<u>March 29</u>: Our last full day. The original plan was for CTC and I to spend the day wandering along the whole metro line 1 - La Defense, Arc de Triumphe, Champs Elysees, Tuilleries, and then wandering around the islands a bit more. But that plan is out the window. First, CTCs Versailles tour was moved to this morning. He later said it was a total zoo since all of Tues (cancelled) tours plus all the scheduled Wed tours converged on the palace. There were thousands of people there and it was very, VERY crowded. He was also bummed that Tues was the last day of his 4-day museum pass and everything was closed on Tuesday. I told him to go to the d’Orsay anyway – and ask if they would honor the pass since it was closed due to the strike. No problem – they didn’t even bat an eye – so he got to see the D’Orsay afterall – though it was extremely crowded just like Versailles.

I sort of stuck w/ the original plan. Starting w/ La defense. I had not been out there before and was intrigued by the modern architecture and the Grande Arche. What a weird place! I found it VERY cold and sterile. There is a long bank of steps to get up to the plaza on the ground floor of the Arch. Before climbing up there I wandered around taking pictures of the area around the base of the Arch. I went inside and found a curved escalator – and thought great I can avoid climbing the steps. But the escalator wasn’t running so I started back outside to go upstairs. Then a man walked up to the escalator and it started up. Ta Dah! – It is an automated escalator that doesn’t move unless someone gets on it. So I skipped the long climb and rode up. Then I took the lift to the top floor gallery/observation deck. Sort of like a tourist attraction ghost town. This large art gallery, gift shop and small observation deck looking down to the Arc de Triumphe and beyond – and there were maybe 15 people in the whole place. The art exhibit was semi-interesting but I was one of only 3 or 4 people who even bothered to glance in. The whole place was fairly off putting.

Then I rode the metro to Etoile. I didn't go up to the top - I've been there before and the queue was not too long but still probably would have taken 30 minutes or more. This trip I managed to go to the top of Montparnasse, Eiffel Tower, La Defense, and up to Sacre Coeur. So got a LOT of views over all of Paris. Sacre Coeur is the best of course, but really – Tour Montparnasse had the best views since you can see all of the other “icons” from up there.

Then I walked along the Champs Elysees and window shopped Cartier and other posh shops. Stopped for a coffee and then decided I’d try to get in Laduree for pastries. Took the metro to Concorde and walked to the restaurant on rue Royale, expecting to have a wait or not be able to get in at all. But no problem – when I told them I was having lunch I got a window table. I think if I had only been having pastries there might have been a longer wait. I had the most amazing salad. It was really just a chicken breast/spinach salad but what a work of art. Several pieces of chicken breast arrange around the plate drizzled with a wonderful tart/sweet dressing. Then in the center a long paper thin strips of cucumber formed into a cylinder holding in a pile of baby spinach topped by very sweet seeded/peeled tomatoes and topped by another large piece of chicken breast. It was a beautiful presentation and tasted great too. Also had tea and an apricot infusion. Just a wonderful presentation.

Then I walked over to the carousel du Louvre to do some shopping in the Louvre gift shop and in some of the carousel shops.

By now it is late afternoon I am starting to feel a little achey – feels like a sinus infection coming on. So I take the metro back to St Michel, stop in the corner grocery for some fruit and a small package of ham. That night I pack and have fruit and cold cuts plus nosh on the cookies, nutella, and other goodies we have stockpiled over the last week. Not a gourmet dinner for the last night – but just what I needed.

CTC made contact w/ a friend of a relative, who is an antique dealer in the Marais. They arrange to have dinner in China Town – which works out perfect since I really wasn’t feeling well enough for a night out. Tomorrow we have a noon flight out of CDG – and I want a good night’s sleep.

But no amount of sleep would prepare us for the mess AA put us through on the trip home . . . . . .

Your report is great.

I hope CTC had a good time, but it sounds a little dreadful on Wed!

I second the above comment on how much we loved the Musee Rodin. Most of the other museums are very grandiose, but the Musee Rodin has more of an intimate and relaxed feel. . . and I am by no
means an art &quot;lover.&quot;

Also agree that any more than two panoramic views of Paris is overkill.

Janisj, Interesting perspective on the relative merits of the Grande Arch and the Tour Montparnasse views. I was in Paris for the 28th strike and we saw the facilities of the Hotel Invalides and the Musee Rodin and had no problem.
However, at the end of the day we were trying to get to Place d'Italie on M. Line 6 and one train was so packed we could not get on even with a rinning dive! That will go down as a memorable event! Too bad the strike affected you so.

<u>March 30</u>: (This is a looooong installment - but I just have to vent somewhere.)

