Five Arrive

Sunday, 13 April 2014 - Monday, 14 April 2014

Finally, departure day arrived, and those who know me (Elle) well, won’t be surprised to learn that we were packing and preparing until after the last-minute.  Michaela kindly assured me that the last time she went overseas, she was still washing the dishes at the time she was scheduled to depart.  I had to confess that I left dirty dishes in the sink (and a few other domestic duties undone) to greet our poor house-sitter.

Thankfully, things went more smoothly after that.  We farewelled Pippi and Papa, who had occupied the big kids for the afternoon (and then had a few loads of dirty washing deposited with them) and then Sarah and David drove us to the airport.  At this point, the upside of Andrew’s frequent business travelling started to kick in, with quick check-in through the First Class queue, and then a very civilized dinner in the Emirates lounge, before our 9.30pm departure.

The children behaved beautifully on the flight; Xavier, in particular, slept well next to Andrew, while Elle struggled to get Grace and Will to turn off their screens and close their eyes for a few hours.  (When I told them to wake me “if they needed anything”, I didn’t mean the “need” to turn their screens back on because the cabin lights had been turned on in the “morning”.)

In Dubai, we composed ourselves as well as possible before attempting entry to the Business Lounge.  We were turned away... redirected to First Class!  We spent our three hour stop-over peacefully and happily, enjoying a delicious breakfast, showering, and then hanging out in the (presumably sound-proofed) playroom.

The Dubai-Paris leg was uneventful, with Xave napping and Grace and Will overindulging in screen-time again, until we touched down at Charles de Gaulle airport. 

We passed quite quickly through customs and immigration (without filling in any forms – Australia could learn from this) and were grateful to be reunited with all of our checked luggage.  Sort of...

Andrew had planned for us to take the RER train to our apartment, but looking at our luggage and our children’s weary faces (no doubt mirroring our own), we knew that that plan had to be abandoned.  Like the snake in the Garden of Eden, a touter in the airport tempted us with his offer to fit all of us and our belongings into his van. But, heeding the warnings only to use official taxis, Elle sought out the taxi rank.  There, despite panic and exhaustion combining to prevent her from composing a coherent question in French, she nevertheless managed to determine that yes, it was possible to get a taxi for “cinq personnes et beaucoup de baggage”, and with booster seats for the kids! Bienvenue a Paris! (Mutter something derogatory about Melbourne taxis... and also the lack of a train option.)

So, rather than enduring a stressful train journey, we enjoyed a relaxed drive into the centre of Paris on a beautiful sunny day.  As we drove along the Boulevard Malesherbes, past the Oblelisque de la Concorde, and across La Rive Seine, Will succumbed to exhaustion and took a catnap, but Grace caught a first glimpse of la Tour Eiffel.

Thanks to Andrew’s careful preparation and our Air B&B host’s great instructions, we had no trouble finding and getting into our Paris home for a week.  It’s a very quiet apartment in the 6^th arrondisement, and our children were thrilled to find that its contents include bunk beds, chocolate Easter chickens, and “a whole bookshelf full of books”. Very kid-friendly, it’s a great place to be starting our French adventure.

Keen to make the most of the sunshine and start adjusting to French time, we then enjoyed an hour or so wandering around our local park, the Jardin du Luxembourg, before cobbling together a makeshift dinner and letting out exhausted kids collapse into bed.

 

4am Tuesday, 15 April

Hello jetlag.