Getting There
Business
trips are at best a mixed blessing. Occasionally your company will ask
you to go to some place cool such as London or Rome, but more often than
not they try to send you to Newark, NJ. or Cleveland OH. About 15 years
ago I almost went to France and Germany but the trip was cancelled. I've
had my share of Newark-type trips, just recently I spent a very boring
3 day in Milpetas, so the opportunity to go to France was one that I looked
forward to with great anticipation. Still, getting to go somewhere good
is only the first hurdle to overcome. I remember Paul Schegel telling
me about a business trip that he took to London many years ago. He flew
from New York to London, got off the plane, went to a two hour meeting
in a hotel near the airport and then got back on the plane to go home.
Sadly, those type of business trips are more common than one would like.
The senior executives in a company usually determine how business travel
will be conducted. For example, Mark, our senior VP, usually travels to
the France office by leaving on Monday and arriving in France on Tuesday
morning. Mark will step of the plane immediately into 3 days of meetings
and leave on Friday to arrive back home on Friday evening. Fortunately
I don't work directly for Mark, I work for Ron, who works for Wally, who
in turn works for Mark. Ron is great to work for. First, he is one of
the few managers I've had who actually still codes. Secondly, Ron is a
person who enjoys life. To Ron, going to a new city is an opportunity
to try out a new restaurant and check out the local culture. I've been
to San Francisco several times with Ron and each time he's made sure that
we got a halfway decent hotel, ate at a good restaurant and checked out
the city. There was no way that Ron was going to go all the way to France
and not see what it had to offer. Ron did a little research and found
that a trip to France from Monday to Friday cost about $2000 but a trip
to France from Sunday to Sunday was about $700. The reduced plane flight
would more than cover the extra cost of the additional hotel nights. Now
some managers would see this as a good opportunity to extend the 3 days
of meetings to 5, but Ron insisted that we maintain the 3 day meeting
schedule, leaving Monday, Friday and Saturday free to do as we pleased
We arrived in Paris Sunday afternoon. Ron had arranged for a rental car, but it occurred to Tom and me that it was very likely that the four of us and all of our luggage might not fit into a small European car. Ron concurred with us and decided to ask for a larger car at the rental kioas. The girl at the car rental place asked Ron how large a car we needed. Ron pointed at the four of us and our mountain of luggage which had taken over the available floor space in front of the rental places and told the girl that we needed a car large enough to hold us and all of our luggage. The girl upgraded us to a larger car and assured Ron that it would fit our entire luggage. Ron came over to us and told us that we now had a big BMW to drive around Paris. I asked Ron if we got one of the BMW 7 series at which point Ron finally looked at what type of car we had been given and discovered that we would be driving a BMW 320. (I case you don't know the 3 series is the smallest BMW you can buy in the US with the exception of the roadster). We went to the car looked at it and said, "no way are we all getting in there!" Ron opened up the truck which looked like it would hold at most one large bag and a couple of small bags and started tossing the luggage in the trunk. Ron first tried to place the two largest suitcases into the trunk, but they wouldn't fit. Ron then tried the largest suitcase with a smaller one. Now, the bags are really have so it is taking a lot of effort on Ron's part to go through all of the combinations of trying to get the different bags in the trunk. You would think that because Tom and I work for Ron that we might actually step in and help him with the bags but Tom and I decided on a different approach which was to stand back and openly mock our boss in his vain futil to get all of the bags in the car. To our surprise Ron eventually hit on a combination where he was able to get all of the small bags and the two smallest of the large suitcases in the trunk. He then placed the remaining to large suitcases into the center of the back set, which allowed Georgia and I enough room to squeeze in on either side, with Ron and Tom in the front. I really can't tell you want the ride to our hotel was like since I couldn't see anything. I did have to help drive the car to the hotel. Since Ron was unable to see out the rear window I would have to look out the windows and tell Ron if it was safe to change lanes. Actually, I had to yell instructions to Ron because the suitcases had an excellent baffelling effect that made it almost impossible for the people in the front seats to hear the people in the back seats. We only had one near death experience on the way to the hotel.
The Hotel
We
stayed at the Novotel in La Defense which is across the Siene river from
Paris and about 20 minutes from the Alcatel offices. We didn't have much
trouble finding the hotel. About the only problem we had was parking.
