I’m leaving Roubaix today 12 days after starting this adventure. One last quick stop at the velodrome to say goodbye to Larry from LA and others I’ve met through the week that made the stay here rewarding. I’m heading to the CitizenM hotel which is supposed to be very close to CDG airport. My plan is to early drop my bags, fuel up the rental car and return the rental car. Then find some kind of transit or walk back the hotel to casually spend my last night in France 2025. And yes, I slept ok, woke about 7:30 fully rested and ready for another easy day, with lots to accomplish.
Time to type Charles De Gaul airport into the navigation and off I go for 2.5-hour drive from Roubaix. Most is on a toll way, A1, which means someplace along the road I must stop and get a ticket, then eventually, trade the ticket in for a CC tap to pay. I had to do this heading to Roubaix the first day and was a bit unsure how it worked, now I know. I need to fill the fuel tank or pay extra so I stop about 30 k out from my destination at a roadside fuel station I saw on the first day driving to Roubaix. I may not have it all figured out as none of my three CC’s work, all declined. I have plenty of fuel to get my destination, I was hoping to not have to find a fuel station next to the airport or not refill at all and get stuck with a penalty but off I go adjusting the plan along the way.
The new nav plan is my one night only hotel, the CitizenM. I found it on Booking.com, right next to the airport, reasonable price. Has a relatively inexpensive breky available. With some struggles, I find the hotel. Looks to be a fun one-night stay. The check in is a bit awkward but easy enough. Passport needed for the self-service check in via iPad that I managed with some help from a staff person. Best part is I am checked in and can haul all my luggage in. The room is small but very cool, euro at it’s finest.
Next, search for gas. Not an easy task, the navigation leads me around busy airport roads to a dead end with no fuel station and second, through a small fun looking village where I make one wrong round about turn and must loop around again, I can’t tell how many round abouts I’ve had to deal with in the last two weeks, crazy and they work well. Second time is good and viola, up a steep incline and a fuel station appears in an awkward location but, hey, it’s fuel.
I must learn another “limited attendant” station. Paying, requires a card swipe plus a trip to an attendant who needs to authorize the sale and then finally a filled tank. Two of three tasks accomplished
Next is to try and find a way back into the CDG airport to return the rental car, so far, Fingers crossed, no accident claims, YET! The navigation roues me through a complicated variety of roads surrounding this huge airport. I seem to be getting close; I can almost reach out and touch the parking ramp I am trying to enter, lucky that there is no one following me on this narrow one-way ramp. Confused, I stop just to look around and then see, “Rental Return” small, lettered sign, but I am two car lengths past the entry to the ramp. I look around some more and see a tiny gap between two steel poles in the concrete, and I make a slightly sketchy turn to get into the proper lane, then it’s just a very slow, deliberate drive head on a swivel again to get to the “Budget” spaces. The keys are turned in; now how do I get back to the hotel? I am so happy I dropped all my luggage at the hotel.
Did I mention this airport is HUGE! I follow some others hoping they know where they are going to a taxi stand with 50-75 people in line. Google says I can walk to this hotel, but I am so confused! I find a tram, just not sure how it works or where it goes. Back down a big set of stairs to the more main section and find a guy with an “Info” badge. His English is ok, certainly better than my French but still a bit hard to understand. Back up the stairs to the tram, he told me to just get on it and go to Terminal 3, get off and the hotel will be there. I’m on the tram and see the graphics showing the train movement and yes, it is heading to Terminal 3, success. I get off and start looking around a large commercial and business area and see some hotels, just not mine. A short walk and eventually, Ahh! There it is, three of three tasks accomplished.
Brian at check in arranges a van shuttle for the morning, yea! Brian also says the bar and food are ready to serve now, as I am famished again. Wonderful as I haven’t eaten since 8:00 this morning and it’s about 3:30, P.M. I am SO GLAD, I adjusted my plan to get all this done the day before I leave not the day of. 5 and a half hours of sorting it all out today means I would have been up around 4:00 A.M. to get it all done. I would have missed the flight for sure.
The bar is welcoming and Gaston gets me a Belgian beer and a plate full of curry, then more beer and a French brioche and ice cream dessert. All are marvelous. I am fully satiated. Time to close out the day in my cute little euro room. Except Gaston mentions that a real Concorde supersonic jet Is just around the corner, really? I must check and yes, there it is, amazing. This has been a very good day to my two-week adventure.
Up to the room, relax, update the blog doc and time for a shower, early to bed, 5:30 alarm, breky at 6, shuttle van at 7:30, boarding at 11:15 and back home by about 5:30 pm MN time after 8-9 hours. Hope there are traffic controllers working to get the plane home.
Friday pictures as usual, MENU, top right, scroll all the way down or click the link below.
https://pjwracingadventures.com/friday-10-10-25-around-cdg-airport