Week 16, Day 1

After the tragic events in Paris on Friday evening I was a little unsure if our meeting would go ahead this week. By this morning I had still heard nothing so with a packed bag and after one day at home I was back on the road.

New bag alert. Well actually it's not new but it will the first time I have used it in this TR. I couldn’t be bothered wheeling my Rimowa around Paris so opted for carry on.


For the original meeting plans my thoughts were to fly in, spend an afternoon with one of our French team visiting customer locations and then attend the meeting the following morning. I would then leave Paris mid afternoon and arrive back into NCL around 7pm. This would give me a respectable arrival time home.

Air France go direct but that would mean a 0630 flight out and an early arrival of 0900 which would really give me too much time in Paris. The AF flight home would get me back into NCL at 2210. A nice little trip across the channel would quickly turn into a 2 day slog with too much time on my hands.

As I needed tier points and less time in Paris BA were the obvious answer. On top of this they were around £80 cheaper so that made my mind up. I am always one to keep and eye on the bottom line, OK perhaps not but it justified my decision this time!

I now had a 0745 departure meaning didn't need to get up at stupid o'clock and a half decent arrival time back home.

When the meeting was pushed back until the afternoon my flight home would no longer work. Therefore I changed to the 1920 departure for a 2155 arrival at NCL. It was no longer the nice arrival home but I had other things to worry about. Including but not limited to:- a 65 minute connection at LHR, less than 3 hours to get from the south west suburbs of Paris to CDG, windy conditions in Heathrow meaning reduced operations and finally the need to be on the 1225 train from Newcastle to London on Wednesday. Most of this can be forgotten about until later or probably not worried about at all due to me over analysing things.

Route NCL-LHR
Flight Number 1321
Departure 0750 (Actual 0815)
Arrival 0915 (Actual 0920)
Seat 11C (Economy exit seat)
Aircraft 320

I scored for probably the closest parking space to the terminal, there is no way I can miss the car on my return.

The airport was quiet at this time, the early morning summer charter flights have long gone and the early morning rush has departed. Security was fast apart from my bag needing a rescan. On the rescan the operator turned my bag on its side, I guess to get a better view on the screen.

Unfortunately I had placed my phone and some other items in the side pocket. My bag came out the scanner followed by my iPhone and passport. Once I collected my belongings I made my way through to the lounge for breakfast.

Standard breakfast


As I was packing my bag ready to go to the gate I suddenly remembered I had put my car key into my bag pocket on my way to security. Once through security I would put it inside my bag when packing my laptop and toiletries. However it wasn't there when I looked, I'm not sure what made me think about this but after a quick and frantic search it was no where to be seen. I thought I may have put it in the side pocket of my bag and the only explanation was it had dropped out with my phone going through the scanner. With the gate open I raced back to security through duty free (think of trying to go through IKEA the wrong way) and back to the belt. When I asked about it I was told it would "cost £50 for it to be given back." When they said this I knew they had it and was mightily relieved. I cracked a joke with the guy and then it was time to race back the right way to the gate. Boarding started just after my arrival.

We had a slight delay due to arrival restrictions at LHR, initially this was 45 minutes but after 15 minutes we were on our way due to the restrictions being lifted.

Flight time was spent reading the paper and finishing my book.

Route LHR-ORY
Flight Number 334
Departure 1045 (Actual 1045)
Arrival 1310 (Actual 1310)
Seat 10C (Economy exit seat)
Aircraft 319

At Heathrow I had 30 minutes in the lounge before boarding was due to start. I had a quick coffee and bowl of fruit, I was able to make a few calls and clear email.

Security at the gate was heavier than normal with boarder control further inspecting passports and asking for details of everyone's trip. It didn't hold up the fight though and we were soon on our way.

It was an uneventful flight and before I knew it we were landing at Orly.

I went up to departures to get some lunch at Paul and then made my way to the Hilton shuttle bus. Even though I could see the hotel from the airport doors the reviews had said it was difficult to reach on foot.

The Hilton was chosen simply for its proximity to Orly, initially I had booked a hotel in Versailles but with the change of plans I no longer needed to be in that area.

On arrival I was fully expecting a Hilton which had been built in the 1970s and not touched since. Thankfully I was not disappointed. This hotel was as the reviews suggested dilapidated, old, grubby looking and typically French. Please note I have similar luck with French hotels as I do with their German cousins. The deluxe rooms were around £80 more when I booked my room which I couldn't justify as I was already paying £130 for somewhere I didn't want to be. Unfortunately an upgrade wasn’t forthcoming at check in to save me from the inevitable. The Hilton was the better looking hotel in the area, if there had of been another option I would have taken it.

The Hilton Orly


Flat screen? Don't be silly.


Workstation


I could have taken more photos of the room but I just didn’t have the heart. Broken toilet seat, chrome missing from taps, a big hole under the bath. The room was also very noisy even with concrete walls and floors. Noise seemed to flow all around without being from a specific source. The one thing it did have going for it was the temperature remained constant throughout the night.

Once into my hotel room I had a conference call which lasted nearly an hour. After this I caught up with some emails and then decided to hit the gym. Due to how busy I have been this is something which has taken a back seat, something needed to be done about it. The gym wasn't massive but it had enough to keep me entertained for around an hour with a decent views over the runway.

View from the treadmill.


Back to the room for a shower and then into the bar for dinner and I sat there until 9pm catching up on work and updating the TR. The evening ended with watching The Hunt on the BBC iPlayer.