i'm very glad to hear that waterstone's didn't give you any trouble ! please do let us know how long it takes to get your 505 back from sony. if you want another 505 as backup, they're still available here at the fnac (and maybe elsewhere... i could check) for increasingly low prices ; currently they are sold for 259€ but i've seen promos for 229€ and maybe lower, so you might get lucky. you could pick one up when you are in paris, and have the new one for the meetup.
or you could get an opus as backup.
it won't read lrf but the epub support is very good, and it would make your bags a bit lighter when you're travelling.