Flying home today. Normally I’d be sad, but 8 days in Paris was just about right. I didn’t get to do everything but it was cold and rainy enough that I managed about as much as possible. If this trip was in May or September when the gardens and weather are better I’d want about 2 weeks.

Anyway – first a bit of background. CTC and I live in/near Sacramento and flew AA SFO &gt; DFW &gt; CDG on two flight numbers 1002 and 48. But the return flight from CDG to SFO is listed as one flight number – - 49. I knew we would land at DFW, and probably change equipment, but the e-ticket and itinerary only describe it a #49 CDG &gt; SFO. One would <b>THINK</b> AA wouldn’t schedule a flight so it is impossible to connect to itself – but one would be wrong.

More background. There is no easy way to do morning flights out of SFO from Sacramento. You either have to go down the night before, OR leave early in the a.m. and drive through TWO commute messes (Sac and the Bay Area), OR fly – which costs nearly as much as our R-T to Paris. Only a very slight exaggeration. We opted to drive – CTCs nephew lives only about 10 minutes from SFO so we drove to his house, left the car there and nephew drove us to the airport. And then when we land we would call nephew and he could meet us about the time our luggage came out (I don’t usually check a bag but CTC did so I figured I’d check too since it wouldn’t save me any time at the other end)

Enough background – now the saga. Because of the trouble on the RER day 1, we decided to head out early just in case and we’d have enough to catch a taxi if the RER was down. Well of course the RER was totally trouble free and we were at CDG 3.5 hours ahead. Nothing on our documentation said which terminal but I figured it would be #2 something so we got off at Term. 2. But there were no AA flights on any of the monitors – everything was AF. We asked an info desk w/ AF staff and they didn’t know which terminal/gates AA uses. One called someone and sent us off in the right direction.

Of course check-in wasn’t open yet but we found the right queue and we were number 4 and 5 in line. I described what happened next on another thread about CDG – suffice it to say if we hadn’t been at the front of the line we could have missed the flight. The three men in front of us were middle easterners going to some sort of navy conference in Houston and it took more than an hour for them to clear the security screening before the check in desk. A fourth security agent finally showed up 45 minutes later and that is when CTC and I were cleared. By then the check in line stretched out of sight and from the looks of the departure lounge some of them were in line more than 2 hours. And that is just for check in – we still had to go through security. I was VERY glad we got there early. CTC and I got boarding passes for both segments (CDG/DFW and DFW/SFO) and they were for the same seat numbers.

The flight was fairly uneventful – dreadful food – which is unusual. I think AA usually has decent food on international. Not great but certainly edible. Well – this was awful, an odd tasting piece of chicken w/ and some penne pasta w/ a bright red tomato sauce. But I figure – we have 90 minutes on the ground in DFW, which isn’t a long time but should be enough time to pick up a sandwich or something.

We land at DFW at 3:00 – about 10 minutes late. No big deal. A flight attendant makes the usual announcement - “For connecting passengers there will be AA reps to direct you to your gates. yada, yada, yada”. <b>DO NOT believe them!</b> We have to de-plane – go through customs – retrieve our bags (I’ll NEVER check bags again) - go through immigration and re-check the bags. There are three incoming international flights at the same time – from Zurich, Rio, and CDG, so the lines at Customs and Immigration are really long.

CTCs bag comes up first and I lose sight of him in the crowd. After finally getting my bag and going through immigration – there is ONE baggage handler there to take care of everyone’s bags – he yells for everyone to just drop their luggage and he’ll take care of it. I figure my bag will be a few days getting to me. Anyway – then I start to look for all those mythical AA reps to direct us – No One. There is a queue at a ticket counter – but that would take at least 30 minutes. I finally see a monitor and find AA 49. It is currently 3:40, I am in terminal D – and flight 49 is boarding at 3:40 in terminal A. AND I am now landside so I have to go through a security screening. It wasn’t a long line but I got behind a man who had to go through the scanner 3 times and practically undress. By the time I get through – still in Terminal D – it is 3:55 and I still have to take the train to Terminal A and find the gate. I RUN (looked like an OJ commercial) the whole way and get to the gate gasping for breath just as they are closing the door.

The gate agent says – “don’t worry, we’ll get you on the next flight and you’ll only be an hour later into SFO”. I say my CTC is on that plane, and we have no way to communicate, and, and, and – SOMETHING I said must have worked because he issued me a new boarding pass and opens the door! I rush on to the plane – my seat is full of someone else’s bags on the seat and under the seat in front. It all belongs to a guy across the aisle and he is REALLY annoyed that he has to move everything. Gee, sorry.

Then I immediately see that CTC is not in the seats we were originally assigned. I call for an attendant to see if I can get off – but before she comes we have pushed away. Too late.