The hotel didn't have its own parking lot, but hotel guests could park
in a structure behind the hotel. The problem was getting to the parking
structure. We couldn't simply drive around back, instead we had to get
back on to the freeway get off at the right exit and then find the garage.
I don't think we actually got the hang of this maneuver until about Thursday.
We would usually screw up either leaving or entering the hotel and end
up driving around in circles for about 15 minutes before finding the right
route. The hotel was fairly new. It didn't have amenities common to US
hotels such as gym or pool, but the rooms were nice and that's all we
really needed. Ron and Georgia had a room that looked out over the Siene.
From their room you could see the Arc de Triumph and the Eiffel Tower.
The hotel rooms were typical of the rooms that I have encountered in
newer hotels in Europe. The rooms were smaller than American hotels and
the bed was a double, but otherwise similar to a room in the US. One nice
surprise was that the room had a sofa in it which turned into a single
bed. I liked having the sofa since it is much more comfortable to sit
on that the bed. The bed was very comfortable and I slept well. One of
my friends mocked me for putting up pictures of hotel rooms but one of
the most frequent questions I get after going on a trip is "What
was your hotel like?".
Versailles
On
Monday we drove to the Palace of Versailles which was built by Louis XIV
in about 1660.We didn't have much problem getting to Versailles, but once
arriving we needed to find a place to park. We could see Versailles off
to our left and Ron spotted a parking lot near the palace. The parking
lot was empty which, to me, didn't seem to be a good sign. There was a
little booth at the entrance of the parking lot, but it wasn't manned.
It was the type of parking lot which allows you to press a button, take
a ticket and drive in. Ron read the sign posted at the entrance to the
parking lot the best he could, grabbed a ticket and went in. We parked,
got out of the car and went to the palace. Once we approached the palace
we could see other cars parked in the lot next to the lot we were in.
We walked around the palace for a while and then went to look for an entrance.
We discovered that the palace wasn't open on Monday. Between Ron, Georgia
and Tom they brought 4 travel guides, but no one thought to check to see
if Versailles was open on Monday. We also discovered that the gardens,
which are supposed to be beautiful, were closed for an undetermined amount
of time due to damage from the recent storms. We walked back to the car,
at which point we realized that we hadn't figured out how we would get
out of the parking lot since there was no one at the exit. Fortunately,
we found a machine next to the booth where we could insert our ticket
and money and it would then give us a ticket to get out. Unfortunately,
we discovered that we were in a parking lot for busses and that we would
have to pay the fare charged to buses to escape its grasp. Between the
four of us we were able to scrape up the money and were on our way. I
think Ron was a bit ticked off about having to pay so much for parking
since he insisted on driving in the bus lanes for the rest of the day.
We then drove back to the hotel. Tom was navigating so we got lost, but
that was all right because I got to see a bit of the city. According to
Tom "I had trouble getting oriented on the map at first; after I
found where we were, I was fine".
Eiffel Tower
Since
Versailles was closed we had quite a bit of time remaining in the day
on Monday.
After going back to the hotel for a little bit we decided to take the
metro to the Eiffel tower. We got part way to the metro and Georgia realized
that she had left her hat in the car. Ron said he would go back and get
it and told us to go to the metro station where he had Tom and gone past
on a walk that they took earlier in the morning. Tom led the way to the
metro station where we tried to figure out the system and after purchasing
tickets looked at French magazines while waiting for Ron. It took Ron
a real long time to show up. When he did he asked us why we were in the
wrong station. Apparently Tom wasn't paying attention and led us to the
wrong station. Once we got off the metro we stopped at a pizza place to
have lunch. The waiter was helpful and took the time to explained what
was on the menu. The French put eggs on pizza, but its really just mixed
in so it's not like you see a fried egg on the pizza.
After lunch we walked to the tower, which was bigger than I expected it
to be. There was a line, although not a real long one, to buy tickets
to take the elevator to the top. There was no line to buy tickets to walk
to the top. We decided to take the stairs. We started up and Ron pretty
much raced up the stairs with Tom and I going a bit slower and Georgia
bringing up the rear. Occasionally Tom and I would stop and wait for Georgia
to catch up, but by the time we reached the first level we had lost her.
