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© Lisa Cubbon, 2001
Who: Andy and Lisa Cubbon (over 50, retired and no kids at home!)
When: May 30-June 13
Where: Victoria Hotel in Torquay and the Disneyland Hotel
Well, it’s that time of year again and Andy and I packed up all the dancing gear and heading to Torquay to see how well we have done with the dancing this year. We had hoped that no one in England, Germany, Holland or Japan who often show up at this event had taken any lessons this year to give us a chance. Alas, they did not follow my instructions of last year (as Queen of the Universe, I have privileges you know.) and they still danced better but we fooled them and got more better ourselves and actually did quite respectable. I think we surprised ourselves, and Richard (our coach) was mighty pleased to hear that we almost called him from England.
The trip to Disneyland Paris was serendipitous. The way we booked the airline tickets forced us to Paris and well, one thing lead to another and there we were with a once in a lifetime opportunity. But I digress. I shall start at the top.
We (yeah right, I) called Delta once we were sure we were going to go to Torquay. That happened in February and the direct Frequent Flyer tickets to London and Manchester were booked for all the days around our trip but they could get us on Air France. Were we interested in that? Sure, I said. We wanted to go Business Class which is a bunch more points but way more comfortable. So we were booked as follows: leave Atlanta on 30 May, fly to Dulls and spent 5 glorious hours in the Business Class lounge before boarding our flight to Paris. Then after landing at Rouse/Charles De Gaul (CDG), we would rush to another flight to Heathrow and then a five hours coach (English word for long haul bas) to Torquay. ARGHHH!!! OK so it’s an adventure. Relax. On the way back we reversed the route sort of. We would fly from Heathrow to CDG on June 11th (we were staying in London to see friends) and then from CDG to Cincinnati, Ohio and then to Atlanta. ARGHHH again. But still more adventure. Delta put us on the wait list for a direct flight from Atlanta to Gatwick but Air France did not do that with their FF tickets so we were either going to have to call or live with it. We (I) decided to live with it and see what happens. Delta eventually called and we got on a direct flight to Gatwick, which alleviated a lot of the up front luggage anxiety for us and Andy in particular. All the toting really gets to him. As Queen of the Universe, I worry about tickets, reservations etc. Andy plays knave and does the carousel unloading, etc. I do help some too but mostly it’s him and his left elbow has been irksome lately so it ain’t so easy. So that’s the set up for the travel saga that follows. Sit back, get a cold one (or a warm one depending on where you live and our particular liking), here I go!
Wednesday May 30th. Travel to Gatwick. Got to the airport in plenty of time. The terminal was very busy and with an international flight you must use the terminal check in since they check passports, etc. That line was not long for us Business Elite flyers but the back of the bus section looked to be a long wait. We got passes to the Business Elite Lounge and went and hid in there for awhile. My tummy was not feeling well. No idea why but I went out onto the concourse to forage for Pepto Bismal and Immodium AD. Found both and paid the outrageous prices too in US Dollars! Cherry Pepto Bismal chewables are not among my favorites. Luckily the Immodium went unused. We boarded the plane on time, had the last seats in Business Class section so all night I kept getting bumped by the flight attendants as they serviced the next cabin. That was annoying. Each seat had little TVs so I watched sitcoms (the movies were not interesting to me for some reason.) Andy actually played solitaire on his. Dinner was fine and then it was sleepy time. I was determined to sleep on the plane this time so I dug the sleep mask out of the complimentary travel kit (which was in a metal box this time. Not terribly reusable) and passed out. Breakfast was only OK. My tummy was still unsettled so I ate gingerly. It was yogurt, cereal, and juice. Nothing fancy at all. The flight was uneventful and passed quickly. It’s about 7.5 hours from gate to gate.