I am NOT a happy camper and I think about the problems ahead. I don’t know where CTC is, I don’t have nephew’s phone number, I don’t have my cell phone w/ me so I don’t have CTC’s roommate’s phone number in Sacramento.

THEN I really get p**sed – the attendants are selling food, drinks, and headphones – and they will NOT take &euro;! Now, I know this is a domestic flight – but it is listed as a direct flight from CDG to SFO. They <u>should</u> take &euro;. There aren’t any other CDG flight 49 passengers on the flight – there should have been but I’m the only one who made the connection. I usually have $ - but back on day 1 when one of my ATM cards wouldn’t work I exchanged all my $. And I certainly didn’t have time to change money at DFW! So a 3.5 hour flight w/ only a soft drink – no food, no sound system, no movie - Harry Potter :( I spoke w/ the purser and all he could tell me was to write to AA when I got home. He didn’t offer me a drink or headphone or anything. Thanks for nothing. ( BTW – when I saw him on the ground at SFO he apologized and said the attendants should have taken my euro. BIG help then! ) The Purser said he would contact SFO and be sure there is an agent to meet me. They page CTC a couple of times just to make sure he isn’t on the plane somewhere – and I fly on to SFO hungry, thirsty, and worried about how to straighten out this mess.

When I arrive at SFO at 5:50 there is an agent to help me – but she is REALLY annoyed that the purser asks her to try to find what flight CTC is on. Eventually she locates him on a flight arriving at 9:23 - what happened to the flight that would have gotten me to SFO just an hour later than scheduled??

My bag doesn’t come off and the red box AA uses to indicate “last bag” is slowly circling the carousel. But about 10 minutes later there is my bag :) but not CTC’s :(

I call my folks in Sac hoping they can find CTC’s roommate’s number but no dice. I spend the next 3 hours sitting in baggage claim. CTC’s flight lands on time (!) and he is being paged from baggage services – apparently his suitcase arrived on an intervening flight. He is amazingly calm – after he finds me. At DFW they had no idea where I was and didn’t know I had made flight 49. In fact AA re-ticketed me for the later flight – after I was already on the ground at SFO. There were thirteen flight 49 passengers who missed connecting to flight 49. Some scheduling geniuses at AA for sure!

As it turns out CTC couldn’t find nephew’s phone number either – but he called his roommate from DFW and roommate contacted nephew. So the same minute we picked up CTCs bag there was nephew waiting for us :) He drove us to the car and we drove home – and pulled into CTC’s driveway at 11:30 p.m.. I drove from ther and got home at midnight ending a 28 hour day . . . .

janisj,
I can only hope that my trip in June doesn't end this way as I am traveling with DH,DD(12), and DS(8). We, too are from Sacramento but at least are flying into SFO straight from Heathrow.

janisj, I really enjoyed your report...it was different and I was there with you :) Thank goodness I wasn't there with you on the way back!! Yikes...what a nightmare.

JanisJ: This kind of c**p only changes when people complain to the Dept of Trans (yes, easier said than done, but I've complained before) Most major cities have a number for DOT in their phone book and the relevant office is findable on a web search. It won't undo your horror, but if enough people complain about situations like this, it does get through to decision makers, both in the DOT, and at the 'lines.
That being said - I hae had bad experiences on AA, domestically and internationally and avoid this particular line unless the price and/or timing of the flight are compelling. Unfortunately, I am not surprised by your story.

Oh janisj, what a mess getting home!!

I live in the Sacramento Valley also and when I fly to Italy I try to get the KLM flight that leaves SFO around 4:00pm as yes the drive to SFO early morning is a mess.

I am not critizing you, so please don't think I am but I would like to make a comment. So many people do not take any euro with them when they go abroad. And don't take US dollars either. Thank goodness you had US dollars with you when you arrived in Paris!

I always have 2 ATM cards (two different checking accounts) plus some Euro plus US dollars. And of course I always have credit cards with me. With my luck not one ATM would be working when I arrive, so for peace of mind I take some Euro. And I want US money on me when I fly home. The bit of money it cost to take some Euro with me to Europe is worth it, just my thinking and feelings.

Your chicken/spinach salad that you described sounded soooo good!! I could almost taste it. Don't you love the way the French and the Italians can make their presentation of food look like a work of art.

I hope that the miserable flights home didn't take away from the joy of being in Paris, it doesn't sound like it did.
But can only imagine how exhausted you were when you finally got home. Imagine your bed looked wonderful.

You know I remembered why I despise AA reading your trip home. Customer Service consists of &quot;We took your money now SIT DOWN&quot; (And I was a premium level flyer with them)

That's just stupid to show this as one flight when it's not and 90 minutes in DFW is barely enough time without the international aspect. (The airport is only user friendly IF you are flying to or from Dallas, as a connecting airport is horrid)

LoveItaly: to clarify, I did have a few &euro; w/ me but I needed a lot because I was paying cash for the flat - that's why I needed both ATM cards to work. When one didn't I had to exchange my US$ -- which meant I didn't have any $ to pay the flight attendants from Hell for a crummy box lunch or headphones.