Ron went back down the stairs to look for her. An amazingly short time
later he came back and said he had gone all the way to the bottom and
had not seen her. Tom and I hadn’t seen Georgia get off at the first
level so Ron went back down to look for her and that was pretty much the
last we saw of Ron and Georgia.
. One clever thing that they have done on the Tower is to put informational signs at about every other landing. The information is very interesting and you get to rest while reading them. I suspect that the signs help prevent heart attacks in middle aged guys who think they can still climb up the tower. The history of the Tower is very interesting. During World War II Hitler had order that the tower be destroyed by the retreating Germans, but the officer in charge couldn’t bring himself to destroy it or the rest of the city. After the war he was made an honorary citizen. Mata Hari was captured at the Eiffel tower. Tom and I walked up to the midway point. From there we have to take an elevator to the top. The view from the top of the tower is fantastic. At the top are a number of photographs of the view from the top with arrows pointing to the various landmarks.Tom and I stayed at the tower until a little after dark. We took a few pictures of the tower lit up and then went of to catch the metro back to our hotel.
The Grande Arche
After
dropping some things off at the hotel we talked to one of the hotel staff
and asked her how to get to the shopping mall and for a recommendation
for dinner. We took the metro to the Grande Arche. Near the Arche is a
very large shopping center. I was getting late and so we didn't have much
time to go to shop. Tom wanted to shop for books so we went to a store
called FNAC. I was amazed at how large the store was. Most of the stores
that I've been to in Europe have been small by American standards, but
this one was big. On the bottom level they had electronics. It was close
to shopping in a CompUSA. On the second level were books and CDs. The
top level was similar to a Borders. Tom bought a bunch of French books.
He bought a number of children's books to help him learn French. Tom asked
one of the staff for help in choosing a popular French children's books.
The girl who helped Tom was very nice. (Still no rude French people.)
They finally kicked us out of the store at closing time and we caught
the metro to take us to the restaurant that a person at our hotel had
recommended. When we got to our stop we walked around and could find the
restaurant or the street that it was on. We tried asking a couple people
but they didn't know so we walked around some more. We then asked another
man and he wasn't quite sure, but he asked another person who told him
that the restaurant was a number of blocks away. They guy that we were
talking to didn't speak English and Tom's French isn't very good. The
guy told us that we needed to get back on the metro and go up one for
station. He then led us back to the metro and gave us two tickets to get
one (he refused to take our money) and he made sure that we got off at
the right stop. After we got out we still couldn't find the restaurant
so we ened up eating at one that was near by. Again, the waiter at the
restaurant was very nice and helped us with items that we couldn't figure
out.
Alcatel
This
was a business trip and we actually had to work. The Alcatel office is
outside of Paris in Columbe, which isn't very pretty. We did get to meet
a number of very nice people there and it was a pleasure working with
them.
La Troufe Noir
Tuesday
night Tom suggested that we take another stab at finding the restaurant
that we couldn't find the previous night. Since we needed to make reservations
Tom wrote down a complete script of what he was going to say and ask them
in French, along with a list of questions that they might ask him and
the answers to those questions. He made reservations in Ron's name because
he was afraid that they might recognize Chappell as the person who made
reservations the previous night and didn't show up. Georgia didn't feel
like going out so it was just Ron, Tom, Wally and myself. We took the
metro to the same exit that they gentleman who help us the previous night
had told us to get off at, but this time we had the name of the exit to
use once we got off of the train (that stop has four different exits to
the street). Once we got up to the street I immediately recognized it
as being the very same place that we had stood the day before, unable
to find our way. Before the last of us had full emerged from the metro
station an older gentleman noticed the distressed look on my face and
asked me what I was looking for. Unfortunately I didn't understand the
question. He asked again, but by this time Tom was listening in and Tom
told he that we were looking for the "Black Truffle". The old
guy then told us to follow him because he knew where the restaurant was
located. He then took off at a brisk pace and we followed after him. Along
the way he told us that it was a very good restaurant and that we should
be sure to order the potatoes. People in Paris have been amazingly friendly.
I'm pretty sure that the guy walked out of his way to show us where the
restaurant was located. Once we got to the restaurant I realized that
we could have never found it on our own. The street that it was on changed
names several times.
