No bonus points here, but rather, a gift from AA to me. They just may not know it. January is a reserve (on-call) month for me at work. I know my days off, but other than that, the month is unplanned. I could fly anywhere with only two hours notice. Anywhere sometimes includes right where you want to be. I called in for my assignment the other night with some trepedation, as usual, and uneasily waited for the automated voice to spit out where I’d be headed next. Destination: Paris. Yes, yes, I’ve worked to Paris before, many times in fact, but not when two of my dearest friends are there at the same time.
I nearly fell off the bed as The Voice, which can bring happiness and sadness, spat out that not only was I laying over in Paris, but I’d be there for 54 hours. 54 hours? Did I hear that right? We don’t have 54 hour layovers -- anywhere. I logged into the computer to check my schedule on-line and sure enough, I was about to go to Paris on an all expense paid trip to visit my friends! Over a three day period. That’s happiness.
There’s always a catch, right? At first I thought my friends were going to be on holiday in Rome, and that I’d miss them altogether. That’s sadness. A quick email to them sorted out that they’d be there the first day I was there, but would be leaving early in the morning the following day.
Fast forward to now. I arrived in Paris yesterday about 11am. We headed to the hotel where I showered and changed, sorted out my euros from other currency from around the world, and donned my winter jacket and scarf. And I was off. I called my friends from the lobby to let them know I was enroute. I walked out the hotel, turned right and headed toward the bus stop. Bus route 21 whisked me north into the center of Paris, about a ten minute ride from the hotel. I exited the bus in front of the magnificent Notre Dame and continued my trek north by walking about five blocks to Rue Rambeteau. 33... 31... ah, 29. I punched in the required codes to enter the building, then entered the second set of codes to reassure the electornic guard that I indeed should be there. I awaited his approval, signaled by a low buzz and green light, and I was in.
Up the stairs I went. I came to the door that seperated me from my friends. I hesistated for a moment. I double checked I was on the right floor then knocked on the door. I heard a shuffle coming towards the door from the inside and a familiar voice say, “Ah, a stranger is at the door.” Click, the door opened. Hugs all around and sincere disbelief we were together again, in Paris.
We sat down in the living room of this tiny 16th century apartment and talked about their time there and discussed what we’d be doing. We agreed lunch was in order as we were all hungry. We headed to L’Entrecote, a good, fairly inexpensive place for steak and fries, a Paris staple. From there we headed to the River Seine and boarded a boat to take in the sites of the city of lights. We first passed by the Louvre, then the Musee d’Orsay, the Assemblee Nationale, Place de la Concorde, then the Eiffel Tower. The boat turned around and we headed upstream, taking in the Grand Palais, the Tuilleries, Notre Dame and the Hotel de Ville. I have seen all of these sites on foot, and some from the inside, but seeing them from the river was a new twist that was both exciting and relaxing.
I hit the ground running right away when I arrived in Paris. Never mind the fact I just worked a seven hour flight from New York. I had been up for quite some time. Taking a leisure ride on the boat was just what I needed, even catching a few winks as I listened to the drone of the motor as we floated along the river. It started to rain as the tour came to an end so we decided to head back to the apartment. We enjoyed some nice pastries my friends had picked up the day before. They were little fruit tarts with delcious creme brule on top. A very nice treat. My friends then prepared for their trip to Rome in the morning and I managed to get a few more winks in.
After spending a couple of hours resting while they packed, we headed out for a simple dinner of savory crepes. On tonight’s menu: crepes with fried egg, cheese and ham. Quite yummy. Of course we indulged in the must have dessert crepes with Nutella and banana. Sadly, it was time to call it a night. My friends had arranged for a 5:15 taxi in the morning and I needed to return to the hotel. They walked me to the Metro, Paris’ subway system. We said our goodbyes, gave lingering hugs and then smiled as I passed through the gates to the underground. I turned around one last time to say goodbye, wished them a pleasant trip to Rome and then disappeared around the corner. It was a quick ride back to the hotel, about five minutes. I had a short walk once outside. It was nice to take in the smell of the rain cleaned streets. It had stopped raining, so I made my way leisurely back to the hotel.
Sleep came quickly once I laid in bed. Nearly 36 hours had passed since I had any real sleep and I was ready. My body was tired; my head was filled with sweet memories of the day before. This was indeed an uxpected trip full of rewards.
