Groundhog day
Have you seen the movie Groundhog Day? When Bill Murray wakes up and is stuck everyday in Punksatawney, PA? My travel schedule this month is sort of like that. Every day, just when you think I've gotten somewhere, I'm on the road again. Admittedly, the lack-of-travel-glamour is really starting to grind a bit. Every four-five days this month is another trip.
Saturday was 7 looooooooong hours from Switzerland to Paris by car. It's a boring drive. Okay - I know that sounds really snooty to anyone who hasn't driven it, but it really is basically a landscape that doesn't change ... basically flat (a few little dips and rolls here and there) farmland, with very few landmarks or towns on the landscape. My eyes started to blur at about hour 3, even after a good night's sleep. The most interesting thing I saw in those 7 hours was a 'public art' project of sorts with giant circles, triangles, squares (2-D and 3-D) that were painted in rainbow colors and along the sides of the road for literally miles after miles after miles. Other than that, I fed myself lots of caffeine to stay alert... so much so that I was weirdly jumpy and wired when I finally arrived - not something that happens to me very often!
Another night; another airport hotel and 4:30 am wakeup call. Leave my car there, cram myself with about 20 other bleary eyed travelers of varying languages onto the shuttle. 20 minutes to airport. A 4 hour layover in Manchester, UK, where I realize that I have to go to a money machine in order to eat breakfast, because the UK doesn't use the Euro. @#*!@#&(*!
The travel gods, though, have smiled upon me this go 'round. Since the coach cabin is oversold, I am upgraded without using mileage to business class (as apparently the coach passenger with the highest status.) Take the little perks where they come!
Saturday was 7 looooooooong hours from Switzerland to Paris by car. It's a boring drive. Okay - I know that sounds really snooty to anyone who hasn't driven it, but it really is basically a landscape that doesn't change ... basically flat (a few little dips and rolls here and there) farmland, with very few landmarks or towns on the landscape. My eyes started to blur at about hour 3, even after a good night's sleep. The most interesting thing I saw in those 7 hours was a 'public art' project of sorts with giant circles, triangles, squares (2-D and 3-D) that were painted in rainbow colors and along the sides of the road for literally miles after miles after miles. Other than that, I fed myself lots of caffeine to stay alert... so much so that I was weirdly jumpy and wired when I finally arrived - not something that happens to me very often!
Another night; another airport hotel and 4:30 am wakeup call. Leave my car there, cram myself with about 20 other bleary eyed travelers of varying languages onto the shuttle. 20 minutes to airport. A 4 hour layover in Manchester, UK, where I realize that I have to go to a money machine in order to eat breakfast, because the UK doesn't use the Euro. @#*!@#&(*!
The travel gods, though, have smiled upon me this go 'round. Since the coach cabin is oversold, I am upgraded without using mileage to business class (as apparently the coach passenger with the highest status.) Take the little perks where they come!
posted by Viaggiatore | 8/07/2005
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