Hi friends, it’s been a while! Ready to live another season of summer travels with Diane? I am back to Europe, but this time I will stay longer than usual, hence my departure in mid-August. For those who don’t know, this year is my last year of my PhD at York University so I decided to stay in Europe after my traditional summer trip to write my dissertation. I will still update this blog so that you can follow my progression 🙂
I left Toronto on Friday, August 16, and arrived in Paris on Saturday morning. After a traditional afternoon in the Air France lounge in Toronto, this time working on a book chapter, I boarded the new Airbus 350 plane and tested the new Eco Premium class.
I was very disappointed by the new Eco Premium class, which in the past contained electric plugs to plug a computer. Not anymore. My computer ran out of battery pretty quickly and I was able to work only for a short time. Even the crew discovered the lack of electric plugs with me, they were also very surprised. There are only USB plugs. Also, the seats are not well designed, there is a huge space between the seat and the wall and I managed to drop my iPad in this space… The crew quickly got it back for me. When I arrived I looked online and it seems that all the flights between Toronto and Paris are now done on A350 so next time I will need to make sure my computer is fully charged before boarding and plan some alternate ways of working. Thanks to the kindness of the crew, my computer got an extra power boost elsewhere in the plane and I was able to work a bit more. That’s why I fly with Air France, I know that the level of service is always fantastic.
The Olympic games just finished in Paris and the city is preparing for the Paralympic games. I arrived under the rain, but On Sunday the weather was cooperative so my parents and I went to a walk to Place de l’HĂ´tel de Ville where activities related to the Games are proposed. I would have loved to see more athletes with disabilities over there but there is still 10 days before the opening ceremony so I guess that there will be more friends using mobility devices in a few days.
I stayed only one day in Paris. I am now back in Paris Charles de Gaulles airport to fly to Germany. My next stop is Berlin where I will rent a car and drive to Weimar to spend a few days in the Liszt archives. More news to come soon. For now, I enjoy the fountain in the new 2G terminal in CDG that feels like a Province airport.
