The Flight

The last day at work was a very very long day! Mentally I wasn’t really there. Anyway I managed to grind it out and it was a dash home to sort out the chooks before heading up to Perth with the Stocks. Finally on our way!

Caught up with the boys on Saturday. Chris dropped me off at terminal 1 in the evening. Easy check in and off to the Qantas lounge. Very disappointing! Kids running everywhere which raises the question: Should children be allowed to fly business? If they are not sedated, maybe they should be in those pet carriers. You know that your holiday has begun when you get to the lounge. Someone told me once that when you fly business, your holiday starts at the lounge but when you fly economy, your holiday starts when you land at your destination!

Boarded the A380 of Qatar airways. Beautiful fit out in the business class section. The obligatory great food and drinks with great service then a lie down for a sleep. No fear of DVTs if you can lie down! It is somewhat decadent when you can lie flat at 40000 feet.

Quick transit at DOHA to another A380. It is now daytime so movies were the order of the day. The Stocks and I spent some time at the bar. Another first for me. Very pleasant sitting around drinking whiskey at cruising altitude. The Qataris are a bit cruel as the economy section is just behind a curtain from the bar. They can hear the clinking of the glasses and the laughter and conversations in the bar. Every so often, the staff walk through the curtain and the great unwashed get a glimpse into paradise! There was group of Frenchies who gradually became maggotted at the bar.

Despite the comforts and pleasures of Business class, it was still a long haul. Finally landed at Charles de Gaulle in Paris. Now, I have to say, this is why you pay extra. We received a card which gave us access to priority immigration processing with our luggage coming out first.

Now we hit our first problem. The booked transport was no where to be seen. After a bit of mucking about, we decided to take a cab to Versailles. 55 km and 1 hour later, we arrived at the Waldorf Astoria hotel. It is a hotel of the art deco era. Nice rooms. We all crashed for a couple of hours before heading to the restaurant for dinner. Unfortunately the Gordon Ramsay restaurant is closed until July. We had to wait for a table at the hotel restaurant so we HAD to have a couple of cocktails while we waited for our table. We went for the set menu which was pate for starters with fish and steak for the next 2 courses ending with chocolate ganache for dessert. Unfortunately, I was totally jet lagged and had to retire from the battlefield before dessert.

I typing this at 4 am. My biological clock is totally screwed up.

We will pick up the car today and visit Monet’s garden.