Prelude
Our children are 11, 9 & 8 and we love them dearly. Weve taken them on holiday in the UK, Europe, twice to Florida (and again next year) but since weve had them weve never had a break on our own. So, we decided to have one this year. My Mum kindly agreed to come to our house and look after the children, as expected, we missed them more than they missed us! I booked the trip to Paris using LastMinute.com; I know they are not everyones cup of tea but theyve never let me down. I found flights & 3 star hotel deal for a reasonable price, flying out on Friday afternoon and back on Monday night.
Friday - Departure Day
Totally manic. I finished work at midday so I could bring the kids home from school for dinner. Neither of us wanted to disappear until Monday night without saying a proper goodbye. Once the kids had gone back to school we finished the last of the packing and tried to leave got to the next village had to go back as wed forgotten some money got to the same village when I realised I had forgotten an important letter and had to go back. It cause amusement for the neighbours but was rather frustrating when we hit a very full and slow moving M1.
Luckily, the traffic wasnt too bad and we made it to East Midlands Airport for 3:10. Check in was very quick and for the first time for years my DW and I could relax in a coffee shop and watch the world go by without having to worry about what the kids were doing. Departure time came and we boarded the plane for the short, pleasant trip from EMA to Paris, CDG. On the seats in front of us were a mother and her two girls, Hannah aged 4 (and three quarters) and Rebecca aged 6. The girls got a bit bored and looked around at Ruth and I. Now I dont know about anyone else but I cant help but stick my tongue out or go cross eyed when kids look at me I have to do it. We spent the next half hour talking over the seats to the girls, playing silly games and them teaching me basic French.
We learned they were going to see their aunty Natalie and cousin Jade who live in Paris. Talking to the girls helped both Ruth I not feel so guilty about leaving our own kids behind. As we left the plane we said goodbye and wished them all a pleasant holiday. They were a lovely family and I feel a bit daft that I didnt get to know the parents names!
After landing, we made our way through customs and the airport and (eventually) found the baggage retrieval hall. Unfortunately, the bags were not forthcoming. There was an announcement in French and later in English that the bags were delayed due to a strike! It took around 45 mins for the bags to turn up by which time it was after 8pm. We couldve got a taxi to the hotel but it would have cost us at least 50 euros. Always wanting to get a good deal, we opted to catch the Roissy Bus from the airport direct into the centre of Paris a bargain at 17 euros.
The bus took us past the Stade De France which looks truly impressive, it was a shame that I wouldnt get to see it in more detail. The trip into Paris was great, probably due to the time of night but we arrived near the Paris Opera House to swap onto the Metro. It only cost us 2.80 euros to get the metro to our hotel, and, just like most metro / underground systems it was piece of cake to navigate. However, as we were to find out throughout our stay in Paris, there are very few escalators on the metro system lumping a suitcase up flights of stairs is not fun!
We arrived at the hotel (Hotel Auteil Tour Eiffel) around 22:00 and had a warm greeting at reception. We checked in and went to our room ready to crash out only to find that we had been given a smokers room, something we both detest. We went back to reception and asked for a change there was good and bad news. The good was that we would be given a free upgrade to a better room (Yay!) the bad was that it had two single beds (boo!). But, as Im sure couples are aware, where there is a will, there is a way and the beds were soon joined together
After phoning home we had a mug of tea, eat the biscuits, had a shower and flaked out for the night.
Our children are 11, 9 & 8 and we love them dearly. Weve taken them on holiday in the UK, Europe, twice to Florida (and again next year) but since weve had them weve never had a break on our own. So, we decided to have one this year. My Mum kindly agreed to come to our house and look after the children, as expected, we missed them more than they missed us! I booked the trip to Paris using LastMinute.com; I know they are not everyones cup of tea but theyve never let me down. I found flights & 3 star hotel deal for a reasonable price, flying out on Friday afternoon and back on Monday night.
Friday - Departure Day
Totally manic. I finished work at midday so I could bring the kids home from school for dinner. Neither of us wanted to disappear until Monday night without saying a proper goodbye. Once the kids had gone back to school we finished the last of the packing and tried to leave got to the next village had to go back as wed forgotten some money got to the same village when I realised I had forgotten an important letter and had to go back. It cause amusement for the neighbours but was rather frustrating when we hit a very full and slow moving M1.
Luckily, the traffic wasnt too bad and we made it to East Midlands Airport for 3:10. Check in was very quick and for the first time for years my DW and I could relax in a coffee shop and watch the world go by without having to worry about what the kids were doing. Departure time came and we boarded the plane for the short, pleasant trip from EMA to Paris, CDG. On the seats in front of us were a mother and her two girls, Hannah aged 4 (and three quarters) and Rebecca aged 6. The girls got a bit bored and looked around at Ruth and I. Now I dont know about anyone else but I cant help but stick my tongue out or go cross eyed when kids look at me I have to do it. We spent the next half hour talking over the seats to the girls, playing silly games and them teaching me basic French.
We learned they were going to see their aunty Natalie and cousin Jade who live in Paris. Talking to the girls helped both Ruth I not feel so guilty about leaving our own kids behind. As we left the plane we said goodbye and wished them all a pleasant holiday. They were a lovely family and I feel a bit daft that I didnt get to know the parents names!
After landing, we made our way through customs and the airport and (eventually) found the baggage retrieval hall. Unfortunately, the bags were not forthcoming. There was an announcement in French and later in English that the bags were delayed due to a strike! It took around 45 mins for the bags to turn up by which time it was after 8pm. We couldve got a taxi to the hotel but it would have cost us at least 50 euros. Always wanting to get a good deal, we opted to catch the Roissy Bus from the airport direct into the centre of Paris a bargain at 17 euros.
The bus took us past the Stade De France which looks truly impressive, it was a shame that I wouldnt get to see it in more detail. The trip into Paris was great, probably due to the time of night but we arrived near the Paris Opera House to swap onto the Metro. It only cost us 2.80 euros to get the metro to our hotel, and, just like most metro / underground systems it was piece of cake to navigate. However, as we were to find out throughout our stay in Paris, there are very few escalators on the metro system lumping a suitcase up flights of stairs is not fun!
We arrived at the hotel (Hotel Auteil Tour Eiffel) around 22:00 and had a warm greeting at reception. We checked in and went to our room ready to crash out only to find that we had been given a smokers room, something we both detest. We went back to reception and asked for a change there was good and bad news. The good was that we would be given a free upgrade to a better room (Yay!) the bad was that it had two single beds (boo!). But, as Im sure couples are aware, where there is a will, there is a way and the beds were soon joined together
After phoning home we had a mug of tea, eat the biscuits, had a shower and flaked out for the night.
