Norri

You've broken the suspens, it was better than waiting for Harry Potter!

Canarsie

I just returned, everybody, so now I can continue with this trip report. I am writing as fast as I can (but I still want the information I impart here to be detailed and accurate), so please bear with me! Thank you for your patience.

Day 2 Part II

My heart sank when it was desolate outside the Air France terminal and the door was locked. It appeared to be dark inside. The shuttle bus already departed. Now what?

I peered inside again for any clues as to what the strike situation is with Air France. Upon looking a second time, I saw a motion. Someone inside was attempting to get my attention. A gentleman was waving his hand to me and gestured towards my left side. I looked to the left and saw another door several metres down. I approached it. It was unlocked! I went in to investigate the situation.

What I saw was several people standing around haphazardly with their baggage; a couple more were sitting. I looked to the Air France counter. Nobody was there. I looked up at the screens, which displayed the Air France and Concorde logos but no other information.

I cannot explain the contradiction of emotions that rushed inside of me and were fiercely battling as I attempted to figure out this situation...

daph

I...really...can't take ... anymore of this!

Canarsie

I am typing (and spell-checking) as fast as I can!

Please excuse any errors (already I found several!) from here on in...

Day 2 Part III

I sat down for a few minutes and looked around. I saw no signs of anyone picketing, but then I thought, why would anyone from Air France picket here? Did they walk out? They could not have walked out, I thought, or else the door would not be open. I suppose the other door was locked for security reasons?!?...

Then, out of the corner of my eye, around the corner but behind the ticket counter, I saw a glimpse of two people, one male and one female. Yes, their shirts have the Air France logo on them!

Several minutes later, the screens displayed Air France 001 to Paris at 08:00 and the people behind the counter placed a small vase of fresh flowers in front of each station — a very nice touch. This is the moment when I realized that I will definitely fly Concorde to Paris, as an unrelenting tidal wave of sheer excitement overtook me. I uncharacteristically felt like a little kid. As was advised in andymo99’s Concorde Trip Report, go ahead, get excited and feel like a kid. Forget about having an air of sophistication. As I was jumping up and down for joy in my mind ... uh ... forget about what now???

I went up to the Air France ticket counter and presented my ticket and itinerary as I greeted the female counter agent in French. My window seat was midway on Concorde. I asked for a seat closer to the front. I was advised to request my seat change in the Concorde lounge. Concorde lounge ... I have been to other airport lounges, as I am a seasoned traveler, but for some reason that sounded so good and so sweet.

Please forgive my adolescent style of writing and any clichés which I may use from here on in as I attempt in vain to convey the enthusiasm and feelings in which I experienced, as it is very difficult to do so with mere words and prose.

Anyway, I checked my baggage and received my boarding pass — my Concorde boarding pass!

Now on to the lounge...

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After the long walk through what was seemingly a cavernous area, I arrived at the security checkpoint. It was here where I was advised of the new policy to remove my shoes. I inquired why, to which I was told that this is a new policy. Especially because I was on an international flight, I thought this new policy was for Kennedy Airport only; little did I know. The excitement of Concorde and its lounge overrode my disdain for this new policy, so I reluctantly removed my shoes for them to be x-rayed. For the record, I was not informed of the alternate policy of keeping my shoes on my feet and being wanded. The TSA agents were nice enough, though.

As I approached the Concorde lounge, I looked to the left of the large waiting area filled with empty seats. There it was: Concorde, ship number F-BVFB. I photographed it. I videotaped it. I stared at it. I admired it. Its pointy nose looked sharp enough to pierce just about anything, as it truly protruded like a needle. I thought to myself that this flight will probably be the closest I ever get to being on a rocket ship (due to its speed) and to being in outer space (due to its cruising altitude). Who cared that outside the weather at Kennedy Airport was cold, grey and dreary? The sun was shining, as far as I was concerned — or, at least it will be mere moments after we take off!

