The joys of international travel

Houston, TX -- I was suppose to be able to enjoy the first sounds of Le Mans today -- but with the help of a tropical depression that hit the New York City yesterday and the total ineptitude of Continental Airline management, I missed the flight out of Newark Liberty Airport.

It was not just me, but many, many, travellers and so I stood in line at the Continental Customer Service Center last night while a myriad of other travellers slept on the floor while waiting for server from what I will really call the no service center. That is really a story for another time -- but you can see the results in this picture.

Had I remained in Newark, I would have had to wait until 10 pm Eastern time and then fly to Manchester in the UK, and then hop another flight to Paris. By taking the morning flight to Houston, I jump on a 5:50 flight and get into Paris only a day later.

But such is life in the world of international travel. I am a bit heart broken that I lost a day with Joe at Le Man -- but I could not help but think of the masses that were corralled in a variety of places after Katrina -- compared to them we had a picnic.

Tomorrow is a new day and I am looking forward to the roar of Le Mans.

Caen

Well I made it to Caen, unfortunately Caen does not equal Normandy Beaches, which were another 45 minutes by car. Since I was lacking a car, and renting a car or motorcycle would probably break the bank I decided to go to the Memorial de Caen, which is a WWII memorial plus a memorial to peace. It was a very interesting experience, but it was lacking on D-Day information, which was a bummer. Finding a taxi to the memorial was easy as most of the taxis tend to hover around the train stations. Getting a taxi from the memorial was another question all together... So what did I do, I began walking.... well due to boy scouts I am pretty good at land navigation, even in a foriegn country, because I didn't see a taxi until I had walked nearly back to the Gare de Caen.... a mere 4.6km. From there a beer at a small pub outside the station, a cafe and sandwich in the station, and I was off to Le Mans, where I checked into out Bed and Breakfast, and then took a taxi to the track, where after a bit of wandering around, and some help from a very nice lady I was pointed in the correct direction of the Media tent.

Public transportation in France is second to none, however public transportation at a racetrack is usually hectic at best. I called a taxi, and after 20 minutes I never say it, though I suspect it was hijacked by another group. So I took the bus
spécial 24 du mans, back to the Gare Le Mans, to grab a taxi, about 45 minutes in total.

Rouen "the city of a hundred spires

I made it to Rouen today. I walked from my hotel in Paris, along the Haussmann Boulevard to the Gare St. Lazare, where after much searching I figured out how to buy a ticket to Rouen. Boarded the train, and with a little hesitation, was off. The trains in France, are pretty cool, but as far as I can see are not very intuitive. I did manage to get my ticket punched before entering the train, however I am still unsure if the 18.90 Euros I payed for a ticket is a round trip. I do not see "retour" or anything like that stamped on the ticket. It seems like it is only good for one way, however I could have sworn that I saw Paris-Rouen 9,50E on the window... then again it could be the Jet Lag talking.













Rouen is pretty neat, although quite touristy. My Hotel is about 900 meters from the train station, and about 2000 from where Jeanne d'Arc (Joan of Arc) was held before and during her trial.





From there I saw a huge spire, off in the distance, and with little trouble I found my way to the Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Rouen (Rouen Cathedral) only stopping once at an "Irish Pub" to grab a beer.

Upon entering the Cathedral, you can't help be simply blown away. The Cathedral was the tallest building in the world from 1876 until 1880, and was bombed several times in 1944.

It contains the tomb of Richard the Lionheart, which only contains his head. From there I walked around looking at the shops, and people, and finally back to my Hotel, where I got cleaned up, and went out for dinner at an Indian restaurant around the corner from my Hotel.






Tomorrow it is off to Le Mans, however I am going to try and take an early morning train to Caen, and to the Normandy beaches, as there wasn't any sort of tour bus from Rouen. I would upload pictures, but since I am using my cellphone as a modem, and I feel it would severely overwhelm the sensitive French cellular network here in Rouen, I will try and post pictures tomorrow.














Some things on my mind: Is there a difference between un café svp and un espresso svp, both seem to taste the same, and are in the same size cup.