Thursday May 31st. Arrived at Gatwick at 6:55am local time. Since we have been through this airport on many occasions, we know where stuff is. Andy schlepped the luggage on one of the famous trolleys. These trolleys (carts) have four independent wheels so you will be attempting to go straight and all of a sudden if you aren’t perfect in your driving, you find yourself and the luggage careening to the left or right. Plus there are others doing the same. It’s a bit like a demo-derby for airport travelers. We have not encountered this phenomenon anywhere else in our travels. It seems to be peculiar to England only. Even trolleys in supermarkets are like this. Very strange. I went and changed the coach tickets and we were assigned to the earlier bus. The tickets I ordered on the Internet had us leaving later since when I booked them we were flying to Heathrow. It wasn’t a hard to do transaction and we had an hour or so to kill before the transfer bus so I bought some sandwiches, water, crisps (chips to us) and we hung around outside. I went and sat in the sun and another woman joined me so we talked a bit. I don’t know how some women can look so fresh after a long flight. She was on the same flight as we were but she lives in Hawaii and had spent the previous night on Atlanta visiting friends and was on her way to give a talk at Oxford and then on to Venice where her daughter was joining for a few days. She said her husband works for the airline so I guess that accounts for the globe trotting. Sounds like a great life to me but she looked so fresh! The bus from Gatwick is a transfer bus. We got on that one to go to the Heathrow Central Transfer Terminal. I slept for most of the ride. I did get to hear a guy call his bank and arrange to transfer 1000 pounds to another account. Yes, indeed. He gave his account number, passwords, etc. all over the cell phone. You gotta love it! At the Heathrow Station, we ran into another couple heading to Torquay. They are dancers also and come from Michigan. The Betz’s missed the Festival last year since Bill was president of his Masonic Lodge and too busy. We sat next to each other on coach. We got on quickly so we could sit up top. Again, Andy was schlepping luggage, off one bus onto another. Bill and Marsha were getting off in Exeter to do a dance demonstration for a small studio there. The take lessons with Barry Phipps and Jennifer in Torquay and the couple come to Michigan and teach too so this tea dance was an opportunity to do something nice. Marsha looked pretty tired and so did Bill. There was no steward on the bus this year so it was wonderful that we had bought a lunch and water this time. I refuse to use bathrooms on buses so I just sat very still for 5.5 hours and of course I slept.
When we got to the Torquay Bus Station, there were no cabs so Andy used some of the coins we had from last year (we always take pounds back home since the first year when we had no English pounds and I almost starved to death during the ride to Torquay. That’s another story) to call for one and then it was off to the Victoria Hotel where we found out that things were not as we expected. I had requested a suite in the Petworth. It’s a small hotel that has been converted to self-catering apartments. Mitzi and Art Williams were doing this and we decided to try too since the meals last year were so bad. Seems that they did not have a suite for us at the Petworth so they booked us into the self-catering rooms at the Carlton, which was semi-attached to that hotel. One of the attractive things about the Petworth is that it’s all attached to the Victoria so you don’t have to do outside to get to the competition ballroom. I said that won’t do and Simon arranged for a room in the Victoria and we would wait for Stan to get in the next day to see what happened. Simon was clearly doing all he could to resolve this for me. He would tell Philip, the organizer too. The room was very nice. It was a corner room (226) and very similar to the room we had a couple years before. It was way away from the Karaoke Bar noise on Belgrave Rd. too. After a nice dinner and a nicer nights sleep, we decided to stay in the room and not do the catering bit. Andy confessed that he was not sure it was a good idea but went along with it since I wanted it. When we say Stan and Philip the next morning, Stan explained what happened. The Petworth was overbooked and there were no cancellations. I said the room was fine and they deducted 10% off the bill and we were all happy. The food was slightly better this year and the desserts were much improved. They did a nightly dessert bar and even had fresh fruit salad on it. Of course the poured on fresh cream to make it that much better but they put fresh cream on EVERY dessert. I did not. At least on every dessert. Really. Used my sleep mask every night and slept like a baby. It’s very light out in Torquay until almost 11pm and it’s light around 4:30am. I don’t handle that well so the sleep mask was wonderful and really worked.
