Planes are packed, masks are off, and I am back to international flying! Spring 2022 feels a little bit like winter 2019. Well, not quite, but it’s getting there. We’re still not laying over in China. We still have to Covid test before working flights to Tahiti, Taipei, and Singapore. Oh, and we’re also not flying to India. But that has to do with the war in Ukraine and staying out of Russian air space. A 2022 crisis. But other than all that, it’s starting to feel like old times.
I’m holding London and Paris trips for the first time in two years!
Oh, how I’ve missed Europe.
On my layover in London, I had tea at Kensington Palace.
Because tea tastes better there. And so do the scones with clotted cream and warmed hot cross buns slathered in butter -European butter!
In Paris, I ate in the cafes.
And I squeezed in a bit of shopping.
I stopped into a very cool taxidermy shop. I didn’t buy anything, but I want a peacock!
I picked up some books at the famous Shakespeare and Company. This is an English bookstore and popular hangout among ex-pats, including Hemingway, Henry Miller, and James Joyce. You have to wait in line just to get in the door, but the line moves fast, and it’s worth it. The shop is everything you want a bookstore to be. It’s made up of small rooms, comfy couches, cozy reading nooks, and a resident cat.
Last weekend in Paris, I went to the flea market. Paris has neighborhood flea markets around the city on various days. These markets are called: Brocante Paris / vide greniers (empty attic) or something like that. Those words were enough for the concierge to help me find two different markets: one in the 5th and one in the 14th arrondissement. My favorite was in the 14th in the Latin Quarter. It was BIG, crowded, and full of bargains, such as…
But the piece de resistance was this fragile, smokey 19th-century mirror. That’s going to look perfect in my apartment in New Orleans.
Finally, one of my favorite things to do on my international layovers is to go grocery shopping. And after two years, I’m out of everything! Some of the things I love are:
- BUTTER! Flight attendants routinely clean out the local French markets around our layover hotel. We like this one, in particular, infused with sea salt crystals.
- Cookies. I’m sure they taste better because of the butter.
- Cereal, muesli in particular. Europeans really do muesli right. But I think they invented it, so that makes sense.
- Cheese and Wine from France, Meat Pies and Tea from England
Incidentally, Germany has its own specialties, and the toiletries there are awesome. Not to mention the prices! The groceries in Germany are so incredibly cheap that I think the government must subsidize them.
If you’re missing Europe too, it’s open for tourism. Currently, the US government requires a negative Covid test to re-enter the United States. Crew members are exempt, but I understand that the tests are easily accessible at local pharmacies. So, go! Tour Europe this summer. They’ve missed us too. Everyone I’ve encountered has been so friendly and open. It seems as though the world is thrilled to see one another and grateful to be traveling again …two years later.
Of course it is.