Charles, I have never flown to Paris before (or anywhere in Europe), but my flight is to Charles de Gaulle airport. In fact I'm not even aware of the other airport's flight options. I wish I could help, but maybe someone else who has traveled before will be able to help. John
Ok John, Neil, thanks. I see that flights go to both CDG and Orly. Distance from either to the "Farmhouse" is about the same. Charles
Neil, Per Bing Maps Driving Directions: Shortest route from CDG airport to Sainte Come du Mont is 204.7 miles. Time with light traffic is 3:33 hrs. The Farmhouse appears to be less than a mile from there. Shortest route from Orly airport to Sainte Come du Mont is 201.7 miles. Time with light traffic is 3:28 hrs. Same additional distance as above to the Farmhouse. Both of these directions show the vast portion of time is on the E5 and E46 roads. Charles
Charles, While you consider options, I went and looked at both airports just now as if I was booking today ( I already Booked). Flying from Milwaukee to Orly only gave me a 2 stop minimum on my flights and total flight time lasted much longer. Where as me flying Milwaukee to Charles de Gaulle gave me several 1 stop options and shorter flight times. Both cost about the same, so I would consider shorter flight times and fewer stops... For example I am flying Milwaukee to Chicago to CDG in less than or about 11 hours both ways... Something to consider when booking. John
Hi Charles, As far as I am aware, Beauvais (BVA) mainly handles flight to/from European destinations and Charles de Gaulle (CDG) handles transatlantic flights and flights from both inside and outside Europe. On one of my trips to Normandy, I flew into Beauvais as I was renting a car and figured with the airport being further outside Paris, it would be easier driving. On another trip, I flew into Charles de Gaulle as I was taking the Cherbourg train out of Paris for Carentan. Hope this helps, Pat
Hi Pat, thanks for the info. I went to the train site that you presented in post #109 above, to explore taking a train out of CDG airport to Carentan, since it seems that that would put one pretty close the the Farmhouse. I put in Charles de Gaulle airport as the starting point. The website converted this to "Paris Roissy Charles de Gaulle Airport (TGV station - Charles de Gaulle 2 - 25 km from Paris)" So, is the train station at the airport, or is it some distance away? If away, is there ground transportation to the point of departure? A ticket can't be purchased now, since the June date is so far away. I also saw that only one departure time was listed. Wouldn't there be more than one departure per day? Sorry for all the questions; just trying to learn the system here. Thanks. Charles
Hi Charles, The trip on which I flew to Charles de Gaulle necessitated a bus trip from the airport to Paris (St Lazare) train station which is where you catch the train to Carentan. There is a train link between the airport and St Lazare station, but according to this link, there are three changes en route - not what you want to be doing after a long flight. Have a look at your connection options here for a smoother run into town. Regards, Pat
Hi All, I did just get a message today from Mark Bando that he plans on arriving on the 8th of June, and had planned to do touring his first full day on the 9th with his group, but he would not mind changing his plans to join his group with ours for the 9th. Mark said his group will consist of about 5 people plus him and that he will bring along a Dutch man named Eisso Koenders who lives in La Croix Pan and does a lot of on site investigations for him, and that he also knows a few old timer locals who where living in the area in 1944. What we may need to work out is do we continue with a glider tour that day, or do an Airborne tour that day? Also can we consider having a tour day on the 8th since Neil will be making his way home on the 10th and miss any related tour or events that day? John
Hi Pat, John and all, Unfortunately for me, I will not be able to attend the Whitebeam Meet in Normandy as scheduled for this year. Unexpected recurrence of some back problems has led me to this conclusion. Basically, I experience significant discomfort in lower back and legs pretty much all waking hours. I had hoped that this would have been resolved some time ago. The doctor believes that it will resolve itself over time, but not by June of this year. And, I am still determined to get to Normandy as soon as I am able to do so. It is disappointing to me to have to miss such a perfect opportunity as has been planed. I do, however, I look forward to hearing what those of you who will be going learn. Charles
Charles, I am sorry you won't be able to make it in June, but if you experience a quick recovery somehow, you are more than welcome to join us last minute. If there is any particular location of interest to you that you would like photographs of, please let me know. I am bringing my camera and likely to take a couple thousand photos during my visit. The great thing is that in the digital age there is no film costs! The offer of photograph locations goes to any other members who can not make it... Just let me know the locations and I will do my best. John
Hi John, If the "quick recovery" occurs, I will certainly try to get to Normandy as originally planned; a long shot however. I will take you up on your offer to take photos of some particular spots. I had planned to do that myself. Thank you very much for offering to do so. Over the next month or so I'll try to locate some specific locations that I would hope you could photograph. Thanks for your help. Charles
I am sorry to miss this great opportunity to learn from the Whitebeam researchers gathering in Normandy in June. I look forward to their collective discoveries. My Normandy trip is mid May and I will be concentrating on Boissey, Mandeville and Le Grande Couliboeuf environs. I also would be happy to take pictures of areas of interest should anyone have specific requests. Ellen
Hi Neil, I would also like to get to Membury to see what, if any, structures pertaining to the airfield are still there. Charles