At the restaurant the waiter gave us the menu which was typical of the menus in France. You can buy your meal by the item (American Style) or you can get a combination with an appetizer, entrée and dessert. On the left half of the menu was a combination, which was about 170 Francs, on the right side, was a combination that was 450 Francs. The restaurant was the "Black Truffles" and truffles were their specialty. The waiter even brought out a big jar of truffles for us to smell. The 450-Franc meal could only be purchased if everyone at the table ordered it. Tom and Ron were keen to order it and Wally and I went along. After we ordered the waiter removed all of our, still unused, silverware and plates and brought out a new set of dishes and utensils specially designed for the special meal. The spoon was a special type of spoon with a notch in it for scooping up sauce. The first thing that they brought out was an appetizer which was a piece of toast covered with truffles. It was much better than it sounds. After we finished that they removed the silverware and replaced it with a slightly different looking set of silverware. The next dish was fish in a sauce covered with truffles. I really don't like fish that much but this dish was very good. That dish also had the wonderful potatoes that the old man had suggested. After that we received yet a different set of silverware and a dish of chicken in a sauce with - you guessed it truffles. The dish also came with some that starch item. It tasted a bit like potatoes, but not quite. They were shaped like centipedes. When we finished we joked "so what's next ice cream with truffles". Well, almost! For dessert, sorbet with truffles. Amazingly, it was very good. Ron also ordered two bottles of very good wine. The meal cost about $100 each, but fortunately Wally picked up the tab.
Around Paris
After
work on Thursday Jean-Pierre took us to dinner and then drove us around
Paris. The dinner was good. I ordered the raw beef in lemon sauce. The
meat was sliced paper thin. For dessert Wally ordered Chocolate Mousse.
It came in a disk that was the size of a large salad bowl.
After our meal Jean-Pierre drove us through the city. The city is very
beautiful at night. We drove up to the Arc de Triomphe, along the Seines,
by the Champs-Elysees, past the Louvre, the Eiffel Tower, Notre-Dame and
many other sights.
Friday morning we all piled into the car and did a bit of sight seeing.
We also made fun of Ron has he tried to negotiate Paris traffic. We drove
along the Seines and stopped to take pictures of the Statue of Liberty.
On an island in the Seines is a smaller version of the Statue of Liberty,
which was the model for the one in New York.
Notre Dame
The
plan was for Ron to drop Tom and me off at Notre Dame while he and Georgia
went to a couple of museums. Ron had some trouble getting to Notre Dame
and we ended up circling the cathedral in ever decreasing circles until
we homed in on it. We approached the cathedral from the back of the building
and it isn’t very impressive from that angle. I told Tom that the
movies had given me an impression of it being much larger. Once we got
to the front it became more impressive with the large towers in the front.
The stone sculptures at the front of the building are spectacular. The
inside of Notre Dame is hard to describe. Any words that I would use just
wouldn’t to it justice. It is a truly remarkable place. After viewing
the inside we went back out and stood in line to climb up the towers.
The good thing about it being winter is that the wait wasn’t that
long, the bad part was that it was cold. While standing in line we ended
up talking to two girls, Katie and Jan, who were from San Francisco. They
had been taking a trip to London but decided to spend the day in Paris.
It is a pretty good climb up to the top of the tower. There was an English
girl in front of us who diligently counted every step. There were over
300 steps and the tower gets quite narrow at the top. About half way up
the tower there is a place where you could go outside and view the city.
When we got there Tom was breathing pretty hard. I spotted Katie and quickly
gave her my camera and asked her if she would take a picture of Tom and
me before he died of a heart attach. After letting Tom catch his breath
we continued the climb to the top where we took a number of pictures of
the city and of the gargoyles.
