Should I Stay or Should I Go Now

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Should I Stay or Should I Go Now?

What!?

A last-minute Rapid PCR Covid test?

Five options before getting one that actually “sticks.”

YIKES.

Okay… breathe.

You’re on. You’re here.

Where?

You are going to Paris, baby.

No “going to jail” or “riding the Reading.”

Yes, I passed GO and boarded a jet plane.

I may have been a day late, but it was a fun race to get here.

Covid Testing: The Pre-Paris Olympics

Covid kicked up a notch less than 48 hours before departure, and the travel requirements changed. Naturally.

In the process, I learned a few things… mostly the hard way.

First lesson?

Do not go to BOS Logan Airport for a Covid test.

That advice came from a beaten-down family near the end of the testing line:

“We are ignored here,” they said. “People come and go with appointments and flights for tomorrow. The rest of us with no appointment have missed our flights and have been waiting six-plus hours.”

To this, I bid them adieu, mon ami, because that line was not getting me to Paris on time.

Before I even got to that point, I also learned:

  • DMC (my PCP) and Quest Diagnostics don’t offer rapid testing

  • CVS, Rite Aid, and Walgreens testing locations have dwindled to nothing

  • Gone are the days of testing on every corner

  • Home Covid tests must be certified

  • You need the negative Covid email printed out

  • Newbury Street pharmacies are a great option if you have time slots available

And finally, when all else fails…

Plead your case at Urgent Care and pay $125 for a “non-nursed visit.”

Somehow, they pulled off the rapid test.

Meanwhile, my three-pack of certified Covid tests arrived in the mail… after the fact.

Perfect timing.

Moral of the story?

If you’re traveling internationally, learn your testing requirements early… and always have a backup plan.

Or five.

It Takes a Village

As I mentioned to the DeWitt family:

It takes a village.

I am deeply blessed for everyone who ran me around to the airport twice, made calls, sent texts, and supported the cause of this adventure.

(Photos here: last moments at home + airport chaos)

Air France: The Cherry on Top

The flight itself was the cherry on my pre-France Sunday.

Yes, okay… I’ll take champagne with my hot meal.

What?

You have a warm towel?

Thank you, Air France.

And to the strange man sitting beside me… merci beaucoup for adjusting my dinner tray and TV.

I appreciate you, sir.




Touchdown and a New Friend

Touchdown.

In a good way, not like a flight gone bad.

Our giant bird in the sky gently caressed the runway.

That’s where I met my new friend Ilene.

What a gem.

“Hey,” I asked, “what number baggage claim are we?”

“I guess we just follow the herd,” she said.

It felt like the movie Planes, Trains and Automobiles with Steve Martin and John Candy… except without the stress.

(Okay, maybe just a little stress.)

Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport covers 32.38 square kilometers (12.50 sq. mi.) of land. The airport area, including terminals and runways, spans over three departments and six communes.

Translation?

It’s enormous.

We likely used seven escalators. Up, down, up, down, up again.

And if you think you’ve reached your destination, you should probably:

  • take a train

  • go through customs

  • take two more escalators

  • walk to another terminal

  • realize you’re wrong

  • come back and ask directions

  • use the ladies room (because by now you’ve passed several)

  • go back down the escalators

  • and then…

Bingo bango.

The last baggage claim you check is the one where your bags are waiting.

Coffee, Croissants, and New Friendship

By this point, Ilene and I had discovered all kinds of things about each other.

Possibly BFFs for life.

Sure, sounds good. Let’s share a ride.

What? Hang out until your brother gets here?

Of course.

We might as well have coffee and croissants.

Oui, oui.


Dinner in Paris

Now it was time to get ready for dinner in Paris with Julie. 🤍

Who’s Julie?

C’est ma nouvelle amie de Paris que j’ai rencontrée par hasard aux États-Unis au dîner de Thanksgiving!

I’m lucky.


What will tomorrow bring!?

 Love & Light

jMf

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