Latest news with #Orly
The Independent
2 days ago
- The Independent
Would it be easier to fly to Charles de Gaulle or Orly for Paris?
Q For a forthcoming trip to Paris, I have a choice of flying to either Charles de Gaulle or Orly airport. Do you have a view on which is best? Patricia M A I certainly do. Just to provide some background: the relationship between Paris CDG and Orly is roughly the same as between London Heathrow and Gatwick. Orly, like Gatwick, is older, but CDG and Heathrow have grown to become twice as large. Orly and Gatwick are much more short-haul, low-cost airports, while CDG and Heathrow are predominantly long-haul. The vast majority of flights from the UK to Paris serve CDG, which is 14 miles northeast of the French capital. Orly, eight miles south, currently has connections only from Gatwick and Heathrow on Vueling, and from Southampton on easyJet. But given the choice, I would use Orly every time. Charles de Gaulle is complex and confusing, compared with relatively simple Orly. Until the summer of 2024, Orly had dismal public transport links. But just ahead of the Olympics, line 14 of the Paris Metro was extended to the airport. You reach the central station of Chatelet-Les Halles in 25 minutes, and access pretty much any RER or Metro station in the capital with a single change – so much easier than the cumbersome and often slow RER from CDG. Tickets from the airport are €13 to anywhere in the Paris region – an extensive area. The main drawback is when returning to the airport. While you can board the line 14 train with an ordinary €2.50 Metro ticket, the last leg of the journey to the airport requires a premium fare. You can pay on arrival at Orly, but it takes ages. So buy an airport ticket in advance. Machines at stations should dispense them. Finally, I would take CDG any day over the French capital's sort-of third airport, Beauvais. While Ryanair and Wizz Air describe it as 'Paris', you are a 75-minute coach journey to a remote Metro station, from which the journey to the centre takes about as long as from Orly. Q My husband and I are heading for San Sebastian for the first time in September. We've heard great things about it. The main problem is getting there. Fares were much cheaper to Biarritz in France than to Bilbao in Spain, so that's what we've booked. Annoyingly, there are no suitable buses from Biarritz airport to San Sebastian. Should we just book a transfer, and if so, how much do you think it might cost? Christina F A San Sebastian is an excellent choice. The Basque city was the first place I ever visited in Spain. I remain fond of San Sebastian's natural good looks: wrapped around a shell-shaped bay, La Concha, with a headland guarding the entrance on either side and an island in the middle. I also adore the old town, which probably has the highest concentration of outstanding places to eat on the planet. A transfer for the 50km/30-mile motorway journey from Biarritz airport to San Sebastian will cost a minimum of €100 (£87), possibly significantly more. Fortunately, the public transport option is fun and cheap. Bus line 3 departs from the airport every quarter-hour to the pretty French port of St-Jean-de-Luz, most of the way to the Spanish border. The journey takes 37 minutes for a fare of €1.30. You can use the same ticket to transfer to bus 4, which continues to the frontier town of Hendaye. You can hop off at Hendaye railway station to get to San Sebastian quickly. But if you feel like breaking up the journey with a swim, stay on the bus to the end of the line and you reach Hendaye's excellent Atlantic beach. This place happens to be the starting point for the marvellous GR10 long-distance footpath following the Pyrenees to the Mediterranean. To complete the journey, step aboard the Euskotren. This is an international narrow-gauge train that runs from a small terminus adjacent to Hendaye railway station, over the Spanish border and parallel to the coast, through to San Sebastian. Trains leave every half-hour. The appealingly meandering journey takes 40 minutes. The fare, once again, is €1.30 – so barely £2 each for the whole trip. Spend the savings on a feast. Q If the entry-exit system starts in October, when will we need visas to go into the European Union? Di, Fishwick A As The Independent revealed a week ago, the long-delayed EU entry-exit system (EES) is now expected to be introduced on a staggered basis from 12 October 2025. From that date a proportion of non-EU citizens entering the Schengen area will have their fingerprints and facial biometrics taken. Every frontier is due to have the EES in service by 9 April 2026. After that, passports will cease to be stamped. During the rollout of the system, British travellers will actually encounter even more red tape. As I tackle your question, forgive some pedantry. The EU in Brussels would like me to make clear that the proposed European travel information and authorisation system (Etias) is not a visa. It is intended for citizens of third countries (such as the UK, US and Australia) who do not require visas for the EU. It is, if you like, a permit in lieu of a visa. But I am on your side about what we call it. To get an Etias, you must provide lots of personal data in advance and pay a €20 (£17) fee to enable you to cross a frontier. Which looks to me very much like a visa. I dare say the permit will come to be popularly known as a euro-visa. When will Etias begin? The expectation is six months after EES is fully rolled out. That could be as early as October 2026, though the European Union is more vague and simply says sometime in the final three months of next year. But, to continue being pedantic, you won't need an Etias for the first six months of its existence. During this 'soft' rollout, if you meet all the other conditions for entry to the Schengen area, you will be admitted. So I calculate the earliest time you will actually need an Etias is April 2027 (assuming it starts in October 2026). But given the propensity of airlines to misunderstand the rules for British travellers to the EU, I don't recommend treating Etias as voluntary for those first six months.