I proceeded into the lounge through the two sets of glass doors. The first set consisted of frosted glass doors that had to be manually opened, the second set comprised of clear doors that automatically opened. Between the two sets of doors were items on display for sale, such as cigarettes and liquor, neither of which I was interested as I do not drink nor smoke. I was greeted by a man in a suit behind a wooden desk with two computers and today’s menu, opened to display what was to be served that day aboard Concorde. After a polite exchange, he noted my attendance and I proceeded into the heart of the lounge. There were many areas made of wood where one could store their belongings and at least three portable metal rolling coatracks where outer garments were hung. Their was a huge picture hanging above the set of automatic glass doors, which one would not immediately notice unless exiting.

Breakfast is my least favorite meal of the day, but I was surely impressed: hot baked goods (including French croissants and authentic New York bagels), pastries, assorted juices (fresh or canned), milk, soft drinks, water, fruit, assorted cheeses, champagne, breakfast meats, assorted cold cereals, assorted hot beverages and assorted condiments, all readily available in this long open cupboard area made of wood (mostly anything made of wood in this lounge was made of a lighter-colored wood). China and assorted glasses — including stemmed champagne glasses — were also readily available. As a native New Yorker living in the Atlanta area, I missed the indescribably distinct flavor and feel of a fresh, authentic New York bagel, and I felt like I was in heaven as my teeth sank with each bite into this aromatically gastronomic creation covered with poppy seeds. Equally, I miss the same qualities of a real French croissant since I was in Paris years ago. The gratification of having both was immensely satisfying. I also had some fresh pink grapefruit juice, a strawberry, and other assorted items. Can I live here? Please???

There was a plethora of leather-upholstered chairs and couches — some tan, some black. There were semi-private stations where one could go on the Internet — if one knew French, which I do. There were large prints of photographs of famous people who have flown Air France (not necessarily Concorde) over the years. There were quiet areas to read and areas to watch television. If one preferred, the same was offered on the upper level, accessible by escalator (up only) or via a staircase with glass steps near a two-story open area. The entire lounge definitely appeared to be of a European design. The lounge — including the bathrooms — was clean, spacious and comfortable. The dramatic outer wall of the lounge on two sides, which angled into the lounge from the ceiling to the floor, comprised entirely of windows which displayed the outside view of an airport service road with concrete barriers on both sides, many containers of cargo and some airport buildings. Especially on this cloudy day, the view left a lot to be desired, but hey! This is the Concorde lounge! Who cares about the view outside???

Other than a few isolated items which had a few “stragglers” sitting on their respective plates that appeared to be crying out for someone to please take them and consume them, the food and beverages were delicious and plentiful. This is easily by far hands-down the best airport lounge in which I have ever been.

By the way, my request in the Concorde lounge for a closer seat to the front was denied because there were no more window seats available towards the front, but there were some available in the back. This was understandable — after all, the aircraft was going to be more crowded that usual due to this being the last week ever that Air France Concorde regularly flies. Ever-so-slightly disappointed, I graciously declined. Believe me, I got over my “disappointment” very quickly!

Next: Concorde!

[This message has been edited by Canarsie (edited 06-25-2003).]

slippahs

Can't wait for the flight!!

Canarsie

Here is your request, slippahs!

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Day 2 Part IV

It is now time to board onto the legendary aircraft known as Concorde.

Boarding seemed to be more civilized than when boarding on other aircraft on other airlines. Despite the number of people, boarding went absolutely smoothly.

After walking down the Jetway®, at 7:29 I approached the open entrance of Concorde. The top of the entrance was the same height as my nose, so I had to bend over to step on board — and I am of about average height for an adult American male. I, along with the others, was greeted with a round of Bonjours and Hellos by the staff on board as I slowly made my way down the narrow aisle. Unless I stood up absolutely straight, I was able to walk down the aisle as my hair barely touched the ceiling. I saw rows of dark grey leather seats — two on each side — contrasted with a white fitted linen covering the top third of the seat. Talk about no B.M.O.P. necessary, as I am sure these linen “seat condoms” are removed and cleaned each day!

