[14 May] I arrived to Paris CDG2 at about 4:30 am. I can tell you there is not much going on at that time. Upon arrival I followed my way through the signs and ended up outside of security and immigration. Drat, how did that happen? So now I have to go through security again. Who knows if I am violating any European security requirements. I hope not!
At 4:30 am there are not a lot of services open. There were a lot of smelly travelers sitting around though. Funny, I thought, they must be traveling with plastic bags. Of course they were homeless. I had read of homeless people using airports as homes, posing as travelers. Some of them pulled it off well. Others were indeed travelers. Of course, I thought I’d wait until I got to get to my terminal before stopping at the bathroom (which I needed to do). If homeless people are using the airport as a home, how likely will it be that bathrooms are open? Ah, well the first one definitely was NOT open. So I followed some signs and found a bathroom open on a lower level. Of course it was isolated, away from people. So the next thing that went through my mind was that it was a wonderful opportunity to get mugged. Fortunately I accomplished my mission with no drama.
It has been a long day. I worked until 4:00 pm Japan time, scrambled back to the hotel, grabbed my bag, walked downstairs to the train station, and passed out until Tokyo. Do they drug the air on trains? I don’t know but I couldn’t hold my head up. Then I changed trains at Shinagawa, and hopped on the Narita Express. I wolfed down a train station ton katsu on the train and made it to my flight. It turns out my plane was the LAST flight out of Tokyo. And, apparently, the first to Paris. It was a short 12:43 flight … ugh. I caught up on LOST and Ugly Betty and was able to sleep for a while. Not particularly fitful sleep, but some sleep. I head to Frankfurt in an hour and a half. By the time I get to Heidelberg it will be Taxi-Train-Train-Flight-Flight-Train-Train-Taxi. Taihen ne!