Epilogue

Hotel Apollon Montparnasse – home base

Our time in Paris was relaxing.  We enjoyed going back to favorite places and discovering new ones.  We loaded up our bikes one last time on Sunday and headed to our hotel a 15 minute ride away where we would reunite with our suitcases and bike boxes.  With our bikes safely stowed in their tiny courtyard, which is now more cramped by boxes where they are staging adding mini-fridges to each room, we had time to run to a nearby laundromat and do one last load so we had clothes for the last
couple days and the flight home.

After a leisurely Sunday afternoon, we struck out for a nearby highly-rated kebab shop.  In France, many places are not open at all on Sundays or close after the midday meal.  Travel blogs, writers, etc. recommend you try a kebab shop when you can’t find a restaurant open, or even if you can.  The one nearest us had lots of great reviews on Google, so we went there.  We were not disappointed.  Brian got the kebab plate and I got the Merguez sausages,

which are a super popular street food all over Paris.  The staff were friendly, the food was great, and it was probably the cheapest meal other than breakfasts we had eaten during the entire trip!  We got there shortly after 7, which is really early for the French so there were only a couple people there.  By the time we left the tiny shop was packed and we had to pick our way back out to the front door.  We chose well!

On Monday, we walked up to the Galleries Lafayette and the surrounding shops to finish up a little gift shopping.  And I mean “little.”  We already fill 4 checked bags nearly to the limit with our bikes and gear: 2 bike boxes, a hard sided suitcase, and a duffel filled with 2 panniers, Brian’s trunk full of camping gear (yep, another trip down and we didn’t use it – anyone in the market for some practically unused gear? 😉), and my smaller trunk.  We had already purchased that whole front pannier system for Brian’s bike, but that would tuck into the suitcase.  I found a small, hiking backpack that could count as my “personal item” if I tucked my smaller purse into it.  So that constitutes about all the extra space we could take without paying for another checked bag or outright buying a new carry-on case that’s bigger than a pannier.

Unfortunately, on the way back to the hotel, I needed my sunglasses, but had left them behind.  I got hit by some glare and BAM! Migraine.  Ugh.  This was the second one I got this trip – another new record.  I had one in Digoin as well.  That’s when I realized I had somehow set my prescription in the “do not pack” pile instead of the “pack” pile.  Fortunately, I had my Excedrin Migraine with me, so I was able to knock them down with that and lots of caffeine and some rest.

My bike – in a box

While I was resting in the room, Brian got a start on tearing down his bike.  I joined him later and got mine apart, but the courtyard was really too small with all the extra stuff in it to lay both our cases out at the same time.  Besides, it was almost check in time for our flight and I wanted to try to snag an upgrade to Comfort + again.  so I went back up and got on my computer, mouse at the ready to check in and upgrade.  Success! We hadn’t been able to do it on the app in advance because the return flight was managed by Air France instead of Delta.  I got them for about half what we paid for the upgrade coming the other way and it looked like the flight wasn’t actually full, so that was something to look forward to!

While I was away, Brian got my bike wrapped with the pads that come with the S&S coupler package and ready to put in the box. Each of our bikes fit differently, so he left it for me to work the puzzle for my bike.  Once we got them packed up, we took everything up to the room.  Now for the real challenge: getting everything else  packed!  With some creative nesting and packing, we managed to get it all in…….just barely.

We had dinner in Paris one last time and went for the classic “steak/frites” at another brasserie just

down the street.  Sleep did not come easily, even though I was sure we had everything ready for a smooth trip the next day.  I had lined up a private car again and they showed up 10 minutes early.  We got through traffic about the same as always (it’s never “easy” in Paris), despite the rail strike that had been called for that day.   Checking our luggage was a breeze, just squeaking in under the weight limit on most of our suitcases.  The border control line was annoyingly long, but went well, as did security.

Delta Comfort +

With plenty of time to spare at our gate, I had time to grab one last gift at the duty free shop.  I had to wait to get it there because you can’t carry on liquids like wines etc. unless they come from inside the security control.  The flight home was uneventful and as comfortable as it can be.

It’s taken several days to re-acclimate, but we’re happy to be home with the memories of good times and even the challenges overcome.  But I’m seriously missing the pastries and the post-lunch espresso 🙁