My Last Night in France

All good things must come to an end.  Even a vacation in France, unfortunately.  After about two weeks in constant travel in France, I still cannot get enough of this country.  I cannot get enough of the food, of the wine, of the shopping, of people watching, of visiting museums, of watching French TV at night, and of sipping chocolat chaud while I walk down the elegant avenues.  In France, every day is filled with discovery and opportunity to practice the language.  I cannot get enough!  I’m a Franco-addict!

Au Revoir Lyon!

My last day in France started in Lyon where I woke up early, bought (you guessed it!) a chocolat chaud and some chouquettes, and strolled down the Rhone before heading back to the AirBnB and completed my check out.  A taxi dropped me off at the Lyon Part-Dieu train station (or rather told me to get off over a block away because there was a long line of taxis waiting to drop off other people and my cab driver just didn’t want to wait).  I took a direct train from Lyon to Paris and then took another taxi to my hotel Melia Hotel Paris Opera.

Doing My COVID Test Online

Once I checked into the hotel, it was time to do my COVID test.  Currently, the United States requires all US citizens entering the country, regardless of vaccination status, to present a negative COVID test.  You can get one done at any pharmacy, however, I did mine through a company called eMed.  I first heard about this option through an advertisement sent by United Airlines.  With this option, you order home test kits from eMed, they are delivered to your home, you take the home tests with you during your trip, and then you can perform the test at your hotel just before you come back.  eMed offers proctoring services.  So you log to your eMed account online (laptop is preferable) and a proctor chats with you via video.  They instruct you on when to open the test kit, how to perform the test, and then wait with you while you get the results.  The results are then uploaded to an app and/or emailed to you.  You can then use this results to come back to the United States.  I have done it twice: once in Greece and now in France.  It’s easy and fast to do.  And the best part is that you can do it at your own time and at the privacy of your hotel room.  If you do think that the eMed option is right for you, here are a few things to keep in mind:

• You must order from the company in bulk – You must order the tests directly from eMed.  They are sealed and have a QR code which is then used to link your results to your account.  Unfortunately, they only sell them in packs of 6 tests or more.  They do not sell them individually.  Each test is about $25.  This means you might have to pay up to $150 at one time since no individual tests are sold.
• Pack them in your carry on – So the tests don’t get damaged, you should pack them in your carry-on bag.  No worries!  There is no issues at security.  They will let you carry them with you.
• Take at least two test kits with you on your trip – each test kit contains only one test.  So if for whatever reason, your test is damaged or the results come out as inconclusive, then you will need a second one.  The first time I used this test, I did not have any issues.  This second time in France, the bottle that contains a liquid used in the test was empty!  No liquid!  So the test could not be performed!  Luckily, I had my second test handy and was able to complete the testing with no additional issues.  The good news is that the proctor saw that the test was missing the liquid, and without missing a beat, she ordered a replacement to be sent to my home free of charge.  So rest assured; if the test is defective the company will replace the kit at no cost to you.
• Make sure you are in no rush when you complete the test since wait times might be high – when I took the test in Greece, the wait time for a proctor was over 1 hour.  This was during summer and Europe had just opened to Americans, so I think they were having more traffic than usual.  However, I was able to ask for assistance in Spanish and got put through a proctor right away.  Good thing knowing two languages!
• Laptop is preferred – the company eMed prefers that you take the test through a laptop.  I’m not sure if you can perform your test on your smartphone or not.  I have done both my tests on my laptop and it has worked well. 

Galeries Lafayette: An Breathtaking View of Paris and one Last Chocolat Chaud

The day was coming to an end once I got my negative COVID results.  I decided to go on a stroll wherever the winds of Paris decided to take me.  On my way out of the hotel, the lady at the front recommended going on the terrace of Galeries Lafayette.  I walked a few blocks down to Opera Garnier and then crossed to Galeries Lafayette.  I was happy to see that the grand magasin had started decorating for Christmas.  Under the grand dome, a 12-foot inflatable Santa floated in the air above an equally impressive Christmas tree.  Lights dangled from the dome, but they were not on yet.  I bet this place in Christmas is one elegant winter wonderland.

I climbed to the first floor, circled around the dome, then climbed to the second floor, checked out all the fashion, then climbed up to the next floor until I made it all the way to the top of the store.  At the very top, there is a terrace and when I stepped outside, I let out a small gasp.  All of Paris was at my feet!  Opera Garnier stood before me and behind the opera house I could see all the way from Notre Dame to the Eiffel Tower.  And just as I was registering the beauty of what lay in front of me, the crowd began to gasp and ooo.  The Eiffel Tower was beginning to do its nightly light show.  I was mesmerized.  The entire crowd just watched in awe.  I took in the beauty of the scene.  The sun had just set so the sky displayed all sorts of colors from dark blue to the East to a spectrum of pink and orange on the Western horizon.