I sat in my window seat and immediately noticed how small the windows were. No problem, though. I also noticed that I virtually had no wing obstructing my view due to its tapered design, which meant to me that moving up forward was no longer necessary for me. I also noticed that, for a 30+-year-old aircraft, it seemed to be so well-maintained inside that it almost looked like it was brand new! The tray tables are stowed in the seat in front, but somewhere down to the level between the knees and the feet. When opened part-way, half the table is still folded the long way but comes up to around knee-level, leaving a narrow table area but sufficient enough room for a drink (to be placed in the round recessed area) and a small snack. Continue opening the table and it opens all the way at normal height. It seemed slightly larger than a typical table in a premium cabin on a subsonic airplane, but I could be wrong. Folding it back down took a moment to figure out, but it was easy to do once one knows how this weird table operates. Even the overhead baggage compartment opened in a rather unique way, but first one had to figure out where the handle to open it was located. Concorde is comprised of nice, sleek design — inside and out.

We departed from the gate at approximately 7:52, or at least 8 minutes early. The announcements are all in French first, then English. We taxied for several minutes. Without stopping, we then took off. Immediately one could feel the powerful thrust of the aircraft as it began its lunge down the runway. We were quickly gaining speed. The inertia cause the publications to fall out of my seat pocket, and a can speedily rolled down the aisle from the front of the aircraft to the rear. In 41 seconds the front of Concorde was already lifting off the ground. White smoke plumed quickly past the bottom of my window, but that would be the only smoke one could see on Concorde, as the entire aircraft, to my surprise, is a non-smoking aircraft at all times.

Being on the left side of the airplane and seeing the Rockaways, I knew we were flying over Canarsie on the right side. I wished that I could have seen it. I certainly heard the Concorde take off from down below virtually every morning for many years and, believe me, one always knew when Concorde was taking off. Concorde lovers, please try to reserve your anger against me for this, but back in the mid-1970s, I was active in petitioning for signatures to protest Concorde from being able to use Kennedy Airport due to the noise we had heard about that Concorde produces. Hey, I was younger back then, and I never even thought about flying Concorde one day! I must admit, it was amazing watching it take off from the ground. Now here I am actually on Concorde taking off! Anyway, being on the right side of the aircraft probably would not have mattered much, as the dreary cloud ceiling was rather low (which is what probably caused that white smoke effect I described earlier) and I probably would not have seen Canarsie anyway, as the Rockaway peninsula disappeared (and everything else, for that matter) and was totally obscured within 26 seconds. At that moment, the little blue screen at the front of our section of the Concorde read “M .41”, or that we were traveling at Mach .41.

At 8:19, we were flying at Mach 1, otherwise known as the speed of sound (or approximately 761.5 miles per hour). The captain made an announcement pertaining to this, then explained that he was going to fire off the after-burners (or something to that effect) so that we can go faster — and with the thrusting motion, we knew when he did it! Talk about exhilaration!!!

The captain also announced that we will be flying at an altitude of 60,000 feet, and that we will land in Paris at approximately 5:25 (17:25) in the afternoon, making for a 3-hour-and-20-minute flight! At that moment, I thought about how ironic it is that the future of flight will soon become history, and that traveling from New York to Paris in 3 hours and 20 minutes — or even in 90 minutes (think I.G.Y. by Donald Fagen) — will no longer be possible for the foreseeable future — at least, to my knowledge.

Eventually, the little blue screen kept teasingly fluctuating between M 1.98 and M 1.99. At 8:41, we finally were traveling at Mach 2.00, or twice the speed of sound, which is roughly the equivalent of 1,523 miles per hour.

Notwithstanding my understanding of how air and temperature interacts affects sound and that the air inside the aircraft is being carried along with us, I still wondered to myself that if I were outside the aircraft (an impossibility, I know, but play along with me) and I said something, would I never hear it because I am traveling at twice its speed?

I looked outside. The sky above was a rich, dark blue — the richest, darkest blue I have ever seen in the sky. I also eventually was able to see the curvature of the earth, especially sitting on the left side of the aircraft heading eastbound. It was cloudy below most of the way, however. Also, being at such a high altitude, there was no turbulence. The window was indeed warm to the touch due to Concorde causing friction by its speed with the air outside, but not nearly as hot as being by one of the exit doors when I eventually got up to wait to use the lavatory.