The Louvre
After
leaving Notre Dame we took the metro to the Louvre. Tom and I were pleased
that we had mastered the metro system since the trip involved a transfer
to a different line. The Louvre is the old palace of Louis XIV before
he built Versailles. It is immense! One of the things that you have to
remember to do when you get into a room is to stop and look at the ceiling
and the floor. Sometimes the craftsmanship of the ceiling or floor is
better than the art work in the room. If you want to see the Louvre I
recommend going in the winter. Typically there is a two-hour wait to see
the Mona Lisa. When we got to it there were only about 25 people in front
of it. I got to walk right up to the Mona Lisa and look at it for a long
time without anyone trying to push me out of the way or asking me to move
along. We went to see the Venus de Milo, which was very beautify. I really
liked the Greek statues. Our stroll through the Louvre was a bit of a
death march. There is just too much to see. We got very tired, but we
didn't want to stop because there were so many things that we wanted to
see. We started off by checking out the Venus de Milo and then we went
to see the Mona Lisa. Ron's wife recommended that we see the Egyptian
exhibit. After walking through it for about 10 minutes I decided that
it really wasn't my taste and suggested to Tom that we go back and look
at the rest of the Greek Statues which I really liked. Tom said that he
didn't feel like backtracking and suggested that we walk quickly through
the rest of the Egyptian exhibit and then go on to see something else.
Now, I knew before starting that it is impossible to see all of the Louvre
in one day, it's way too big, but what I didn't expect is for a single
exhibit to be so large. We must have walked (very quickly) for another
45 minutes before we managed to emerge from the Egyptian exhibit. By that
time I was pretty exhausted.
We left at closing time and took the metro back to the hotel. I hope that
I will be able to come back and see more of the museum.
I have a number of pictures of - me standing in front of the (fill in
the blank). There really is no point in trying to take a picture of the
Mona Lisa. If you want to see the Mona Lisa, either visit the Louvre or
buy a nice art book. Either way, what you will see is better than any
picture I will be able to take. I prefer to have a picture that reminds
me that I was there.
The Rodin Museum
Saturday
was our last full day in Paris. Tom wanted to do some shopping and go
back to the Louvre. I was interested in seeing something different. I
suggested to Ron and Georgia that we go to the Rodin museum. I don’t
think that Georgia was very interested in going to the Rodin museum, but
she said that she was willing to go along. We took the metro (including
several transfers) to the museum that is actually an old mansion. Many
of the works are outside on the grounds. Outside we found “The Thinker”
and “The Gates of Hell” as well as many other beautiful works.
There was one statue outside that particularly impressed me. Usually with
statues of people the eyes are very undistinguished, but with this piece
the eyes were very real. While looking at it I almost felt as if there
was someone encased inside the bronze, watching me. I didn’t know
that much about Rodin’s life before going to the museum. I was surprised
to learn that he didn’t start as a sculpture until he was about 40.
It made me feel as if there was hope more me. I really enjoyed the museum
and I highly recommend that if you are ever in Paris that you stop by
and see it. Later on Ron told me that initially he wasn’t excited
about going to the museum but that he was real happy that I dragged them
along. We then took the metro across the river to the museum of impressionist
paintings. When we got there we found that the museum had closed 4 days
previous for renovations and wouldn’t be open again for two years.
Ron suggested that we walk to the d’Orsay museum, which wasn’t
that far.
The Museum of Orsay
After
leaving the Rodin Museum we then took the metro across the river to the
Galerie Nationale du Jeu de Paume which has a large number impressionist
paintings. Now you may recall from our trip to Versaille that no one had
bothered to any of the guide books to see if it was opened. Now, in this
case Ron did read the guide book except that his guide book was pretty
old (printed in 1982) and all of the impressionist art work had been carted
off to the Musee d' Orsay in 1986. When we got there we found that the
museum had closed 4 days previous for renovations and wouldn't be open
again for two years. Ron suggested that we walk to the d’Orsay museum,
which wasn't that far. Neither Georgia nor I were happy with the walk.
My feet hurt and Georgia wasn't happy about the cold. The d’Orsay
was originally a train station which had been converted into a museum
in the 1978. The d'Orsay is a museum which houses works by artists born
between 1820-1870. We decided to split up and meet at the gift shop at
four since we have different tastes in art. I spent most of my time on
the ground and second level looking at the sculptures. Paris is filled
with museums, almost all containing significant works of art. Often the
attics and basements of the museums hold pieces that are collecting dust
that many other museums would be delighted to have. The Orsay is very
beautiful and many of the sculptures are fantastic. I really enjoyed Sappho
by Pradier and Gavernac by Puech. I saw some of the impressionist art
on the first floor, but didn't go up to the third floor where the bulk
of the impressionis pieces are located. By 4:00pm I hadn't seen many pieces
that I wanted to see and had to make the decision of stick with Ron and
Georgia or remain at the museum. I decided that there was no way that
I would be able to see everything that I wanted to see and so it might
be better to move on and try to see another little piece of the city.
