First of all, I have to explain the circumstances under which I am blogging. I met a friend in Swansea, Juliette, who is from France. She invited Megan (who I usually travel with) and myself to stay with her with her family in Bordeaux. So here we are and, interestingly enough, they have different keyboards!! Its like someone took all the letters and punctuation marks, threw them in a blender, and then spit them back out all over the keyboard. I am struggling to find anything I need-- for instance, there probably will not be any contractions in this blog as I cannot find the apostrophe!!!
My main purpose for blogging today, though, is to talk about what I have observed while travelling in Europe. We have chosen to fly RyanAir and EasyJet for most of our travels because of their typically low fares. There are a few things that are unique about flying in the airports here. Rather than give you the gate number for your flight right when you arrive at the airport, they have a common waiting area for all travellers and a screen listing the upcoming departures. About 30 minutes prior to your departure- at what seems like the very last minute, the screen announces your gate number and the race begins!!
Everyone stands, pretty much in unison, and begins the race to the gate. This practice is made even more interesting because air carriers like Ryanair and Easyjet do not give seat assignments. Therefore, when the gate is announced, the mass of people all moving together towards the gate gets competitive, everyone vying for a premier spot in the queue. My initial reaction to this process found me apathetic, not minding being towards the back of the queue. But more recently, I have found myself really getting into it. Megan and I were standing and at the ready when the gate announcement signalled the start. We took off, speed walking along the moving walkways. If it were a real race, we came in third. Our prize-- getting to be able to board the plane first. Haha! It is the same thing in the train and bus stations as well.
More to come on my trip here in France another time.............
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Laura, I am so jealous and also so happy for you to be able to see so much and get so much out of your trip(s)abroad. So many would not be as adventurous as you have been and your grandpa would have been one of them. Ha! Love ya' and will be anxious to see and hear all about it when you come home. Sj
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