited.

Noon comes, then 12:30, then 1:00pm. No sign of our plane.

But finally, at 1:30... an orange-and-white airplane touches down on the opposite side of the airport. Finally, after over 28 hours late, we're getting to Paris. Yay!

The trip itself was uneventful once we left. Arrived at Paris Orly airport (the other one), transferred to an Air France shuttle into the city, then from there took the Metro to within a few blocks of the hotel. Looked like a nice enough place, in sort of an out-of-the-way residential neighborhood. After stopping in for a moment to drop our bags, we headed out to dinner and to see a bit of the city. Dinner was steaks and some very good scalloped potatoes at a restaurant about three-quarters of a mile away. Afterward, we hopped back on the Metro and walked out the Champs-Elysees, stopping at the Arc de Triomphe. For those who haven't seen it, the Arc, built by Napoleon in one if his more narcissistic fits, is HUGE. It's supposed to boast one of the best vistas of the city, and I could see how that would be true; it's in the middle of an enormous roundabout, and (I think) twelve major roads radiate out from the center. It's a gorgeous place to be at night.

Soon enough we were completely exhausted, and so we headed back to the hotel to collapse. Tomorrow, we'll explore some more.

Bon soir!
Leanne