2:06am. 4 hours to go. At least the Greeks allow you to smoke in the Departure lounge. The security staff are really unpleasant at 2 in the morning. I wonder why? I found a comfy bit of carpet next to a plug and slept for an hour or so and then a nice Air France crew and flight to Paris. I had two seats to myself, right at the back next to the kitchen and a nice stewardess who kept offering me things. Finished 'Tank Action' which was very good, very intense at times, a real picture of the war from a front line officer's point of view. Quiet savage about some of his commanders, including Montgomery, who sounds a complete tit.
15:20 Parc de Bercy - Flixbus Gare. The moral of the story is - don't move, unless under your own steam.
A nice little Parisian sojourn. Arrived at Gare de Lyon on the Air France BusDirect at 10 and walked to the Flixbus Gare (much easier now I've noticed the helpful little map on my bus ticket, which would have saved me a lot of sweat and anxiety on the way out). Asked about left luggage and they gave me a sort of clue - a sketch map of the area and a website for nannybag. Which when I finally used it directed me to the wrong street number in Rue Charenton (228 instead of 238) but the Chinese girl popped out of her shop and found me. I left my bag with her for €6, after changing in Gare de Bercy's invalid loo (I did pay €0.70 for the privilege) into something less Naxos, more Paris. I had a guide and several things to do, but I decided to go for a lovely hour long massage with a nice Chinese lady, which almost made me forget my total lack of sleep and general knackeredness. Then a couple of shandies in the sunshine outside a brasserie which doesn't do food at weekends, so I went off and collected my bags and bought a very upmarket picnique at a little patisserie in a smart row of shops in Rue Proudhon, and a lovely walk back to the Flixbus depot through Le Jardin Itzhak Rabin.
Now just waiting to find out what Quai my bus leaves from. It really is going to Lisboa, via Bordeaux, Biarritz and Madrid. Futuroscope is the first stop. I've texted Andrew the address, he says they'll come and get me. All in all, given the Aegean fuck up, not a bad journey back. And Flixbus refunded me most of my ticket to set against the cost of the new one to Futuroscope. (It's as bad as it sounds, and a quick way to run up an overdraft if you take the children, according to Andrew).
I was wondering about missing the Aegean flight. Was it to meet someone, or not come back in a rush, or not die in an Aegean crash (I'm pretty sure they didn't)? It's not that there must be a reason for everything, just wonder what has happened to me, or others, that wouldn't have happened had I got on the flight. Alarm's going off - check the quai. It's 33.
And we're off, bang on 4pm. I unerringly picked the one seat with no footrest, a duff power point and no seat back pocket. And the table's wonky. But I'm by the window, the sun's shining, and my jambon et crudités sandwich/baguette, fresh made, is really nice, with proper ham. And here's the Seine, on my right. With bateaux, and ponts. Pizza and some very expensive ham and mushroom vol au vent for later. 2 botts water. I've made a note to give Andrew a time check, and that my bag's in the hold and my coats are on the rack - don't want to do another Naxos-Apollonas bus trick and hop off in a panic minus something precious (it was my leather hat and North Star jacket on Naxos, which I was surprised no one ever returned. Like my bag at the Hotel Kouros. Perhaps Apollon is full of tea leaves.)
Arrived 3 minutes early at 7.47, Andrew and Delyth waiting for me in their new left hand drive French Citroen. A house full of frogs, Susannah, a German from Karlsruhe, Rita from America, Henriette, Kathy Jarvis still here, and a lovely supper which I was too full to do justice to. The gas in the caravan had gone off (just, I think, the fridge still cool) - not run out, seems to have got blocked somehow. Disconnected and reconnected it a couple of times and it seems OK now. Very cold this evening after a lovely hot day in Paris. Everyone sitting round the table discussing budgets and jobs. The lake is still full.
It's Pentecost. Tomorrow we're all off to mass at Vivonne. Kittens look like cats. Minnie very pregnant. Bertie limping. Lulu, Frederique's poodle, is frightened of them.
A moderately expensive day in Paris, but everything seems like chicken feed after the flight. I suppose I'll have to try and persuade Aegean to do the decent thing, but I don't suppose they will. They had my mobile and my email, not even had an apology from them.
Everyone drinking wine when we got back, would have been nice to have had a Non beer but I emptied my fridge before I left, so it's coffee tea and water and bed. Just as well we ate all the choc ices as I think they'd have melted in the fridge. Now they're all glugging single malt, b'stards.
Totally discombobulated, but happy to be back. I tried meditating on the bus but I was so tired I was almost tripping. We had a sort of crash - I think the barrier didn't come up on the péage and the bus driver slammed on the anchors so hard I smacked my head into the seat in front and my phone exploded on the floor, but no-one seemed to mind. I put my seat belt on after that. I don't suppose the driver's going all the way to Lisbon. I wonder when it gets there. For some reason, Flixbus seems to be incorporated in the States. SNCF was on grève again today. How long can they / will Macron keep it up? Just like the UK in the 80's. But the stations were all full.
pics to follow
15:20 Parc de Bercy - Flixbus Gare. The moral of the story is - don't move, unless under your own steam.
A nice little Parisian sojourn. Arrived at Gare de Lyon on the Air France BusDirect at 10 and walked to the Flixbus Gare (much easier now I've noticed the helpful little map on my bus ticket, which would have saved me a lot of sweat and anxiety on the way out). Asked about left luggage and they gave me a sort of clue - a sketch map of the area and a website for nannybag. Which when I finally used it directed me to the wrong street number in Rue Charenton (228 instead of 238) but the Chinese girl popped out of her shop and found me. I left my bag with her for €6, after changing in Gare de Bercy's invalid loo (I did pay €0.70 for the privilege) into something less Naxos, more Paris. I had a guide and several things to do, but I decided to go for a lovely hour long massage with a nice Chinese lady, which almost made me forget my total lack of sleep and general knackeredness. Then a couple of shandies in the sunshine outside a brasserie which doesn't do food at weekends, so I went off and collected my bags and bought a very upmarket picnique at a little patisserie in a smart row of shops in Rue Proudhon, and a lovely walk back to the Flixbus depot through Le Jardin Itzhak Rabin.
Now just waiting to find out what Quai my bus leaves from. It really is going to Lisboa, via Bordeaux, Biarritz and Madrid. Futuroscope is the first stop. I've texted Andrew the address, he says they'll come and get me. All in all, given the Aegean fuck up, not a bad journey back. And Flixbus refunded me most of my ticket to set against the cost of the new one to Futuroscope. (It's as bad as it sounds, and a quick way to run up an overdraft if you take the children, according to Andrew).
I was wondering about missing the Aegean flight. Was it to meet someone, or not come back in a rush, or not die in an Aegean crash (I'm pretty sure they didn't)? It's not that there must be a reason for everything, just wonder what has happened to me, or others, that wouldn't have happened had I got on the flight. Alarm's going off - check the quai. It's 33.
And we're off, bang on 4pm. I unerringly picked the one seat with no footrest, a duff power point and no seat back pocket. And the table's wonky. But I'm by the window, the sun's shining, and my jambon et crudités sandwich/baguette, fresh made, is really nice, with proper ham. And here's the Seine, on my right. With bateaux, and ponts. Pizza and some very expensive ham and mushroom vol au vent for later. 2 botts water. I've made a note to give Andrew a time check, and that my bag's in the hold and my coats are on the rack - don't want to do another Naxos-Apollonas bus trick and hop off in a panic minus something precious (it was my leather hat and North Star jacket on Naxos, which I was surprised no one ever returned. Like my bag at the Hotel Kouros. Perhaps Apollon is full of tea leaves.)
Arrived 3 minutes early at 7.47, Andrew and Delyth waiting for me in their new left hand drive French Citroen. A house full of frogs, Susannah, a German from Karlsruhe, Rita from America, Henriette, Kathy Jarvis still here, and a lovely supper which I was too full to do justice to. The gas in the caravan had gone off (just, I think, the fridge still cool) - not run out, seems to have got blocked somehow. Disconnected and reconnected it a couple of times and it seems OK now. Very cold this evening after a lovely hot day in Paris. Everyone sitting round the table discussing budgets and jobs. The lake is still full.
It's Pentecost. Tomorrow we're all off to mass at Vivonne. Kittens look like cats. Minnie very pregnant. Bertie limping. Lulu, Frederique's poodle, is frightened of them.
A moderately expensive day in Paris, but everything seems like chicken feed after the flight. I suppose I'll have to try and persuade Aegean to do the decent thing, but I don't suppose they will. They had my mobile and my email, not even had an apology from them.
Everyone drinking wine when we got back, would have been nice to have had a Non beer but I emptied my fridge before I left, so it's coffee tea and water and bed. Just as well we ate all the choc ices as I think they'd have melted in the fridge. Now they're all glugging single malt, b'stards.
Totally discombobulated, but happy to be back. I tried meditating on the bus but I was so tired I was almost tripping. We had a sort of crash - I think the barrier didn't come up on the péage and the bus driver slammed on the anchors so hard I smacked my head into the seat in front and my phone exploded on the floor, but no-one seemed to mind. I put my seat belt on after that. I don't suppose the driver's going all the way to Lisbon. I wonder when it gets there. For some reason, Flixbus seems to be incorporated in the States. SNCF was on grève again today. How long can they / will Macron keep it up? Just like the UK in the 80's. But the stations were all full.
pics to follow
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