Off to Paris

We got up at 8, packed up our stuff, and headed to breakfast. They had lots of stuff, even Nutella! We checked out and headed to the airport.

Flying as a non rev with British Airways is quite a new experience. We checked in on the machine and it gave us tickets with seats to be assigned at the gate. We assumed we would just go through security and to the gate like in the US, however, we instead went to an employee check-in line and we don't get to go through security until we get a seat assignment. The flight we were listed on was pretty full and we wouldn't know if we were making it until 45 minutes prior to departure. This foiled our plan of visiting the priority pass lounge. Hunter later went up and discuss some details with the agent and we found out we could take a flight a couple hours later with plenty of space meaning we could be assigned seats right away. We agreed and headed through security to the lounge.

The lounge was very busy, as many of the reviews mentioned. We luckily found a nice spot that was tucked away. We also had access to some food which included pasta, quiche, brie, scones, and different drinks.

While we snacked, we researched more things to do in Paris and if their tourist passes were worthwhile. We found out it was cheaper to just pay for the activities we wanted individually. The transit card is interesting because you have to get a photo printed on it, but it's ≈€30 less than their tourist transit pass. We also found a hotel and booked it. We are staying at a fancy looking Best Western. Surprisingly it was the cheapest option to stay at a brand-name hotel. It was funny because initially, I found it on Hunter's discount website ID90 (FYI if you want access to discounts on hotels contact me and I can give you the referral code to join) and it was going to be about $435 but we found it through the hotel website for $365! Sometimes discount websites don't always give the best prices, so I make sure to check all my options before making a choice.

When our gate was assigned, we headed to the flight and boarded shortly. At Heathrow, gates are assigned 45 minutes to departure unlike at home where gates are assigned essentially for the whole day and if it changes your are notified. The system here seems to be efficient because there's not really any issue of a plane not having a gate, it just goes to the first available one (interesting things to think about). We went to go board the plane and weren't going to have any issues, but my ticket wouldn't scan and I had to see an agent. Oh ya, when boarding, you essentially board the plane yourself by passing through a gate where you scan your boarding pass. Anyways, because I'm small and my bag looks huge on me (Hunter has the same one in black but he is tall and it doesn't look so massive on him) they stopped me and wanted me to check my bag due to the full flight. Hunter then also got called over to do the same. Thankfully the bag was only going to get checked if we couldn't fit and when we got on there was plenty of space and we didn't have to check it. It was just annoying because we had to take our electronics and medical stuff etc out of the bags in case they did need to be checked.

The flight was a quick hour and we arrived in Paris without issues! We got a sim card at a Relay store and headed to the train station to get Navigo cards. To get the best weekly travel pass, you have to pay €5 for document photos taken in a photo booth like you see at malls. Once that is complete, you go to the ticket office where they give you a pass for about €23, attach the photo, and put it in a little case.

Once we had everything set up, we took the RER to our hotel. We checked in easily to a cute room and went to find food as we were starving! We decided to try an In N Out clone called Burger and Fries. I ordered in French which was an adventure because I have apparently lost a lot of my verbal communication. Reading French is a breeze, but I'm immensely self-conscious about speaking it, especially since Canadian French is very different from Parisian French. I was, however, able to successfully order two double double meals. Our drinks were very cool, and each cup had a barcode that you scanned at the fountain and then it allowed you to use the machine.

After eating our burgers and fries, we decided to check out the Tour Eiffel. We took the subway and when we turned a corner and saw it, it was pretty amazing. Honestly, I was quite worried I would be disappointed with it as some people say they are, but I wasn't. It's a massive structure and being a Civil Engineering student, it's fascinating to think about how it was built.

Entrance to the gardens under the Eiffel Tower is free. You have to pass through a security checkpoint metal detector, and then you are under the tower. The tower is actually completely surrounded by glass walls that are probably protecting from any threats. It also appeared to have an electric wire along the top to prevent anyone from going over it. While we didn't go up it this night, we got to walk around and watch the light show that happens every hour on the hour. The tower sparkles magnificently. Around the outside of the tower, there are tons of street sellers with keychains and light up mini towers. There are also people walking around trying to sell roses, wine, and cigarettes. We had to say no a lot, but no one was rude about it and left when you said no.