France 24
04-07-2025
- France 24
Travel chaos worsens as French air traffic controllers continue strike
French air traffic controllers staged the second day of a two-day strike on Friday, prompting the cancellation of hundreds of flights not just to-and-from France but also overflying the country as summer holidays kick off. Reporting from Paris's Orly airport, France 24's Clovis Casali said the disruption to flights was even greater than the previous day.
Telegraph
25-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Telegraph
How to wear a French manicure (without looking like a Noughties WAG)
A natural base with a white tip, the classic French manicure, is one of the most popular nail trends of all time. Originally designed in the 1970s by Jeff Pink, the founder of nail-care brand Orly, the French manicure – which confusingly isn't French, since Pink was American – was designed to be the sort of nonchalant, go-with-anything manicure that looked effortlessly Parisian and très chic. Indeed it did, but for a long time, in my mind at least, the French manicure felt extremely… noughties, or in fact, exceedingly 2006. It was the go-to manicure for the England WAGs for the World Cup tournament. Along with a fake tan and big sunglasses, the French manicure was key to the WAG aesthetic, sported by Victoria Beckham, Coleen Rooney and Cheryl Cole. The manicure had morphed to include an unnatural shade of bubblegum pink as the base colour, and a long tip painted in a thick coating of Tippex-white polish. My boyishly short nails – sometimes painted but most often not – did not fit the bill. However, the nouveau French nail of 2025 is my new obsession. It's a 'neat and tidy' nail, focusing more on the nails looking natural to your skin tone, extremely healthy with a soft-white tip that looks elegant – no long nails required. A micro French is the newest iteration of the classic, whereby a thin stripe of a milky white polish is applied to the tips, so it works even on short nails. There's no-more thick coverage, either. Over the past five years there has been a boom in the demand for manicures (and, in particular, gel manicures) that resemble the natural nail but better. The technology in nail varnish is so much better nowadays, too: whereas 20 years ago gel nails were thick and fake-looking, modern-day gels are thin and flexible with excellent lasting power. My go-to manicure brand is Bio Sculpture, a gel that keeps my nails healthy underneath with a manicure looking glossy and fresh for up to three weeks. 'I recommend looking for a colour that elevates the shade of your natural nail plate,' says Julia Diogo, an expert nail technician for Bio Sculpture. She's a fan of the French manicure as a flattering choice for women of all ages and skin tones. For fair or light skin, a rose-based shade like Bio Sculpture's Ghost Rose (£15) looks flawless, whereas Lyrics of a Lily (£12) offers the perfect nude for those with darker skin tones and Spun Out of Dreams (£12) looks chic on those with olive undertones. 'There isn't a one-size-fits-all but I find that all of these look amazing as a French base or on their own for an effortlessly fresh look,' Diogo adds. If you want something a little more interesting, she has been painting colourful micro French tips recently (it's surprising how pretty a thin stroke of cherry red can look on the tips of short, manicured nails). Of course, the key to a good manicure is having nails that look as natural and healthy as possible to begin with. This is where well-maintained cuticles come in. A good manicurist spends almost as much time tending to the cuticles as the colour applied on the nails. There is plenty we can do from home, too. Regular care, such as gently pushing back your cuticles and keeping them moisturised, ensures healthy nail growth and a more professional finish. In what is probably a bit of a full circle moment for the original WAG Victoria Beckham, at her fashion show in Paris earlier this month the models backstage had beautiful manicures by on-demand beauty service Ruuby. The look? 'A treatment-led manicure designed to prioritise nail strength, hydration and long-term health – a new go-to nail ritual for achieving that ultimate nude nail goal.' A nouveau French even for Posh, it would seem. Natural nail must-haves Hand & Cuticle Serum, £15.95, Navy A good cuticle oil is a must and a few drops of this has become my go-to. 'From an aesthetic perspective, well-maintained cuticles give a polished and tidy appearance to the nails, enhancing the overall look of your manicure,' explains Rebecca Crawforth, founder of Navy Professional. Cuticle sticks, £1, superdrug Keep a couple of these handy to gently push back your cuticles. But be careful if cutting cuticles yourself: 'It can damage the nail,' warns Crawforth.
