Flocons de Neige

Traveling in winter can pose problems, but being from California, this usually means nothing more than waiting out heavy rain and wind. In Europe (and most places other than California) winter of course means snow and sub-zero temperatures both of which tend to ground trains, planes and automobiles. Cody and I just experienced that first hand. But we were lucky compared to the many who are still stuck at Heathrow.

We left Oakland via BART (train 1) and arrived at SFO with no issues. The big rains were not forecast to arrive until Friday so we weren't worried about delays. We enjoyed the lounge and boarded the plane with nary a problem. I watched one movie and then conked out until Cody woke me up in time for breakfast. I NEVER sleep on planes, so this was a nice treat. Business class (thank you air miles) makes such a big difference. We had to circle Heathrow once, but then landed mostly on time. Then we sat, stuck on the tarmac, with no gate to pull up to so we could deplane. Our pilot updated us that the tiny bit of snow that had fallen that day was wreaking havoc on the ground. We had no idea how badly until, about 1 hour later, we finally made it to a gate and exited the plane. I turned on my phone only to receive a text message that out flight had been canceled. Gulp.

We made our way to customer service only to encounter a line about 4 hours long. We decided to get our baggage and try customer service on the phone instead. When we got to baggage claim, the extent of the cancellations became clear. Hundreds of unhappy people were milling about waiting for their bags. Some had done this 2 days a row, only to have their flight canceled again. After about a half hour I decided to make my way to the main airport to try and get some help while Cody waited for the bags. The scene was utter chaos. British Airways was not even offering rebooking on the ground anymore and were advising folks to call or use the Internet to rebook. I tried both and both were down because so many people were trying to connect. At that point I decided to see if we could get tickets on the TGV to Paris. I managed to find a free Internet terminal and found 2 tickets for the last train out of St. Pancras at a whopping 300 dollars each. I called Cody and we decided to go for it, price and all (I will try and get some refunded on Monday) and I am so glad we did. All flights have been canceled since then and all the trains on Saturday and Sunday have been sold out.

Cody finally found our baggage and we hightailed it to the London Heathrow Express (train 2) to Paddington, where we hopped on the tube, having to transfer once (trains 3 and 4) and finally arriving at St. Pancreas with an hour to spare. The train (train 5) left an hour late and had it's speed restricted due to the cold weather. Time slowed to a crawl, but finally, 3 hours later, we arrived in Paris. Of course the metro had stopped running (it was 1 am local time) so our last hurdle was to find a taxi. The queue for them was terribly long so we got a little French about it and flagged one down a little ways from the end of the line. 50 euros later (we were so tired we didn't even care that we had paid a premium to this cab driver) we arrived. The key was under the mat and the concierge and even turned on the heat for us. We collapsed in to bed and slept like the dead.

It took 5 trains and 1 plane to get to Paris but here we are. The snow is falling in big beautiful flakes, like big fluffy pieces of wool or cotton. The lights of Paris are beautiful and the chocolate chaud and long underwear are keeping us warm. Out apartment is lovely and just next to arts et metiers metro and up the block from my favorite patisserie, pain de sucre. We have breathed a big sigh of relief and are now sampling the delights of our second city. Today my favorite food market and dinner with Flo and Jacky. We won't have to get on a plane for 3 weeks. Until then, I just won't worry about it.