I travel a lot for business. In the first 15 weeks of 2013, I made 8 trips outside of the country. That is heavier than normal -- my trips tend to come in bunches -- and it was made much easier traveling from Paris. To be able to get to London, Rome, Amsterdam and even Cairo in a few hours, while staying more or less in the same time zone, makes such a huge difference. It is also nice to be able to travel by train some of the time. The whole experience is so much more relaxing and I can be a lot more productive on the train compared to flying.
We’ve also traveled quite a bit as a family. In our nine months in France we've been to Austria/Switzerland/Lake Annecy (France), Italy, Strasbourg, Munich, London (x2), Chamonix (x2), Prague, Portugal, Brugge, the Netherlands, and Ile de Re (France). All of those trips required a trip by train and/or plane.
Traveling from Paris you can usually get a direct flight or train to your destination. That's one of the reasons why we chose Paris in the first place for our year abroad. But occasionally, particularly with a long business trip that can be expensive flying direct, we have layovers or need to change trains. If long, this can be one of the most painful parts of traveling. But I've also been taking advantage of this time lately.
In March, I had a business trip that took me to Cameroon in Africa. Although there was a six hour direct flight from Paris, it was a lot cheaper to connect via Istanbul, doubling my travel time. On the return trip I had a three hour layover in Istanbul and decided that that was enough time to get into the city. I figured it might take 30 minutes each way (assuming not too heavy traffic) and I'd then have about an hour in the city. Given that I'd never been to Istanbul and it has for quite a while been at the top of my wish list, I figured that even a very short visit was better than nothing -- and much better than just hanging out in the airport.
So, I figured out whether I needed a visa (I did), was able to get the visa, then headed towards "Exit" instead of "Connecting flights". Once outside I went to a taxi queue and asked a driver whether he'd give me a two hour tour of Istanbul. He agreed and we were on our way.
The taxi driver took me to the ancient part of the city (the heart of the former Constantinople) and we toured the Blue Mosque and the Basilica Cistern. He then took me across the Golden Horn into Galata where he wanted to pick up some baklava. We were running short of time so I hoped for a quick stop and was quite surprised/nervous when he came back with two plates of baklava and invited me to sit down.
I kept a "go with the flow" attitude and enjoyed about eight pieces of the wonderful dessert. The driver then went to get a box for me to take home to my family and we were finally back on the road to the airport. It ended up being an unforgettable little excursion and I made it back to my next flight with time to spare.
I'm so glad I "snuck" out of the airport in Istanbul and had that experience. It was a good lesson in finding opportunities and taking chances.
In the last few weeks I've had a couple of opportunities to take advantage of 45 minute gaps between trains. While neither came close to the Istanbul experience, they both became unexpected little pleasures in the midst of multi-hour trips.
The first was last month when traveling back from Brugge with the family. We stopped in Lille and had to change trains there. Instead of just hanging out in the station we decided to get out and explore the city a little. While we obviously didn't have time to do much, we were able to see a couple of nice squares and get a little bit of a feel for the town.
Then, a few weeks ago, I traveled to Nice by train for a conference. On the way there, I had a little time at Paris Gare de Lyon before my train to Nice. Since Gare de Lyon sits in the opposite side of town from where we live and I hadn't been in the area before, I decided again to go explore for 30 minutes instead of waiting in the station.
What I discovered is the Promenade plantée, a two kilometer long walking path along the top of a viaduct. The path is planted as a garden and was lush with springtime greenery. It felt miles away from the busy streets of Paris below.
I'd read about the viaduct a couple of times but hadn't researched it enough to know exactly where it was located. So it was a nice surprise to happen upon it and take a little stroll before jumping on my train.
We’ve also traveled quite a bit as a family. In our nine months in France we've been to Austria/Switzerland/Lake Annecy (France), Italy, Strasbourg, Munich, London (x2), Chamonix (x2), Prague, Portugal, Brugge, the Netherlands, and Ile de Re (France). All of those trips required a trip by train and/or plane.
Traveling from Paris you can usually get a direct flight or train to your destination. That's one of the reasons why we chose Paris in the first place for our year abroad. But occasionally, particularly with a long business trip that can be expensive flying direct, we have layovers or need to change trains. If long, this can be one of the most painful parts of traveling. But I've also been taking advantage of this time lately.
In March, I had a business trip that took me to Cameroon in Africa. Although there was a six hour direct flight from Paris, it was a lot cheaper to connect via Istanbul, doubling my travel time. On the return trip I had a three hour layover in Istanbul and decided that that was enough time to get into the city. I figured it might take 30 minutes each way (assuming not too heavy traffic) and I'd then have about an hour in the city. Given that I'd never been to Istanbul and it has for quite a while been at the top of my wish list, I figured that even a very short visit was better than nothing -- and much better than just hanging out in the airport.
So, I figured out whether I needed a visa (I did), was able to get the visa, then headed towards "Exit" instead of "Connecting flights". Once outside I went to a taxi queue and asked a driver whether he'd give me a two hour tour of Istanbul. He agreed and we were on our way.
The taxi driver took me to the ancient part of the city (the heart of the former Constantinople) and we toured the Blue Mosque and the Basilica Cistern. He then took me across the Golden Horn into Galata where he wanted to pick up some baklava. We were running short of time so I hoped for a quick stop and was quite surprised/nervous when he came back with two plates of baklava and invited me to sit down.
I kept a "go with the flow" attitude and enjoyed about eight pieces of the wonderful dessert. The driver then went to get a box for me to take home to my family and we were finally back on the road to the airport. It ended up being an unforgettable little excursion and I made it back to my next flight with time to spare.
I'm so glad I "snuck" out of the airport in Istanbul and had that experience. It was a good lesson in finding opportunities and taking chances.
In the last few weeks I've had a couple of opportunities to take advantage of 45 minute gaps between trains. While neither came close to the Istanbul experience, they both became unexpected little pleasures in the midst of multi-hour trips.
The first was last month when traveling back from Brugge with the family. We stopped in Lille and had to change trains there. Instead of just hanging out in the station we decided to get out and explore the city a little. While we obviously didn't have time to do much, we were able to see a couple of nice squares and get a little bit of a feel for the town.
Then, a few weeks ago, I traveled to Nice by train for a conference. On the way there, I had a little time at Paris Gare de Lyon before my train to Nice. Since Gare de Lyon sits in the opposite side of town from where we live and I hadn't been in the area before, I decided again to go explore for 30 minutes instead of waiting in the station.
What I discovered is the Promenade plantée, a two kilometer long walking path along the top of a viaduct. The path is planted as a garden and was lush with springtime greenery. It felt miles away from the busy streets of Paris below.
I'd read about the viaduct a couple of times but hadn't researched it enough to know exactly where it was located. So it was a nice surprise to happen upon it and take a little stroll before jumping on my train.
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| Istanbul |
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| My Istanbul driver |
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| View of unique architecture from the Promenade plantée |
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