On the occasion of the marriage of Ben and Jo Rose

June 22 2008

After a nine-hour journey door-to-door from our hotel in Paris to our hotel in Ascot, we were finally here for what we were here for -- the wedding of Ben Rose and Jo Lister.

Ben and Jo Rose and family

As for the journey, my wife was able to experience first-hand why I consider CDG and LHR the two worst airports in the world.  The inefficient Air France bus ran 75 minutes late from Gare de Lyon out to the airport -- we eventually gave up and took a taxi.  But there was no hurry -- our 9:55 PM flight was delayed, we were told, "about 20 minutes".  We cleared immigration and went to the British Airways lounge -- only to find out that, at CDG, British Airways' lounge is NOT open to flyers with status on other oneworld airlines.  It made no sense to go to the gate -- we would have to clear security, and beyond that was only a seating corral.  Still, when the delay became 11:20 instead of 10:20, the rest of the airport closed up, and we went in.  Very shortly thereafter was the announcement -- the inbound aircraft had a problem, and we would likely depart around midnight.  When another BA flight arrived, one would have thought we would be all set -- but instead, it was unloaded and put to sleep for the night.  (It was, horror of horrors, an A320 instead of a A321, so I suppose they couldn't substitute it cleanly).  We finally departed around 1:15 AM...more than three hours late for a 40 minute flight.

For what it is worth, both ways we've passed through Heathrow Terminal 5, and it is a delight.  Everything flows well for humans, and our baggage came out quickly.  The arrivals area has exactly the kinds of facilities an arriving passenger needs, in a clean, logical flowing terminal area.  There are great restaurants and shops, and BA really did well on the lounges.  For all its initial heat, T5 is highly recommended -- shame about the airport it is connected to, though.

I wish we could have taken the Chunnel train, but our destination made that somewhat impractical.  Ben and Jo's Saturday wedding was at Sunningdale Park in Ascot, and getting out this way from the Chunnel terminus would have been a long series of steps.  In the end, it probably would have been faster and more reliable, and I can see why neither BA nor Air France fly the Paris-London route much anymore.  Most of the passengers were in transit or foreigners who went with air travel over trains.  

Ah well.  It was only important that we were here.  Ben and Jo had a beautiful small wedding, with about 75 family and friends in attendance.  We enjoyed meeting their families, and talking with friends who were previously only known by name.

This trip was built around attending Ben and Jo's wedding, which I wouldn't have missed for the world.  Ben has been a good friend for several years, after we initially met in-person at a conference in 2003.  In those five years, he has helped me through many life transitions, and we've developed some very good shared memories.  Jo and Ben have known each other since 1997.  She is a wonderful woman and I've enjoyed meeting her at several occasions over the years.

It is one of the fortunate side effects of the Lotus community that many of us have developed close, deep, and lasting friendships after having met online or in some other way connected to our work.  Over the last few years, I've attended weddings, visited homes, met for coffee/drink, or just grabbed a meal with dozens of customers/partners/industry figures/blog readers.  This is, to me, one of the most fulfilling aspects to being in the community -- the human connections.  My wife and I were honoured to have been guests at Ben and Jo's lovely wedding, and wish them the best for their future.

Three more days of vacation, starting with a trip to Windsor Palace this morning.  Even that has a story related to Lotus.

Ed Brill | Sunningdale/Ascot, England UK Category:  Travel  Add/View Comments [13]

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  1. 1  Ports http://www.mrports.com/ | 6/22/2008 5:14:40 AM

    Don't you mean Windsor Castle? Chez the Queen.

    A castle is a fortified building or series of buildings designed to withstand enemy attacks and sieges.

    A palace is a leisure building, designed to maximize the confort of its inhabitants, and impress the visitors.

  1. 2  Ed Brill http://www.edbrill.com | 6/22/2008 5:22:59 AM

    Oops, can't edit the post from my blackberry. Absolutely right mate, quite embarrassing mistake. It's definitely a castle. :-)

  1. 3  Ben Rose http://www.jaffacake.net | 6/22/2008 6:18:46 AM

    Thanks Ed, we're really happy you could make the long trip and it was great to have you here.

    Thanks for all the personal support and guidance you have offered me over these last 5 years, it's great to see that we both found a shining light at the end of that tunnel we met in all that time ago.

