Today was a long, long day of travel. First, there was the drive to Los Angeles International, and though it was Saturday, we encountered some unusual traffic along the way, increasing the stress level more than was needed (I am already anxious, hopefully a healthy mixture of excitement and travel anxiety).

I arrived at the International terminal of Los Angeles International at about 12:30, in plenty of time for the flight scheduled to leave at at 3:15 PM. Printing the boarding pass is now self-service, and the counter check-in is now designated as bag drop. Oddly, they reprint the boarding pass. This is the first time in a few years that I was not designated as TSA-Pre-Check, so I got in the longer security line and waited. The good news about the security process is that you no longer have to remove shoes or remove laptops and/or tablets from carry-on bags. This makes for a better, smoother, and faster process.

I finally made it to gate 150 more than 90 minutes before boarding for Air France flight 65 to Paris.

After getting a few snacks, I was able to get a good picture of the Airbus A-380 about to fly me and about 400 other people to Paris.

It does take a long time to load this large airplane. We departed Los Angeles on time, and once airborne, the captain told us our expected arrival time would be more than hour early, with the expected flight time of 9:40 instead of 10:50. Yay! shorter is good…thank-you, jet stream!

We did arrive early at Charles de Gaulle airport north of Paris. It was a long, long night for me as I was unable to sleep at all. After landing, everyone hustled to the train to get to the main terminal, then the long walk to get down to immigration/passport check and finally to baggage claim. The queue for immigration was long, but not as long as I expected. Once through immigration and into the baggage claim area, the sign indicated that bags from Air France flight 65 would arrive at 11:24 AM (not 11:25, or 11:30…11:24). And at right about at 11:24 the carousel started moving and bags started appearing. I retrieved my checked bag, and then found the “Le Bus” and deciphered the ticket machine to get one ticket to Gare Montparnasse (the Montparnasse train station). I am leaving for the south of France tomorrow morning, so my overnight hotel is very near the station, and the Le Bus takes you right there for 17 Euros. A good deal if one has time, as the taxi charge to Montparnasse is over 60 Euros. The bus ride to Gare Montparnasse is well over an hour, close to 80 or 90 minutes. I found my hotel, checked in, got a shower, had some difficulty with my phone, but finally got a Uber to take me to Centre Pompidou.

There is a very extensive David Hockney Retrospective at Centre Pompidou, and I was hoping to make it. It closes the day before I come back to Paris after walking the Camino de Santiago, so this is my one chance, and I made it. The lines are long, and here is the building with a peak of what appears to be a Caulder sculpture.

After spending almost two hours looking at the David Hockney retrospective, words fail me – It was spectacular, and exceeded my expectations. There were crowds of people, so Mr. Hockney is getting viewed.

Tomorrow, Monday, is a second day of travel, by TGV train from Montparnasse to Bayonne, then a local train from Bayonne to Saint Jean Pied de Port where I shall start walking the Camino de Santiago Tuesday morning.

Next: Traveling to the starting point.