The Dainty Traveller

It all seemed fine and normal when we checked in. We got to the airport super early and were some of the first people checked on to the flight. My mother has knee problems and I am very tall so we asked the lady to make sure we were seated in the front of the plane. She said "don't worry you are way up in row 9 and you'll be fine". We thanked her, went through security, waited by our gate and then boarded the plane. The spaces between the seats on the CUBANA airplanes are EXTREMELY SMALL. I mean smaller than average (I will never say anything bad about Air Canada or Delta again, I didn't know how good I had it). I mean your knees, even if you are short or average height, instantly hit the seat in front of you. Then because we were in row 9 and behind was row 10, which is the emergency exit, seats in row 9 are not allowed to recline back. What kind of nonsense is that? So everyone on the plane started pushing their seats back. You can't blame them, because th...

This is a smaller city airport much like London City Airport. Like LCA I was impressed with ORLY. The airport has two terminals which are not that big. There was a diverse selection of eating options, however they were before security. After security there is only one café serving coffee, tea and sandwiches. So if you want more food, buy before you go through security. If you are very hungry, don’t worry, you can check in, buy your food, sit down and eat it, and then make your way through security. The airport terminals are small so you don’t have to worry about spending a lot of time getting to or finding your gate. The staff at this airport seemed happy and were very professional, I have no complaints.

This is another big airport like Pearson, Hartsfield, or Atlanta. I like this airport. I am not a fan of the red-carpeted floors by the departure gates but that is just a personal thing. The staff at Charles De Gaulle were as pleasant as Parisians can be. Don’t expect huge smiles or anything, but they get the job done, answer your questions and direct you to where you need to go. The airport is big, spacious, high ceilings and modern. The walls are quite bare and there’s not any art or photo exhibitions like at Pearson. There is a PAUL, (a French chain of cafés) in every terminal so don’t worry if you are a PAUL fan. There is a Mc Donalds and some other cafés, and a bunch of sit down bistro style restaurants as well. You shouldn’t go hungry at this airport. The bathrooms are clean and big and there are many located throughout the airport and its terminals.

I was there for a two-hour stop over on my way to Toronto coming from Conakry Guinea. The airport is big, the ceilings are a bit low for my taste but I did not feel claustrophobic. There are many eating options and like typical European airports, lots of shopping. I settled with a mozzarella and tomato sandwich from a Café near my gate. The sandwich was delicious. The staff was very helpful, there are security guards floating around the airport and they too air very good at assisting you with any query.

Conakry airport is interesting. I paused when writing this to think of another word but that is all that came to mind. My first time in Conakry was in July of 2005 and the airport was pretty much one big hanger. The Air France plane landed, we walked off the plane on to the runway and were directed where to line up to go through immigration. It was just that. The airport was not well lit, the staff was nice and our luggage was waiting for us when we got to baggage claim. It wasn’t a bad experience but it wasn’t anything great either. My second time using the Conakry airport was actually during that same trip. My mother and I were traveling to Dakar, Senegal to visit a friend for a weekend. We took Air Senegal which in Africa is known as “Air peut-être” (Air maybe) because sometimes they arrive and sometimes they are seriously delayed. So never bet any money that Air Senegal will arrive on time because you will probably lose all of it. Anyways, Air peut-être was the only airline that h...

The Frankfurt airport reminded me a lot of Amsterdam in terms of the low ceilings were. There are much more eating options though, and just like the Dutch, I found the Germans very friendly, customer service was on point and nice. I enjoyed my 24-hour stop over. We spent the night at the Sheraton hotel, which is right beside the airport. The hotel was very nice, clean, and amazing staff. There is a nice and easy walkway connecting the airport to the hotel. Also the public train comes right into the airport, you don’t even have to go outside!