The lavatory was well-appointed with bottles of refreshing mists and other accoutrements, but not that much different from the lavatories in first class and business class on many international subsonic aircraft.

Repeatedly, again and again, I thought to myself how I cannot believe I am actually on Concorde.

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The Brunch ŕ la Carte Menu in-flight aboard Concorde consisted of the following:

Wines selected by Phillipe Faure-Brac, 1992 world champion wine steward
Le Bistro du sommelier — Paris

• [*]
• [*]
• [*]
• [*]
• [*]

Baked Goods and Condiments
French bakery selection, along with walnut bread and cranberry bread; as well as preserves, honey and yogurt.

Hot Drinks
Coffee, decaffeinated coffee, choice of teas, herbal teas and hot chocolate.

Pour Patienter
Fresh fruit served in a melon timbale

Choice of Hot or Cold Dishes

• [*]
• [*]
• [*]
• [*]

Sélection of French Regional Cheeses

Petits Fours
Vanilla macaroon, chocolate praline, raspberry and blueberry tartlet

At the end of your supersonic flight, our cabin crew will be pleased to serve you caviar with a glass of “Cuvée spéciale” Champagne to welcome you to Paris.

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The fresh fruit served in a melon timbale was strawberry, assorted melons, pineapple, raspberry and a few other fresh fruits chopped up and served with a strip of cantaloupe melon surrounding it, forming a bowl-like enclosure on the plate. A blackberry nestled on a sprig of spearmint served as the centerpiece for this pretty, colorful, tasty dish.

One can smell the delicate aroma of hot bread wafting throughout the cabin as they were serving it, and one could have as much bread as one wanted, just for the asking. I am a bread lover, and this appealed to me!

My selection was the Maine lobster but, as luck would almost always have it whenever I am in a premium-class cabin with a meal to be served, not only did they inform me that they were out of that selection (which I was assured in a professional, apologetic manner, virtually never happened on Concorde — “lucky” me!), but (as if rubbing salt in the proverbial wound) they ran out of it just before they reached my seat! Even Concorde is not immune to my bad luck when it comes to in-flight meal selection!

Disappointed (well, not everything can be perfect!), I was able to choose both the truffles and the foie gras instead. Perhaps I may not be a connoisseur of gourmet food, and maybe I just do not know what good food is, but I was not impressed with either dish. I guess it did not help matters that I do not particularly care for mushrooms or liver but, hey, I tried them! I would have never ordered either dish in a restaurant, so I suppose this is a good consolation, I thought to myself as I watched the person across the aisle enjoy the meal I was going to eat. Oh, well — everything else to eat on board was interesting and delicious — especially the Petits Fours. By the way, despite its taste, the foie gras was so smooth and creamy to the point where it simply melted in the mouth. Except for the rest of the foie gras itself, i did eat mostly everything.

The food and beverage service was performed by several flight attendants per cabin. The normally ugly beverage and food serving carts were covered in linens and had fresh flowers adorning them. This proves that no attention to detail was spared.

Throughout the flight travel speed of Concorde fluctuated between Mach 2.01 and Mach 2.03.

Sorry, peteropny and Travelchick — I was unable to purchase the clock for you. In fact, I did not see any of the items for sale that was mentioned in this thread. This may have been due to the fact that the Concorde, while not completely full, had few empty seats; or perhaps the items were no longer available as my flight was close to the end of regular Air France Concorde service. Please accept my apologies, but I did not even get to buy myself any souvenirs.

In fact, because the flight was so full (which is probably due to the fact that many people wanted to be on Concorde while they still had a chance), visits to the cockpit had to be done in coordinated shifts. An adolescent teenage girl even cut the line in front of me to shove her way into the cockpit first! I did have a couple of pictures taken with me and the pilots, but I was told that I had no time to shoot video.

When I returned to my seat, I found what looked like a miniature pink shopping bag (constructed of textured [like the skin of an amphibian] cover stock paper for the bag and a grey silk ribbon for the handle) with the name Fauchon and, underneath it in smaller type, Paris printed in gold leaf on it. This was placed at every passenger’s seat on Concorde. On the bottom of the bag was a white sticker which read:
Mini sac rose
2 Chocolats Concorde
22g
A consommer avant 01/2004
I must admit that I have not eaten the two chocolates yet, but I suppose I had better do so before January 2004. The “bag” is still intact at my home.

