Monday 13th of June 2022. After tidying up as much as possible the house, spending the weekend getting the garden prepared, prepping the friendly people who will take care of the hen coop, making sure people will be on hand to insure hens have enough water (France is going to have a warm spell, and we are anticipating a warm summer), it is departure time. Off to the Rennes metro, then to the train station.
First good surprise: the TGV for CDG airport is not a double-decker: no need to schlep the suitcases up the stairs. And we do have three 20 kilo suitcases…Swift ride, easy connection from the CDG train station in Terminal 2 to Terminal 3 and the Ibis hotel. So-so dinner at the hotel Pizzeria. Movie in the room, and sleep.
7am wake-up, Samuel showers and goes to the Monoprix-Mark and Spencer to buy OJ and yogurt, quick breakfast and at 8:10 we are off to the airport. From then and until waiting in the line to show AF Japanese hostesses our MySOS application screen (Insuring COVID negative tests) and visas, it is going to be one long wait in line and rush. 2 hours and 45 minutes are well needed to get to the boarding door. No time for coffee.
Once in the plane, time to relax. Surprising: the plane is completely full. This is surprising to us. It was so difficult for us to get visas for all four of us, how come so many go through this? We will have to wait arrival to have the key: about 70% of the passengers are not going to Japan but to Nouméa. So no need of work visas, negative tests, etc. The few people staying in Japan are asked to remain seated while the rest leave the place under escort to the connecting section.
The ride was long: 13 hours due to geopolitics (cutting down over Austria, Turkish part of the Black Sea, before moving back up a bit, then, once over Beijing, going down once more to avoid North Korea. Some of us managed to mostly sleep, in order to get ready for the day after losing a night. We touch ground at 7:15am local time. And off we go towards the Covid-19 control, passport control, and customs.
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