Wednesday, October 28, 2009

Safe And Easy Trip

Trains, planes, and automobiles. Wasn't that a movie? It's what I did on Tuesday. Ken drove me to Tours where I got my TGV directly up to the airport in Paris. The train was perfectly on time and in one hour and forty minutes I was in Terminal 2 at Charles de Gaulle.


Our aircraft, an Airbus 340-300, ready to board.

Check-in was simple; I already had my boarding pass thanks to the internet. Security was ok, too. No taking off of shoes or belt. The only glitch there was that I had a metal carabeener attached to my carry-on that I was using to attach my camera bag. That way the two bags would be hooked together and I'd be less likely to lose the smaller one.  The security guy confiscated my carabeener. He said it might be usable as une poignée américaine. Brass knuckles.


My little snack: a pâté sandwich from home, and Just Rosé (it was Cinsault).

He even demonstrated how for me right before he tossed it into the plexiglass box with all the no-no items. Funny how the French call brass knuckles "an American fist." Our culture must look so violent to them.

Otherwise, everything went smoothly.  I had a little snack at the airport since I had some time to kill. I also bought a newspaper, but didn't read it because I was having too much fun people watching. The flight left precisely on time and landed in Boston a half-hour early. I got my rental car and was zipping along the Mass Pike in no time.

I was very tired, however. It was misty in Boston and getting dark by the time I got on the road. There was a little traffic in the 'burbs, but nothing horrible. It rained pretty well when I headed over the Berkshires, but cleared up by the time I descended into the Hudson Valley.



 Part of Terminal 2E, seen from near my gate.


And now I'm here!  I slept about five or six hours overnight. We'll see how day one goes. Right now there's a light rain falling outside, but it's not cold. I slept with my window open. The sun's not up yet, so I'm having some tea and messing around with the computer. I love wireless networking!

My friends' house is very comfortable and they're so welcoming and warm -- I guess that's why they're called "friends." :)

Stay tuned!

20 comments:

  1. Jet lag is easy going West but you will "pay" back in France. I bet it feels really good being back "home".
    I am glad you had a great trip; now, just enjoy!

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  2. Glad to hear you made it back safely. Be sure to enjoy NY enough for the both of us!

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  3. Welcome home Old Boy! Always glad to welcome home a francophile to NYS! (Incidentally, this is the first post that I noticed was not posted at 8:30am).

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  4. glad u made it....for me it would be tough to drive 3 hrs after such a long haul ...but ur a young sprite.....we had a monsoon last nite here in richmond.....hope u get some sun today

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  5. Hey, Walt! Glad your trip was uneventful and you made it ok. Have a great time in NY. Enjoy the fall colors and friends and family. I cannot believe that caribiners are on the no-no list. I think I told you, I once had a sealed jar of olives confiscated because they were "liquid". As much as we might grumble about security at airports, we all have some interesting stories to tell as a result.

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  6. Hi Walt- you do seem closer somehow this morning;-) It was a nasty day down here in Dixieland yesterday-rain all day.

    You did well to be a half hour early coming west. I guess your pilots were paying attention and not on their laptops. Wifi is wonderful, but our pilots don't need such on flight!

    Enjoy yourself and send photos if you have time.

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  7. And get some good shopping done today!

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  8. so glad you amde it safely. Kinda geeked your mere minutes away from me....

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  9. Good report!

    Welcome to the dreary Eastern US.

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  10. Easier than my last trip through security at CDG. I've shared the story with Walt, Ken, and Cheryl - but here's a little tip for the rest of you wonderful folks. Don't ever pack a two-pound round of peccorino cheese, cell-phone, AA battery charger, and electrical extension cord, all bunched together in your carry-on bag. I'm not sure they will ever let me back into France...

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  11. So glad to hear that your trip was smooth! Have a wonderful holiday.

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  12. Glad you had a good flight. I was surprised at the brass knuckles thing. If you've seen any recent French movies, they're a bit on the violent side themselves. That also was surprising.

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  13. Walt,
    Why don't you and Ken come and vist us in Melbourne.
    Door to door its probably no more than 30 hours.
    Now that's jet-lag.
    leon

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  14. Airport security is a real pain. But at least it keeps those who hate us from trying to blow us up so often. I try to remember that and be grateful for it every time I'm in a queue for the scanning machine.

    Have fun.

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  15. Wow! You guys are chatty today! I love it!

    You'll forgive me for not doing my usual individual responses. This laptop keyboard is not what I'm used to.

    But know that I'm enjoying the comments!

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  16. Hey Walt!


    Glad it all went well for you! I'm checking in from Lisboa and we're leaving here tomorrow back to France, laundry time and then to Italia for the second leg of our trip! Have fun!Leese

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  17. heh. I have also had a carabiner taken from me by french airport security, when flying from nice to paris a couple of years ago. when i protested, the airport security dude did the same thing as yours, showing me how i could use it as brass knuckles. i thought it was ridiculous, but there isn't much one can do in a situation like that.

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  18. and, i might add, that was a carabiner that i'd taken through other airport security points loads of times.

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