I had a rough night. No doubt it was because today was a travel day. It's the prep for traveling that stresses me.
My husband K and I got up at 7, as planned. Shortly before our daughter J was to arrive at 7:30 to go to breakfast, we went out to our verandah one last time to look at the port of Barcelona. Or at least, what we could see of it. We did recognize a uniquely shaped building inland from our trip here in 2015.
At breakfast on the Lido Deck, we were surprised to see Augstn working. He wished us safe travels again.
Today, I had to make my own yogurt and fruit mixture, as they didn't have just a bowl of vanilla yogurt. We did make our beloved meat sandwiches and got the chocolate pastries we like, too, no doubt for the last time this trip.
Last Sunday had marked the end of the first leg of this trip. In our "mail" that day, we got a booklet, much like a passport, and a large, page-sized sticker with the itinerary we'd just completed and other info. We all found this to be pretty cool. I'd been expecting my 3-Star Mariner pin on this cruise, because I hit the required days for that. However, the girl at Guest Services said that they don't give that out on this cruise, but the next and I thought that nuts. We'd always gotten them onboard the cruise where we hit the requirements. So, I was really disappointed that we did not get a sticker with the info for the just-completed leg of the cruise.
We were called at 8:40, which was before our scheduled disembarkation time. When we got to the lower deck where the gangplank was, there were several officer types. I decided to ask about the sticker. They were surprised that we hadn't gotten any and one went off to fetch some. We had to wait several minutes, but knew they had to get us to the airport regardless. He came back with stickers for each of us and we disembarked at 8:54. As we walked into the terminal, I took one final photo of our ship.
We really didn't have to do much other than find our bags and head out of the terminal. We found the airport bus and were onboard at 9:02. We had to wait for other passengers to arrive before we left at 9:25.
En
route to the airport we saw some of the port and the tall pillar with
Christopher Columbus atop it. We learned during our Spain trip that he
sailed from here. We even caught a glimpse of the spires of La Sagrada
Familia, which is an amazing church.
We saw one thing along the highway that we had not noticed back then on our drive from the airport to the city. It was the better part of a hillside that was tiered. Upon closer look, I realized it was a cemetery. Some of it seems to be crypts or a columbarium. It was an interesting way to not take up horizontal real estate. It was called Cementiri de Montuïc.
It took only 23 minutes to reach the airport, which was a bit of a madhouse. We looked at the board to figure out which check in booth was assigned to Air France. Unlike here, the two airports we know in Spain do not have the big desks for each airline like we do. Rather, they are assigned booths for the day, it seems.
A Holland America rep showed up and pointed us to the very long line for Air France. I was concerned because we'd never received an email from Air France. The flight did show up in our general itinerary and I hoped that that meant we were good to go.
Ahead of us in line was an African American couple, who were not allowed to check in. They did not have the required Covid test results to enter the US. We thought it really weird that they would not know that. The airlines kept reminding us of that even before we left home. Truth be told, we were really hoping the policy would change before we had to head home.
We were finally all checked in at 10:56. That was an awfully long time to have to stand. We then headed for security. Our Global Entry did us little good here, but they don't make you take off your shoes in Europe anyway. We were through that at 11:20.
We roamed around to find a place for lunch. We finally settled on La Place, which is set up a bit like a cafeteria. We got 2 Coke Zero for 3 euros each and one regular Coke for 3,05 for some reason. A bag of chips- one serving size- was 2 euros. A bag of popcorn was 2,60. We got two marinated chicken focaccia sandwiches, but I've only just realized that we were charged for only one for 7,15. That kind of makes up for how expensive the Spanish ham on a long roll was- 13,75. K felt we needed fruit. So, we got a large cup of pineapple and orange for 4,25.
We found a booth kind of away from others, where we'd feel comfortable taking off our masks and eating. We had a long time to go for our plane. So, we just relaxed there until 1:00.
After that, we roamed
around, browsing the shops. They actually had a Hudson, like many of our
airports. It was 1:43, when I got a Coke Zero there for 2,95 euros and a
Mars bar for 2. K got a coffee for 2,25. I was surprised at the various
types of M & M's and Kit Kats.
2:40 found us in line 3 at Gate 73 for Air France flight 1649 to Charles de Gaulle Airport. I liked that their jetway had windows and air conditioning. We don't get that at home.
At 2:55, we were seated in 18 D, E, and F, with J in the D seat across the aisle from us. At 3:13, the plane pushed back from the gate. We found it very interesting that all of the announcements and instructions were in French and English, but not Spanish, even though we were departing from Spain. Also, it was evidently Mother's Day in France.
After take off at 3:25, we had some beautiful views of the Mediterranean Coast of Spain. We could even see waves reaching the beach. After 20 minutes, we were seeing the Pyrenees. Just lovely.
I will say that my feet were absolutely mashed. Not the roomiest plane.
We were surprised when we were served a snack of ham and butter on a roll at 3:55. We had thought that they wouldn't bother on such a relatively short flight. We were served cute tiny soda cans and paper cups, as well.
The terrain below us ranged from the many, often tan, quadrilaterals of Queaux to the more verdant ones of Dangeau and on to the Seine and forest of Saint-Germain-en-Laye north of Paris.
We saw the Eiffel Tower shortly before landing, but the photo was terrible. Landing was at 4:55 under cloudy skies. It was 5:02, when the plane reached the gate at the rather futuristic looking Terminal 2.
There wasn't any immigration or customs to go through, probably because we were coming from another EU country. A sign at baggage claim said that the luggage would arrive at 17:22. However, the carousel didn't actually start moving until 17:28. It didn't take us long to find our bags, and, as always, to be grateful they'd arrived.
Back home, when planning the trip, J had researched how to get from the airport to Disneyland Paris. Our choices boiled down to the train and the Disney Magical Express. The latter was more expensive and took longer, so we planned on the former. However, as we headed for the trains, we found a sign that said that the trains were not running today. We didn't think that Sunday was the problem. We figured it was because it was Mother's Day.
So, disappointed, we went looking for the Magical Express. We
reached that office at 5:50 and managed to get tickets for the last bus
of the day for 69 euros. J and I then went into the nearby Marks &
Spencer, where she bought us pastries and cookies. The former were quite
good and we saved the cookies for later. One would not expect a British
store in a French airport, but there it was. J was familiar with the
brand from her study abroad semester in London.
At 6:25, a little nervous lest we miss it, we moved outside to wait for the bus.
The driver arrived, parked and went inside. Along with a growing number of passengers, we stood outside by the sign for the bus in the chilly air. It was 17 C (62.6 F). Finally, the driver came out and opened the bus. K and J took care of getting our luggage underneath. We were onboard at 6:42.
The bus was not full, when we departed at 6:46. There was a mixture of sizes of groups and types of people all headed for Disneyland.
We were the only ones to be dropped off at the Hotel New York - The Art of Marvel at 7:38. When we rolled our luggage up, security made us leave it with them to be scanned. They would be scanned and delivered to our room. That did not thrill me, because I knew we wouldn't want to have them left outside of our door. So, we'd have to await their delivery.
We had to go through a scanner, too, to enter the hotel. Really hope we won't have to do that every time we come back. The lobby was quite impressive. Marvel art and objects were the decorations, of course. We'd have to check out the shop later.
Not surprisingly, there was someone at the desk, who spoke English. I had sort of checked in on the app already, which meant there wasn't a lot of paperwork to do. We were given our keys, which were also our park passes.
We took our time looking around the first floor and taking photos. Our room was 3148, which we reached at 7:55. We were sharing the room, because it was cheaper than two rooms and I got a deal for 3 adults in one room.
The
room was bright and modern. There was enough room for all us,
especially since we didn't expect to be spending a lot of time in the
room itself. Ms. Marvel and Black Panther graced our walls. I was
greeted by name on the television, which is always cool. Oh, and the
door to the bathroom was a slider. So, if it was open, it covered the
closet. Closed meant the closet was open. Rather efficient.
We got ourselves settled in a bit and the luggage showed up. K tipped the guy 5 euros. It should be noted, that when we'd checked the weather for packing at home, we saw warm temperatures for the whole trip. We had already discovered that that was not true here in the evening in Paris. K had a couple of long-sleeved shirts, but J and I did not. We would have to make do with the jackets we had.