Friday June 1st. Free day. We unloaded the luggage as best we could. There are only four very small drawers in the room and the closet is not particularly huge either. We just have so much with us. I stuck my huge suitcase (Mary Alice) in the corner by my bed and stacked clean clothes on it. Again, I brought too much. I brought some shorts (which I never wore) and workout gear (which I also never used). Next year, I will bring none of that stuff. We did go and check out the gym across the street but there is just no time block to do this. We went to Totnes. That seems to be a custom with us and one we both enjoy. The ride from Torquay to Paington is no great shakes but the ride from Paington to Totnes is beautiful since it passes through some lovely rolling farmland. They have had a ton of rain this spring so the fields and hedgerows were very green and lush looking. At one point the bus just stopped and then we found out why the traffic jam; A mama duck had her ducklings out on the road and they had not decided which side of the road they would be on! Traffic was a mess in both directions! In Totnes we visited the ancient castle ruins. We were very impressed with the view from the top. Then we (I) did some shopping and we had lunch in this little lunchroom we found last year and then went to the Safeway for water and bananas and back to the hotel. When we got back to the hotel, Frank Novak and Virginia were there. They are also from Michigan and had arrived a day before we did. Frank was in charge of getting them to Exeter to see the dance demonstration that the Betz’s were performing. Well, it took Frank 4 hours to go about 5 miles. When Andy heard about it he asked if they walked and later in the week Andy noticed that there is a bus that passes right in front of the hotel that goes to Exeter. It made a great story and Frank told it to everyone who had the same reaction as Andy’s. That night after diner we went for a walk and watched British TV. Now, that’s a different kind of animal. The Brits are not at all offended by sex or sexual innuendo on TV but no violence! We watched one sitcom, Smack the Pony, that was kind of like Laugh In; little skits that were very funny (some of them) and very ribald (many of them). Then to bed. God bless the sleep mask. It’s 11pm and still not dark.
Saturday June 2nd. Saturday is the start of the Dance Festival and there is a competition in the hotel tonight. We mostly piddled around today. We were going to go to Plymouth and got to the bus stand had just missed the Plymouth direct bus and I did not want to hang around for an hour. We trotted about and then went back towards the Victoria and stopped for lunch at the Singing Kettle. It was so nice to see the family that owns it again. Just like having family around. Becky is pregnant and her little girl is due in August. The Lady who owns the place was not ready to be a grandma yet but so be it. Their other daughter Emma was working there and she has no desire to have babies. Then we walked up to the bakery where we were warmly greeted! I was surprised that they recognized us. We surprised David Osborn at dinner. He was very pleased to see us especially after last year. He agreed to see us for lessons during the week. Art and Mitzi Williams, arrived this evening so they came down to start the trot too. They live in Mississippi and have said that this is the last year. Art is in his mid-70s with two terrible knees. He’s been on glucosamin, chrondiotin and MSM for over 2 years and this year he was walking much better. He seems to think the cartilage is regrowing. We dance in lounge clothes expect the dresses for the women need to be big enough through the skirt to more. We did OK. We made a couple rounds but it was not our best show. The floor at Torquay is long and narrow and it’s difficult to navigate. We were not defeated by poor performance as you will see as the saga continues.
Sunday June 3rd. Sunday is the big day. It’s an opportunity to dance twice. Yeah!?! The Town Hall weekly competition is during the day and then there is one at the hotel that evening. What’s that? What happened to my knee, says I as I am walking down the stares. I soon found out. We finally left the Town Hall at 4:15p. We had been there since 11:15am. The comp started at noon and we danced almost steadily until 4:15pm. My feet ached and my knee was not doing so hot. I was keeping my feet up and avoiding walking if possible. I could dance fine (I am sure others will argue that point) but walking was a different matter. The dancing felt good and must have looked good since we were getting callbacks. We decided to not dance that night since my feet and right knee were tender. I think Andy would have liked to dance but he understood. It was a strategic decision for us. At dinner that night we talked with the couple next to our table. We were at a two top and they were too. Bob and Ann came from Risley and are social dancers. They are friends of Rita and Terry who sell dance CDs and shoes at the comp. Very nice couple. We also met Joe and Ruthie. They were so nice. They celebrated Ruthie’s birthday at the Social comp. Joe also arranged for their kids to come down and spend the night as a surprise.
Monday June 4th. Andy took Ambien last night and slept finally. My sleep mask is working. Yeah! Today starts the “real” dance festival. The schedule is pretty fixed and it has all the trappings of real work too so I will not go into much detail. Everyday we had a Master’s class in either the morning or afternoon and then a lesson with David and then we had to be ready for the competitions at 7:45p right after dinner so there was very little time for much else. Mitzi Prepared lunches for us several times, which was wonderful. She’s a great cook. We had Salmon one day and then a Lentil curry a couple times. Excellent on all accounts. We would walk down to the Singing Kettle for lunch occasionally and on Friday w had cream tea with Art and Mitzi. I was not getting up early enough to go to the gym and I was trying to rest my feet and knee. Such is life on the English Riviera for us!
