6 Jun 2014 Paris to Bucuresti

We get in to CDG about 11:50 AM instead of 11 AM.  We have planned a guided visit to Roissy-en-France, the historic village adjacent to the airport.  The village offers free tours to the captive audience awaiting their connections - a good deal all around.  But first we must get to Roissy.  It takes 20 minutes to get off the airplane (and we are in the middle).  We go from Terminal 2M to Terminal 2K via shuttle.  We France into Terminal 2E.  Then take the CGDVAL shuttle to Terminal 3 Roissypole.  Finally, we catch the 95-02 bus to Roissy-en-France.  A fair number of ethnic French (African) are also on the bus.  It is now 2 PM local time.
Roissy is a picture perfect town with a 15th century church, St. Eloi.  There are flowers all around and cherry trees in full fruit.  We have a guide with excellent English.  She is passionate about her village and its WWII history.  She comments off-hand that "the immigrants live several miles away." We cut the tour short at 50 minutes to reverse the process of returning to our gate.  This time we are more efficient, but nonetheless we arrive at 3:55 PM - Loading Time, and find out (thankfully) that our flight has been delayed by 10 minutes.
We are on the plane at 4:30 PM.  It is an uneventful flight.  We arrive at Bucuresti at 8:20 PM.  (This is 7 time zones east of Eastern Daylight Time - our body time is 1:20 PM.
The Bucuresti airport (Otopeni) is pretty efficient for incoming non-Shengen nationals (EU).  There is a bus 780 going direct to Gara de Nord, which is walking distance from our hotel. In order to catch the bus, we have to put the 7 lei fare for 2 on a plastic card.  We can reload fares on the card, but we don't realize that just yet, and so Mike hands it over to the driver.
On the way to our lodging, we pass under trees filled with white mulberries.
We have reserved at the Hotel Elizeu, a very clean and pleasant place.  And, because it is the weekend, it is only 27 Euros per night.  It is still early, by our body time (3:40 PM), even though it is already 10:40 PM, so we go out for dinner.  Up the street there is an imposing bridge with multi-colored lights that draws our attention.  This is Gara de Basarab.  We pass Basarab Restaurant, but it is closed.  We also pass a few "working girls," but this is still a comfortable working class community.
We head across the railroad tracks on a tram bridge.  Then back along the tracks on the other side, past the Gara de Nord.  We notice an interesting old house, with decorative carved female figures (caryatids), but it is too dark for photos.Finally, we head back to the Gara de Nord, and eat at (where else?) McDonald's, the only place open around midnight.