As it was late, we decided to head back to our hotel. It was a quick subway ride away. Once we got back, it wasn't very long until we were asleep.

Date: February 18, 2019

London

We got off the plane (February 17, 2019) and headed to one of the priority pass lounges that had showers. It was a small cute lounge, and the showers were clean. It was nice to get refreshed and have some snacks. They actually served a breakfast at the lounge with eggs and meat, but we had already eaten and didn't want more.

Hot chocolate in the lounge

The coolest vending machine!

Around 9am we decided to go to our hotel to put our bags in storage while we went to the city. We booked tickets for the Tower of London, where the crown jewels are located, and didn't want to have to lug our bags with us. Luckily the hotel had a room available and just checked us in 6 hours early. The Premier Inn at Heathrow is quite nice and cheap, I'd definitely recommend it to people.

Once we were settled in, we decided to head to the Tower. On our way, we also decided we wanted Meat Market in Covent Garden. We had lunch first. Hunter and I both got Hippie Burgers and a fry to share. It was delicious and I don't think we realized how hungry we both were. We headed to the Tower, got our tickets, and began a tour with a Beefeater. There are only thirty seven of them and ours was extremely funny. Each must have served at least twenty two years in the British military. There's also a special detachment of soldiers to guard the crown jewels. Ours was in the Royal Marines. We started outside the Tower in the moat before moving up into the layered defensive walls of the complex. Overall the Tower was fascinating and well worth the visit.

Covent Garden - lots of street performers

London Transport Museum at Convent Garden near Meat Market

The hippie burger

Beefeater

As the day progressed I became very very sleepy. I was almost falling asleep standing up, so Hunter and I decided to go back to our hotel for a nap and then go back out for dinner. We had a long train ride back to the hotel near the airport, and I slept some while on it. Once we got to the airport, we stopped at a Boots and picked up a meal deal. For £3.99 you get a main, drink, and snack. We got a ham and egg sandwich, a soda, and 3 baby bell cheeses. Once we were back at the hotel, it wasn't long before I was asleep.

We woke up at around 9:30pm, oversleeping what we wanted to as always, but we definitely needed some rest. We decided to try a pizza from the hotel restaurant, so Hunter went down to order it, however, it turned out they had no more crusts so pizza was a no go. The Chef felt terrible about it. Instead of pizza, we decided to try their quesadillas and as a kind gesture, the chef also gave us some fries and chicken he was having for his dinner and they didn't charge us any different than what a pizza would have cost. Hunter brought up our food and we ate while watching some TV. Blades of Glory was playing and I forgot how silly that movie was.

Then the worst thing ever happened... We saw a bedbug. 

It was a horrifying moment that I'd never imagined would happen to me, however, it is a reality and can happen to anyone. As I debating not telling people that we saw a bedbug in the bed we just slept in, I want to be real in my blog and let people know nothing is always perfect. Even the cleanest hotels with great ratings can sometimes have problems. The hotel was very apologetic and moved us immediately to a different floor and they didn't try to deny it being a bedbug. With all of this happening at 12am, I think they did a good job at handling the situation. They also gave us free breakfast and are going to refund our stay.

The horrifying bug

We are hoping it to be an isolated incident. When we first arrived to the hotel, Hunter did look for signs of infestation and didn't see anything alarming. We even looked more after finding the bug and couldn't see any hints of more bugs. We made sure when we moved rooms to keep our bags in the bathroom away from furniture and check all our things for bugs. I repacked our suitcases and didn't see anything, so hopefully there are no further problems. Neither of us have red bites on us too, but I'll be sure to put all my things into the laundry immediately when I return home. Did you know you could also freeze your clothes to prevent any bedbugs from living.

