Friday, October 7, 2011

Paris Je t'aime!

As promised. Here I am at a pretty 'sadel' British Airways' lounge shared with American Airlines... which is equally 'sadel'. At the end of a long, long, day in Paris, with four different kinds of weather, what do I get? Yet another delayed BA flight! All that effort to get here on time after the nightmarish experience in Mumbai, where I was bumped OFF the BA flight, after an electronic check-in etc etc... on biz class etc etc. There was just a single, non-responsive office boy in the back room... not a single responsible person at the check-in counter. And the flight was an hour later! I was distraught and ready to commit harakiri since my first meeting in Paris was in the afternoon. It was the kindness of the Cathay Pacific staff that helped me locate someone from BA finally. Did that help matters? Naah! My next best option was to BUY fresh ticket on Emirates and wait it out in Dubai. But at least I made my meeting.... straight from the airport, I might add. In my travel gear, I might also add.
And here I am at CDG being told my BA flight to London is delayed.... and the connection to Mumbai is alarmingly short. So, the chances of my bags arriving home when I do, are looking remote. But am I about to buy myself another pricy ticket on Emirates? Am I totally mad?
With that, let me say 'au revoir' for now. The spectacular October skies over the Place de la Concorde made up a little for this mess. So did the outstanding Cafe Viennoise at Fouquet's on the Champs Elysee. I carry back with me the most sublime memories of Reims - at the heart of the Champagne district. More on what I was doing there in my next post. Let me just leave you with the tantalising tidbit about a special vine baptism ceremony I was honoured to participate in at the superlative Maison Veuve Clicquot that hosted the very presitigious annual Businesswoman of the Year Awards. Twelve international women in 2011. And only 300 others since 1972 when the first such award was given. To say the entire two days of meeting extraordinary women from as far away as Brazil, and as close as Egypt, was anything less than the great vintages we got to sample, would be doing grave injustice to the legacy of Mmme. Clicquot, acknowledged as a pioneering entrepreneur by all those who are aware of her fascinating story.

8 comments:

Sadiya Merchant said...

hehe i dont kno wat harakiri is, bt it sounds like a really funny wrd :D
indogo is ze beshtt! n i don wrk fr dem or anythin. jus luv dem <3

o ya saff is cute too. hehe

Sadiya Merchant said...

indigo*

Hasim Kalolwala said...

Madam,
I am Hasim Kalolwala, a student at BITS-Pilani Goa Campus. We have an annual techfest called Quark, featuring a plethora of events, workshops, guest lectures and exhibitions. We would be honored to have you give a talk/lecutre at Quark '12, to be held in Feb 2012. I sincerely hope, that a feasible arrangement can be made, in this regard. To know more about Quark, do visit the website, http://www.bits-quark.org.
I look forward to further interact with you. Feel free to contact me via email. Regards,
Hasim Kalolwala,
Guest Lectures Co-head,
Quark-2012
(hasim1000@gmail.com)

Joydip Ghosh said...

Website is very comprehensive and informative. I have enjoyed the visit. From www.rightshopping.in/g/it.asp?C=Health-Care-India&cid=20

चंद्रमौलेश्वर प्रसाद said...

` But at least I made my meeting.... straight from the airport, I might add. In my travel gear, I might also add.'
and sans makeup... may i also add :)

WhencutGoddamn said...

So glad to see a NEW post..been stalking you, you know? :P Thats sad. BA =\
I hope you meet interesting people aaand your flights don't give you more trouble.
Bon Voyage et see you soon :P

ROHAN KARKHANIS said...

Hello Mrs de,
Here is a list of my favourite books, but i am just a commoner hence they are not as classy as yours.. here it goes( not necessarily in my favourite order)
1) Kitchen confidential(Anthony Bourdain).. A must read for all cooks..( i am one myself).. Though the book is more from a american perspective.. nevertheless the guy is a legend!!!
2) The God father( Mario puzo).. read it 20 times!!
3) Papillon( Henri charriere) great read!!
4)The Sicilian(Mario puzo)..based on the bandit salvatore guiliano.. absolutely moving!!
5)Losing my virginity(Sir richard branson) Highly inspirational!!
6)The whole truth( David baldacci) Not so famous , but made me change my views about media and government functioning.. great read on perception management!!!
7) Balasaheb thackeray's photo biography( Raj thackeray).. Though not strictly a reading book.. still a great reading conveyed through real life photos!
8) The White tiger( Aravind adiga) .. no intro required!
9)Gommorah( Roberto saviano) .. This book makes me want to cancel my trip to italy!!! scary is not the word!!!!
10)If tommorow comes( Sidney sheldon) .. could be the base for a bollywood flick!!
The non english books that i want to read are "shiv charitra" and " Mritunjay" both in marathi.. have heard so much about them.. however trying to find a english translation of them both..
Any way Mrs de that is my list for now!! ( By the way I used to work in derbyshire,UK and the name of my restaurant was " Chatterly"s .. However havent read the book yet.. but will soon do)

goodluck said...

Rohan's choices are great.