Picture: One of the many upright pianos on the streets of Geneva, Switzerland. These are in preparation for La Fete de Musique which is celebrated all over France and Switzerland on June 21 (longest day of the year) each year. Everyone comes out in the streets and plays all kinds of music - all over the entire country. FUN!
Today I fly on flights 13 and 14 of my around-the-world trip. I fly on Swiss Air from Geneva to Zurich which is only 143 miles, and then take another Swiss Air flight for the 297 miles to Paris, France - Charles de Gaulle Airport.
I woke up about 6:30 thanks to the garbage pickup in Geneva. Boy were they loud! Had breakfast in the restaurant and then finished packing. A quick last walk around Geneva - many good memories here from the mid 1990's.
Checked out of the hotel and headed the 2 blocks to the Central Train Station. An easy walk. Got a train to the airport within 10 minutes and checked in. Since my connection in Zurich is so short, the agent suggested that I leave on the earlier flight so I'd have more connection time. That was fine with me as I either have to wait here or there!
Went to the business lounge and relaxed and actually had a snack for lunch. Still not very hungry after that big meal at Restaurant des Armures yesterday!
We loaded on the Swiss Air plane about 1:30 and left at 2. While it was only a 30 minute flight, the flight attendants served us lunch up front! Amazing the service they offer in Europe versus what we receive in the US.
Beautiful scenery of the mountains and lakes flying over. Got to Zurich on time and went to the Lounge for a drink and to wait for the flight to Paris. Plane was late getting in but they loaded up quickly and we were off to Paris. Yet another meal served on a short trip!
Arrival in Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport was uneventful. Luggage came up - changed my remaining Swiss francs to euros and went to the RER train. Shuttle to the RER train station - bought a 5 day pass (like $75), and the train arrived within 4 minutes. Surprisingly, the train wasn't the crowded, which always concerns me here when I have my luggage on the subway.
The RER took me all of the way to Renfert-Rochereau station and it is a 2 1/2 block walk to the Marriott Paris Rive-Gauche Hotel. Nice place. I'm a Gold Marriott member so they put me on the top floor with access privileges to the Executive Lounge and free internet. What a deal - especially since the room cost me nothing since I used Marriott points for the entire stay.
I was really tired but went to the Executive Lounge for free wine and used the internet. Talk about frustrating. The french keyboard is different than in the US. And the German and Swiss is different yet again. You have to "shift" in France to get the numbers and the "a", "m", "w", "comma", "period", and other key items are all in different places. Talk about frustrating. I caught up on email but went to the front desk and established my free connection so now I'm using MY computer where all of the keys are where they should be!!!!
Called Tim on Skype for 20 minutes - good to catch up since the internet connection from Switzerland was so poor.
It stayed light in Paris until after 10:30 - I'm further north yet and it is almost June 21!
Off to bed - with great expectations for a good day exploring more of Paris on Wednesday.
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