Home again
There are a lot of things about Europe that are different from the US. Some things are different in a better way, other things are different in a bad way, and I guess a 3rd category would be some things that are just plain different.
Charles DeGaulle airport is different in a bad way. They don't use jetways. In the US, this is not uncommon when you're looking at regional jets or small airports. CDG is the busiest airport in France, and on the way home I had to take two busses in between airplanes and the terminals. My plane from Paris to Kentucky was an airbus A-340. It's a nice plane. It's also enormous, and all 200+ passengers had to take a bus from the terminal to the plane, then walk across the tarmac and HIKE THE STAIRS up to the plane. Only the French...
The flight was decent. Air France has food slightly better than Delta, and free wine even in economy class. It used to be that on an international business trip you would get to fly business class, but that is no longer the case, so it's important to know who has a good economy class these days.
The flight from Paris, France to Hebron, KY took just over 8 hours. That's right, thanks to an Air France Delta alliance there are now direct flights daily between CVG and CDG. A lot of people are under the mistaken impression that this allows them to fly from Cincinnati to Paris, but that's not really the case. There is no Cincinnati airport.
Back in the US, I found myself in an opposite position to where I was 7 weeks ago - noticing the many differences between where I had landed and the place I had just left. People are fatter and louder here in the US. You cannot get Evian or beer with your McDonald's value meal - only coke. Good bread, cheese, and wine are harder to come by, and are definitely not served at every meal.
Beer is cheaper here. People speak English and wear deodorant. We generally use jetways at our airports. We drive enormous cars on enormous roads to get to our enormous homes and stores. We have airconditioning in pretty much all our buildings. You get the idea.
Over the next few days there are important preparations to make for the wedding this coming weekend. I'm very much looking forward to this, and of course to the honeymoon. Ella is equally excited, and has done a great job taking care of many of the preparations in my absence. Stay tuned.
Charles DeGaulle airport is different in a bad way. They don't use jetways. In the US, this is not uncommon when you're looking at regional jets or small airports. CDG is the busiest airport in France, and on the way home I had to take two busses in between airplanes and the terminals. My plane from Paris to Kentucky was an airbus A-340. It's a nice plane. It's also enormous, and all 200+ passengers had to take a bus from the terminal to the plane, then walk across the tarmac and HIKE THE STAIRS up to the plane. Only the French...
The flight was decent. Air France has food slightly better than Delta, and free wine even in economy class. It used to be that on an international business trip you would get to fly business class, but that is no longer the case, so it's important to know who has a good economy class these days.
The flight from Paris, France to Hebron, KY took just over 8 hours. That's right, thanks to an Air France Delta alliance there are now direct flights daily between CVG and CDG. A lot of people are under the mistaken impression that this allows them to fly from Cincinnati to Paris, but that's not really the case. There is no Cincinnati airport.
Back in the US, I found myself in an opposite position to where I was 7 weeks ago - noticing the many differences between where I had landed and the place I had just left. People are fatter and louder here in the US. You cannot get Evian or beer with your McDonald's value meal - only coke. Good bread, cheese, and wine are harder to come by, and are definitely not served at every meal.
Beer is cheaper here. People speak English and wear deodorant. We generally use jetways at our airports. We drive enormous cars on enormous roads to get to our enormous homes and stores. We have airconditioning in pretty much all our buildings. You get the idea.
Over the next few days there are important preparations to make for the wedding this coming weekend. I'm very much looking forward to this, and of course to the honeymoon. Ella is equally excited, and has done a great job taking care of many of the preparations in my absence. Stay tuned.
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