Transamerica 2007: Arrived…mostly

It’s amazing how the words “small technical difficulty” add a certain frisson to air travel. This was our fate as our aircraft pulled away from the gate at Newcastle airport…and then pulled back in again. After twenty minutes the problem was fixed, and we took off. Panic, a frequent travel companion, set in as we were looking at a quick turnaround in Paris anyway.

A few white wines later we were at Charles de Gaulle, where it was hot. A Frenchman with a sign met those destined for New York and bundled us into a minibus, which he then drove sedately and with caution across the airport leading me to believe that he wasn’t actually French at all.

Seven of us were then pushed through the back door of terminal 2F, where a contingent of security men waited. They obviously didn’t get much custom, and proceeded to search everything. Hannah lost deodorant and toothpaste because the clear plastic bag they were in had poppers rather than a zip top. My camera was swabbed and the sample put through a machine that may or may not check for radioactive substances. I was thoroughly frisked, which left me feeling deeply violated but also strangely excited. Perhaps I should get out more. Then, at the gate with the bus of “late” passengers waiting, they did it all again, including our shoes this time. We were obviously looking suspicious today.

More alcohol was consumed on the transatlantic flight, and we touched down at JFK on time. Unlike Los Angeles last year, they allowed the Air France flight to go to its gate on time and even customs and immigration weren’t too bad (our passport photos don’t look enough like us, we were told).

After the madness in Paris, Hannah had said it would be a miracle if our luggage arrived too. And we witnessed a partial miracle, where one case arrived and one was left lost and alone on a different continent. The helpful ladies at the Air France desk said they would “overnight” it to Boston. We’ll see who wins that race.

We took the subway to Barrow Street where cousin Kath lives. She took us to her fab diner-around-the-corner where Hannah enjoyed a chilli dog – a hot dog covered in chilli con carne! All the major food groups in one healthy snack. Now we just have to see how well we sleep, and whether we can negotiate the transit system up to Boston.