So, we left for the main park at 8:40. One of the advantages of staying in this hotel is that it is right next to their Disney Village. So, you walk. Outside, we found Black Panther watching over the place.
Security was right at the edge of the village. It operated pretty much like the security at Disney World, except that there were far fewer scanners. There was only one tonight. We got through at 8:52.
As we walked through the village on our way to the park, we saw some familiar names on the shops, as well as places similar to what we have at Disney Springs in Orlando. We talked about hitting the Earl of Sandwich for breakfast in the morning. We thought the German restaurant might make for a good dinner spot one night. And, in one window, we saw the beginnings of the signs of the 30th anniversary celebrations for Disneyland Paris. We also found ourselves getting more excited.
It was 8:59, when we first caught site of the Disneyland Hotel, which sits in front of the park. It was closed for renovations, but still looked great. It also looked good on camera. The entrance under the center of the park was closed, but there were entrances on either side of it.
It
should be mentioned that all three of us watched numerous videos about
Disneyland Paris before the trip. K and I would find a good one and tell
J and vice versa. Most were filmed this spring and put up on YouTube.
One did an actual walk through of the park, even rides, when possible.
They gave us all kinds of tips on navigating this park and its
companion. One told us all about merchandise and we had some good ideas
of what we wanted. Disney+ had had a show called Behind the Attraction,
which had told us about the version of various rides that were in the
different parks. We felt prepared to make the most of this visit.
At 9:06, we were standing in front of the train station. It looked wonderful! When we went through one of its passageways and looked back, that was a nice view, too. I also appreciated the sign.
One advantage of entering the park this late was that there weren't a lot of folks entering with us. That meant that there weren't a lot of folks right in the town square to clog up our photos. And, yes, we took quite a few down Main Street to the castle from this vantage point.
We would have liked a map. You can pick one up at the entrance to any of the parks in Disney World. Not here. We had to depend on the app, which meant J's personal WiFi had to stay nearby.
It was after 9:15 and we hadn't eaten yet. So, we went to our planned food place, the Market House Deli. Happily, they recognized K's Disney id and he got a discount on the meal. We got 3 Ham and Cheese Toasties, Coke and Coke Zero, and the anniversary Mickey head doughnut. We wanted the 30th Madeleine, but they were out. We had to eat outside, which was a bit chilly. The food was passable, not as great as you might expect French food to be.
One thing that this park has that ours and Disneyland don't is arcades on the far side of the buildings along Main Street. This makes it really easy to avoid the crowds out on the street. You can access the shops and restaurants from the arcades, too. The arcades are very attractive.
J had found out that Space Mountain over in Discoveryland is closing tomorrow for refurbishment. So, it was very important that she and K ride it tonight. (I don't do roller coasters.) Due to Jules Verne being French, this version of the ride has a whole steampunk vibe and you get shot up into the top of the mountain.
They
went to get in line around 10. I roamed around the area, freezing. I
ducked into a nearby shop, hoping to warm up. When they got off the
ride, which they thoroughly enjoyed, I got K to buy me a beach towel
from the shop, so that I could wrap it around myself. We see tourists
doing that or buying a throw to wrap in, when the temperature at night
at Epcot catches them off-guard in December.
Speaking of Jules
Verne, nearby was this interesting display. Google Translate says that
this quote from him says, "Everything within the limits of the possible
must be and will be accomplished."
We made our way over to Main Street to await the fireworks. The special 30th anniversary show was canceled due to weather conditions. It was a bit breezy, but it didn't seem that bad.
The fireworks and projection show started around 11. Unfortunately, the photos I took with the phone did not turn out well. I suspect it was the distance. These two weren't bad.
When the show ended, we joined the huge crowd leaving the closing park.
It took a while to get upstairs, because it was one family at a time on the elevator. Finally, we were in our room at 11:45 tired, but excited about continuing our adventure tomorrow.
The phone says I took 11,743 steps for 3.9 miles. It thinks I climbed 11 floors.
No comments:
Post a Comment