By Yetunde Oshodi
Ever had that nightmare where you are to travel to a foreign country and you forget your passport? These days forgetting the flight tickets is not a big deal as most tickets are now e-tickets but the passport is rather essential until they find a way to put our identity into a chip in our heads.
This is certainly one of my nightmares as a traveler. It is generally why I have a trusty green travel document holder which I have had since university that I just always grab and go with. It is full of old itineraries and foreign currency and luggage tags as well as my frequent flyer card. But one day I looked at it while leaving for Paris from where I would later be driving on to London and just decided, don't think I need that. I think it was the fact that we were to drive that threw my brain into such a relaxed mode. I mean when driving I never concern myself with ID besides a driver's license. Well this proved to be a big boo boo.
To think I actually had about 2 days to come to my senses but for some reason, busy with other things, I didn't think about it. I set my alarm to wake up early on the day of our departure, we were going to head off at about 7:30 in the morning, and peacefully went to sleep. The following morning I didn't really need the alarm in the end, my anxiety woke me up with a jolt. "Damn it, I am going to need my passport!" I thought, okay that's it, I'm not going. How silly of me. What was I thinking? I tend to forget that the UK though part of the European Union is unlike the other EU countries, you cross their border, you better have a passport. So what was I to do? It could also have been the fact that I thought geez I'm French now so the French don't necessarily need their passports - small problem, the French also have National ID cards which I didn't have yet.
I tell you that day, I appreciated my handy gadets. I say nah to all those to scorn mobile phones, tablets and computers when traveling. Besides being my tools for work purposes, they can come in big time when in a pinch.
My plan was to book a train ticket to go back and get my passport then return to Paris to grab the earliest Eurostar to London (about an 8 -10 hour turn around). I left my luggage with my husband to take in the car and took just my backpack and my hardware. I really had to be there by the following day so in my mind I had to suck up the cost - my price for my lack of diligence. But as I told the taxi driver who was to take me to the train station that I was in a hurry and noted that he still managed to take what felt like the slowest route through Paris, I was simultaneously trying to book the Eurostar via my iPad and their bloody site wouldn't take my card. I also did not make my train. I literally arrived as it had left. Darn! What now! Not only did I miss the train but I hadn't been able to book the Eurostar either. I went to the window to exchange my ticket for the next train only to find that the turn around time would mean having no choice but to take a Eurostar at 9PM! No way! I changed my ticket home all the same but decided not to book the Eurostar quite yet. Instead I looked up how else I could get to London in the least amount of time.
Someone might say I could just have waited till the next day but I was seriously determined to meet the others that day. I had made reservations at my favorite little Mexican restaurant for all of us and the way this day was going I was going to need that Margarita.
Waiting in the halls of the Gare de Lyon, I whipped out the iPad and starting searching for flights, while on my iPhone I reassured my husband that I would find a solution then called my stepson to ask him if he could meet me at the train station with my passport. Thank goodness that he was actually at home that day. The best flight options seemed to be via Air France but only two flight times were offered and the multiple site flight searcher seemed a bit buggy. I had downloaded the Air France app some time back mainly to check flight arrival times but realized it gives you the option of purchasing a ticket as well. Better still if you have a flying blue account you can just sign into it so that you don't end up having to fill in all your information. So I bought my first ever flight ticket via my phone. Pretty exciting stuff.
I had just an hour wait at the airport in Montpellier then another hour in Paris before taken off to London City airport. When I finally made it to London I was pretty tired. I did however manage to make it in time to get into a taxi (which by the way I also pre-booked online as I waited at the airport). I didn't actually attempt to connect on the WIFI being advertised at the airport but instead used my 3G key or dongle as I have now learned they are called. It allowed me to answer a few emails as I waited to board.
When I finally made it to London and through the never-ending customs line, which I swear started from the plane, I was called by the taxi service I had booked to reconfirm that I had arrived and to tell me how to find the driver.
It took about an hour to get to Notting Hill when I was to meet the others and boy was I happy to see them. After my dreadful wake up call earlier that day I still managed to make it into London before 8 PM local time. And get this, I got in about 2 hours after the drivers did. At last!
What I've learned from this mini ordeal: I need to make a proper lists before I travel so I don't forget important stuff. To Always take my trusty green travel document organizer - better to have too much information than too little. I shall always travel with at least my phone if not my phone and my laptop or iPad - they were priceless during the whole process.
Ever had that nightmare where you are to travel to a foreign country and you forget your passport? These days forgetting the flight tickets is not a big deal as most tickets are now e-tickets but the passport is rather essential until they find a way to put our identity into a chip in our heads.