Towards the end of the flight, the caviar and champagne was served. I took a sip of champagne but of course did not like it, since I do not like drinking alcoholic beverages of any kind. The caviar, however, was a small 30-gram jar of Caviar House® Oscietre Iranian Caviar — the most delicious caviar I have ever had! These greenish-brown sturgeon eggs had such a mild, not overly-salty flavor (it was delicious spread on my bread points) that I definitely did not need the half of a lemon (with its own little white fitted net screen to prevent the seeds from getting onto the food when the lemon is squeezed) served with the caviar. I then received my Concorde certificate (as this was my first time on Concorde) complete with the signatures of the cockpit crew and the entire flight crew, along with the pen (with a Concorde logo, of course!) that they used to sign it as a souvenir!

As the flight attendant handed me my certificate, I asked him about the end of regularly-scheduled service on Concorde. He told me that flight attendants were being rotated to experience Concorde during its final days of operation and that there was generally a sad feeling, yet pride and dignity associated with Concorde and its future place in history. He also told me that the aircraft which we were on will make a round-trip on June 2 for dignitaries, VIPs and politicians, and then one more flight on June 12 from Paris to Washington where it will be on permanent display in a museum. I later found that he was slightly misinformed on his information.

The flight landed at Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris at 5:20 (17:20) in the afternoon. As Concorde taxied, it slowed down. I did not have a chance to take pictures of it or videotape it, but there was a crowd of people on the other side of the fence close by, paying their respects in a tribute to Concorde, with banners, ribbons and signs in French stating things like “We Love You Concorde”, “The Pride of France”, “Concorde Forever”, “Goodbye, Concorde”, and other various messages. I would be lying to you if I told you that I did not have a lump in my throat and feelings of slight sorrow, as I have now participated in what is to become a closed chapter permanently memorialized in aviation history. I felt how they felt first-hand.

Once I deplaned, I took final pictures of Concorde in Paris, only to have a Jet Chef catering truck block my view. Get that truck out of the way!, I thought to myself. What is the rush, anyway? It is not like Concorde has to be catered and turned around in 45 minutes — or even for the rest of the day! Oh, well... C’est la vie!

Concorde is one experience in which I am glad to have partaken. I could not believe that I had just crossed an entire ocean so quickly, and I felt refreshed upon arrival instead of weary (I usually never get jet-lag), especially after a long overnight flight. I know I will never experience something like it again in my lifetime. If you have a chance, get on the British Airways Concorde before it is gone in October. I do not know the comparison between their Concorde service and the one offered by Air France — and I will most likely never know, unless I can think of some way to experience British Airways’ Concorde (other than fork over the cash, which I am considering, if it is not too late). The experience was well worth the miles I used for it (no matter how the rest of the trip turns out*), and this is only Day Two of my trip!

* Am I speaking too soon? Find out in future installments of this trip report...

Next: Lodging and the Eiffel Tower in Paris

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Note: I have to be honest here — my heart sank when I viewed this British Airways Concorde trip report in the FlyerTalk Trip Reports forum. Realizing with my limited resources (such as no Internet web site) that there was no way I could match the quality and detail of this excellent trip report, I reluctantly decided to do this trip report anyway.

[This message has been edited by Canarsie (edited 06-26-2003).]

VanMan

Don't be concerned, I really enjoyed your report...it expressed your emotions and excitement really well.

Thanks.

mauld

Great report!! from a fellow Canarsian (now in NJ)>

peteropny

Nice report so far!!!

And thank you for checking on the clock

chuck1

Nice report. I was fortunate enough to get to use my Delta miles on Air France's Concorde in early May and my Qantas miles of British Airway's Concorde in late June.

British Airways ground facilities at Heathrow and JFK are better, but there inflight service seemed to lack a little compared to Air France. It was probably that BA was 100% full coming and going. AF was only about 2/3 full both ways. The AF crew definetely had more time to spend with the passengers and ensure they enjoyed their Concorde experience. Not that the BA crew was bad, it was just they could barely handle getting the service done with a full load.

