Bienvenue en France

The morning

Edinburgh had one last sting in the tail for us.  Getting to the airport and returning the hire car turned out to be the easiest part of our morning.  First there was the disappointing discovery that Air France charges per item of checked baggage - a vital piece of information missing from any website or literature associated with our booking.  Air France/FlyBe/Expedia will be hearing about it soon:)

The close of the Edinburgh Fringe Festival last night also contributed to a mass exodus which led to long queues and confusion at a less than user-friendly airport.  It took a few minutes just to find Departures!  Just as well we were early.  Our departure gate moved location twice which saw increasingly disgruntled passengers shuffling across the terminal, and the final insult was a delayed flight which finally left the ground an hour late.  Coincidentally the musicians of the Scottish Chamber Orchestra, many from last night's concert, were on the same flight jealously guarding their precious instruments from callous air crew keen to shove as much as possible into the plane's hold.

The minutes ticked by and became more nail-biting as our transit window in Paris got ever smaller.  

Tick, tick, tick.... only 60 minutes left at Paris airport to get to the train.

Tick, tick, tick... only 50 minutes ....

Tick, tick.... only 40 minutes.....

The afternoon

Fortunately we made up some time in the air but even so it was Panic Stations on arrival at Charles de Gaulle.  Racing to collect bags, we made it to the train platform with less than 5 minutes to spare.  And then I remembered that the French really aren't renowned for observing the diplomatic art of queuing and it was every man, woman, child and fluffy white dog for themselves, piling onto the train holus-bolus and taking all the available luggage spots.  Bienvenue en France!

 

Once on the train, we could at least relax for 90 minutes while we passed through the outer suburbs of Paris and into the countryside.  At St Pierre des Corps it was a quick change to a smaller regional train for the 5 minute journey to Tours and then a short walk to the Best Western l'Artist Hotel.

Tours Railway Station - arrived at last!

 

The evening

Bliss at having got through a very long and tiring travel day and having made all our connections.  Ross lasted the day although his cold continues to be bad.  Thinking we might head out for a bite to eat at 8pm, the heavens decided otherwise and a summer thunderstorm and heavy downpour put paid to our plans.  

And so it was that our first night in France turned out to be quite as unglamorous as our last night in the UK - a quiet night in snacking on the last of the meagre provisions collected from various B+Bs along the way.   Hopefully some sleep tonight and a happier and more relaxed day tomorrow.