New York Times
01-03-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Times
An Island Family Faces Rising Waters and an Unexpected Guest
Charlotte McConaghy's third novel, 'Wild Dark Shore,' opens vividly, with a shipwrecked woman named Rowan washing up on Shearwater, a remote island off the coast of Antarctica. She is nursed to health by the island's caretakers — Dominic Salt and his children, Raff, Fen and Orly, the last inhabitants of an abandoned research base and seed bank — but her unexplained arrival soon upsets the Salt family's delicate balance, which is already strained by grief amid a series of personal and professional disasters. Dominic, his family and the precious seeds they have been safeguarding for the past eight years are meant to be retrieved by ship six weeks after Rowan's arrival, a timeline they're unable to accelerate after their radio is destroyed. As her injuries heal, Rowan pursues the secret agenda that brought her to Shearwater, while also joining the Salts in their increasingly desperate bid to secure the seed vault and the botanical diversity it preserves. Fierce cold and wind are a constant threat, and the sea is rising so quickly that Shearwater's beaches are collapsing, endangering the native seals and penguins as well as the base's buildings. (Also, there might be ghosts.) It's a rare novel that has so many simultaneous sources of trouble, and it's to McConaghy's credit that her plot's many interlocking escalations only rarely seem forced. But even when the action veers toward the melodramatic, it feels fitting enough: Should we be surprised when a tale about family bonds and doomed love at the end of the world occasionally becomes a melodrama? In her author's note, McConaghy recounts visiting the real-life Australian research base on Macquarie Island, a place she calls 'surely one of the most precious in the world.' Even as she borrowed its details for her Shearwater, McConaghy says her experience on Macquarie obligated her to render 'the truth of the island's rich flora, its extraordinary wildlife and its unique climate.' Indeed, 'Wild Dark Shore' abounds with evocative nature writing, including precocious Orly's moving monologues about the dandelion, the buzzy burr, the dinosaur tree and other model specimens of natural resilience. At 9, Orly has lived nearly his entire life on Shearwater; whatever future comes for the Salts and the imperiled wider world they'll soon rejoin, it's young Orly who may live to see the worst of it. Perhaps his Antarctic childhood will help him withstand the inexorable losses to come. Perhaps he'll have to remake himself in the face of grief as Rowan and his father and siblings already have. If so, he may be buoyed by his many examples of nature's perseverance, like his beloved mangrove seeds that transform as they migrate, seeking an environment where they might thrive: 'Will you change shape and put down roots?' Orly asks. 'Or carry on in search of somewhere better?' The Salts and Rowan cannot hope to stay on Shearwater, but where should they go, and with whom? As the climate crisis accelerates, the assurance of loss may make retreat ever more attractive, even if it costs us connection with the human and nonhuman worlds we've loved. In 'Wild Dark Shore,' we're shown why a person might withdraw from the messiness of life after tragedy and trauma: 'It's not a good idea to fall in love,' Rowan warns Fen, 'not with people and not with places.' The novel also offers its injured characters a path back to connection and community, a risk McConaghy argues must be worth taking, no matter how fraught the future, no matter how temporary the family. As Rowan reflects later in the novel: 'What is the use of safety if it deprives you of everything else?'
