Back from France
 

Thanks to all of you who provided such wonderful help in planning for my France trip. Rude People? I met not one. The only slight hiccup was upon arriving at CDG and finding the RER access. We arrived 1:00 p.m. or so and there was no line to buy tickets, i.e., the credit card thing. My traveling companion and I were both taken aback when we arrived at the top of what appeared to be a two-story staircase with more than 40 lbs. luggage each and a dead escalator with no lift in sight. We must have looked like deer in the headlights. A French lady with her mother and child bounced past us, got to the bottom of the stairway, turned around, ran back up the stairs and grabbed my suitcase and carried it down the stairs and returned to do the same for my traveling companion cousin. We are both over 65 and slightly built. I nearly cried with gratitude. We were on our own for three days in Paris before joining our tour group. Every single time we got that look on our faces, "Where are we? What to do now"? some gracious French person offered assistance. I don't think we looked too much like tourists because on three separate occasions someone stopped to ask me for directions. Remembering the dead escalator and the 40 lbs of luggage, we took a city bus back to CDG to pick up the Holiday Inn shuttle. We stayed in Paris at the Holiday Inn Gare de 'l Est and were pleased with the locale and the accommodations. We walked one-half block to the corner, boarded city bus 350 with Charles DeGaulle on the front, paid our 4.60E. We told the driver we were looking to pick up the HI shuttle to Roissy. We kept seeing the shuttle as we were traversing the terminals at CDG and trying to get off. The bus driver told us to stay put and delivered us to the last transfer station where the shuttle appeared in less than five minutes. The fee of 5E that I kept inquiring about is from the HI or Roissy station to CDG. For some reason, if one is traveling from CDG to the HI there is no charge.
Thanks for all the advice,
Carolyn in Texas

Forty pounds of luggage EACH!? Wow, guess you didn't heed the "Pack Light" advice on this thread.

Glad you had an enjoyable trip, and met only pleasant people.

:-)

There are elevators on both sides going down to the RER station. It's a shame you didn't see them. There are also 4 sets of escalators, one on each corner of the access. Were none of them working?

>>>Rude People? I met not one.<<<

The French CAN be very rude if you tell them they are "Old Europe" and that you have renamed "French Fries" "Freedom Fries"!

Kerouac, thanks for the info. I will keep it in mind. We were jet-lagged and worn out by the time we got to the RER. We would probably have found the information from the ticket clerk or someone had we not been rescued so quickly. After being advised by a desk clerk at the HI in Est that she would not take the train route about which we were inquiring to get to Momartre because the station we would have to use to transfer was, in her opinion, quite unsafe, we discovered the city bus system and loved it. The trip back to CDG on the city bus took about an hour and gave us a nice sight-seeing tour. We usually stick to tour groups where everything is taken care of. We did prove to ourselves we can do it on our own. Lesson learned, less than 40 lbs of luggage, although for a 14 day trip, 10 days of which were on a river boat, I did wear every item in my suitcase.
Thanx for the tip. Next time, I will find the lift.
Carolyn

For me the trouble with cruising is that they require so much luggage, especially if you have to dress up for dinner.

I think if a person is going to call them "freedom fries" they should just stay home. I'm sure we'll all be much happier if they do.

I also found the Parisians to be very polite and helpful with the exception of one hotel employee. One jerk didn't ruin my trip.

I have also found the French to be quite helpful. I've travelled around France alot - by train and also driving, alone. The stairs in the train stations can be a problem - but someone always seems to offer help. I'm a "senior" too, and the young people there seem very respectful of older people. I haven't encountered many rude French people. The few who were could have been in any country! I have never felt any overt dislike of Americans.

What an upbeat review. Thanks for sharing. 3 of us are planning a trip to France in September and for the first time not going with a tour group. We too are from Texas and Seniors and want to prove to ourselves we can do it.....even navigating CDG airport! Thanks again
ACDB in Texas