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On The Way To France

21 June 2010By Zhu 18 Comments

It may only be 6:23 (!) to go from Montréal to Paris, but the total trip was closer to 24 hours.

We left Ottawa Saturday afternoon and took the Greyhound to Montréal. The bus was almost empty and we were at the airport around 7 pm. A quick lunch/dinner later, we started queuing for check-in, which took over 1:30. Another line-up for security and we boarded the plane just before midnight. I fell asleep as soon as I sat down and only woke up when we were flying over the U.K.

Once in Roissy, we lined-up again for passport control — since I wanted to enter France as a Canadian, I was in the “foreign passports” section which I found hilarious. As Feng pointed out, passport control in France is a bit of a joke: the immigration officer was just taking passports, glancing at their owner and stamping them. So much for machine-readable passport — there wasn’t even a computer at the immigration desk! The passport were nor swiped nor checked more thoroughly and no question was asked. Suits me, but compared to entering Canada or the U.S.A, it is definitely a joke.

We missed the first train to Nantes because we had to wait for our checked-in luggage and they took forever to come. By the time we exited Terminal 3 and walked to Roissy’s train station, it was well past 2 pm on Sunday.

The train station hadn’t changed: still only a couple of booths open for a huge line-up of tired travelers. Train tickets’ priced raised a lot too but we didn’t really have the choice and couldn’t wait until low peak period (the following Wednesday!) to travel. We boarded the train and feel asleep again.

Three hours later, we finally reached Nantes.

Greyhound Bus Station in Ottawa

Above France

Roissy Charles de Gaulle

Roissy SNCF Station

Does he really suck? (first thing you see in Roissy)

First thing in Paris: Ham and Cheese Sandwich!

Yep, French Still Smoke Anywhere

Roissy

Waiting for the Train

Roissy Train Station

Roissy is Falling Apart...

In the Train

Last Station Before Nantes

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  5. Palais de Justice
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18 Comments »

  • expatraveler said:

    I have to echo Tanya’s sentiments about you being in France. It feels like home to me and I just love your photos!!!

  • Tanya said:

    So envious of your summer in France! Have a wonderful time and I look forward to hearing about the trip on your blog.
    Tanya´s last blog ..Shes Watching You

  • London Caller said:

    Home sweet home!
    Was the air different from Canada upon arrival?

    Ha ha… I always thought so when I’m away from London for a while!
    London’s air is dirty but lively!
    I can feel the air dancing.
    London Caller´s last blog ..Peruvian Lily – 秘鲁百合 – Lili Peru – ペルー·ユリ

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