So Air France is an interesting choice. The electronic booking was a breeze and they kept in touch throughout the pre-flight period…sent me e-boarding passed and various hints and tips for flying. I felt well-prepared when we got off the Air France bus in Montreal (it’s weird that we go to the rail station to take a bus in order to get on a plane…go figure.) At the airport we register at a kiosk and print our own baggage stickers and off we go to the counter to drop off our bags. “Sorry,” says the agent, “your baggage tags are wonky…need to print them again. Passports please.You’ll need new boarding passes too…” So much for that system…
Boarding takes an hour on the Boeing 777-300…the “300” stands for the number of souls who will ride with us; most of them, like us, will do the walk of shame through the first class area as we make our way to the crammed steerage class area of the airship. I notice that they seem to have narrowed the hallways and decreased the space between rows since the last time I flew overseas.
The flight is gruelling but uneventful. The staff remarkably efficient, polite and helpful. For the first time since I first started flying I actually watched the in-flight safety demo — the Air France video is hilarious as it tries to tell you that buckling your belt is stylish and the models are all fashionably dressed and demonstrating the techniques with style.
We get our second wind when the darkness is lifted and we touch down in Paris around 1100 hrs. The cab ride to my sister Rachelle’s apartment is relaxing — though getting to her front door is a bit of puzzle. Rachelle lives 3 blocks from the Eiffel Tower and we can see it from the kitchen window. We lug our stuff (hence why we called it “luggage” I guess) to her 8th floor unit then out for a quick stake-out of the neighbourhood.
The Ecole militaire de Paris is our equivalent of Kingston’s Royal Military College — where they teach military officers the nobler arts of war. Established by Louis XV in the mid-18th century, the college taught many young officers, including a young cadet named Napoleon Bonaparte.
The “Artillerie” entrance to the complex shows us that what they teach here has practical applications with its World War II era bullet holes riddling the front façade. The entire face, which is about 2 city-blocks long, has hundreds of bullet holes etched into it stone walls and window-frames. Oddly enough, most of the holes are over 6 ft high — were the shots aimed to scare the folks below? Or were the shooters just poor shots? Paris has so much history that you can find enigmas like this on every street corner.
The Eiffel tower is just a few steps away and the nearby park is full of people, a mix of tourists, picniquing residents, students and hawkers of souvenirs….and the occasional security presence. The last time we were in Paris, this area was more relaxed and less populated…but that was 2 years before 9/11.
After that a quick dinner, a bottle of wine and, mercifully, sleep.