It's time to reluctantly say goodbye to Paris, these sights and experiences will be lasting memories. Google Photos gives us a heat map of where we took pics (this excludes Versailles) - so we put a pretty good dent in seeing Paris.
Our flight isn't until just after 1pm but getting to the airport, and getting through all the things one has to do to get to your gate is going to take a while so we are up relatively early (like 7:30am) and are ready to head out by 8:45am. It's 1 metro and 2 trains to get to the airport (metro line 8 and RER A and RER B) and it's rush hour too and the trains are packed. We barely squeeze onto M8 with our luggage and on one of the subsequent stops another lady tried to squeeze in between us but she gave up when my knapsack gave her a subtle nudge indicating it would be quite uncomfortable for her. We do the M8 to RER A without incident but as we are getting on RER B we see someone squeeze on before everyone gets off. This is generally violating protocol as most people wait until everyone is off before trying to squeeze their way on. I was watching the guy somewhat indignantly as I saw him push some people out of the way - but this was all part of his plan likely. As I got on, he then circled around in front of me and got in my face (very close) speaking French very quickly. I'm trying to process it but I think I make out that he's saying something about how he has to get on quickly because he has to get off at the next stop and then trying to tell me that I shouldn't be pushing my way on. I wasn't entirely sure of what he was saying because there is a lot going on with a very crowded train and you are trying to vie for a seat and make sure you have all your stuff and are going on the right train (some RER B trains don't go all the way to the airport - a gentleman on the platform was kind enough to tell us this before we stepped on the wrong train previous to that one). At any rate, the pushy guy on the train is still in my face and Carrie sees that he has an accomplice that is directly behind me and she figures this is a setup for a pickpocket and says "Steve, they are doing this on purpose" and she grabs me and helps guide me past this dude who was not going to let me by until his accomplice rummaged through my pockets or my backpack which was over my back. I had let my guard down a bit since earlier in the trip as I got more confident with the transit system and Paris in general so I had left my wallet in my back pocket and cash in my front pocket. Fortunately, I still had locked the zippers on my backpack where anything valuable was and I had buttoned closed my passport and into the pockets of my cargo shorts (yeah, I looked like an American tourist for sure). That, combined with Carrie's quick detection that this was a scam going down, saved us from having anything taken - but lesson learned to never let your guard down. The would-be thieves got off at the next stop (Gare du Nord where pickpocketing is common) and there were no further incidents. I was a little shaken up but mostly from just not knowing what the hell was going on, but later realizing I was likely the target of a failed pickpocket.
Carrie read my version of the story and it wasn't exactly how she saw it - so I'll try to describe it from her point of view:
Carrie, always in threat assessment mode, partly from being a woman and partly from parenting a child with autism - skillfully detects a potential situation as she sees a large man rudely squeeze his way onto the train before everyone else gets off. She gets on first and heads to get a seat and I follow but the potential assailant comes around the exiting passengers and puts himself squarely between me and following Carrie to our seat. He gets very close to my face and starts talking very quickly in French to me to create a distraction and she also sees his accomplice come up around me from behind. Aptly identifying the situation to be a setup she says "Steve, they are doing this on purpose" and valiantly pushes the thug out of the way coming to my rescue. Not all heroes wear capes.
OK, the truth is somewhere between the 2 versions of the story. It is for sure a fact that without Carrie there to disrupt their plan, I would likely have lost something in the exchange. I have a bit of a conversational processing delay even in English at times so I was well behind processing just what was going on but Carrie has a knack for staying cool and collected in times like these. Another situation where we make a good team.
So it can't all be sunshine and roses but the rest of the trip to the airport and through all the security was without incident. Oddly checking your RATP pass by phone before you tap your phone on the scanner to get out of the metro - I again suspect that there is some organized phone hack going on. Guess we'll find out in a month or so if everything has been compromised - but they weren't letting us through without checking. Carrie seemed secured by the fact they were wearing Airport uniforms but my now paranoid brains figured that could just be part of the clever scam.
We hit the duty-free store and get some more gifts and things for ourselves. I get some dark chocolate and a bottle of Martel cognac. I luck out as it's on sale (and a duty-free discount on top), but a very well reviewed cognac so I'm anxious to see how it tastes. Carrie gets some more Mariage Frères tea and a few other gifts and then we head to the gate. We somehow missed checking our bags pre-security as we had already checked in and printed baggage tags - we thought we'd just drop them off at an automated weighing station somewhere on the way but that wasn't the case. The gate agent took them after some time and we grabbed a quick snack in the terminal before queueing up for the plane. Our seats are the very last row of the 777 - we should be boarding first but we aren't. The Paris airport terminal is beautiful with a grand piano, PS5's free to play and a very nice (for a change) public bathroom. The service staff however lived up to the French stereotype in being a tad standoff-ish and really not caring if you wait - but that could be airport staff pretty much anywhere - it's likely a terrible job. Carrie sleeps on the plane but I watch 2 movies. I'm a little overcome with emotion watching Here - probably because it's the end of a wonderful trip and the movie is a reflection on people's lives (and this is a life milestone trip). I enjoyed that movie more than I thought I would and the food on the plane on the way home was better than the food on the way to Paris. We had to wait for 45 minutes for our bags from the plane at an airport that is 100 times less complicated than Charles de Gaulle. We Uber home and the doggies are excited to see us back home. Ethan is glad too but he doesn't jump up on us and lick us all over like the doggies (that's probably a good thing).
Final Thoughts
... and advice for anyone planning a trip there