  1. 4  John Head http://www.johndavidhead.com | 6/22/2008 11:10:47 AM

    Congrats to Ben and Jo! I met them at your wedding Ed, but Ben and I have chatted on-line for a while. All the happiness and well wishes to them! Now Ben, why are you on-line ? :P

  1. 5  Frederic Dahm  | 6/22/2008 8:26:36 PM

    Gare de Lyon out to the airport by bus? Then by taxi? There are regular trains to the airport from Gare de Lyon (RER if memory serves correctly). Quick, efficient, comfortable, cheap. What more can you ask for.

    But yeah, LDH is a pain, but CDG is a masochist's delight. I did the same trip (CDG -> LDH) once, but because I couldn't justify the cost difference of the train vs. the small incremental cost of adding that segment to my trip.

    If I ever had to do it again, I would definitively take the chunnel and deal with the lackluster itinerary at Victoria station, the Eurostar terminal.

  1. 6  Kerr  | 6/23/2008 3:30:05 AM

    @5, the Eurostar terminal is at St Pancras. It just move there from Waterloo recently. It's never been at Victoria.

  1. 7  Mark Hazlitt  | 6/23/2008 9:17:36 AM

    @Ed. I think you view of train travel may be a little colored by your experiences with Metra/Amtrak. :-)

    My perspective on going by train to Ascot as follows:

    Taxi Gare du Lyon to Gare du Nord (or Paris Metro)

    Check in 30 minutes prior to departure, clear UK immigration, no need to check bags

    If you are feeling rich you can travel business and have a full meal, dedicated lounge and 10 minute check-in

    Journey time two and quarter hours. Arrive St Pancras Station - no bags to collect or waiting for immigration

    Taxi to Waterloo Station (20 - 30 minutes) or London underground

    Train to Ascot/Sunningdale every 30 minutes 6am to midnight

    Taxi to hotel (few minutes max)

  1. 8  Danny Lawrence  | 6/23/2008 11:27:24 AM

    I'm with Mark Hazlitt, I've taken the BR Trains to Ascot and that was a quick and reliable trip (even with all the travelers heading out to the races). Taking the Eurostar has the additional benefit of being able to walk from St Pancras, to King's Cross, and pay a visit to platform 9 3/4th's

  1. 9  Ed Brill http://www.edbrill.com | 6/23/2008 11:28:56 AM

    @7 Mark, thanks. We considered this route, but at the time we booked -

    1) The fare for the Eurostar was more than the airfare CDG-LHR. Our flight was only Eur 19 each.

    2) It was the whole St. Pancras to Waterloo to Ascot to hotel bit that we just felt was too much. With a long trip of both formal and casual events, we have a lot of luggage with us :-/

    3) I did want to have a hire car so that we could also visit Windsor on Sunday. With hindsight, a few more taxis would still have been cheaper...

    I will do the ground trip next time, though...

  1. 10  Mark Hazlitt  | 6/23/2008 3:24:55 PM

    Ed, Wow. Eur 19 each!! BA is fuel "surcharge" alone is more than that on most flights. They must be getting pretty anxious to fill the flights from CDG to LHR. They are probably more worried about losing the landing rights at LHR (worth millions per slot) than making a profit, so it pays them to keep the flights and take whatever money they can.

  1. 11  Ed Brill http://www.edbrill.com | 6/23/2008 6:25:01 PM

    To be fair, there were taxes and fuel surcharges and the like...the final full fare for each of us was about 65 Euros CDG-LHR when we booked it. And like I said in the main post, it seemed like the majority of passengers were connecting or on a through-ticket, thus the fare differential was probably pretty small.

    I did note that the fare for the flight on Friday itself had climbed to somewhere in the 280 Euros range (plus taxes/fees). So booking five months ahead had its advantages :)

  1. 12  Ed Brill http://www.edbrill.com | 6/23/2008 6:28:21 PM

    Oh and @5, the train from Gare de Lyon to CDG requires you to take the RER to Les Halles and transfer...with five pieces of luggage, no thanks...

  1. 13  Frederic Dahm  | 6/25/2008 8:01:42 PM

    @6 - My double mistake, a) I wasn't exactly sure of the station name (could've sworn I took the Eurostar and wound up at Victoria station... there goes the memory...); and, b) googled ({ Link } ) and read the results a bit too quickly. 8oP

    However, I still would prefer to go by the train than by the bus or by taxi... This said...

    @12 - Five bags. Wow. I've got a Delsey suitcase and traveled all of Europe with it for a month. Still, where is the sense of adventure and accomplishment? It's a piece of cake to do that transfer with one suitcase. It's a special kind of challenge to do it with five... Now that would have been something worth blogging about... ;o)