On the way to the Westin. Cabbie turned the meter on.
We were requested to head to the check in area while the front door staff took care of our bags.
The courtyard restaurant in the centre of the building.
Check in formalities were done quickly and we were informed our room was not ready yet. We were given a courtesy room for 45 minutes and was requested to come down after the time was up.
After 45 minutes, there was a knock on our door and one of the front desk staff came to give us the keys to our new room. I used 3 SNA certificates to upgrade to the Prestige Suite which cleared 5 days before arrival.
Stepping into the room – with the bedroom on the left and living room on the right.
Door on the right leading to the closet area and bathroom.
We arrived at Gare Du Nord station after 25 minutes and then followed the signs to the taxi stand.
Hopped into a taxi and the driver indicated it was a set prices to the hotel. I read before hand that all cabs were metered but I hesitated and didnt challenge him. After 30 minutes, we arrived but I happened to peak over and saw a meter there. I asked him why he didnt use the meter. He just lost it and started aggressively speaking in French that we either pay him what we agreed on otherwise he would take us back. I said to go ahead and take us back where he started driving haphazardly and eventually just stopped in the middle of nowhere (a bit of hyperbole) and told us to get out. Seeing as we did not know our surroundings, I asked a passerby on where the nearest taxi stand was. The gentleman was extremely helpful and he directed us using his google maps. We happened to be a 5 minute walk away from Saint Lazare station and we found the taxi stand close by. Back on the road after again and after 20 minutes, made it back to the Le Metropolitan. Ended up paying 15e plus a small tip. A far cry from the 85e that the first driver wanted to charge us. Not a great start to our trip in Paris but luckily, everything was fantastic thereafter.
The hotel from the outside.
Used a SNA certificate for the Eiffel Tower suite and it cleared a day before we arrived. The staff at the front desk welcomed us and went through the usual formalities. We went to our room and someone dropped off the luggage soon after.
Check in area plus lobby.
Suite 611. The most highly coveted suite in the entire hotel. We had to sign a form indicating we would not move the bed for social media purposes. LOL – the Insta influencers ruining it for everyone.
Front door on the right side and bed.
Standing in front of the canopy bed looking the other way.
Bathroom area behind the bed.
The view.
Just as we were about to head out for a late lunch, the staff came by to drop off a small gift.
Stopped off at the restaurant right next to the hotel.
Chicken Supreme, Tuna Salad and Green Beans.
After the meal, we walked down to Trocadero Square.
After returning back to the room, we celebrated our first night in Paris with some dessert and bubbly.
The next morning, we walked back to Trocadero square for breakfast at Café du Trocadéro.
One final look before checking out and moving to the next hotel.
Another gorgeous day for flying. We arrived 3 hours before scheduled departure due to ongoing madness at Pearson airport and other international airports across Canada. Due to the surge in passenger traffic and people wanting to go on vacation again, all major airports were caught unprepared and could not keep up with demand. This caused severely long delays at security upwards of 2 hours minimum which started as early as 6am. If you were lucky enough to have priority access via business class or one of the Black credit cards or Nexus, then the line up took less than 15 minutes.
The priority check in area for Air Canada.
There were 3 passengers in line before us and we were called up after a 5 minute wait. Check in was a breeze with proof of vaccines provided plus an online immigration form for France.
The priority security line was straight past the check in area. Got into the Nexus queue which was longer than the regular Priority queue. Eventually, a security officer came around and bellowed at the top of his voice to keep moving forward and get your boarding passes ready. Magically, the line moved quickly and we were past security in no time.
Making our way along the neck of the terminal connecting us to the outer pier of gates.
So far, everything is looking good. A foretelling of a wrench in the plans.
We spent some time at the Maple Leaf Lounge as we had a lot of time to kill before boarding. Safe to say that even post COVID, the YYZ MLL still continues to disappoint. It was jammed to the gills. Self service was still non-existent for hot food and drinks. We managed to find two seats and parked ourselves there for 1.5 hours before heading down to the gate.
We went down to the gate as per the indicated time on our boarding passes. When we reached the gate, people were lined up and there was no sign indicating when boarding would begin other than a sign at the front indicating “On time”. An announcement was finally made after 30 minutes of waiting that boarding was delayed due to late arrival of the aircraft which delayed the cleaning crew and then delayed cabin crew from getting onboard to set up everything. Boarding was finally called at 8pm (initial departure was 7:30pm).
Slight line up in the tube but we were on quickly and turned left.
5K
My impressions – this seat is just a poor product that does not even compare to the likes of EK, QR, EY, SQ. It was perfectly comfortable when sitting but the TV was right in your face. When in bed mode, there was little room for your feet in the cubby hole and is tough to sleep if you are a side sleeper like me.
The amenity kit.
Whats for dinner?
Everything was going well until the clock hit 9pm and then the captain made an announcement which no one wanted to hear. As per union rules, a flight cannot be operated with 2 pilots after 9pm and we required a relief pilot to be on board. The oncall pilot was paged and there was no ETA until when he would arrive. The captain promised that he would keep us all updated and true to his word, he came on every now and then to give us updates plus thanked us for our patience. While we were waiting, the cabin crew came by to take dinner and drink choices.
Cant go wrong with champagne in a plastic cup. LOL.
We finally got good news around 11pm and the relief pilot was going through security and he requested to buckle in and get ready. The moment the pilot relief entered the aircraft, the door was closed and we pushed back.
Flight timings:
Booked it out of YYZ like a bat out of hell.
Dinner was served quickly and efficiently and I was done eating 90 minutes after take off.
Appetizer – I only picked at the crab meat and salad. Bun was rock hard.
Beef for me which was delicious and had a good spicy kick to it.
The Mrs went with the chicken and her verdict was “good” 😀
Lemon tart which was ok again.
I slept for a few hours and got up an hour before landing. The cabin crew came around asking if I wanted anything to eat or drink and I kept it light with a glass of OJ.
Coming into CDG.
EK heading back to DXB.
Once off the plane, we headed to immigration and was past in 10 minutes. Collected our bags and walked to the train station to catch the RER to Gare du Nord.
Hooked On Points 