Saturday, July 02, 2011

European Travel Bizarrity

Over May, we took just about every kind of transportation possible, minus donkeys and camels: plane, train, car, and boat. Here are highlights, in no particular order:

1) American Express cards will get you into the GIG lounge in Terminal 1. They have food, Nespresso coffee and comfy sofas, making it a much better place to spend pre-security time. It is outside the customs area, though, so you need to leave time to make it through…

2) An entire 777 can and will be parked on the tarmac and bussed to the terminal at Charles de Gaulle. Nevermind that you are on an Air France flight landing at an Air France hub, the Brazil flight doesn't seem to have gate priority.

3) The Paris-Glasgow flight makes a stop in Cardiff. Hello! Dr. Who! (On a bit of extra bonus, that night in Glasgow, I turn the television on to the Neil Gaiman Season 6 episode, which was superb and gave me nightmares after about a closet and a suit stuffed with severed body parts. Oh, Neil.) We were able to count Wales as an actual stop, as we were required to pass through customs, run around the outside of the airport and around to the front, where we had to check back in for our connection to Glasglow. (Note: when they gate check your bag, don't leave passports in the checked bag, as you might have an unexpected stop and need it, and it becomes a hassle…) Flybe only accepts luggage as large as a shoebox, so you'll have to gate check anything larger than a packet of tissues.

4) The difference between Scottish tourist locations and anywhere else? No people, no staff, no locks and zero signs of vandalism. We actually walked away from at least one church because we didn't realize we were allowed to lift the lock and wander around unattended!

5) Muggy weather in Scotland according to the weather reporter? 12 C.

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