Part 11 - Last Day in Paris and Traveling Home

After a pretty big and tiring day of traveling around Paris yesterday, we decide to keep it pretty mellow on our last full day in Paris (9/18/15). The forecast was also calling for rain and thunderstorms. 

We started out our day by stopping into a local bakery (boulanger) called "Eric Kayser." We picked up a couple quiches, some croissants, a baguette and a raspberry dessert of some sort. 

Back at our apartment I reheated the quiche in a frying pan like I did earlier in the week and Deanna made a sandwich out of the baguette. I brewed us some espressos and we relaxed, enjoying the view of Paris from our window. 

Quiche

Deanna went back to reading her book more and I watched some French television and took a nap before we decided to go for another walk around the neighborhood. There was a break in the rain so it was a good time to head out for a bit. Deanna was looking for a place that served chicken pho, so we stopped at a few Vietnamese restaurants to check their menus but could not find one that had it.  We stopped into a little gift shop and looked around for a bit then headed home. 

After watching a movie we then headed back to our favorite place "Foyer Mon Vietnam" for some beef pho. This time we ordered the pork rolls, shrimp/crab rolls, 2 beef pho and I had the coconut panna cotta again. It was all just as amazing as before. This restaurant was packed this time which makes sense because it is very good. We wished this restaurant was in SF. 

After dinner we spent some time relaxing with some beers and wine and good music on our jambox. We kept the windows open for a while and listened to the night air and soaked in our final night in Paris. 

There were a couple of nights we looked out the window and saw all of the lights in this building putting on a weird light show or something. 

We did a little packing and went to bed.

Here is the AirBnb that we stayed at in Paris:
https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/6274420

We definitely loved this little apartment. It was cute and the neighborhood was great as well. All transportation needs were close by. Everyone we met in that neighborhood was nice and easy to interact with. We recommend it if you are heading to Paris. 

We booked a flight back to London instead of the EuroStar rail because it was faster and cheaper. The only negative is that the cheapest flight leaves at 7:30am out of Paris. 

So Friday (09/29/15) morning we got up around 3:45am. We did a quick clean up around the apartment packed our remaining luggage. We called for a cab to pick us up at 4:30am to take us to Charles de Gaulle airport. We could have taken the train to the airport but the train does not run at that time. So we would have had to take a bus and transfer once or twice and it would have taken over an hour to get there. Our taxi took us there in about 35 minutes and cost around 53 Euros. Pretty typical for an airport trip in the US. 

We arrived at the airport and went into the terminal to find the British Airways terminal. We were in the right terminal, but could not find anything that indicated where the check in was for British Airways. We walked around for a while trying to figure it out but could not. We looked it up online and found that they were downstairs in a separate registration area. So we headed downstairs to the #9 check in desk and found a group of people waiting for British Airways to open their doors. As we waited a large number of people gathered to get in. They opened around 6am and we all went in. 

After being processed we went to the British Airways gate and hung out waiting to board. The British Airways terminal is very nice and swanky in Paris. We boarded shortly after and took off on our way back to London for our flight home. 

Manbun and Girlbun in front of us

During our flight we got breakfast in the form of a ham and cheese croissant and drinks. Pretty nice for just an hour long flight. We landed and made our way out of the terminal to get our backs to recheck back in to fly United. You'd think they could have some sort of better process for transferring from different airlines and not forcing you to go back through check in and security. 

We found a restaurant in the Heathrow terminal called the Perfectionists' Cafe where we sat down for some food. We both ordered breakfasts. I had the full English breakfast plate, an americano and a beer. Deanna had Eggs Benedict, champagne and a pot of tea. The breakfast wasn't that bad. I ate it all. 

Heathrow Airport

After breakfast we made the 15 minute trek to our United terminal at Heathrow. Luckily this long walk was full of moving floors to aid us in our adventure. Also at Heathrow they have FREE hand carts. We made good use of those. 

We hung out for an hour or so at our terminal before boarding our 9 hour flight back to Houston. Deanna was kind enough to let me ride by the window for this flight and she suffered next to some weird dude for the duration. 

We enjoyed many bottles of complimentary wine and a meal during our flight and watched a couple movies. We watched "Tomorrowland," "D-Train," "San Andreas," and Deanna watched "Bessie" while I watched "Avengers." Before we landing in Houston we were given a small turkey and cheese sandwich that wasn't bad. 

When we arrived in Houston we had to go through customs. The dumb thing they don't let you know about Houston is that they have automated Customs form machines. You do not have to fill out those stupid declaration cards they give you on the plane. We did of course but nobody ever took them. We did the machine and go in the huge lines and made our way out to our Luggage yet again. Then had to get re-scanned to get back to our connecting flight. What a terrible process this was. 

It was immediately evident that we were back in the US as we kept encountering rude TSA agents and unhelpful people at nearly every turn. The restaurants and service at the Houston United terminal were also very depressing. We wound up eating at some sad sports bar where I had chicken strips and fries and Deanna had what they were passing off as a Cobb salad. We quickly ate and drank our beers and left. 

Our flight began boarding and Deanna again was kind enough to let me ride in the window seat. The flight from Houston to SF was terrible. We could not get comfortable the entire time and they only offer drinks and snacks for purchase. How cheap is it of United to not even toss you some free peanuts anymore? The 4 hour flight was worse than the 9 hour one from London. 

We touched down in SF and got our stuff from baggage claim and headed over to the Park SFO shuttle. We parked offsite this time because I had a coupon for a free day of parking at the Parks SFO lot. It turned out to be a good and simple process. We ended up paying around $200 for 13 days of parking. Maybe not the cheapest option but it was convenient and easy. 

We got home about 23 hours after we left Paris. It was great to be home and reunited with our little Donkeycat Nima. She was happy to see us too. 

This was a really fun trip. We loved visiting London and Paris and think we did a good job of balancing out our tourist activities and our vacation relaxing activities. 

Thanks for reading everyone!

Deanna and Mack

Our full photo album is located here
(Many more photos and we'll be posting on facebook in one large album later): https://goo.gl/photos/rRMpDJXDXoF5QsS98

Part 9 - MoFlix and Chill

Today (9/16/15) we decided to enjoy resting and being on vacation. It is raining a lot in Paris and could become more intense as the day progresses. There have been flash flood warnings and thunder storm alerts, so we aren't going to get stuck in that. 

This morning I (Mack) went to the tiny organic (bio) market at the foot of our building to get some items. I picked up some lardons (bacon cut into strips), eggs, wine and a few other items. 

I fried up the lardons and fried a couple eggs. I took the remaining baguette we had from the other day and cut it lengthwise and spread butter on top. I then pan fried that for a few minutes on the outside and butter side to get it toasted. While that was happening I brewed us up a couple more tall espressos. Breakfast was delicious and cheaper than going out. 

Breakfast

I've been watching French music videos and terrible reality shows in overdubbed French speaking voices while Deanna enjoys a book on her Kindle. (From Deanna:  It's the book "Girl on a Train" -so good I can't put it down!)  I forgot to bring my iPad for reading, so I have no books to read at the moment.  The rest of the afternoon was spent like this, and watching a couple of movies ("Fort Tilden" and "Inherent Vice") on the laptop. 

When dinner rolled around we decided to try a Vietnamese restaurant that had good reviews online. We felt it was time for something familiar and not another heavy French meal. Plus Deanna was dying to have a big bowl of pho. The restaurant called Foyer Mon Vietnam opens for dinner at 7pm. We walked over and arrived at the doors just after opening and were seated right away. 

We asked if the waiter  (maybe owner?) spoke any English and he indicated that he did not. No problem! We pointed at the menu, used our Frenglish, and managed to order pork rolls, 2 bowls of beef pho, and 2 beers. 

The rolls came out pretty quickly after we ordered. They were crisp and fresh and had a vinegar/fish sauce to accompany them. The rolls had a very good pork flavor and were packed with just the right amount of vegetables. We definitely recommend these if you are up for an appetizer, which is actually called an Entree here in Paris. Entree means enter or start. 

Our beef Pho came out right when we were done with our rolls. Accompanying the soup was a typical platter of sprouts, basil, lime and peppers. We dressed our soup and started in. Immediately we both expressed our delight to the rich and mature flavor of the broth. This was not just a basic broth with stuff thrown in at the end. The flavors popped and tasted fresh and savory. The steak that was in the soup was amazing as well. It was hearty and tender and plentiful. The noodles were flat rice noodles, not as small as vermicelli, but on the thinner side. The noodles were delicious as well. Deanna almost finished her entire bowl, while I could have licked the bottom of mine clean it was so empty when I was done. After dinner we ordered a coconut panna cotta dessert and an espresso. The panna cotta was equally as fresh and delicious as the pho.

Amazing Beef Pho

Homemade Coconut Panna Cotta

The service, the food, and the atmosphere of Foyer Mon Vietnam is amazing from start to finish. I would recommend this as a stop to anyone who loves Vietnamese food while visiting Paris. It is truly a hidden gem. Oh also, they only take cash, so come prepared. 

After dinner we strolled our way home through the streets of our Parisian neighborhood and returned to our apartment to watch another movie. This time we watched "Woman in Gold". 

The end of the building we were staying in

This city is one that grows on you. We are both quickly falling in love with it's little charms and the people we have encountered. We have always heard about Parisians having a reputation for being rude and unfriendly to foreigners and especially to Americans. This has not been the case at all for us during our stay. Nearly every person we have talked to when ordering food has been helpful and polite and worked to understand our needs. Of course we go into the exchange trying to speak French and not giving an attitude when they don't know English. I think mutual respect goes a long way. We've resorted to hand signals and pointing on occasions and when we get our message across we quickly follow that up with a "Merci" to thank them for their help. 

Tomorrow we are heading to the Louvre, Arc de Triumph and probably the Eiffel Tower in the same day. A big day most likely of shuffling through crowds, being frustrated at times by other tourists, but one of seeing things we have only dreamed of. 

Good night and thank you for reading!

Our full photo album is located here(Many more photos and we'll be posting on facebook in one large album later):https://goo.gl/photos/rRMpDJXDXoF5QsS98