Paris: The End of the Story. Part Four

Thursday morning, the alarm goes off at 6:00 AM and after getting things ready its off to the airport right around 8:00 AM. I'm thinking that there's the possibility of getting the taxes we paid on all of our purchases back as we get ready to exit the country, so I'm hopeful of getting a small, but welcome rebate. Once we've arrived at the airport I discover something else. One way to avoid not paying back the tax money to non-residents is to have the refund line on the side before going through airport security. When someone (like me) sees how long both the lines for the refund and the line through the security and border check is, and they don't know how long all this will take... they panic, throw the receipts in the trash and go stand in the lines that will actually get them home on time.

If the tax refund line was on the other side of all the check in procedures, I would have gladly waited in line until I either got the refund or the flight started boarding. The refund window is where it is for a reason!

Once through the check in procedures, Valerie found a couple of last-minute souvenirs and before too long the flight started boarding. When our turn came to board, I picked up our two carry-on bags and we started walking toward the jetway. As we were ready to turn the corner and head to the plane, I got picked for a random inspection. Valerie was told to proceed to the plane, even though one of the bags was "hers".

They, of course, went through everything (including frisking me too). They found my case of nylon tipped knitting needles and got very concerned, calling over supervisors for their wisdom. These were, naturally, against the rules and needed to be removed from my bag. They would be checked as regular baggage and would be found when we claimed our checked baggage later.

This is the part where I get a little pissy. We really could use a little regulatory uniformity. These knitting needles were not a problem when flying OUT of the United States. Flying OUT of France? Oh, no! It makes me wonder how many other holes there are in the system... and what's being brought on board an aircraft in some part of the world that really shouldn't be. C'mon folks, one set of approved and banned items for every airport worldwide!

Oh yes... and while standing in their inspection area I suddenly got a (thankfully small) nosebleed. No tissues, or any offer for something to help. I just had to stand there pinching off my left nostril with a finger while they went about their business.

After getting through the inspection process I boarded the plane to find that most of any overhead space for carry-on baggage had now been taken. (If I had boarded with Valerie there would have been lots of space still.) The flight attendants weren't very helpful, and at first made me feel like I was the bad guy for arriving on the plane late. (It wasn't MY idea to be randomly inspected!) Another attendant told me to keep looking for a spot for the bag; there had to be something somewhere. In the end one attendant actually started helping me look in the overhead bins and found one where we could reposition some items and make it all fit. From there it was eight hours of smooth sailing to Chicago...

Today's photos were a view of Châteaubriant , a view into the neighbor's yard and a field along the coast to Omaha Beach.