As I complete my "journal" (blog), this Anais Nin quotation comes to mind. I will be able to read and reminesce. However, I don't think this particular day is one that needs to be "tasted twice".
A busy morning, tiring and stressful. Once again, too much "stuff" to meet the limitations of the luggage allowance. So, we were busy packing, weighing and repacking. We had come over with four checked bags, and were returning with three because we had come on business class and flying back in economy - so the number of pieces and the weight allowance were both less. After all the packing was completed, we took a break to enjoy the beautiful day on our porch.
We finally left the house about 3 PM, plugged the Novotel Suites location into the GPS and set off. We SELDOM stay at Novotel properties, but this all-suite hotel received better reviews than anything else in the area, and offered a free shuttle to the airport. Upon arriving, we saw no drive-up entry where you could unload the luggage. There happened to be a "petrol" station right next door, so we went there, as Ron had to fill the car before returning it. While he was taking care of that, I walked to the hotel to ask where we should park to unload. Initially, the desk clerk said we needed to go down into the public parking garage under the hotel. When I explained that we would be returning the rental car shortly, he said there were some private spots before you came to the garage entrance. I went back to tell Ron where he needed to take the car, and I went into the hotel "foyer" where you had to pay 1 EU deposit for a "luggage trolley" (the small kind you see at airports) - just like you have to do at grocery stores here. You put the coin into a slot which releases the chain attaching it to the buggy in front of it. This wasn't a good sign - not even a free luggage trolley, let alone a bellman! I got two carts and went outside, where Ron had already pulled up. He went in and checked in, got keys, internet codes, and reserved shuttle for the morning. We then unloaded the car completely and took the luggage up to the room.
It was called a "suite", but Ron calls it a "Japanese suite" - meaning TINY. But, fairly decent bathroom - small but separate walk-in shower. The shower was not so practical, as it had no shelf or recess to place soap, shampoo, etc. The floor in the bath area and separate toilet compartment was teak, and both areas were raised a step from the bedroom. Reminded us of being in a boat - and about the same size.
We kept the trolleys in the room overnight, as I was afraid we might not find one available at 5 AM when we would be in a rush. We didn't feel guilty since we had paid the 2 Euros deposit. Having the trolleys in our path made the room feel even smaller.
I went down to the reception/lounge/bar and watched some of the Davis Cup tennis (Federer was playing), while Ron faced the arduous task of returning the car. He was back quicker than I expected (in the hotel shuttle) and said it had been easier than we thought.
The big problem was that the hotel had no restaurant, and taxi fare into Nice was about $50 each way. I said it wasn't worth it - after paying $100 for a taxi, we could have stayed in the Hyatt in Nice and taken a taxi one-way to the airport for not much more than staying in the desolate Novotel. The area was primarily business offices, and no restaurants nearby were open. We ended up walking in the dark several blocks - through office complexes to the "sister" Novotel. The restaurant there was open, and I had an omelet which was tasty. Ron had a so-called five-vegetable soup, which he said was luke warm, and more like a pureed pea soup. It was a very bad experience for our final evening of a wonderful trip. It put me in a bad mood, and Ron had to tell me to "quit complaining"!
We really don't understand all the good reviews of the hotel. I need to get busy and write one of my own on tripadvisor.
We were up at 4 AM, and in the lobby before 5 AM. We took the hotel shuttle to the airport, and checked in. I had pre-paid on-line for checking one extra suitcase. Everything went smoothly, and we were finished and through security by 5:30 AM.
It was about 1 1/2-hours to Paris. Again, at Charles DeGaulle, a LONG walk to another terminal. Surprisingly, there was no decent restaurant. We had been hoping to "fortify" ourselves with something decent to eat, and not have to partake of airline food!
The flight boarded around 1 PM. Our pre-assigned seats had been terrible, and I'd been able to change them on-line so we both had aisle seats - however, not together. Ron was directly behind me, so it wasn't bad. He was lucky and had a vacant middle seat next to him. I had a cheese multi-grain rissotto for lunch and Ron had chicken in a sherry vinegar sauce, which he said was pretty good. I had bought a Sudoku book in the airport and occupied myself with that for awhile. Watched a couple movies including "And So It Goes" with Michael Douglas and Diane Keaton. It gets horrible reviews, but kept me entertained. Also watched a French movie with sub-titles, "The Finishers".
Arrived in Washington on-time (4:20 PM), and were very happy with using our Global Entry status to scan our passports at a kiosk and whisk quickly through Immigration and Customs with NO standing in lines.
Ron had a notion to rent a car so we could go to Sweetwater Tavern (too far for hotel shuttle), but he checked on the phones in the terminal, and the going rate was around $80. We decided just to take the shuttle to the hotel and see what was nearby for dinner. The Embassy Suites Herndon was very nice for that brand - not run-down as some of them are. The lobby was attractive with pools with swans floating around. The room was very large (especially compared to Novotel Suites). There was a "happy hour" going on from 5:30-7:30 PM with complimentary drinks and nibbles. By the time we did that, Ron was too tired to go out, and we went up to the room. Had an early night since we had to get up at 4:00 AM to catch our flight to Atlanta. All went fine, except that my boarding pass was stamped TSA-Pre-check, and Ron's wasn't - even though we had both registered (and paid) for the program. So, I breezed through security with my laptop in its bag, coat and shoes on - while Ron had to go through the rigamarole. Our flight was on time into Atlanta, and now it is back to the "daily grind", and planning for the next sojourn.
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