Tuesday-Friday June 5th-8th. We danced very well and were feeling pretty successful but did not talk too much about it like that would jinx it. We actually got into two finals, in Waltz and Tango, at Town Hall on Tuesday night. We got last place, but it was a final. We were doing so much better than last year or any year before. Success breeds success. On Thursday night at Town Hall we got into the Semi-finals in Fox Trot and Quickstep but not the final. Still competition was stiff for the 6 slots and we were still very happy. I could not believe how all the hard work had paid off. We were doing well at the Victoria too. Semi’s but no finals. Finally, we agreed to not dance on Friday night. My feet were shot so we just cheered on other couples. That was nice too.
Saturday June 9th. Today is travel day so Andy goes into Knave mode. We packed Friday and Friday night but unlike the Betz’s we were not about to leave on the 5:30am coach back to London. We took the civilized 9:45am coach with the Williams. We had called our friends, the O’Neil’s Friday night after I got help dialing the number. I still don’t know how to call in England! We will see them on Sunday. The coach ride was uneventful. When we got to the Central Bus Station at Heathrow, Andy found out we can get to the Hotel using a combination of moving stairways and a free transfer train. So he found another trolley (with the four moveable wheels) and I toted Mary Alice and off we went into the bowels of Heathrow. Now, I thought all the terminals would be within close proximity. Wrong! We walked and rode the moving stairways up down and horizontally. Took the train to Terminal 4 and eventually found our way to the Hilton, pushing the trolley to the hotel room. We got a nice English room, two twin beds, non-smoking for 110 pounds a night. The posted rate for 240 pounds a night so I guess we got a good deal plus I get points on my Hilton Honors account. What a Deal! I could not get Air France to answer the phone so off we trekked to terminal 2, which meant re-tracing our footsteps back to where we started but hey, we had nothing else to do. We confirmed the tickets, no problem. I wish we had been staying at terminal two. It would have been very easy to get to the check in area instead we booked a car for the trip Monday morning. Neither of us was interested in shoving the luggage any more that necessary. We went back to the Hilton and had dinner. Don’t do this! It was so expensive and not worth it. We went back to Terminal 4 (like I said we had nothing to do) and got coffee at Starbucks and found a level of restaurants. Oh well, next time. I also purchased a bottle of water for 4.5 pounds at the hotel. You do the math! When we were in the terminal I bought more water but at airport rate which is much cheaper than the hotel. I actually had carried, in my backpack, a 1.4 liter bottle from Torquay, which I purchased for 82pence. GRRRHHH. Slept like a baby Saturday night. The room had “room darkening” shades which means no sleep mask for me. Yeah!
Sunday June 10th. We got up and had a very expensive breakfast in the hotel. What a rip off, really. Tim and Lana picked us up around 10:15a and off we went to Knightsbridge. The weather was rainy so we decided on a museum day but first we had to get there, and park the car and get some food. So Tim drove around Knightsbridge on a mostly fruitless Car Park hunt. We finally found one at town hall and had a long walk to the museum and the restaurant. We took them to Patisserie Valerie, which we have loved for years. Tim’s eyes were agog when he saw the pastries in the window and display case. We were quickly seated and everyone one was very, very pleased with their meal, me especially. I got a salad of lightly dressed spinach, served with Roquefort cheese (best I have ever had), just ripe avocado and a couple of walnuts. I shared my salad with Andy and got half of his Croquer Monsieur sandwich. When it was time for dessert, Tim went to the counter and picked out what he wanted. He got two! Lana and Andy each got a pastry and I got a fork! That’s enough for me. After a delightful lunch we headed back out into the drizzle, light rain and went to the Museum of Natural History. They have a dinosaur that roars and it’s fun and we toured other exhibits. It was pretty cool and we all love museums so we spent several hours wandering about. We left around closing time and found our way back to the car park and heading to Tim and Alana’s house. They just recently moved from a very small apartment into a much larger townhouse near Gatwick Airport. Now, this is not large by American standards but very nice by English ones. Three bedrooms although one is really a largish closet one bathroom and a lovely kitchen and yard. They are very happy with this spot. I would be too. The biggest problem is that Tim drives over an hour to work on county lanes which leaves Lana with out transportation and the bus isn’t exactly convenient but she will manage I am sure. She’s very capable. They have stopped dancing, which was the real reason they went to England. We stopped and picked up kebabs for dinner on the way to their house. They took us back to the Hilton, which is on the other side of the area from their home. We really enjoy our time with them and I look forward to another visit next year.
