 |
| Paris in springtime |
It’s a glorious day and HongKong harbour, busy with ships, is glimmering blue green. It always takes a second-guess working out when you are on long hauls but I think we took off from Paris yesterday and arrive home tomorrow. Today is a nowhere, no time, quasi, parallel universe, pyjama day.
From our hotel room at Resihome in Roissy-en-france near Charles de Gaulle eyesterday, we could practically see the rental car return place. The maze of switchbacks, roundabouts and highway crossings to get there however, would’ve made a MENSA rally car driver dizzy and it was a good hour from the hotel to fuel to drop off.
During the course of our travels, our one large share bag and two light carry on bags had spawned multiple offspring and we spent the morning before departure re-arranging everything back to manageable bundles. One of these was our Premier Cru Chablis purchased from the very cellars of Long Depaquit, Chablis, neatly boxed and tied up with string and carry handle.
Rookie mistake but we’d forgotten you can only take full bottles if they’re duty free sealed. So…..we got all the way through passport and bag check, quite a performance, before customs said “open this please”, then “non, non, non”. As the official reeled off french regulatory detail well beyond our school-class skills, our attention was drawn to the large pile of full wine bottles rising up behind the scanning machines and, when we think about it, a distinct predilection for paunchiness and red noses amongst the customs officials.
Our wine was gone for sure, we thought, but we pressed on regardless, “could we repack?, could we go back?”, “non, non, non…non”. Another official came over and then a third and then, out of the milieu, “you stay here (to Di), you…follow me”. I was given an escort back through the bags and passport and the entry people back up stairs to check-in to try my luck with Cathay – and luck we had – they were brilliant – special bag and everything.
So wine checked in and carry-on gear all the more lighter, we boardered the aircraft for home – or at least Hong Kong. Hiking, barging, driving or city strolling it’s been a great trip and we now have the joy of sorting out way too many photos. But that’ll come later. For now it’s home to see the boys.
Just read your last blog first happy wine story. Kath