I love the fact that AF offered car/driver service to LGA or EWR for free if you had a connection. Very nice.

olafman

Great report!

I flew on BA's Concorde in March just before the big announcement.

Your report also made me feel sad about their retirement. It seems a shame.

At least one day I'll be able to recount to my son about the time I flew from London to New York in only 3hr15mins.

Ah, the good ol' days.

Canarsie

Thank you for the accolades so far, everybody — I really, truly appreciate it.

I never realized how much work is involved in preparing and writing an accurate trip report, so please forgive me and bear with me if I do not seem to be contributing to my trip report fast enough.

After finishing this trip report, I will probably need a vacation, which means I will have to start another trip report, which means I will have to take another vacation...

What a vicious cycle...

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Day 2 Part V

After asking for information in the lobby of the terminal as to where to catch the Courtyard by Marriott shuttle, I stood out there for at least 20 minutes waiting for it to arrive. Once again, shuttle buses from other hotels either passed by or stopped and left. Déjâ vu? How appropot to feel that way, especially in France, as this situation is eerily similar to the Courtyard by Marriott in New York. The shuttle bus, which Courtyard by Marriott shares with Country Inns and Suites, finally approached. There was no greeting or other sound of any kind uttered by the driver as I stepped aboard. He had the shuttle bus slowly meander its way around Charles de Gaulle airport, around all of the traffic and construction, leisurely stopping at every single stop. What are we, taking a tour of the airport?, I wondered. About 45 minutes later, we were back at the stop where I had boarded! To add insult to injury, we went almost completely around the airport a second time!

After stopping at the Country Inns and Suites property first (of course!), we finally approach the Courtyard by Marriott Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport. The grounds on the outside, while certainly not expansive, were manicured. The hotel had a nice, spacious lobby. The woman behind the front desk was extremely helpful, and once again the hotel room was absolutely free because I had another certificate to stay one weekend night at any Marriott up to a category 4 hotel. This property graciously accepted my certificate, no questions asked. If you need to stay near Charles de Gaulle Airport for the night, I would recommend staying here. Like the other Courtyard by Marriott, this one is also convenient, clean and quiet. I was in a room with a view facing the roof of a small section of the building — not exactly an ideal view, but I did not care. I must admit that I am amazed at the similarities of my experiences at both Courtyard by Marriotts, even though they are an ocean apart. If there is a lesson to be learned here, it is that I would recommend staying at both Courtyard by Marriott properties — but don’t rely on the complimentary shuttle bus to get you from the airport to the hotel very quickly. Coincidence?...

I have been to the Eiffel Tower years ago, but because maintenance work was being performed on it, I was unable to go to the top then. I took the shuttle bus to the train (the local — my luck!) to another train to get to the Eiffel Tower. Maybe I do not remember very well, but Paris seems to be dirtier, with more graffiti, than when I visited years ago, and the train stations do not seem to be as well-maintained as they used to be. What a shame. Anyway, I went up the two elevators to the top, which cost me 10,20 Euro. I took pictures and videotape on all four sides of Paris and the sun setting from the extremely crowded observation deck. When I videotaped the Seine river, I casually narrated about the Statue of Liberty on an island in the middle of the river as I zoomed in on it. Americans started to flock around me as they overheard me, asking “Where? Where???” I pointed it out to them, noting that it appeared quite small from the top of the Eiffel Tower. I suppose few people know about this statue. I have a picture of the Statue of Liberty with the Eiffel Tower in the background (which I photographed years ago) with a dark grey storm approaching from behind it. It is a very eerie picture, as the bright green of the Statue of Liberty, the brown of the Eiffel Tower and the grey of the storm clouds created quite a contrasty — almost uneasy — photograph. Once I photographed and videotaped everything that I wanted, I left the Eiffel Tower. By this time, the sun had almost set, and I was able to see the Eiffel Tower at nighttime. Unfortunately, I was there only mere weeks before they re-instated having the Eiffel Tower bathed in flashing, rapidly-blinking lights, as though it were sparkling. You will see what I am talking about at the Eiffel Tower Internet web site — make sure you click on The Sparkling Tower button at the bottom of the photograph of the Eiffel Tower. I then took the trains — and the shuttle bus — back to the hotel. I was warned to be back at the shuttle bus stop at the airport before midnight, as that was the last run for the shuttle bus. I did not think I was going to make it, but the train which I took back, which I thought was going to be a local again, was an express this time, so I made it back in plenty of time.

