Flight delays seem to jump on me like the plague this year. Charlotte and I are heading to Tuscany for our vacation. Everything
went well until we got to our first stop/lay-over in Atlanta. Our flight to JFK was due to depart at 3:30. Charlotte wanted to be the first on the plane so she could get her carry-on bag stowed, so we were in our seats before 3:00. We sat there, at the gate, until 6:15!
It seemed there was severe weather in the New York area and all airports had shutdown. We were due to catch a flight to Pisa at 9:15 from JFK, so still in Atlanta at 6:15 did not bode well for us. Luckily, there was an Air France flight departing for Paris at 11:15, so we got off the Delta flight, ate dinner at Terminal E, and boarded the flight for Paris.
Currently, we are still in the Paris airport waiting for our flight to Pisa. By my count, it has been 26 hours since we left our home in Middleburg, and we are not to our destination yet! Oh, the joys of travel!
I think Steinbeck said it like this, “The best laid plans of mice and men often go awry.” After this day of running around like a chicken with my head cut off, I totally agree! I thought I had organized a good travel plan for leaving Barcelona and arriving in the remote village of Carcassonne, France, but instead, I ended up with a day of misfortune.
My first mistake was not making an advanced reservation on the train from Barcelona to Narbonne, France. Now, this was not because of poor planning, for I had visited the train station the day before my travel to get information and a schedule. However, to book the ticket for the next day, I would have had to wait in a que for two hours or more. The “same day of travel que” was only a few minutes. I reasoned that it made no sense to waste two hours now, when in the morning, I could get the same ticket in ten minutes.
As it turned out, there were no seats available on the first leg of my journey, so I had to wait three hours in the Barcelona train station in order to catch the next train to France.
I hung around in the McDonald’s, located in Barcelona’s train station, for three hours. HA! I even bought a Coke Light and french fries, just so I could take advantage of the free WiFi!
Finally, at 1:00 p.m., I boarded my train and was on my way to France. We had to change trains at the Spain/France border, which was a major upgrade from the slow “Spain Train” to a sleek and fast TGV Train.
I arrived in Narbonne, France at 5:00 p.m. I had had enough foresight to prebook a rental car at the Narbonne station, but upon arrival, the rental car office had closed early this Saturday afternoon! Ughhh! I found the Hertz rental office was still open and was able to secure the only car remaining, a tin-can Ford Fiesta. No worries, so I headed off on the superhighway toward Carcassonne.
About forty-five minutes later, I was safely tucked into my hotel in Carcassonne. Nestled between the hill and vineyard, I was ready to do some exploring.
Jason Duckett is a friend who has traveled to Europe many times with me. He is heading off on his own with a group from Jacksonville, Florida to meet up with me next week in Rome. He, wrote this email to his group members offering the following pre-departure advice:
Hey!
Oh boyoboyoboyoboyoboy, it’s almost here everyone!
I just scanned the weather for the first few days in Italy; it will be normal temps (low to mid 80’s) and I can promise you the humidity will be much lower than here in Florida and free of hazy smoky grossness as well. Switzerland in the 60’s, France in the 70’s. Aaaahhhh…….
Lorin and I did a practice pack the other day. I have so much room left in the suitcase, I might even bring one more shirt. Actually, I wont because I know the foolishness in overpacking. For the first time travelers, I beg you, please fight that urge to get out the bigger suitcase!! You dont need it and it throws off the schedule in Rome BIG TIME if we have to wait for your luggage at the baggage claim. Furthermore, I shudder to think what would happen if your bag didnt make it at all. Trade three of those extra outfits you’re cramming in the suitcase for a tiny bottle of detergent, rinse out some things in the Cinque Terre or Switzerland, and smile! Nobody will point and laugh that they have already seen you in that shirt. We are all friends here.
Some more random thoughts…
Tomorrow I will start getting to bed early and getting up earlier; I found adjusting my body clock here made it easier once we got overseas. Lorin will do it a little bit as well, but she seems to make the transition better than me. To fill those early, early mornings, I plan to walk. If you are not a big exercise person (and I am not), at least try to do some walking before we go. I mentioned it before but it bears repeating: we will walk a LOT on this trip. David walks at what I would refer to as a “band director pace,” which others might define as a moderate jog or as one person put it a few years ago, “I wish that #$*&@% would slow down!” We have lots to see so I cant blame him. We do cover a lot of ground though, especially in the big cities and in the hills of the Cinque Terre, so be ready.
