London (4) Sunday?->Monday?

So after Liz dropped me off at the bus I fell asleep and woke up at the airport at around 1am. Going in, I found many more people than I expected there. It seemed like some whole new subculture of people I had discovered who travelled at strange times....like me. And the most amazing part was that barring those who were curled up in sleeping bags or had made forts with their luggage, everyone was functioning like it was a normal hour. So I waited around, sleeping at times in different places, more confident that I would not be mugged in an airport until 4 am when I could finally go through the gates and wait for my plane at the terminal.

The plane ride back to France was pretty good (I slept) but landing at 8am, I was nervous if I would get back in time. So I ran to the RER (metro) stop at Charles de Gaulle and hopped on, finding it a bit cramped at first but eventually finding a seat. And then, arriving at Paris Nord, I found my train to Le Guichet and oh wow, was it ever packed. Like nothing I had experienced before. When the doors would open at each stop, the people getting out would barely be able to exit without being pushed back onto the train. At one point even, I was watching a girl on the other side of the car who did not look like she was having fun and then all of a sudden, her eyes rolled back and she passed out. It was very hot, extremely sweaty and in no way enjoyable. And the worst thing of all, the train was going extremely slow. It was as if the conductor wanted us to throuroughly enjoy our experience, and I didnt know why. So it took me until about 2 hours, twice as long as the ride up, to get back to Paris and I ran to my room, grabbed some things and got to work by 11:30 where, talking to Jacques, he explained that the public transportation service was striking and this is why it went so slow. Then, he added with a smile, that it was another part of the French experience, protests. Luckily, I made it in time for lunch though, I still cant get over how good the food is here.