[Idyllchat] Charles DeGaulle Airport

[Ed Comer]

Here is the section of my previous IdyllChat posting about our 2006 
Tuscany trip that dealt with CDG:

TRAVEL ARRANGEMENTS
Avoid Paris' Charles de Gaulle International Airport (CDG) for your 
connections! I repeat - avoid Paris' CDG airport for your 
connections. It is the airport from hell. One hour between flights is 
a very, very tight connection. I know -  we missed our connection to 
Florence on the inbound segment and almost missed it on the homeward 
flight. I have also had problems on previous trips that involved CDG 
airport. I will NEVER again accept a connection in CDG that had less 
than two hours between flights. I would be more comfortable with 
three hours. Better yet, totally avoid Paris' CDG airport for your connections.

Not only did we miss our flight to Florence, but Air France lost my 
wife's luggage. This is where using UnTours paid off. From Paris, I 
contacted, by pay telephone, our South Tuscany UnTours contact, 
Harriet. She told me that, since we would miss the Idyll provided bus 
to Siena to pick up the rental car as well as the escort to the 
apartment, that she would leave a packet of emergency instructions at 
the information desk at the Florence airport. Her emergency 
information packet was a lifesaver. Her detailed instructions got us 
to the apartment that evening, in time to join the dinner in-progress 
that was ordered by the other UnTour guests. It was a grueling 
experience that included a standing room only, sweltering public bus 
ride from Florence to Siena, some wild taxi rides and an instant 
introduction to Italian city driving, but we made it just as the sun 
set. Without Harriet's emergency instructions and telephone help it 
would have been far, far worse. By the way, Air France delivered my 
wife's luggage to La Canonica the following afternoon and she only 
had to wear my clothes for the first day.