I would have eaten at the restaurant in the hotel, but it closed five minutes before I arrived back at the hotel, so I went straight upstairs, showered and went to sleep.

Everything had gone quite well for me so far on this trip. I flew Concorde. I had comfortable accommodations. However, I still had no idea if that the air traffic controllers in France were to go on strike the next day, as that is when I am scheduled to go to Malta via Malpensa Airport in Milan.

Will I even be able to leave Paris the next day?

Please “stay tuned”...

[This message has been edited by Canarsie (edited 06-26-2003).]

obscure2k

Thanks, canarsie Your trip reports have now become the second thing I look for on the internet first thing in the morning; after checking my bank account. Your trip report is delicious, delightful, refreshing and original. Takes me back to the time I first flew the Concorde in 1982. I was particularly struck by the sea of Louis Vuitton luggage awaiting in baggage claim at CDG. I still have no idea how the pax identified their look-alike baggage.

obscure2k

When do we get to hear about Sicily and Malta?
Did you get to Taormina, Sicily? Cannot wait for the next installment.

Canarsie

Yes, I did, obscure2k. That will be in an upcoming post. Thank you so much for your support!

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Day 3 Part I

After waking up the next morning to a beautiful sunny day, I packed my belongings and went down to the lobby. The woman behind the lobby desk greeted me with a cheerful, friendly smile, thanked me for staying at the Courtyard by Marriott, and checked me out of the hotel without me having to pay a single penny — or Euro, for that matter.

Even though I had only stayed in France overnight and I could speak and understand enough French to carry a reasonable conversation, I found that, unlike my last visit to France years ago, the French were far more tolerant to speak English, even when I have not spoken yet. Wearing a t-shirt and black denim jeans, I guess that they guessed that I was American. I was slightly disappointed, as I was prepared to use the French words that have escaped me for years and were suddenly coming back to me. However, overall the French people treated this American well.

Taking the complimentary shuttle bus back to the airport, I realized — judging by how crowded the airport was — that there was no strike by the French air traffic controllers — at least, not for today. Despite the highly crowded and noisy terminal, I had no problem checking in because I had a first-class ticket. However, I had to wait at least a half-hour before finally passing through security.

Once I passed through security, I went to the Alitalia lounge, which was the reason I skipped breakfast at the hotel. I was greeted at the desk after showing my boarding pass, and I walked in to find a nice (though limited) selection of breakfast pastries, chocolates, assorted cold juices, sodas and water, assorted hot beverages, and other snacks. I had chocolate-filled croissants with grapefruit juice and orange juice, as well as some other items for breakfast. Only the orange juice was closest to fresh — the other juices were either bottled or canned. The lounge was small, as well as the majority of the furniture in the lounge, but it was clean, fairly comfortable, and was quiet. I enjoyed this oasis from the mayhem outside in the terminal. The view outside was of the busy and bustling Charles de Gaulle Airport. I sat and watched crowded buses ferrying people to their airplanes, fuel trucks rushing past, cars and service vehicles whizzing by at a frenetic pace, and airplanes taking off, one after another. On the other side of the airport was a huge building with what appeared to be the world headquarters of Air France. In front of that building was a tapered white obelisk which rose to a point, with the colors and logo device of Air France wrapped around it.

When it was time to board (and boarding was behind schedule), I did not realize that I had to go downstairs to a spartan boarding area and take a shuttle bus to the airplane instead of using a Jetway® (which is how I deplaned from Concorde). Before we boarded the shuttle bus, they checked our boarding passes. Once we were shuttled on the crowded bus to the airplane, everybody simply got off the bus and lined up for the airplane. Not once did they call for special boarding onto the aircraft, such as calling for first class to board first. Even more odd, they never checked boarding passes of passengers boarding the aircraft. When I sat in my seat in first class, I wondered what would prevent someone from sitting in a first class seat with their coach ticket.