This is certainly one of my nightmares as a traveler. It is generally why I have a trusty green travel document holder which I have had since university that I just always grab and go with. It is full of old itineraries and foreign currency and luggage tags as well as my frequent flyer card. But one day I looked at it while leaving for Paris from where I would later be driving on to London and just decided, don't think I need that. I think it was the fact that we were to drive that threw my brain into such a relaxed mode. I mean when driving I never concern myself with ID besides a driver's license. Well this proved to be a big boo boo.
To think I actually had about 2 days to come to my senses but for some reason, busy with other things, I didn't think about it. I set my alarm to wake up early on the day of our departure, we were going to head off at about 7:30 in the morning, and peacefully went to sleep. The following morning I didn't really need the alarm in the end, my anxiety woke me up with a jolt. "Damn it, I am going to need my passport!" I thought, okay that's it, I'm not going. How silly of me. What was I thinking? I tend to forget that the UK though part of the European Union is unlike the other EU countries, you cross their border, you better have a passport. So what was I to do? It could also have been the fact that I thought geez I'm French now so the French don't necessarily need their passports - small problem, the French also have National ID cards which I didn't have yet.
I tell you that day, I appreciated my handy gadets. I say nah to all those to scorn mobile phones, tablets and computers when traveling. Besides being my tools for work purposes, they can come in big time when in a pinch.
My plan was to book a train ticket to go back and get my passport then return to Paris to grab the earliest Eurostar to London (about an 8 -10 hour turn around). I left my luggage with my husband to take in the car and took just my backpack and my hardware. I really had to be there by the following day so in my mind I had to suck up the cost - my price for my lack of diligence. But as I told the taxi driver who was to take me to the train station that I was in a hurry and noted that he still managed to take what felt like the slowest route through Paris, I was simultaneously trying to book the Eurostar via my iPad and their bloody site wouldn't take my card. I also did not make my train. I literally arrived as it had left. Darn! What now! Not only did I miss the train but I hadn't been able to book the Eurostar either. I went to the window to exchange my ticket for the next train only to find that the turn around time would mean having no choice but to take a Eurostar at 9PM! No way! I changed my ticket home all the same but decided not to book the Eurostar quite yet. Instead I looked up how else I could get to London in the least amount of time.
Someone might say I could just have waited till the next day but I was seriously determined to meet the others that day. I had made reservations at my favorite little Mexican restaurant for all of us and the way this day was going I was going to need that Margarita.
Waiting in the halls of the Gare de Lyon, I whipped out the iPad and starting searching for flights, while on my iPhone I reassured my husband that I would find a solution then called my stepson to ask him if he could meet me at the train station with my passport. Thank goodness that he was actually at home that day. The best flight options seemed to be via Air France but only two flight times were offered and the multiple site flight searcher seemed a bit buggy. I had downloaded the Air France app some time back mainly to check flight arrival times but realized it gives you the option of purchasing a ticket as well. Better still if you have a flying blue account you can just sign into it so that you don't end up having to fill in all your information. So I bought my first ever flight ticket via my phone. Pretty exciting stuff.
I had just an hour wait at the airport in Montpellier then another hour in Paris before taken off to London City airport. When I finally made it to London I was pretty tired. I did however manage to make it in time to get into a taxi (which by the way I also pre-booked online as I waited at the airport). I didn't actually attempt to connect on the WIFI being advertised at the airport but instead used my 3G key or dongle as I have now learned they are called. It allowed me to answer a few emails as I waited to board.
When I finally made it to London and through the never-ending customs line, which I swear started from the plane, I was called by the taxi service I had booked to reconfirm that I had arrived and to tell me how to find the driver.
It took about an hour to get to Notting Hill when I was to meet the others and boy was I happy to see them. After my dreadful wake up call earlier that day I still managed to make it into London before 8 PM local time. And get this, I got in about 2 hours after the drivers did. At last!
What I've learned from this mini ordeal: I need to make a proper lists before I travel so I don't forget important stuff. To Always take my trusty green travel document organizer - better to have too much information than too little. I shall always travel with at least my phone if not my phone and my laptop or iPad - they were priceless during the whole process.
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Oh my word what a journey ... yes I think it is odd that even though part of EU we need a passport for borders but then I case we are over the sea .. I have a travel pouch/purse that has all I need in it .. and another thing we do not have anyother form of id .. only if you drive .. which now has to have a photo license and as I don't drive , my passport is my ID.. and for those that don't drive or have a passport .. well I don't know what they do !!
ReplyDeleteYou're right Anne. It is probably the whole surrounded by water thing. I did meet an English man at the France Show to whom we tried to speak about the apartments and my husband's cooking school and he informed us he had no passport and no ID card. I thought that only happened in America. : )
DeleteIt sounds like that margarita was well-deserved, after this travel debacle! Glad you made it there safe and sound...
ReplyDeleteThanks. Believe me I was relieved, Claire
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