Flew back from Nice on Thursday (finally getting around to posting this)......One of the more nightmarish travel days I've had in a while. Woke up at 8ish to head down to the lobby and meet the car service. Delta called me right before we left to let me know that the flight was 3 hours delayed. Score. Nonetheless, a bunch of us piled into the Eurovan and coasted through the miles long tunnels, cliff side freeways and canyon spanning bridges that take you from Monte Carlo to Nice. Upon arrival, I went to the customs office to get the carnet signed, tried to see if my wayward baggage had arrived (its now Friday and still no sign of it) and then headed up to the crowded check-in line. It was pretty slow going since they only had two people for the whole line, but since I still had 4 hours until the flight I wasn't sweating it (sweating being the main thing I consistently do in airports).
I'm roughly at the back of the line, helping an older woman with her baggage as she tries to change her connecting flight to DC. With about 50 people left to be checked in, the two FRENCH (I now say "French" with a bit of disdain) check-in people literally get up and walk away. Confusion surges quickly through the line of travelers using a chain reaction of whats, whys, whens, and hows to run its course. Soon the Delta manager comes out and announces that Air France has gone on strike and that, maybe, on the next shift someone will come and finish checking in the line. Awesome. So we wait about and hour and a half, and I spend most the time bonding with my fellow distressed travelers (the older woman who is now retired in France, a Chinese nurse from San Diego, and two French women, one of whom is definitely a cougar trying to prowl on me), compulsively smoking cigarettes (Fumar Tue) and wandering the airport in search of various coffees. Finally a man emerged, angelically backlit, from the sliding glass doors of beyond and slowly began to check people in. Applause ensues. When I finally was checked in, it was a mad dash through security and down the jetway into my little-slice-of-heaven-window-seat.. Once settled, I surveyed the half full plane, giving waves and thumbs-ups to all my new friends, who had all made it on the plane.
After take off we had a beautiful view of the alps and, due to our late departure, an amazing perpetual sunset that lasted literally 6 hours. And that is something I will never get tired of, regardless of the travel circumstances. That and bourbon + sleeping pills.
No comments:
Post a Comment