Boston to Paris
It was hard, but Abi and I managed to pack up in five large checked bags and four carry on bags/packpacks. We weren’t sure how long it would be before our shipped items arrived in Paris…they were still in the Hull waiting to be crated at the end of October, we needed clothes, meds, toiletries, and PROJECTS to keep us sane. Brad took us to the airport and we were on our way!
Our first French faux pas occurred while making airline reservations to fly between Boston and Paris. We paid extra to sit in an exit row so we would have more leg room. BIG MISTAKE! Note to self…check the map carefully, it isn’t worth the extra dough to sit in a two person row without overhead bins or underseat storage. Nor is it comfortable unless you are VERY thin to sit in the seats with all of the gear in the arm rests…
Faux pas number two: it IS a good idea to pay $60 in advance for an extra suitcase to be checked. That saves money. HOWEVER! do not take the weight limit seriously for each suitcase. We added a fifth suitcase between us because we tried to keep within the weight limits for each checked piece. The fifth suitcase cost MUCH more than it would have cost to pay a little extra for the checked pieces that were overweight.
Faux pas number three: only hire a taxi with a GPS when coming to visit us….or take the train. The driver will think he knows where he is going when you say 91 rue Saint-Honore…because that is where all the rich people live and where many of the designer stores like Gucci are….BUT when you get to the end of the rue where we live, the road narrows and the road changes one way direction…AND there is a huge construction project going on at les Halles so there are barricades here and there to avoid. We could SEE where we wanted to go, but we couldn’t get there from here. With 9 pieces of luggage you can’t really get out and walk two blocks. lol I bet we spent an extra 15 minutes driving around in circles til we pulled up in front!
Joe stayed home from work to let us in to the apartment…he left the windows in the livingroom open so he could hear the gate to the courtyard open…The elevator in the building is VERY small…it says it holds three…and it does if you stand with arms overhead like sardines standing sideways. I guarded the suitcases in the courthard, Abi put them in the elevator and pushed the 4th floor button (French 4th floor means 5th). Joe emptied the elevator and sent it back down to Abi on 0. Three trips and we were up…ready to crash. We slept…Joe went to work…it was Friday morning…
Andrus Foe Paws 