Les Halles
Ron and Georgia
wanted to go shopping at Les Halles. I wasn't that interested in shopping,
but decided to check out the place. We took the metro from the D’Orsay
to Les Halles, easily navigating the transfers that we needed to make
and arrived in Les Halles. I'm not sure if Les Halles in just the shopping
center or the entire section of the city. We started outside where there
are a large number of shops in at least a 6x6 block area. There were many,
many people in the streets. It was very crowed. I walked around looking
passing by the many low/middle class stores. I walked to one block that
contained all of the sex shops and peeps shows that interested me slightly
more, but not enough to venture inside. After walking around a number
of blocks I decided to check on the mall, which has several levels above
ground and several below ground. I think that there are 6 levels in all.
The mall was packed with people. Imagine what the crowds are like on the
worst day of shopping before Christmas in a US mall. Now, add about 25%
more people and you have an idea of what Les Halles is like. I looked
at a couple of the stores, but quickly decided that it was time to leave.
I followed the signs to the metro and got on.
Champs Elysée
I was headed
back to the hotel when I noticed the stop for Champs Ellysee on the metro
map. I remembered Sally mentioning to me to me that I should go to the
Champs Elysée. I then used my meager powers of translating “female”
to “male” and realized that what she had told me was “you
should go to the Champs Elysée … and buy me something”.
I debated about getting off because my feet were tired but when the stop
came I got out. I started at the end, worked my way up to the Arc de Triumphe
and back down the other side. I really didn't see a lot that I liked,
the merchandise was either cheap and tacky tourist stuff or very expensive.
I then went back to the store that I thought was the most promising and
bought a pair of earrings for too much (they didn't cost that much, but
I spent more than they were worth). “Trip to Paris, 20,000 Francs,
silver earrings for your wife 340 francs, happy wife – priceless”.
Sally deserves the earrings. I recently bought several new pair of shoes
so I didn't have a pair that was broken in. Sally thoughtfully packed
me Band-Aids and moleskin. If she hadn't packed the moleskin I would be
crippled instead of having just a few minor blisters on my feet.
Saturday night we went to the Latin district for dinner. Tom had read
that there were a number of good Vietnamese Pho (a beef soup) restaurant.
We found a Pho restaurant and Tom and Ron ordered a Fondue. It took forever
for the meal to arrive. Tom and Ron had to listen as Georgia and I chastised
them for making us wait so long for our meal. Fortunately the metro stays
running longer on Saturday nights, so we were able to make it back to
the hotel.
Going Home
The check out of
the hotel was easy, but getting our bags to the car wasn’t. The parking
garage isn’t part of the hotel and there is no way to get to the car from
the hotel without climbing a bunch of stairs. Ron could have driven the car
up to the front of the hotel, but getting there from the parking lot is very
tricky. We had gotten lost on that section many times in the past and, since
we were short of time, decided to haul the bags up the stairs rather than risk
being late. Fortunately Ron remember how to pack the car to get everything in.
We drove to the airport, but forgot which terminal we needed to go to. We started
out at terminal 2, but went back to terminal 1 because we didn’t see any
signs for American Airlines. We parked at terminal 1 and I asked someone if
it was the terminal for American and she said no, we needed to go to terminal
2. The man that she was helping looked at me and said “I’ll bet that’s
not the answer you wanted to hear”. We drove back to terminal 2, got lost
but eventually made it.
Before leaving for France I talked to one of my coworkers, Gina, who told me
that if I had an electronic ticket I should bring the receipt otherwise I wouldn’t
be able to get on the plane. This seemed to defeat the whole idea of the electronic
ticket, but I believed her and sought out the person at our travel dept. to
get the receipts for Ron, Tom and myself. Gina was right, you do need the receipt.
I was so happy that I had talked to her. We easily got business class upgrades,
with the exception of Georgia, who kept getting screwed up because her passport
has her maiden name and doesn’t match the name on her ticket. She eventually
got an upgrade.