Monday June 11th. OK, today’s the day! My real reward for dancing. A trip to Disneyland Paris! We got up early and had a very quick breakfast in the room. That means that Andy had his first ever cereal bar. I am pretty sure he was not impressed. We were downstairs (after another round of luggage rodeo) by 7:35a and the car was already there so off we went to Terminal 2. The ride was pleasant enough and it only took about 15 minutes. I suspect we could have done it using the train and walking sideways in about the same time but it was so nice to not have to lug the luggage around. I got a trolley and into the terminal we went. Heathrow is a strange place. The ceilings are very low so I felt like I was in a crawl space. We found the correct check in area for business class folks (what a great way to travel) and we were swiftly on to the gate. We had about 45 minutes to kill so I wandered about in the duty free shops, bought nothing, did not even see anything I wanted to have to carry any farther. Andy saw a portable DVD player that he thought was a good price, 99 pounds. When he went back to look again, he noticed the extra 9 so it was 999 pounds, not a good price. We trekked out to the gate, got checked in again and waited. The gate keepers mumbled an announcement that seemed to indicate that due to air traffic control the flight was being delayed. Then they had us all board. I suspect it had something to do with Paris traffic since this is one of those trajectory flights, up and down in 45 minutes. We were in first class and once we were in the air they serviced a nice late breakfast and we could see the white cliffs of Dover as we crossed over the English Channel. Last year, Andy and I visited Dover Castle and I am sure we will go back again. The flight was uneventful and we landed and followed the very good signage to luggage pick up. It took awhile for the bags to appear but I checked out the how to get to Disneyland information. I knew from the brochure I got that there is a direct bus to the parc. Once we got outside the luggage pick up, I got some French francs (thanks to a handy ATM) and when we stepped outside, Voila! The bus was there. So we quickly got in line and waited out turn. So now the bus driver says next bus 5 minutes and he leaves. The luggage hold was full. There may have been seats but with families and baby prams, etc. you could forget about adding more people. So 30 minutes later the next bus appeared. Plenty of room, on we go, pay our money and sit down to get stopped in a traffic jam just north of the air port. We landed at the airport at 11:30 and got to the Disney property at 2:30p and our hotel at 3pm. Good thing we had breakfast on the plane. We did get to see all the other hotels and I think we picked the best one for our stay. The Disneyland Hotel is like the Grand Floridian in Orlando. Very posh and I loved it! After Andy schlepped the luggage off the bus (again) the valet appeared, took the luggage and left us with a claim check, no hand out. We registered and the young man who took care of us had spent two years at the France Pavilion in Epcot and had very good English. Another young lad was standing around who had been to school in the US so we all talked while the registration was being settled. It was a pretty painless transaction too. We were assigned a non-smoking room with a view of the park. Hot Dog! We turned in the luggage claim and were assured that the bags would be delivered and that we did not have to be there. OK. Again no hand out. When Andy opened the door to the room, I let out a hoot and said thank you Disney! It was an American style room, which means BIG! A beautiful bathroom, king size bed, pull out sofa and a very tiny “porch”. Yes, there was a view of the park, namely the Main Street Train Station but that was OK with me. I loved the room (3224) and would gladly stay there again. We left the room rather quickly since the parc closes at 8pm I wanted to get going. I was tired of sitting and waiting and now I wanted action! Interestingly what you can accomplish with one card at WDW takes three at DLP; one card opens the room door, one card is your pass and the most precious card is the pink paper with your charging privileges on it. I signed that paper since I was managing the registration, so I had to sign for everything after that. We were quickly out of the room and into the parc. It’s a very magical place. The main street entrance seems flatter and wider. Beauty’s Castle is very prominent at the end of Main Street but does not seem to have the elevation that Cinderella’s Castle does in the Magic Kingdom. The castle is very angular and beautiful. We just wandered around, hunger, until we hit Casey’s and got hot dogs, frites, and I got a beer. It feels very different to drink a beer in the Magic Kingdom! Then we explored the park. The layout is very similar to the MK but without a Liberty Square area, imagine that! Discovery Land is designed to look like the future of tomorrow circa 1900s. We quickly got on Space Mountain and it was a very special ride, for sure! You get shot up to the top and then in total darkness, whirl around the inside of this darkness. I guess I should have read more trip reports cause I missed the bit about inversions in the dark. Now, if I know it’s coming I do OK but this was a surprise plus my head kept getting buffeted so my ears felt well boxed at the end of the