France 2009 - 35 Hour Commute

continued from the previous post....The plane reached Paris in 3.5 hours. We came in for a landing but had two missed approaches because of low heavy fog. However, the city was clear. We diverted to Brussels and landed around 3AM. There were many other planes on the tarmac presumably from other diverted flights. We were instructed to go through passport control then to baggage claim. We waited and hour and a half for the luggage to arrive. We were then escorted to the Afriqiyah info desk. We were handed vouchers for breakfast, 6€. Enough for a croissant and juice. The empty check in counters already had passengers lined up to check-in to their flights. Must be the diverted passengers from last night. Easily a 1,000 passengers were in the ticketing area waiting for the check-in counters to open. We waited for 4 hours and then were told that we might be on a flight or a bus to Paris. I thought of taking TGV on my own dime. At around 7AM we headed to the trains on the bottom floor were our Afriqiyah guide handed out train tickets to the main station in Brussels. We all eventually met up at the info desk by the TGV and TGH trains. It was very cold, my new winter leather coat will need help to keep me warm. Good thing I packed a jumper. We kept looking for or guide, around 9AM someone located him at the ticket counter buying tickets for everyone. I went over and there was a line of passengers clambering for tickets. I got mine, it was for the 10:15AM TGH to Paris Nord station, which is only a kilometer from the hotel. I checked the departure board and the train was 45 minutes late. We hung around the waiting room, tickets were spread over different trains and destinations. Some people got TGV tickets to the CDG airport. I lucked out getting the Paris train. The train finally arrived at 11:15. It took a minute to remember how the trains work, no conductor to help out. Boarded and someone was in my seat. They explained in broken English that there are on assigned seats before 6PM. They must have thought typical American. I found an empty seat a settled in. The train sat at the platform for an hour. I was thinking, what else could go wrong? The train ride was 1.5 hours. I took a few catnaps, we arrived at the Paris Nord station about 2PM. I went to the taxi station and got a ride to the hotel, only 10€ with tip. Checked in, sent updated emails, ate a few snacks from the room, took a shower and went to bed. After four hours of sleep, I woke up at 9PM. I updated my food dairy enters and update the journal. Back to bed. I was up for 35 hours with a total of about 4 hours worth of catnaps. The funny thing is I’m not that tiered but can still sleep.