Countdown to Paris - Thursday
Alright, I'm all set. My suitcase is stuffed to the gills with everything I could possibly fit in it. The only downside to that is that usually I come back with a lot less as I usually drag a ton of stuff over there for Elena. Not this time, so all the stuff is mine. So that leaves like no room to bring back souvenirs. Oh, who am I kidding. I don't buy souvenirs, that leaves no room for the important stuff, the candy. Oh well, don't really need it anyway. Want it? Oh yes, I plan to get a bag of Maltesers the second I can. I'll just have to enjoy while I'm there and skip on bringing it back.
I have everything I need, passport, money, train and plane tickets, hotel reservations and as of about 5 minutes ago thanks to FedEx, three day passes to get into practically every major museum and attraction Paris has to offer without having to wait on a line to buy a ticket. That was almost a fiasco though. I'm real weird sometimes when it comes to planning. My trip has been planned for weeks, got the airline tickets, train tickets and hotel reservations, you know, the essentials.
But when it comes to actually planning what I'm going to do once I get there, I have no plan. So yesterday morning, while somewhat bored and trying to pass the time I look into what it would take to buy tickets in advance to some of the major museums and whatnot. I find this place that sells them, and I'm thinking they're based in Europe. So they have this option to print out vouchers that you can then redeem once in Paris for the actual cards you need to get in. Only problem is, and I only found this out after I bought them, is that the place to pick them up is only open Monday through Friday, until 6:30 PM. No weekends. My train doesn't get in until a little before 5:00 and I have no clue where I'm going, so I'd have to figure out how to pick these things up before going to my hotel.
I take a look at the confirm e-mail they send me and it turns out the company mails these passes out from Massachusetts. So I call them up and ask how I can get the passes any other way, like before I leave. They tell me to cancel my order via e-mail and place a new one and select FedEx next day. Big pain in the ass. Thankfully the envelope came to me at my desk just a few minutes ago, so now, regardless of where I want to go, I don't have to wait on line, because as one woman in my office chimed in with while overhearing me talk about it with someone else, you're in no mood to look at art after having to wait to get in. So now, no lines!
Now I just have to kill the rest of the day away. I'm cutting out of work early, at like 4 and just heading straight to the airport. Good old JFK. Going to try to switch my seat to something with more legroom, and hopefully a power outlet for my iPod mini. I'm real nervous about not having enough of a charge to last the whole flight and the tube (London slang for the Underground, or subway. Subway in England actually refers to an walking path to go under a major road. I was dumb enough to follow the signs for the subway once while looking for a tube station. Stupid me) ride to the train station to meet Elena. A power outlet would solve that problem.
In the meantime all my gear is plugged in and charging. Last time I think I took my cellphone out at the airport to call Elena and tell her I landed and was on my way to my flat. I only used the cellphone to get her number, as of course it doesn't work in the UK, and those numbers are way too long to memorize. I think I left the thing on and by the time I landed in NY the battery was dead. I definitely need to pick up a travel power adapter to charge the phone in Paris, along with my digital camera. It would suck to run out of juice and not be able to take pictures.
I know Elena said she has one that her cousin gave her, but I'm sure everything is hectic with her at the moment with her showcase that she may not remember. I'll try to remind her when I call her after I land. Not the biggest deal, I'll just try to grab one at the airport or train station before I leave. Thankfully Apple makes a World Travel adapter kit, with all the plugs I need that just slide onto the power supplies for my PowerBook and iPod. Gotta love Apple. I know I do.
OK, I'm going to stop babbling now. This will probably be the last post for awhile, unless my hotel room really does have an internet connection. I'm not holding my breath and I don't really care. I have better things to do there than surf the net and check my e-mail. So, see you all when I get back (unless I get really bored later today and post just for the sake of killing time). As they say in France, Au Revoir!!!
Comments
HAVE FUN!!!!! :)
Posted by: Jenniy | April 9, 2004 8:43 AM