Arriving in Paris

Our Air France 777 landed just before 5 pm in Paris, where it was pouring with torrential rain.  It took an hour and a half to escape the airport - most of that time was waiting for the bags to emerge onto the luggage carousel, while trying not to fall asleep.  The roads outside were several inches deep from the downpour, but we had our umbrellas.  The "Roissybus" ride into the city took another 90 minutes instead of the advertised 40 or so, inching forwards through rush hour traffic, but eventually we were on the ground outside the Paris Opera House, and the rain had almost stopped.  The last leg involved towing our bags a few hundred metres along Boulevard Haussman to the hotel, which was no trouble.  In the street we always feel like conspicuous aliens when we first arrive in a foreign place like this, and today was no exception.  It takes a day or two to relax and remember that no-one else is taking the least bit of notice of you.