...brought to you by...
After months of planning it was finally time to pack and go! Five people x two checked suitcases + eight carry-ons = 18 pieces of luggage. So this is about half of it!
We left on a Monday afternoon. Our transportation to the airport got to the house right on time. We weren't really expecting a limo (we were thinking a van of some sort). But hey...we'll take the nice ride!
The thing I like least about traveling is the flying. Not the flight itself, but getting to the airport, waiting in lines, delayed flights, uncomfortable seats and lousy food. Well, on this part of the trip...we had NONE of that!
Here's where I shall institute The Donkey Ratings System. Remember my friend The Donkey? He's going to help me give you an idea how much we liked or disliked various aspects of the trip...on a scale of one to four Donkeys, four being the best. Because as that old saying goes, four donkeys are always better than one! (OK, I made that up.)
First, the limo ride. The limo was cool and the ride was quick and pleasant enough...but it was just a pain to get in and out of that vehicle. I give it 3.5 Donkeys.
Now let's talk about Air France. Our Air France experience didn't start off too great, as it took several online attempts and one kinda long phone call to confirm our seats the night before we left.
But everything else...WOW! The plane was beautiful and comfortable and there was a video monitor for each passenger! The video services available included a menu of movies and TV shows to choose from, lots of video games, and a channel which showed the flight's progress on a map. The service was spectacular. And the food! This picture of our dinner does not do it justice!
If I didn't know better, I would think that the baguette was baked in the airplane galley!
We had a bit of a delay once we landed in Paris. The airport has a lot of construction going on, and we taxi-ed about 20 minutes, then got on a bus, then through the passport desk, then through security again, then another bus and we were finally on our way for the short flight to Barcelona. FYI...the signs in the Paris airport are in French...who knew?
I can't blame Air France for the problems at the Paris airport, and the plane for the connecting flight wasn't that great, but overall I give Air France 3.5 Donkeys!
By the time we got to Barcelona, we still had about six hours which we could have used to tour some of the city, but we were just too tired. And we had a scare at the airport when it seemed that only seven of our checked bags arrived. Just as Mike was going to the line to file a claim, the rest of the bags arrived, to our great joy!
The only interesting thing we saw on the way from the airport to the ship was a cemetery built into the side of a hill. None of us got a picture, but I have since learned that the name of the cemetery is Montjuic. Barcelona looks like an interesting place. I would go back there exploring sometime.
But for now, we were happy to finally be on the ship. In the next installment, I'll tell you all about the amazing Celebrity Millennium.
(to be continued)
No comments:
Post a Comment