ride. Andy said once was enough for him. I would go again and maybe open my eyes a little more the next time but we never made it back this time. We used Fast Passes for Big Thunder Mountain RR. That’s a real treat here. The ride starts on land, goes under the water and then the rest of the ride in on an Island! Very cool. We found the entrance to Pirates of the Caribbean (the layout was a little difficult to follow) and the attraction building is totally themed. The attraction starts out with a ride past the Blue lagoon restaurant, like in California and then goes up a lift and through the various scenes. We got in line for Phantom Manor too. It was a short wait. The lines were not bad anywhere except for Peter Pan’s Flight! Every time we walked by there the line was 45 minutes. The parc was closing so we strolled out and into the hotel. The luggage had arrived so we sorted that for a few minutes and headed to the California Grill in the hotel. No reservations but the place was not busy. We were not disappointed at all. They were not busy and we were seated immediately. Olivier, the head waiter, seated us, offered the menus and wine list and we selected the price fix menu. We ordered a glass each of a wonderful burgundy and we were offered a chef’s gift of fresh tomato soup in a demitasse cup. It was like gazpacho only better, way better. Then we got wonderful bread and French butter. Our salad was fresh watercress, lightly dressed, a couple pieces of very delicately dressed beets and three of the most lucious fat plump prawns I have ever had. For our entrée we both chose the filet. They we out of fish or I am pretty sure we would have had that. The filets were exquisite and perfectly done and came with three perfect carrots and one perfect potato. Thank god I did not have a camera with me! After that, we were presented with the Cheese course, like we had not eaten enough and were short fat. God bless French cheese. We got different desserts. I don’t think Andy was much interested in sharing his. It was a thin chocolate tort with mango sherbet. I selected the flambed summer fruits with vanilla ice cream. Not very imaginative but delicious anyway. We were stuffed so we skipped coffee and after dinner drinks. It was still not dark so we walked over to Disney Village and boy; it’s nice to be so close you can walk. On the other side of the Disney Village are the other resorts so it’s very compact for roaming around. The Village is the Village, much like Downtown Disney West Side. They had a Wild Bill Dinner Show and a multitude of restaurants. There is a World of Disney Store but it’s not a big as Florida but big enough. We roamed about and then headed back to the hotel. We were pooped! The walk back to the hotel was pleasant. In fact the weather was great the whole time we were there. I loved the way the hotel looks with the twinkle lights glowing.
Tuesday June 12th. Today is our full day in the parc day. I slept like a baby. When we got up, I opened the door to the little porch and could hear the music from the parc. Wonderful! The package we were on included passes for the three days and breakfast. Normally I do not “do” packages but this one actually seemed to be the best value. We had no idea what were doing and I think we will do the package the next time too. Breakfast was pretty good. It’s a continental breakfast with the best scrambled eggs and wonderful sausages and lots of delicious pastries. I saw some families making sandwiches for later. After breakfast, we headed into the park and just did our thing. We got Fast Passes for Indy, backwards which were good in a couple hours. Then we got Fast Passes for Peter Pan. The ride is exactly the same as the Magic Kingdom. It’s the only one, besides Star Tours that was the same. OK, Star Tours was in French and so was Honey I shrunk but they did have translating headsets so we heard it in English. We saw the Tarzan show and rode the train, and just did stuff. I know this is not much detail but we went from one side of the parc to another, crisscrossing it at will. We went back to the hotel for a nap in the late afternoon and it was so nice to be “home” in less than 5 minutes! I love this place. We went back into the parc thinking that we would get into the Blue Lagoon for dinner. Wrong! They were turning people away with out reservations. So next time we will know better. I was not interested in another 1,000 franc dinner again so we headed to the “Italian” restaurant. Eating in any Italian restaurant is always difficult for me since I am Italian and this was particularly not good. Oh, well. I did like the beer. We wandered about some more and headed to Disney Village to see if we could get a sweetie and a coffee. Nope. The place was jumping with people and there was not quite place to get coffee. I did miss that convenience. We went back to the Hotel and went to the Fantasia Lounge where I got a lovely cup of French Coffee and Andy got a plain coffee. We were seated on a little porch overlooking the entrance to the parc. It was wonderful watching the night fall and the little twinkle lights come on. We wandered down to the big beautiful lobby and I checked on how to leave luggage and Andy found out which terminal we needed to get off at CDG for our Air France Flight home. We went out front and I took some photos and it was night night time for us. We had to go pack. Tomorrow we leave for home.
