Day 31 - Paris

I woke up to an empty room.  The seven girls had woken up at 5am and gone back to Madrid.  It was nice and peaceful.

I had already packed everything the night before, so I brushed my teeth and went down for breakfast.

Cocoa Krispies, a french baguette, and yellow water.

OK, it was supposed to be orange juice, but after having real orange juice all trip, this was vastly inferior.  I figured I would find some real food at the airport.

I took a few pictures leaving the hostel.

The outside.

The hostel is the building on the right.

My room.

On the way to the metro, I realized I left my towel and had to go back.  The travel towel I brought has been wonderful.  It dries in just 20 minutes, but is extra absorbent.  A fluffy towel might feel nicer, but this one gets the job done.

I backtracked from yesterday, going from the metro, to the RER, to the airport terminal.  I accidentally bought a basic metro ticket instead of the combined fare, but I didn't want to waste it, so I used it to go through the turnstile and get on the train.

The problem was when I got off the train at CDG, I couldn't go through the exit stile.  In Paris, the exit is just a door that opens from the inside.  You don't have to present a ticket.  You just leave.  At CDG, apparently you have to have a ticket.  I looked around for a booth where I could add the correct fare, but there was none.  I was stuck on the platform with no way to get into the airport.

Time for the confidence trick!  I walked to the handicap exit, held my bags to make it look like I couldn't fit through the gate, and flashed my ticket to a guard near the booth.  Success!

I walked to check-in where there was a horrendous line for American Airlines.

It's just a short 60 minute wait to check-in.

Then I went to security where I had a fast pass.  Unfortunately, the stack of used passes was sitting near the line and a group of people took a ton of them before the security guard saw.  Most of those people were caught, but not all.  It made the fast track line pretty long on its own.  My line took 20 minutes.  I estimate the regular line at an hour.  I hope everyone came early for their flights.

Hope you don't have a flight any time soon.

After making it through, I went to the Cathay Pacific lounge.  The Admirals Club had nothing but pretzels last time and I knew Cathay would be better.  The lounge was just a terrace above the terminal (which is how I took the pictures above) so it was really noisy.  There were also no bathrooms and limited seating.  On the positive side, there was food!

A pancake!

I had forgotten what a Western pancake looked like.  Asian pancakes are very different.  There was Vermont maple syrup too.

The chocolate pastry was excellent.  I grabbed another one.  I will probably grab a few treats for lunch before the flight for my last international meal.

My flight to Boston boards in 40 minutes.