Thursday,
17 September 2015
I
woke up early this morning and left at 0630 for a morning walk. I headed for
the old town but didn’t stay long. There were a few joggers pounding the
pavement when I left – what a life they have there: the sun, the sea, good
food, lovely city. I’d be jogging regularly too. Here, we have to curtail our
activities because of the lingering enveloping suffocating haze. Oh but I
digress.
I
returned back to the B&B within an hour and hit the shower. I packed and
waited for breakfast. I wasn’t disappointed: it was another treat today. I
decided to pack the food I wasn’t able to finish. I left at 1030 and walked to
Piazza Aldo Moro and waited for the bus no. 16 back to the airport. The ticket
cost €1 at the ticket office. The 1105 bus came at 1110 and left a couple of
minutes later. It was a hot painful sauna-like 45-minute ride and we were all steamed
up. I had some fruits before I went through security check.
A
close-up of the mini tray of jam bottles and juice and milk bottles. Aren’t the
mini bottles, the mini tray and the mini jam bottles just cute?
Our
flight arrived late and as such we only took off at 1420. The flight was full
and I had trouble finding space in the overhead compartment to store my bag.
Well, actually I was among those who were asked to add our bags to those
already checked in at no cost but as I was planning to rush out of the airport
straight to the city, I stubbornly held on to my suitcase. And of course all
the overhead compartments near to my seat (at the very last row of the plane,
no less) were already stuffed. In the end, I sought help from the cabin crew
and I was lucky to have a patient calm helpful cabin crew to help me out. In
the end, he squeezed my back into the space behind the last row across the aisle.
The space behind me was already filled with a small can of fire extinguisher.
We
landed at Paris Beauvais at 1720 in the grey dreary weather - and it was indeed
raining with temperature at 15C (now we’re talking autumn!) - and I rushed out
of the plane (of course it took time for the rear door to be opened and for the
ground officer to deem it safe for us to disembark. Murphy’s Law!). I bought a
bus ticket at €17 no less (a steep increase after paying €1-1.50 in Italy,
never mind that I knew the cost beforehand). My bus left at 1545 and we arrived
at Porte Maillot bus station. My bag had been shoved further in the bus (yes,
just as I was in a hurry) and I had to climb into the bag area to retrieve it.
It’d be faster that way than stand there and wait for some knight to come and help me. I crossed over to Le Palais des Congres de
Paris and followed signs to the metro.
This
was where things got worse. I had been given a Paris pass and thought I could
use it for the metro. Well, I couldn’t as the pass could not fit the metro
ticket slot. So I queued up at the customer service for 15 minutes only to be
met with a blank stare and shrugs by the woman behind the counter. She acted
like she’d never seen the pass before. I was getting pretty annoyed and
irritated by then so I quickly moved to the ticket machine to buy metro ticket.
Well, that was another 5 minutes wasted queuing because when I finished making
my selection, the machine refused to accept my note. It would only accept coins.
I was already fuming by then and rejoined the slow customer service queue. It took
another 15 minutes before I was served and it was already past 7 p.m. Definitely
too late for me to go to Goyard at Rue St Honore. I decided to head for Printemps
de la Mode Haussmann but when I arrived there at 1950 (it closes at 2000 on
Thursdays), I was told they no longer have Goyard shop in the store. Say what???
I was too pissed off to do any shopping so I left and rode the metro back to
Porte Maillot. By the way, I really hate Paris Metro. It’s not disabled- or
traveller-friendly. Forget it if you have a bike, a stroller, a wheelchair...
I
arrived back at Porte Maillot, well, Le Palais des Congres de Paris actually,
well after 8 p.m. and wandered there. the shops were all closed and just as I was
about sit down, I spotted a supermarket and quickly hurried over. The supermarket
was about to close for the day and I just about managed to grab a bottle of mineral
water and some biscuits and paid for them. It was then when I realised I had
been conversing in Italian with the locals haha.
I
made my way back to coach station for my 2215 megabus back to London Victoria. Unlike
the bus I rode from Ghent to London, this bus was packed. We also stopped at
Lille to pick up a few more passengers before arriving at Calais to clear both
French and UK passport control. And unlike the bus ride from Ghent to London,
this time, we waited a long time (more than an hour) before we could re-board
the bus. Some fellow travellers were sharing similar stories of being delayed
by more than 6 hours on their way to Paris because the bus missed the
connecting ferry. 6 hours! I saw the immigration people checking the bus
thoroughly – the bag hold, the tyres, the seats... when we finally re-boarded
the bus and I was getting myself comfortable, a policeman (or border guard?)
passed by with a main in handcuffs and brought him down the bus. I exchanged
looks with a girl across the aisle, our eyes wide. Such drama!
Friday,
18 September 2015
The
bus made the ferry and we had to get down from the bus and get into the ferry.
We reached Great Britain 90 minutes later and had to reboard the bus. I slept,
well, tried to. We got caught in the traffic in the City of London and only
arrived at London Victoria at 0810. I had planned to take a bus to my hotel
then thought about it. I had planned to ride the tube a bit today so I decided
to take the tube to Finsbury Park instead and joined the thronging crowd.
The
Arsenal store at Finsbury Park was already opened when I got there shortly
after 9 a.m. Unfortunately, there was no sale so I left empty-handed. I walked
to Arsenal station and rode the tube, changing at Holborn for the Central Line.
I arrived at the hotel at almost 10 a.m. and went to freshen myself first.
Finally, I felt somewhat human again! I left my bag at the porter and took the
tube to Leicester Square for Chinatown. From Chinatown, I walked to Oxford
Street and did some shopping. I returned to the hotel after 3 p.m. and checked
in (I had requested for a double room instead of twin room when I arrived in
the morning and thankfully the hotel was able to meet my request).
After
shower and prayers, I went out to get some confectionery and crisps to bring
home. I also had dinner outside at a halal fast food restaurant.
To
be continued
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