All in all, while I am completely disgusted and terrified I have bugs all over me, for all the times we have traveled, and to some sketchy places, having this be the first time it's happened is not the worst thing in the world. I definitely have learned some new things from this experience I will be doing from now on when we travel, like putting luggage in the bathroom away from furniture and checking the corners of the sheets and mattress.

While I probably won't stay at that hotel ever again because of our little experience, I would still recommend it. It was a nice spot with great helpful staff who definitely tried hard to make your experience the best they could.

Date: February 17, 2019

The Start!

It's reading break, and you know what that means... ANOTHER ADVENTURE!!

As soon as class was done on Friday (February 15, 2019), I was out of there. I hopped on the 3pm flight from Kelowna to Seattle, heading towards Salt Lake to meet Hunter. Once in Seattle, I got a drink at the Hudson and was able to pretend to be crew and get a discount. I always love being able to get discounts when I can, the parka really helps! I headed to gate A6 to try the first of 3 SLC options. It wasn't looking great, but since the weather has been messy, I was hoping for some missing passengers. Unfortunately, I didn't make that flight by one seat, but I made the next one and was so happy to get out of Seattle. I had to get out that night otherwise I was probably going to get stuck, the morning flight to Salt Lake had something like 80 people listed for it, so that wasn't going to happen. I finally made it to SLC at 11:45 local and headed to the Hotel to meet Hunter. We stayed at the Four Points and it was lovely. We had a room on the executive floor! I showered quickly and went to bed because we needed to be up in about 5 hours.

We woke up at 5:45 (February 16, 2019), got our things together, and headed to the airport to catch a flight to JFK. Our plan was SLC-JFK-LHR-CDG. We got sat one behind the other in the middles for the 4.5 hour flight to New York, shockingly the person beside Hunter in the aisle and the person beside me at the window knew each other. We asked them if they wanted to move and the woman didn't want to because she didn't want a middle, however, she continued to yell across the seats at him and when asked again still refused. Some people are very weird!

Four hours later and we landed in New York. We had about 3 hours before we needed to go to our gate, so we decided to check out a lounge with our new Priority Passes. Hunter and I signed up for a new credit card and one of the perks is access to 1000s of lounges and other airport benefits. Seeing as we fly an incredible amount, having lounge access is going to be amazing.

The lounge we went to was called Wingtips in Terminal 4. It was very easy to get in using the app and showing our boarding passes. It was pretty crowded when we arrived, but it came it little bursts. There was almost any kind of drink available and snacks. Hunter had some sweet potato soup and I had cheeses. I also had this snack mix stuff that was pretty good.

After a bit of debate, Hunter and I decided we were going to spend the day in London and fly to Paris first thing on the 18th. This still gives us plenty of time to see Paris and we both adore London, so it was an easy choice.

It was almost 5pm so we decided to head to our gate. We had to go out of security and take a train to terminal 8, the American terminal. Once there we went through security, found our gate, and began the waiting game. Slowly they boarded the plane and finally, we got called up to get seats. To our luck, we got 11D and 11G in business. It's our first business class flight together on American Airlines which is very exciting!

We took our seats and got ready to depart. This time of night at JFK is very busy so it took about 30 minutes to get in the air. In the meantime, we had our meal orders taken. I decided to go with the chicken option and Hunter went with beef.

We always start off with nuts!

Dinner was delicious and for dessert I had ice cream and a key lime tart. Hunter and I watched the movie the house with the clock in the walls. It was ok. Once it was done, we went to sleep because it was already past midnight in London and we wanted to arrive feeling not exhausted. Unfortunately for me, that failed and I slept for about 2 hours and woke up from turbulence and couldn't fall back asleep. Hunter slept better than me which was good. I think he needed it.

They served breakfast about 45 minutes before arrival. We had egg, potatoes, bacon, fruit, and a choice of bread. It was ok, but not my favorite.

So the 24 hour London adventure begins! Stay tuned to see how it unrolls.

Date: February 15-16, 2019