Last time I was in Florence, I found an old opera score in a used bookstore. I thought and thought about buying it but didnt. Later I decided to go for it, but we got turned around and couldn’t find the store. Yuck! If you see something you love, get it! You may never be there again. Volterra is full of alabaster and marble. Switzerland is great for watches and clocks (and chocolate). Wine is everywhere. Beaune has amazing food. Florence is great for leather and pashminka wraps. Jewelry is all over Italy and Paris is, well, Paris. Don’t go crazy, but do find something memorable to bring home. I WILL find that bookstore this time!
Make copies of your passport, driver’s license, and credit cards front and back, in case the unthinkable happens. Consider leaving a copy with someone at home, so they can make calls if needed. The money belt is a MUST HAVE on this trip.
When I called my cell phone company to let them know when and where I would be traveling, I got confirmation of the cost of phone calls (reasonable), texts (sort of reasonable), and the use of the internet, which was very very very unreasonable. If I had left my smart phone on for this trip and done the facebook posts, email checks, etc., the cost would have been in the hundreds of dollars! Confirm and reconfirm what using your phone will cost over there and adjust as needed. You might be able to buy an international plan (for a month then cancel) and every carrier is different. Call the bank and credit card companies to let them know of your travel or you might get denied when you want to make a purchase.
See you Monday bright and early at the airport. DONT FORGET YOUR PASSPORT!
After each trip, I always seem to find some item, which I thought was necessary, yet I never used. Packing light often causes those who travel with me to struggle with what to pack for their tour. Invariably, they always pack too much and regret it as the tour moves along.
Travel only with carry-on luggage
Limiting your luggage to a small carry-on sized suitcase forces you to pack lighter. Believe me, you will appreciate my advice when you have to carry your bags up several flights of stairs; through subway tunnels, stairs and platforms; and overall the uneven cobbled streets. Many of my hotels are located in the historic city center where a tour bus or smaller vehicle cannot go. There is no option in this case, you will have to drag your suitcase from the vehicle to the hotel. It’s not fun!
Tour alumni, Jim and Roberta, traveled with me in Italy for 16 days with only the luggage you see here. They are my all-time “light packer” champions.
I travel for several months with just one small roller-board suitcase
Regardless of my destination, I travel with one small suitcase approximately 9x14x20 (2100 cubic inches of space) and a small carry-on backpack. Currently, I use a wheeled carry-on type suitcase that seems to meet my needs. However, a backpack or duffle will work just as well. The trick is to make sure it is small, easily transportable, and lightweight. I carry a seven-day supply of clothes and plan to wash items in my hotel sink every couple of days. Additionally, once every two weeks I visit a laundromat to do a proper load of laundry, often dropping it off in the morning and collecting it all, fresh and clean, late in the afternoon.
Think about how long you will be on vacation
My tours generally last eight to fourteen days. I recommend packing enough outer clothing to last at least 1/2 the trip. Jeans and pants are fine. Ladies do not need a dress or anything fancy. Plan on bringing shirts and blouses that can be mixed and matched with different layering options. This makes it possible to design multiple outfits from a few pieces of staple clothing items. Sweaters and jackets are great for layering.
Don’t make this mistake
Sometimes, no matter how much I preach packing light, people don’t listen. This group of high schoolers win my all-time award for the most luggage on a tour. On this particular morning, we had to hoof it for about half a mile, through a small medieval town, to get from the hotel to the bus.
Airline Requirements
Nowadays, packing for an airline trip requires a great deal of thought. It seems that all the USA air carriers are imposing mandatory “checked baggage” fees of $15 to $25 per bag. Additionally, they are limiting the size and weight of the bags you can “carry on” to put in the overhead bin or under the seat in front of you. Unfortunately, these “rules” change often.
Your Adventure Starts Here! Start it by being happy… pack light!
Questions about airline ticketing and the TSA’s Secure Flight Program often come up when booking airline tickets. Here is my distilled version of the TSA’s behind-the-scene watchlist program.
Since November 1, 2010 airline passengers are require to provide “secure flight information” to the TSA when booking an airline ticket originating or terminating in the USA. This information contains your official name as it appears on government issued ID, gender and birthday (and redress # if necessary).
When booking an airline ticket online, this information is collected at the end of your booking progress. It is best to provide one’s full name (first, middle and last) including suffixes such as Jr. and III.
Some people, whose name closely matches a name of a known suspected threat to security may request a “redress number” which separates them form the name of the person who is on the TSA’s “known threats” list.
Today, I am off to Europe for a few weeks of tour guiding. Before I get there and start to work, I decided to try an experiment with my flight attendants.
I often notice tha flight attendants put up with a lot of unecessary abuse from airline passengers. They work hard and must always have a smile on their face.
So today I delivered a Starbucks gift card to all the flight attendants on my flight to Zurich. I’m interested to see if it puts a smile on their face and makes them happy. I’ll let you know.
