Charles de Gaulle

I really like Paris. But if I were to complain about anything, I would make the following few statements about the Charles de Gaulle airport:

• People don’t smile at Charles de Gaulle. Not the restaurant staff, not the people at the check-in desks, not the people at the security  checkpoints, not the people at the terminal — not even the taxi driver dropping you off at the airport in the first place! There are no clowns at Charles de Gaulle but if there were, I bet they would be the type that has teardrop makeup on their cheeks.
• Charles de Gaulle, a modern airport for international travelers, offers a choice of more than five different newspapers absolutely free. All in French…
• 200 ml of orange juice after the security checkpoint costs about 5 euros. That’s 25 euros per litre, or roughly 20x the cost in your average supermarket.
• The Charles de Gaulle airport toilets have one of the shortest designs I’ve ever come across in terms of back-to-front length. This makes using them challenging and, yes, somewhat disgusting.
• The Charles de Gaulle airport toilets are extremely shallow. I will not get specific here, but suffice to say it’s another challenge indeed.
• The Charles de Gaulle airport toilet seats are not even matching the toilet!  Perhaps this photo best illustrates this: