In transit, California to France
Jun. 11th, 2017 09:51 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
indigo_rose99California was lovely, but not as restful as I had hoped. I spent too many late hours hanging out with old friends or on the phone for work.
My flight to London felt surreal, but went smoothly. I slept for a few hours and managed not to yell at anyone when they made an energetic effort to wake us up 3 hours before landing. Grrr!
London Heathrow is its usual huge and confusing self. Signs are everywhere.... And do not communicate near as well as they clearly seem to think they will. Signs made by people who know the system, for people who know the system. What do I do if my flight is not on your list and it should be? The first human (airline employee) to speak to my obvious confusion merely told me to go THAT WAY and take the first left. No explanation. No hint on what I would find down the hallway... Just GO THAT WAY.
I had plenty of time to change flights, so I walked slowly (to save my poor aching feet) and read the many signs along the the many long empty and full hallways. I think I figured it out. I had more than an hour layover for my international flight, so they herded me into a holding area.
I love the part where they won't tell us the gate number. They will show the gate number about 30 minutes before the flight. The closest gate to the holding pen is a 10 minute walk (15 min for slow me, though I was standing in front of the board waiting for the gate number to show up....). They announced that boarding will be closed about 10 min before the official leave time. By my math, they are deliberately engineering a situation to abandon bewildered travelers in the hall on the way from the holding pen to the gate. Evil airlines!
I changed USD to Euros in London, hoping to save time in Paris. That will bite me later, as they insisted on changing from USD to Pounds, then to Euros. They insisted that the rate would be the same in Paris. The good outcome from this was I got a little over 2 pounds in change. And I used it well: chocolate croissant for me! Yum. I ate it while watching the gate board to see it finally display my gate number.
In spite of their evil ways, I made the flight to Paris. Even had an empty seat next to me. And my checked luggage arrived! Yay! Yes, my expectations are quite low.
Just like many other cities, I had a trail of hopeful (supposed) taxi drivers trail me through the arrivals lounge offering me a taxi. I stubbornly ignored their dubious offers and went for the official taxi line. Real taxis are less likely to strand me in an alley. And though Paris does not have a reputation for this behavior, I'd rather be careful.
My flight to London felt surreal, but went smoothly. I slept for a few hours and managed not to yell at anyone when they made an energetic effort to wake us up 3 hours before landing. Grrr!
London Heathrow is its usual huge and confusing self. Signs are everywhere.... And do not communicate near as well as they clearly seem to think they will. Signs made by people who know the system, for people who know the system. What do I do if my flight is not on your list and it should be? The first human (airline employee) to speak to my obvious confusion merely told me to go THAT WAY and take the first left. No explanation. No hint on what I would find down the hallway... Just GO THAT WAY.
I had plenty of time to change flights, so I walked slowly (to save my poor aching feet) and read the many signs along the the many long empty and full hallways. I think I figured it out. I had more than an hour layover for my international flight, so they herded me into a holding area.
I love the part where they won't tell us the gate number. They will show the gate number about 30 minutes before the flight. The closest gate to the holding pen is a 10 minute walk (15 min for slow me, though I was standing in front of the board waiting for the gate number to show up....). They announced that boarding will be closed about 10 min before the official leave time. By my math, they are deliberately engineering a situation to abandon bewildered travelers in the hall on the way from the holding pen to the gate. Evil airlines!
I changed USD to Euros in London, hoping to save time in Paris. That will bite me later, as they insisted on changing from USD to Pounds, then to Euros. They insisted that the rate would be the same in Paris. The good outcome from this was I got a little over 2 pounds in change. And I used it well: chocolate croissant for me! Yum. I ate it while watching the gate board to see it finally display my gate number.
In spite of their evil ways, I made the flight to Paris. Even had an empty seat next to me. And my checked luggage arrived! Yay! Yes, my expectations are quite low.
Just like many other cities, I had a trail of hopeful (supposed) taxi drivers trail me through the arrivals lounge offering me a taxi. I stubbornly ignored their dubious offers and went for the official taxi line. Real taxis are less likely to strand me in an alley. And though Paris does not have a reputation for this behavior, I'd rather be careful.