I sat outside for a while.  I trade picture services with a couple: I take your picture if you take my picture.  I walked around the terrace taking in the city from as many angles as I could.  I peeked over the railing and stared at the deadlock traffic below.  A group of Americans began making bets on which cars would get through the bottle neck first.  It was actually a fun game… fun for us, not the people below stuck in traffic!  I sat and stared at the City of Lights for as long as I could.  Until the entire sky was dark and glowed with the lights of the city below.  The wind blew, cold and sharp.  It penetrated the layers of my coat.  It was time to go.  As I stood, I blew Paris a kiss… well several.  One per major landmark that I could see up in the terrace.  One to Notre Dame, one to Opera Garnier, one to Invalides, and one to the Eiffel Tower.  Before I descended the stairs back to the store, I turned and took one last look at the Eiffel Tower shimmering against the dark sky.  “A bientot,” I said with a wink (see you soon).

On my way down I stopped by the café located on the third floor of Galeries Lafayette and ordered my last chocolat chaud.  I sat staring at the flying Santa under the dome and at all the marvelous fashion around me.

When I stepped out of the store, I walked back towards the hotel and stopped at a restaurant to have my final meal in Paris.  Canard Confit with potatoes and a lemon merengue tart that O-M-G, I cannot even begin to describe.  That was my last night in Paris… and it was perfect!

To the Airport

Warning!  If you take a cab from Paris to Charles de Gualle airport, be prepared to pay at least 55 euros.  It ain’t cheap!  There are however, cheaper options.  Like a shuttle service called the Rossybus which picks you up at Opera Garnier and drops you off at Charles de Gualle airport all for just 15 euros.  In fact, that was one of the advantages I saw when I booked the Melia Hotel Paris Opera in Blvd Montemarte not far from Opera Garnier.  But honestly, after 2 weeks of hauling my shit back and forth on trains, stations, cobbled stones, and teeny, tiny elevators, I decided to splurge on a cab ride.  Let someone else carry my stuff while I sit back and relax and not worry about anyone taking my things.

There is a taxi station outside the hotel.  At this point I have to give a shout out to Melia Hotel Paris Opera because it is super well situated.  There is even a metro station right out the door.

The taxi driver was my favorite out of the entire trip.  We chatted the entire way to the airport.  We talked about France about his trips to Cancun and Playa del Carmen, the pass sanitaire, the upcoming presidential election in France, and he even gave me some quick French grammar lessons.  He was a lot of fun.  One last French practice.

I Need… an Egg McMuffin!

Since it’s been officially two days that our European friends can now come to the US, I came to the airport early anticipating long lines around the check-in and documentation.  The check-in does take longer to do in this new COVID world.  Besides passport you must show your vaccination card and a negative COVID test.  And for some weird reason, your pass sanitaire (health pass).  Which is weird, I guess on only vaccinated people can be in the airport?

However, the long lines I expected never quite materialized.  In fact, I wish I would have stopped at the McDonald’s located by the United counter for breakfast.  Thinking there would be plenty of options at my gate, I bypassed the Golden Arches and got a nasty surprise when I made it to my gate.  Almost everything is CLOSED.  And not just closed, EMPTY.  That’s what two years of no transatlantic flights will do, I guess.  I pass by all the empty stores… fnac, the M&M and Disney Stores… Their names fabulously displayed, but inside there is nothing.  No merchandise, no products, no displays, no cash registers, only emptiness.  And the restaurants… well, what restaurants?!?!  There are none!  There is only one that offers viennoiseries (croissants, pain au chocolat, etc), coffee, and salad.  But nothing else.  Not even sandwiches.  Oh, man… does McDonald’s sound really good right about now.  What I wouldn’t do for a warm egg McMuffin.  In the words of Shakespeare, “My kingdom for an egg McMuffin!”  But I’ll tell you what is 100%open … Duty free shops!  People can’t live without that designer perfume, I guess.

France… Je t’Aime!

And so… my trip to France has come to an end.  I feel really blessed of having able to do this trip.  I want to thank everyone that followed me along during my journey through France.  Although I traveled solo, I never felt alone.  If you read my blog, thanks for reading my thoughts and activities throughout my trip.  Having this blog made it possible for me to share my experiences as though I had a travel companion with me.  Big thanks to all!

I hope to come back to France soon.  After all, I love France and there are many other corners to discover in this beautiful country.  A bientot!