More from Le Mans, and maybe Caen tomorrow

Paris

Well I made it, Paris France. The weather was far more humid then I figured it would be, with 94% humidity. My plane landed at Paris - CDG International airport, and from there I took a cab to my hotel. Traffic in Paris is crazy... Stop signs and lights seem to be taken as suggestions. Motorcycles and Mopeds split lanes with reckless abandon. Zigging and Zagging in front of cars, onto sidewalks, and anywhere else that will put them ahead of the next person on the way to their destination.
Unfortunately my plans for Paris was to check into the Hotel, grab a quick Lunch and then hit The louvre. Well that didn't end up happening, I grabbed lunch, then went back to my room to look up the best way to get to the museum, when I was attacked by jet lag, being awake mostly for the last 24 hours with only a couple hours of sleep, I closed my eyes for a few minutes and woke up a few hours later.

So I did what anyone would do... I went for a walk from my hotel at 36 Rue De L'Echiquier and must have walked about 5 or so Miles. Walked up all around managing to get lost 3 or 4 times. Paris is one of the only places that I have been too that 4 left turns puts you in a completely different spot then you started. I had a lot of fun walking around the area I am staying. In the evening I spotted a bunch of lights from my hotel, and walked up to it, about 8 city blocks, and found Paroisse St Vincent de Paul. Tomorrow if all goes well and I can figure out where to catch my train, I will go to Rouen, check into my hotel, and then find a way to get up to the Normandy beaches, and see some of the WWII Memorials.

Houston, Joe has arrived

Houston, TX -- Joe arrived in Houston to 89 degrees and humidity that he does not remember -- though I am not sure if you ever get use to that kind of mugginess.

His mother and I dropped him at the airport last night around 11 and it was actually pretty easy -- no lines at the ticket counter and no lines for security (at left). He got into Minneapolis around two am (we asked him not to call, thank you very much) but he did send an email to let us know he arrived ok.

I thought he might be to Houston by the time we awoke -- but he was still in the air. Today it is pretty cool to be able to track the flight in real time. I used Flytecomm which is a pretty good tool for flights within the United States and Canada. For his flight to Paris, which leaves in a couple of hours, I will use Flightstats.com (the link should give you Joe's progress, if you care.) The image below is from Flytecomm and shows show about 30 minutes out from Houston. Click on it to see the larger version.

St. Paul, MN : Leg 2 of the trip

Playing the waiting game has never been one of my strong points. Maybe it is the A.D.D but just sitting around doing nothing has always been a particularly difficult thing for me to do. Saturday June 9th was one busy day for me, trying to get packed for my trip while juggling work and last minute errands. Seattle to St. Paul was a blur, and I think I slept about an hour of the two hour and 25 minute flight. The plane arrived early in St. Paul, with a local time of 5:15am (3:15am PST) June 10th. It is now 8:29 local time (6:29 PST) and I was just informed that my flight to Houston is running late.
I honestly don't care that the plane is late, as I have another 3 hour layover in Houston before going the final leg to Paris. Of course my mind is now racing with all of the possibilities that can now go wrong, will my flight ever show up? Will the pilots show up. Will my bag make the Paris transfer? I guess only time can tell.
I will probably post next from Houston, unless things get frantic, then next dispatch Paris France.

We are off to LeMans!

North Bend, WA -- Well the dream of Father's Day at Le Mans, France for the 75th Running of the 24 hours of Le Mans will get its official start early Sunday morning when son Joseph gets on an airplane for his three-legged trip to Paris.
Flying on air miles, he had to take an itinerary to get to France that will take him from Seattle to Minneapolis, from Minneapolis to Houston, and then finally a direct flight from Houston to Paris. On the way back, however, he gets a straight shot on Air France, Paris to Seattle.
So far he is nervous as a bride on her wedding day, with a number of issues from his job looming over his head as well as trying to get packed for his first trip -- his first off the North American continent.
The plan is for him to spend a day in Paris and see the Louvre and then take a day and see Rouen and Normandy. Rouen is a very historic city, and the place where Joan of Arc was burned at the stake. It is also the home of a 24 Hour boat race.
Wednesday he will head to LeMans and I will meet him there and we will officially be race bums for the rest of the week -- making pictures and filing stories to amaze and delight you.
Stay tuned.