WE MADE A GOOD DECISION

Yesterday evening while talking to Geoff he told us about a poisonous taxi trip from Gare Du Nord.  It took him two hours during the last transportation strike.  So many people needed to get around, that they all went into taxis.  But the streets of Paris really can't handle that kind of upsurge in vehicles.  The result was complete grid lock.  When we went to bed, I kept thinking about the fact that the strike is building up steam.  I had images of us getting to the station (Gare du Nord) and discovering that the trains weren't going to go.  Then getting into a taxi and as the hours rolled by, we'd be trapped in a feeble attempt to make it to Charles de Gaul airport, and never getting to our flight.  That's when I had a brilliant idea - we'd go to the airport and stay the night in an airport hotel.  Every major airport in the world has a small bevy of service hotels near the airport for people who have flights out at dawn (or are in the throws of some awful strike).  We got on line this morning and found the Park Inn.  Less than 5 km from Charles de Gaul!  We now don't have to worry.  There's a shuttle from here every 15 minutes, and if that goes out, the taxis cost less than 20 euros.  All will be well.
We got up late this morning (all my nighttime plotting kept us up to the wee hours).  It was drizzling rain, but we wandered over to another cafe for a cafe creme and a croissant.  Back to Geoff's for some relaxing.  Then around 12:30 we wandered out to another cafe for a lunch.  Maude came over to talk science with Geoff and Charlie.  By 5 we went out to the RER for our little jump from Chatelet Les Halles to Gare du Nord.  We literally couldn't get into the first train to Gare du Nord.  A guy came along and actually stuffed people's arms into the cars so the doors would close.  The second train, mercifully came along more quickly and we got to Gare du Nord in apparent luxury.  Our second trip was a little more like a trip to Dachau.  The platform was literally filled with people by the time the train showed up.  We were "fortunate" to get on somewhat early and found a place to stand with our suit cases near the back of some seats (no one in front of us).  The car filled to the brim with people.  The train people had to convince a fellow to get off the train car because the door wouldn't close properly.  One woman in the middle of the mob began to say "Je suis malade, je suis malade!" (I'm sick) and the let her off the train.  I began to think "je suis malade aussi!!, but I honestly couldn't have made it out the door from where I was squashed.  The Indians in Mumbai sit on the roof of the trains, that sounded pretty good too!  Once the train finally started - the wait seemed to last an eternity - the air from an open window kept me from really becoming "malade"!  We got to terminal 2 - Charles de Gaul about 6:30.  When we passed a station called "Les expositions"  the crowd waiting for the train to Paris was incredible.  There must have been at least 1000 people squashed on the platform.  Clearly another trip from hell for those lucky folks.  Our hotel is lovely.  We're here!  We're close to the airport!  All's right with the world.  A quick aside.  Geoff's newly minted PhD, Maude, was excited to get back to the strikers on the streets of Paris this afternoon.  It seemed like a looming party to her.  If I hadn't needed to get on a plane tomorrow, it might have seemed like a party to me too.