Wednesday June 13th. Got up around 8am and finished packing. Called Left Luggage and the said they would pick it up and no, we did not have to be in the room. Very nice. We went for breakfast and I had the eggs again. Still marvelous. We went back to the room got gather up our backpacks and stuff we would need until we left. The bags were still there but they knew we were on the 12:25 bus and we had to have some faith. We headed into the parc and did almost nothing. We rode the Fairy Tale boats and the little Casey Train and then sat in the main hub and watched people walk by. There were lots of school kids on day trips and you could tell when the TVG train arrived by the flood of people that came through in a giant clump. Very amusing to just sit there. I did a little shopping and we got a sandwich which was wonderful and that was that. It was almost noon and time to enter the travel twilight zone. Andy goes away and the luggage schlepper appears. He hates this. We got to the hotel within 5 minutes again and Bell Services said they would bring the luggage out. It took awhile but it finally appeared and not we could tip the bell hop. It’s a wonder he stayed around long enough. I thought that Andy was going to have to chase him down. The bell hop did not check until he was almost 30 feet away. When the bus appeared and we were first on the bus this time, the bell hop appeared and made sure our luggage got on first. The ride to CDG was uneventful. No traffic jams on the way in to the airport, like on the way to Disneyland. We got off at Terminal 2 and after one false start found the departure hall and got in the right lane and we were whisked through check-in. Those Business Class folks lead the life, I tell you. We went down to the Business Class lounge and waited. I did some shopping in the duty free shop and got Chocolates, and Cheeses and a few other small things. We could barely fit it all in the backpacks. I felt like a hump backed Sherpa by now. We went up to board the flight and noticed that we were being bussed somewhere. There was no room at the gate for our plane. It was just like Dulles Airport in DC. As I handed the boarding passes to the attendant she told us that we had been upgraded to FIRST CLASS! WOW. It seems that a Delta flight direct from CGD to Atlanta was canceled due to mechanical problems and we got bumped “up” to make room for others. And I do mean “up”. The plan was a 747 with the First Class section up on the top floor with the flight deck. The flight attendants escorted us to the stairs and up we went and did not come down until we landed at Cincinnati. The service was wonderful. There are eight seats up there and there were only three couples plus our own lavatory. None of us paid for First Class. One couple was from Chattanooga TN and was returning from a vacation in Italy and the other couple was from Seattle. They had been in Biarritz on a sales award junket. There were two pillows and a blanket on each seat and then our flight attendant appeared with our in flight toiletries kit and then our Air France Pajamas! Well, I wish I could have fit them into the backpack but I had no room! No one wore the PJs be we did wear the slippers. There was plenty to eat and drink up there. Champaign, wine, water. What ever you want. The woman form Seattle was eating Hershey’s miniatures that she brought from home. I am sure if she asked they would have given her chocolates. After we the plan took off, late of course, we were served a lovely meal of many courses. Then they got out the individually sealed bags containing our duvets and pillows and it was off to sleep for a bit. The rest of the flight was fine. There was a steady stream of crew up and down the stairs visiting, eating, etc. That was pretty nice too. We landed in Cincinnati and I was so glad to be home. These long 8 hour flights get to me. We had about 45 minutes to get the luggage and get though customs and we made it just fine. We boarded the Delta plane and landed in Atlanta around 10:30. We were home at 11:30pm. Finally.
We had a great time. The dancing went so well and I loved Disneyland Paris. We intend to go back to Disneyland Paris in June 2003. And of course we plan on Torquay again next year so we can do even better.
This was a very long report. I rambled but it was fun!