My wife and I returned from a twelve week visit to France a few days ago. Now that the “dust has settled,” I thought I would offer a few glittering generalities before memories begin to fade.
We flew into CDG and leased a diesel SUV through Auto Europe. If you are looking to rent a car for three weeks or more, check out leasing. You get a brand-new car with all insurance and no deductible which, in our case, saved a lot of money. Another benefit is that you give them a call when you have your luggage and they pick you up and take you to a location just outside the airport. They give you a tutorial on the car and answer your questions before you head out. Handy restrooms. Only complaint we had was the car came with a tiny amount of fuel in it, so the first thing you had to do was go to a gas station and fill up. They put the nearest station in the GPS to make it easier. When we returned the car, we found out that there was an option available to get a full tank of fuel which would be great if not too expensive. Unlike rental cars, there was no requirement to return the car with a full tank, one less thing to worry about on a busy day. After a quick check in, we were then shuttled to our terminal with our tons of luggage almost like a special service, since there were no other passengers. By the way, diesel was cheaper than regular gas everywhere we went and available at every gas station.
Last summer when we flew back from France, we flew back out of Nice and got caught up in the mess at Heathrow, resulting in an overnight stay and necessary changes. This year we booked a non-stop direct flight from ATL to CDG and back with Air France to avoid Heathrow and reduce delay risks. It has been years since we flew out of CDG, so we knew we were in for a special treat not being familiar with any physical changes and no doubt being very busy this summer. Our shuttle dropped us off at Terminal 2 a little after 11:00 am. After going through the processes and security screening, we made it to our gate for our 2:00 flight just when they were ready to start pre-boarding at 1:05. Because of our Premium Economy seats, we were able to use Sky Priority lanes a number of times. If not for that, we would have arrived later while boarding was in process. When they say arrive a minimum of three hours before your flight, they are not kidding!
The biggest mess was security screening. One lady inspector was unusually concerned with liquid gels verses solid pills in an Advil bottle that actually had gummy vitamins in it. My wife set off a detector because of her hip replacements, as she always does. So, despite her explanation, instead of patting her down they made her take off her sandals and go through again. This of course resulted in another alarm and delay. Good thing I was in front of her to grab her items off the relentless conveyor before they were launched onto the floor by the solid line of red plastic trays behind them! It is a pity that videos are not permitted in the security area since they made me take off my belt and I was trying to deal with this while holding my pants up with one hand. Someone paying attention would have had a guaranteed viral video for social media.
The flight ended up taking off about 40 minutes late because of baggage loading delays. Our plane had a camera on the top of the tail which showed what was happening on the ground, clearly showing containers being loaded after we were all buckled up and ready to go. After landing at ATL, Global Entry enabled us to zip through Customs and get to baggage claim where our bags were waiting for us. If you do not have Global Entry, get it before your next international trip. It is worth it!
Oh, by the way, we had a great time in France and did not witness any signs of social unrest anywhere we visited.