ATW in 45. #19

The morning came too early, as usual. But I managed to be up and ready before everyone else. Dressed, showered and packed.

Tonight we fly out to Rome. Kinda late. Since we have time today, we are going into Paris one more day. We have decided to try and get into the Catacombs. There is a long wait and only small groups go through so we will see how it works out with time limits.

Marika had wanted to hang out in a cafe and eat pastries but it appears there is no time for that. We did manage to stop at the snack counter outside the train station. We had pastries there. The speed is more of what we Americans can handle. Fast food.

We are on he train now. We have a few more stops and we will be in Paris. Seems like we have been here forever. We know our way around. Have some favorite places. But, today is time to leave. We just have today. This is what makes a short visit special. Or so I say to make it sound better.

We have only one thing on the agenda for today. We are going to the catacombs of Paris. It gets very crowded, very quickly, so we intend on getting there early. A few paragraphs back I mentioned being up and ready before all. Remember? No one else followed suit. They laid around asleep a couple more hours. So much for an early start.

Everyone finally ready, we took our packed bags to the front desk and checked them in. We are leaving today but do not want to lug the bags all over hell and gone. They can hold them all day. He bad part of that, we have to come back on the train to get them and then backtrack an hour to the airport. What fun.

So, we ran into Paris, sans luggage, to the catacombs. The line was already huge. It cost about 13 euro each adult (under 26 is child) so not too pricey. You can buy your way to the front of he line at 90 euro each. No thank you. So we waited in line 3 1/2 hours. Yikes. Though, as it turns out, well worth it.

You may ask, “Bill, what are the catacombs, I am too stupid to know”. Don’t feel bad. Not all of us know these things. Let me give you the Cooks Tour. Back in the early 1800s, Paris was expanding. In order to do this they had to excavate and move cemeteries. Many dates to the dark ages. The general incharge came at the problem in a straightforward way. He disinterred all the churchyard and hospital gravesites, stacked up all the bones and skulls and found convenient holes in other locations to put them. He used abandoned quarries. He stacked the bones like cordwood and used the skulls to fill in the spaces. The quarries were filled in. Perfect, no? As it turns out, no. A few years later, a few being many, after these disinterments were forgotten, others came along to dig the metro system. And in digging, they discovered the remains. These sites were excavated and logged and recorded and studied. And they became a fantastic attraction for visitors. The ones, like me, who want to wander in underground tunnels looking at bones from the Black Death or Tuileries, or La Revolution. Crazy.

The whole visit took 4 1/2 hours. But, if you are in Paris I can recommend it.

After viewing the dead city, we jumped on the Metro and headed back to our former hotel. That was an easy hour. We relaxed for a few minutes and picked up a taxi to the airport (CDG). Took under an hour. We arrived by 530 for a 930 flight. U would think that’s ok. Except we are flying Vueling Air, the Southwest if Europe. By comparing them to Southwest, I mean just like Southwest except with truly horrible customer service. They are cheap. True. There service is so bad you wish you had spent more. For instance, the only way to check in is in person at the counter. So we spent over an hour in line. It gets better. You can not check in till two hours before flight time. So we were in line and the the is frozen and the ticket agents sit at the counter serving no one till that time. Sounds great, no? No.

Having gotten through that, we went to eat. There are 2 places to go to eat in the terminal. International departures, 2 places. Brilliant. Easy choice, though.

I made a stop in duty free for Champagne. I still want to toast our European adventure. I have tried to get my retarded family to understand this but every time I suggest a bottle they are to stupid to understand. If they read this, maybe they will get it.

Then to gate. Overcrowded to thhotel extreme. One seat for every five travelers. Nice. Not. We got on line. For a bus. That takes us to the plane. They jammed people into the bus. Jammed. Packed. I watched, still in line with 20 people. Then they brought another bus. Which held twenty five of us. Not jammed or packed, most seated. Can these people count?

To the plane, finally. They only allow the line to form at the bus. They let 10 at a time out to walk across the tarmac and go up the stairs. God forbid we line up on the stairs. But, we got through that. On the plane!!

I wanted to open our Champagne, while still cold, but the stewardess said she had to take the. Title and keep it from us till we landed. Stupid fuckers. Well, we sat an hour. An hour. Why, who really knows. No announcements. I hate Vueling. I don’t care how cheap they are, I pay more next time and fly a decent airline. Never fly Vueling. Or Icelandair.

So an hour late into Rome. I hardly care. We got a taxi. Rude bastard of a driver. Drove like an Italian, ignoring all traffic signs and lights. Still arrived safely at hotel. He gave us a discount because he overfilled the van. No matter.

We have a hotel. We are going to bed. That’s what counts.