The EasyJet fare includes taxes; I checked. I also checked Eurostar, and even from Ashton, it ain’t cheap. It was something like GBP 69 (they definitely encourage RT pricing), plus I have to get from Deal to Ashton somehow, and my friend doesn’t drive (her husband will be at work at that time). As I remember, the train connections from Deal to Ashton weren’t terribly direct, but of course into London is a straight shot.
I just checked the fare for a Chicago/London/Zurich-Chicago combo, and even though it involves changing planes in Frankfurt, it’s only about $80 more expensive than Chicago-London-Chicago, so with the cost of switching airports in London, it sounds like it would come out about even. And no matter how nutty the Frankfurt airport is, it’s got to be less of a headache than schlepping across the entire London metro area. Plus I’ve never been in Germany, so even the aairport would be cool!
So assuming Paris is still probable, its GBP 69 Eurostar ex-Ashton versus GBP43 EasyJet (ex-Luton IIRC). Sounds to me like there ain’t a whole lot in it once you add in the cost of getting from Deal to either.
In my view taking the Eurostar is a more relaxing than hanging around “just another airport”, and if you think Frankfort airport has potential to be cool surely a tunnel under the channel has got to rate higher?! 
Two slight corrections re Eurostar . It is Ashford , not Ashton and you cannot catch the train in Dover. Last stop in the UK is Ashford. One advatage of Eurostar is the much shorter minimum check-in time.
Forgive my sleep-deprived geography errors; I do have a clue, really I do! And yes, I did know that you can’t take the Chunnel from Dover; I was thinking of Dover in terms of a ferry/train combo. Oddly enough, that was also pretty darn expensive…why the heck didn’t I write down the fares last night? plus it involves changing trains in Lille. Kind of messy. And I still haven’t been able to reach my French friends; I might try them lunchtime here, which is early evening there.
However, I’ve been to Paris twice, and unless you count a train ride and seven minutes in 1988 changing trains in Lausanne, I’ve never been in Switzerland. Hmmmm…
Aaaargh…I just spoke to my friend’s wife in Paris, and now I don’t know what to do! They are so nice, and now I feel like I have to see everybody! It’s been nearly ten years, but when I talk to them, it feels like no time has passed at all…
I suppose the best case scenario would be the friend in Zurich visiting his parents in Paris, so we could all see each other, but that would mean no Zurich. Well, there are certainly worse fates than Paris. Maybe I’ll just sleep on it…sleep would certainly be a very good thing.