Xmas Eve Paris - Guadeloupe bound

We arrived in Paris Charles de Gaulle airport and made our way to the Air France counter to get issued our free Air France bus transfer tickets to Paris Orly airport, from where we would continue our trip to Guadeloupe.

We were advised by the friendly and English speaking clerk that the next bus was due in 10 minutes, with some simple instructions on how to get to the bus pickup point.  It appears the clerk had forgotten that it takes at least 15 minutes to walk there, not taking into account the less than clear signage, which meant stopping and checking with various other airport officials if our progress was in the right direction!  Asking questions in French is all very well, but receiving an answer and understanding it is somewhat more difficult.  Nevertheless, having arrived at the pickup point, we were told by the luggage loader that we had only just missed the latest bus by five minutes.  But not to worry he said in very good and understandable English, if we took the pedestrian underpass, turned left at the other end and found gate two, then we would catch up with the bus we had just missed on its loop.  This would be much better than waiting another half an hour for the next bus!  How true, we thought, and pleased we only had the packs on our backs proceeded along the suggested route.  The directions were spot on and we had no trouble finding the spot marked 'Orly' in white on the black tarmac.

A group of people had already gathered there and now we only had to wait for our transport!  A couple of busses pulled into the 'Orly' spot, but none was headed there ?!  After ten minutes we spotted a bus on the elevated ringroad, clearly marked 'Orly' ... happily passing our crowd without even the slightest of an attempt to pull in and pick us up.  A French family of three enquired with a conductor as to the whereabouts of the bus, only to be told that that particular bus had not stopped, as it had filled up on its first pickup and thus could not take any more passengers on board.  Great ... Now what?

As luck will have it, both mother and father of above mentioned family spoke English and after a short conversation they suggested we share a taxi and split the cost, which worked out a treat.  Not only did mother 'Isabelle' speak English, but she had also lived on both, Guadeloupe and Martinique, and was happy to share some recommendations on what to do and see on both islands.  Incidentally, during the taxi ride five of President Sarkozy's jets were pointed out to us, neatly parked next to each other.

We finally arrived at Orly West (ouest) airport after a 35 minute ride. The facilities at the airport are fairly limited and quite pricey.  There are no announcements in English, as this is Paris' domestic terminal - yes, the French Antilles are counted as 'domestic' and even trade the Euro!  The good thing about this is that passengers only need to arrive one hour before the flight for check in ...

The flight was uneventful and not full, so we had plenty of space to spread out.  The late lunch was excellent, tasty and was served with a small bottle of rhum punch (Antilles rum drink) and a regular in-flight bottle of French wine already on the tray, in addition to any further drinks on offer from the drinks trolley.

Our lady captain got us into Pointe-a-Pitre right on time, with a flight time of 7.30 hrs.  As we stepped off the plane the wonderful Caribbean heat awaited and to go with it a concert arranged by the island birds and insects.

Festive 'omelette'

This easy-to-make omelette will add to your festive mood just before Christmas!  In fact it will be special for any occasion, just for yourself or for friends and family.  Enjoy!!!

Here's how to do it (makes 2 omelettes):

1. Mix 4 large eggs in a bowl, using a fork.
2. Add freshly ground pepper to taste. No need to add salt, as the smoked salmon is quite salty.
3. Heat 2 tbsp of rapeseed oil each in 2 frying pans (21cm/8inch diameter) on a medium heat.
4. Pour equal amounts of the mixed eggs into the heated pans and oil.
5. Fry for 1 minute on a medium heat.
6. Now lay strips of smoked wild Alaska salmon on top of the omelette.
7. Cover both pans with lids or a piece of aluminium foil each.
8. Turn the heat to low and leave for 4-5 minutes or until the egg is cooked.
9. Serve on a plate decorated with a slice of salmon, topped with caviar and basil.

A glass of chilled Champagne would be a great accompaniment - Cheers!