For the purposes of brevity (some of you are probably thinking, “a little late for that at this point”, right? I apologize for the length of this trip report), this flight from Paris to Milan-Malpensa — as well as the later flight from Milan-Malpensa to Malta — were virtually identical and I will describe them both at the same time: same type of aircraft, similar amount of passengers, similar service, and both had arrived at their destination virtually on-time, if not a few minutes late. First class on an Alitalia MD-80 is certainly not outstanding. The seats are all upholstered with green cloth. One can see and feel the age of the aircraft, unlike Concorde — and I would bet that Concorde is older than this aircraft. First class — as well as the rest of the airplane — was not much more than half-full once the forward door had been closed. The in-flight magazine, which was both in Italian and English, had many pages but few articles of interest to me. The flight attendants were cordial and gave good service, but they were not exactly what I would call friendly — not that they were unfriendly either.

The first flight was approximately 100 minutes in duration; the second flight was approximately 135 minutes in duration. Both were, of course, international flights (France to Italy to Malta), but the one thing that struck me about these two flights is that — unlike domestic (and even some international) flights in the United States of similar duration — both had full meals served in first class, although in the compartmentalized plastic trays (similar to but larger than what domestic coach in the United States used to have). I do not even know what was served in coach, but I had hot miniature pizzas (and more if I wanted them!), at least two kinds of smoked fish (guess what was the first thing of which I thought?), a roll, a small salad, a main course such as some form of mystery circular meat with eggplant and zucchini (the main courses were so non-descript that I currently forgot what the other one was, but if I remember, I will edit this post), vegetables (such as spinach pie), and dessert (such as a small chocolate cake). The food was not gourmet by any means, but it was somewhat delicious, filling and satisfying. I sure wish domestic airlines in the United States would serve food again. One drink that I had on the second aircraft that surprised me — for lack of a better word — was a container (similar to a large version of one of those drink boxes which do not have to be refrigerated) of red orange juice from Sicily called Arance Rosse, a brand of parmalat. It was a deep, bright red in color and, while it still tasted like orange juice, it also had a strong hint of flavor similar to a tropical fruit punch. I had never had anything like it — it was delicious and I drank more.

Upon arrival on a cloudy, dreary day in Milan, I had 95 minutes to spend between flights. I went to the Alitalia lounge in Milan-Malpensa, where I was greeted with a fairly friendly greeting. The lounge was at least twice the size as the one at Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris, but not as clean, comfortable or nice, nor did it have quite the selection of snacks. Available was a pretzel-and-nut mix, an assortment of what seemed like individually-wrapped marzipan, an assortment of individually-wrapped hard candy, and maybe one or two other non-descript snacks were available, and not readily replenished when their respective large glass bowls were empty. The bowls were on an L-shaped counter, behind which stood a couple of bartenders and a full bar of assorted soft drinks and alcoholic beverages. No self-serve beverages at this lounge, which is inconvenient because one has to wait in line if several people want a drink at the same time. One thing that was nice is that, upon entering the bathroom, there were three doors and two sinks. Behind each door is an individual “bathroom” — complete with toilet, mirror and sink — for total privacy. There was also a shower in a separate “room”.

Once my flight was ready to leave for Malta, I again had to go through security (at least it was not nearly as crowded at is was in Paris) and go downstairs to the boarding area (which was even more spartan than the one in Paris, as there were very few seats and a long line of people) to board. The procedures were virtually identical to what I had described earlier in Paris, except the shuttle bus was smaller. As I was videotaping during the second flight, I was politely told by a flight attendant that it was against policy to operate a video camera at any time during the flight, which seemed to be a more stringent policy than what is currently enforced on American-based flights.

Upon descent, the aircraft broke through the layer of clouds, treating me to my very first glimpse of the azure-colored Mediterranean Sea.

Next: Arrival in Malta

[This message has been edited by Canarsie (edited 06-28-2003).]