CNN
06-02-2025
- General
- CNN
US figure skating treads an unfortunately familiar ground: Rebuilding after aviation tragedy
There are no words to comfort anybody who's been affected by a plane crash. In an instant, many lives can be violently cut short – drastically and forever changing the futures of the friends and family who are left behind. It is particularly devastating whenever a large group of people is traveling together. Suddenly, a whole community is plunged into mourning for the lives that are lost, the dreams that are dashed and the potential that will never be fulfilled. It also often imperils the very existence of the project they'd been working on. In the early 1960s, Atlanta was on the cusp of desegregation and investment was starting to flow in. The city's leaders in arts dreamed of elevating the High Museum of Art into a world-class institution and their plans were taking shape as they embarked on a group trip to Europe; sadly, they never returned. One hundred twenty-two people died that day. Everyone from the Atlanta group, 106 of the city's most dedicated champions of art, perished in the wreckage of an Air France jet on the outskirts of Paris in 1962. The group comprised of artists, collectors, patrons and board members, among others, and their dream for improving Atlanta died with them. Many of the city's artists today lament that the Orly crash robbed Atlanta of its future, decades of progress lost as the visual arts scene instead flourished elsewhere. The impact can be just as acute whenever a sports club is in the wrong place at the wrong time. While aviation disasters are fortunately rare, there are too many examples of teams that have perished on snowy runways or rural hillsides; disasters that have consequences for a program that might take a generation or more to rebuild. It's too soon to fully comprehend the loss of so many talented young figure skaters in January's Washington, DC, crash, when American Airlines flight 5342 collided with a Black Hawk helicopter on its final approach to the runway at Washington Reagan National Airport. But it's clear that the loss is profound, 14 young members of the US Figure Skating team were on board. Many were on a trajectory to possibly compete in the 2030 Winter Olympics in the French Alps. Tragically, the same figure skating program had already experienced such loss. In 1961, the 18-member team was heading to the world championships in Prague when their plane crashed in Brussels. Everybody on board perished, the death toll also including coaches, judges and team officials. The World Championships were cancelled, and the Americans had to start from scratch ahead of the 1964 Olympics. Most of their athletes were too young to compete in Innsbruck, and it was something of an achievement that they still won a medal. The latest crash is particularly tragic – some of the skaters weren't even teenagers yet – and the loss of their coaches will make it even harder to train the athletes who will inevitably now step into their skates. When Brazil's Chapecoense football team headed to Colombia in November 2016, they wouldn't have imagined that anything could stop them. They'd been promoted four times in just eight years and were about to play in the biggest game in their history – the final of the Copa Sudamericana tournament. But when LaMia flight 2933 was just 11 miles from landing in Medellin, the lights in the cabin went dark – the plane had run out of fuel. Shortly afterwards it crashed into a mountain ridge, killing 71 of the 77 people on board. Only three players survived. Virtually the whole squad, its coaches and front office staff were killed. Forty-eight hours later, when the game should have been played against Atlético Nacional, the club's fans gathered at their home stadium in Chapeco to mourn their loss. One of the most poignant scenes witnessed that night was of the players who'd not made the trip, men who'd been injured or who'd been cut from the squad, linking hands and walking a lap of the field. The shock and pain were etched deep into their faces. Chapecoense were subsequently awarded the trophy for a game they never played, but it was a hollow victory – there was nothing to celebrate. A few weeks later, the trophy was seen in the corner of their locker room, almost out of sight, behind a pair of goalkeeper's gloves. The club still plays on, but they've since dropped out of Serie A, the top division in Brazil, and we will never know what might have been. Since the 1930s, when the Winnipeg Toilers became the first known sports team to be involved in a fatal aviation accident, dozens of teams all over the world have suffered the same fate. Six players from the Czech national ice hockey team were lost in the English Channel in 1948, and in 1949 the famous Torino soccer club were effectively wiped out in a crash just outside their home airport. At the time, Torino FC were regarded as one of the best in the world, and – although the club eventually rebuilt – Il Toro never recovered its former glory. At the time of the crash, Torino had won five consecutive league titles in Italy. Only once in the 76 years since then have they been champions again. The 1958 Egyptian national fencing team, the 1970 Puerto Rico national women's volleyball team, the 1980 US amateur boxing team and the 1993 Zambia national soccer team have all been devastated by aviation disasters. The fate of Uruguay's Old Christians Rugby Club and the Marshall college football team have been immortalized in cinema, but there is nothing poetic about sports tragedies of such scale. In the face of such catastrophic loss, sport itself seems trivial, but often it's the community of the team that helps those left behind pull through. In the wake of the latest crash in Washington, DC, the former Olympic star Nancy Kerrigan traveled to the Skating Club of Boston. Speaking through her tears, a distraught Kerrigan told reporters, 'Not sure how to process it, which is why I'm here. We just wanted to be here and be part of our community. We are strong, and I guess it's just how we respond to it. My response was to be with people I care about, and I love, and I needed support.' Those who are passionate about sports often debate the ifs and the buts, what could have been and what should have been – if only this goal had been scored or that player hadn't been injured. But speculating on what an athlete or a team might have accomplished if not for a mass tragedy seems tragically futile. When Manchester United won the 1968 European Cup final at Wembley, one of their star players excused himself from the celebratory dinner. A decade earlier, Bobby Charlton had made it out of the wreckage of their team plane on the runway at Munich airport. A victorious flight home from Belgrade had turned into a disaster for one of the best young sides in the world. Eight players, including some of Charlton's closest friends, had died. In the span of just 10 years, somehow the Manchester United Football Club had rebuilt and established themselves as the top team in Europe, but Charlton could never forget. Instead of celebrating with his new teammates, he went back up to his hotel room and cried.
