Paris, France

I thought travelling business class again on British Airways would give me much needed rest on the overnight - or as BA calls it - sleeper service to London. Not that I didn't lay flat on their completely convertible seats. I even took a pre-flight dinner at BA´s Terraces Lounge at the JFK hoping I could sleep right away after take off. And even before that dinner, I had received a complimentary 30-minute back rub at the Molton Brown spa to relax myself.


Leah, Ate Emma, Sonny and I are heading to Europe and only Ate Emma is seated at the Economy section of the plane below us on the upper deck. While Ate Emma paid for her seat, we snagged this $5,000-valued seats for free in exchange for 60,000 miles from our Cathay Pacific frequent flier account. It does pay dividends to travel more!


We landed in a mist-covered Heathrow on time but then the connecting flight to Paris was delayed due to poor visibility. Hoping we could catch some sleep at the BA business class lounge, we all trooped to the door and managed to get Ate Emma inside after smooth-talking the lounge receptionist.


Sonny got his reservation for the complimentary massage at Heathrow´s Molton Brown spa while I got myself into a very refreshing shower. We met Filipinas working at the lounge who made sure we were doing fine while waiting for our flight. Ate Emma was even gifted with 2 bottles of wine from our kababayans. Nice!


BA flight 308 to Paris landed late in the afternoon. I was very exhausted but glad to breathe French air for the first time. My plan was for all of us to travel via train but looking at my companion´s luggage - plus the look of "I want to sleep now" in their faces - we decided to take the more expensive taxi to the hotel instead.


Hotel Relais Du Marais, in the 3rd Arrondisement, was not difficult to find - well at least for taxi driver who spoke only French. Initially, I was apprehensive if he understood the way I pronounced the hotel´s name or the name of the street it was on.


Thankfully, we were indeed in the right place. Merci monsieur! I could have slept right away as soon as I tried the bed but Sonny reminded me that Bong Tejeda, our kababayan from Digos who´s now living in Paris, is coming in a few minutes to have dinner with us. How could I possibly refuse Bong for my first dinner in Paris?