Rob has a travel addiction and I am a happy enabler.
“For whither thou goest, I will go; and where thou lodgest, I will lodge” That’s Biblical, you know, from the first chapter of Ruth.
Traveling internationally has truly changed for us individually and internationally.
- PACKING: I think that it is harder to pack for a short trip than a long trip. When you are in a different city every night, you do not have a chance to hand wash or send laundry out.
- I couldn’t find three needed items in our small two bedroom apartment but located them within an hour of leaving: net bag for eye goggles, packing cubes, and stainless steel water bottle. Rob says that we need to travel more since I am out of practice!!
- PREDEPARTURE: We needed to get a PCR COVID test within 48 hours of our departure. This costs as much as a domestic flight. We got the results in few hours. (Rob tested earlier at a pharmacy but results did not get returned for 3 days so it was already unacceptably out of date.)
- Morocco has only 70 reported cases per day and they want to keep it that way. But COVID-19 germy Americans have 30,000. No wonder Morocco has a lot of rules!!
- Once we arrived at the airport, we showed our vaccination cards with additional booster along with the usual passport, boarding passes, AND now PCR results. Next we needed to fill out an entry document for Morocco. It has to be printed out so the ticket agent gave us the website for the document. We filled out the necessary information and saved them as a pdf’s. The ticket agent gave us her email and Rob sent her an email with 2 attachments and she printed it for us!! Phew.
- FLIGHT#1: Norfolk to New York City on Delta
- We noticed that the beverage service was abbreviated: coffee, tea or water. Rob was REALLY looking forward to having a Coke!! I bring a water bottle.
- NYC had a thick, brown cloud of smog hovering over the city. You could not even recognize the famous skyline!!
- While in JFK, we raced to the Priority Pass Lounge for a quick dinner. Rob reminded me that we will also eat on our next flight.
- FLIGHT #2: New York City to Paris KLM
- This was a 6½ hour flight. It is a chance to watch some free movies.
- Don’t Breathe 2. A scary movie, and I jumped a lot.
- The Eyes of Tammy Faye which was about the downfall of Jim and Tammy Baker. The actress won the Oscar for the best actress for her portrayal of Tammy Faye. No slapping was involved!
- The Lost Leonardo which was about a painting that might be by daVinci and was sold to a Russian oligarch and then to the Saudi Prince for $450 million dollars, the highest amount ever spent on art to date.
- Nine Days and a TV series called Mars was what Rob watched, but he also wisely slept for a bit.
While in Paris, we went to another Priority lounge where we shared a room with some Russian-speaking oligarchs…or at least I thought they were until one of them took off his shirt.
- FLIGHT #3: Paris to Casablanca Air France
- Drama #1: As we were lining up to board the plane, a man at the front of the line started yelling at the female ticket agent. He then tried to board. He was unsuccessful. He mumbled as he stomped off and went to the back of the line. Once he arrived at the front of the line, Security spoke with him. I kept praying that they wouldn’t let him on the plane as he appeared to be a loose cannon with outbursts and laughter.
- Drama #2: We are scanned in and then we stand in line on the gangway to get on the plane for about 45 minutes. Medical emergency? Once the line moves, I see security, policemen and several flashing lights. Bomb threat?
- Drama #3: Everyone has now settled into their seats and the flight attendant comes over the intercom speaking French and everyone jumps up out of their seats and grabs their bags. “What is happening?” Emergency deplaning? We are going to get on another plane…mechanical problem.
We waited again in a long line to board buses to take us to the next plane.
I greeted the same flight staff with Bonjour followed by déjà vous” They laughed at the joke AND my French. Au revoir!
Good to go!