Arriving at CDG: Relaxed First Day in Paris
Our first day in Paris was supposed to be demanding. We were going to meet with a tour group and head to Versailles right after arriving and then we were going to summit the Eiffel Tower as dusk settled, seeing all the bright lights of Paris and getting all the romantic energy we could right out of the gate.
In reality, none of that happened. Our last day in Dublin, I realized that we'd never actually make it to the Versailles meeting point on time. And knowing our day would start at 4:00am, I figured 8:25pm would be too late to go to the Eiffel Tower, so I cancelled. I was right, though, we were so thankful when we arrived that we didn't have any firm plans.
Aer Lingus and Our Arrival
We left Dublin shortly after 9:30am. Luckily, we were upgraded to the 7th row on that flight, the emergency exit row with lots of extra room for our long legs. I had to put my purse in the overhead bin, and sadly lost my sleep aids over the course of the flight. When we landed, I opened the overhead bin, grabbed my purse, and it looked like everything was inside.
We hurried off the plane as soon as we were permitted. We had to walk a far way into the customs area. First, we went to the wrong line, used the bathroom quickly, then turned around and walked leftwards to the arrivals for North American, Austrailian, and Asian countries. The mix up cost us around 10 minutes of time.
Then when we got near the front of the customs line, we realized it was just machines. Only 2 out of 6 were working. We scanned our passports and the machines let us into a booth where we had to line ourselves up properly for an entry picture. I brushed the wig hair out of my face and stepped back and it took about a minute to get the angle right and for the machine to let me out. Then we had to go find our bags.
Charles De Gaulle Airport Review
Navigating CDG requires deliberate planning. The airport’s sheer scale can test your patience. The connections between terminals are notoriously long, requiring automated shuttles, buses, and significant walking. Passport control lines can stall during peak morning waves, meaning a tight layover here is a high-stakes gamble. Security checkpoints are thorough but sometimes understaffed, requiring you to budget extra time.
Luggage Carousels and Arrivals
It didn't take very long for our bags to arrive at CDG. They were easy to spot and among the first off the belt, so we'd grabbed our bags by just after 1:15. I was thinking, maybe we could make the trip to Versailles after all, but I didn't take on the hope so I wasn't feeling pressure.
We dragged our bags out into the main arrivals terminal, which was full of drivers waiting with names on signs. Unfortunately, there was no one with our names, so we found a driver we could ask. We had the voucher from Wingbuddy for our car and he called and found out our driver was running late. Versailles slipped away again.
We waited for around 15 minutes for our driver to arrive. He loaded our bags into his car and then took off on a mad dash across the city to our hotel. It was a scary drive because he was barely looking at the road, instead texting at 120km/h, so Dean said something and luckily the driver made a phone call instead of texting. We got to our hotel at 2:00pm, just when our meeting time for Versailles would have been.
Our Room and Casual Plans
Dean looked up the LEGO store once we'd gotten to our room and entered the WiFi into our phones. We then changed clothes and took off in a cab to visit LEGO. This is where we noticed how massively backlogged the traffic is in Paris. We're not used to roads this packed with cars. It was loud, there were sirens every ten minutes, and then we got dropped off sort of far from our location.
Dean opened the map on his phone and navigated us through throngs of people to the store. We were in the Paris LEGO store for around 2.5 hours total. First we admired the massive Notre Dame replica inside the store, then made our way to the Pick-a-Brick wall.
Despite not being as pleased here with the selection as he had been in Dublin, Dean proceeded to fill two large boxes with pieces. I helped him click parts together to save space and when all was said and done, we met Stella, a young woman assembling a worm as a gift for a friend. She didn't know much about LEGO, so Dean helped her get ideas. Considering she couldn't buy just the worm, he tried to help her decide what parts to get in the small box she would have to buy.
Dinner at a Japanese Restaurant
There was a Ramen place, Japanos, close by that Dean had seen on Maps. We set off in its direction at around 6:30pm that evening. When at the restaurant, Dean got beer and I got a glass of wine.
He didn't like the way they made his karage, so requested they remake it, which they did. Finally my food arrived, which was a curry style karage with a huge portion of rice.
We ate slowly, but I was still unable to finish my whole portion of food. It was good. We'd have taken the leftovers if our hotel room had had a microwave.
A Ride Back on Transit
After dinner, we decided to take transit back to the hotel. We went into the metro station and asked the man behind the ticket booth for directions. He printed out a sheet with our exact stops and the buses to catch. We then paid, it was a total of €13. Definitely cheaper than the €30 the cab ride had been.
When we hopped out of the subway, we had to take a bus. We lined up waiting for it, and ultimately, we were on the wrong side of the road because the bus went in the opposite direction. We had to ride the full loop, but it wasn't very long before we were back on track in the direction of our hotel.
When we got off at the final bus stop, it took a little while for us to orient ourselves in the direction of our hotel. It was past 9:00pm and we were already tired enough for bed. We settled in for an early night, knowing the next day was for the Louvre and the Catacombs.
Final Thoughts
Our arrival in Paris was ultimately anticlimactic. The hotel location did most of the damage. It wasn't near any landmarks, so it didn't feel especially Parisian. We managed to make lowkey last minute plans, and the day was saved.
Our restaurant choice didn't feel especially Parisian either, but it was good comfort food that nourished our bodies after a long travel day. The ride back on the metro was easy enough in hindsight, but at the moment it caused enough confusion and additional frustration that we agreed to take taxis for the rest of our time in Paris.
If I were to do Paris again, I'd definitely select a hotel in close proximity to iconic viewpoints. I'd schedule something for late afternoon, so we would have actually done something memorable that day. But overall, the day was good and it let us settle in and recoup for a big second day in Paris.
Comments