Funny - I do have a set of noise cancelling headphones I could have taken but knew (or thought) earphones are free on international.

Interestingly - the headphones WERE free from DFW to CDG - but they cost &euro;5 or $5 from CDG to DFW. Go figure.

CarolA: Yep - I MUCH prefer Virgin, BA or almost anyone else, especially since AA ditched the extra leg room. All four planes were pretty old, none had seat back entertainment, and all had those pretty obsolete AirPhones in the back of every middle seat. But we did get a great fare

I probably should have mentioned why CTC got stuck w/ that label (it was explained in my introductory paragraph that didn't take) - but since he came through like a real champ on the flights from hell, I guess I'll keep it my secret . . . . .

email me at jsemmer at comcast dot net and I will send you some photos from Ste Chappelle concer - I was using a very fast speed and a IS (image stabilizer) lens, so the background is clear, but the hand playing the violin is in motion... very cool.

Tagging to read later

Lovely report, despite the flight home. I will be going to Paris, and will be staying in the Quartier Latin, within 1-2 blocks from Sorbonne or Mus&eacute;e National du Moyen Age (Cluny Museum). You speak of the Cyber Cube - what is that? It sounds great - any advice for the area other than what you've posted?

I don't know if it's Cyber Cube but there is an internet place across from the garden at the Cluny. If you are on the corner of St. Michel and St. Germaine (the corner with Hotel Cluny Square on it..have it at your back) and go left down St. Germaine, it is down the first or second small street on your left. They have American keyboards.

About your flights home:

- CDG is well-known for its mess. Still, I feel you're not very prepared. Not knowing which terminal AA uses at CDG before heading out there isn't very smart.

- Most US airlines use same flight number on some of its &quot;direct&quot; flights, even though there's nothing direct about that. Travelers should know and need to know about this - especially for people well-traveled like yourself. [Or at least that was my impression.] It's mainly a way for airline to do three things:
-- if someone look up CDG-SFO itinerary, AA's &quot;direct&quot; flight will list above the regular connections with different flight numbers
-- cut down on flight numbers
-- cheat you some FF miles as you're only getting CDG-SFO, and not CDG-DFW-SFO mileage

These stuff are well known and have been in practice for years.

- Similarly, you should know ahead what you need to do at DFW. It's no different from another Europe-US-US connection at other airports. I am surprised, however, by the inefficiency at the new Terminal D at DFW.

- The DFW-SFO you're on is a domestic flight, just like any other DFW-SFO flight. All domestic flight rules apply.

- I see that a lot of the connection problem is due to your travel companion.

rkkwan: I think you are reading an awful lot into my description and jumping to a lot of conclusions.

I have flown transatlantic many MANY times. On non-stop flights, on direct flights, on connecting flights, and on every other permutation. On the original itiinerary everything was included (length of layovers, which terminals at both DFW and CDG, etc.) but when AA changed our itinerary the new e-tix/itineraries included none of that.

There was nothing about which terminal the flight was out of on anything from AA. I COULD have walked four blocks to the internet cafe and looked it up - but one would assume the monitors at CDG would show flight departures - not so.

I was the <b>ONLY</b> through-passenger on flight 49 that made it. So apparently I didn't do everything wrong like you seem to think . . . .

Oh - meant to add:

&quot;<i> The DFW-SFO you're on is a domestic flight, just like any other DFW-SFO flight. All domestic flight rules apply.</i>&quot;

Sorry - but <u>everything</u> we received from AA lists flt 49 as a direct flight from CDG to SFO dep at 12:15 and arriving at 17:54.

And yes I do know the difference between non-stop and direct.

<u>lmlweb</u>: The Cyber Cube is an internet office (not a cafe - no food) on rue Mignon just off Blvd St Germain. It sounds like the same one gomiki is talking about (US keyboards available, etc) just a long block up the Blvd from the Cluny.

Anyway - it is open 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. every day.

janisj - I totally disagree with many airline's practice of putting same flight number on a Europe-US-US flight. It's totally confusing and disingenious. And you're a &quot;victim&quot; of this practice.

I do not disagree with that.

What I am saying is that of all travelers, one like YOU who fly a lot, and frequent this forum, should know better.

As for your connection problem. Lots of people misconnect every day, on all airlines, at all airports. Nothing unusual. It just seem to me that a lot of your issues arise because of your travel companion. And I also point out that I am disappointed at the speed one get through DFW. Still, it's not the really big deal you make it out of, if not for your travel companion.