Air France- a bit disappointing on this trip

Having finally arrived on our annual pilgrimage, I have to say Air France was disappointing. I am usually a huge fan of the airline in a day and age where airline travel has become so horrible, Air France usually treats its passengers with some style and class. It is always a lovely experience from start to finish.

This trip, however, was disappointing. I was scheduled to fly with Avril on Tuesday evening from Newark Liberty to Charles DeGaule. I expected to leave my house at 3:45 p.m. for a 7 p.m. flight, since it does require extra time to check-in with the dog and clear her through the TSA. At 2:00 p.m. I received a telephone call from someone at Air France advising me that there was a problem with my flight, due to labor problems in Paris, Delta was managing my flight and had an embargo on accepting dogs in the summer. I was given the choice of flying Continental at 9:45 from Newark, or heading to JFK to fly at 10:45 p.m. on Air France. As you can imagine, I was very upset, D. was already in Paris waiting for me to arrive. We had friends flying to meet us on Thursday. Air France gave me another option of flying on Thursday which was impossible. I could not understand, and was provided no explanation for why I received this call at such a late date and time. Several days earlier, I had received an email from Air France advising me that the flight numbers had changed because Delta would be managing the flight, but it said nothing about problems if traveling with the dog (or any other animals).

It took two hours to work through the problems. I had to contact D. in France via text and telephone. Several telephone calls with Air France back and forth. We had paid for me to flight the premiere economy class, one level below business class, but not quite cattle in economy. Air France would not guarantee me that level of ticket on the later flight from JFK. Likewise they would not agree to pay Continental the $700 it would cost to ship the dog via Continental horrid pet-safe program where the dog is treated like freight. Been there/done that and it did not work for us. Avril was horribly traumatized on that flight.

By the time we reached an agreement, I was told I could only get on the 1:20 a.m. flight from JFK, arriving at 2:30 p.m., killing an entire day of the trip. I had anticipated arriving at 8:30 a.m. and driving south to arrive at our house at about 4 p.m. Ultimately, we arrived at 11:30 p.m. after driving 7 hours with only 1 stop.

We started late because the flight left late, nearly 2 a.m. arriving after 3:00 p.m. Then due to the labor issues, it took nearly an hour to receiving the dog from the hold. She was dehydrated as her water bottle malfunctioned, even though I had filled it with ice, it had leaked. Although she has now recovered well. At JFK at least the staff was pleasant to me and the dog, and I was ultimately upgraded to business class.

At the time I was negotiating with the airline about the problems, since they could not guarantee me my ticket level, and for the inconvenience, they agreed to a voucher for $215.00 which I then used to pay for Avril's passage. At least they were efficient and had the ability to e-mail me everything.

But again, disappointing that the airline contacted me so late, and with such stress placed on me. At least we have arrived safely and can now begin the real journey.

Using US credit cards in Europe now a major problem

this is a must read for US travelers heading overseas this year.

We have never had a problem traveling in Europe or anywhere with US credit cards, but this year we have already hit problems at the toll plazas and one grocery store. We had no idea why, but reading this article from MSNBC explains it all.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/43582483/ns/business-consumer_news/

French Dog Show

We'll be heading to one on July 24 and report on it.

My husband has already arrived and found a local dog gathering in St. Andiol which seems to focus on hunting dogs, hounds, retrievers etc.

Naturally, he gravitated to the PBGVs, although dirty, the same as our Avril. These are the real working/hunting dogs, not the pampered spoiled animal that lives with us.

Provence Restaurants

Very good article from the The Times (of London - not the NY Times), about Provence travel and restaurants, focusing on Aix, Arles and Avignon:

We'll be trying a few and post our opinions in a few weeks.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/travel/destinations/france/article4442979.ece?token=null&offset=0&page=1

Le Seduction

French Seduction - isn't this what it is all about:

http://carolineclarkson.blogs.france24.com/article/2011/06/22/seduction-key-understanding-france-0

Incredible show on PBS/POV about French Pastry MOF

The show title is "King of Pastry". Fascinating. Something that can happen only in France where people care so much about food and its perfection.


http://www.pbs.org/pov/kingsofpastry/film_update.php

Philosophie au France

Very interesting article about French requirements for high school students in philosophy:

http://www.france24.com/en/20110616-france-baccalaureate-exams-philosophy-europe-curriculum-university

And I thought only the US had the crazies about 2012

check it out:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20110616/od_uk_nm/oukoe_uk_france_sects

Mexican Food in Paris

Here it is:

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/01/dining/at-long-last-tacos-in-paris.html?_r=1&src=dayp

Blackbelt shopping in Maine??

Who knew.

Having a bad memory of Maine from my one trip as a teenager did not bode well for last weekend's trip to Ogunquit. My last trip to Maine was from a camp on Cape Cod to another summer camp. I vaguely recall arriving at night via bus, being cold and damp, raining, sleeping in a sleeping bag in a tent or cabin, and the trip stayed that way however long it lasted.

Fortunately, this was an infinitely better experience and a pleasant surprise. We stayed at the Beauport Inn, a B&B off the beaten path, but close enough to the main street scene for a short drive or a long walk. The inn was modern and clean, with air conditioning and swimming pool. It is under new management and with new inn keepers, Tom and Nancy who are a lovely couple from the New York area. Nancy prepared a lovely breakfast each morning and was very accommodating to my difficult 14 year old.

Saturday, I was certainly nervous about weather. Although the drive up on Friday was relatively traffic-free, it was still a long six hours including a brief dinner stop. We were leaving some good weather behind and headed into cool, damp weather for the first day but no rain. We drove through the town and walked through Perkins Cove, drove through York (which has a long stretch of beach with waves sufficient for surfing), and went back to Perkins Cove for lunch at Barnacle Billy's, for fresh steamers. We sat inside for the self-service, but a beautiful view of the water, with the fireplaces glowing and throwing off more than enough heat. Even though it was about 57 degrees and damp, hearty New Englanders were still sitting outside. It was interesting that Billy's had no fried food - no French Fries, onion rings, or fried clams, only steamed clams, lobsters, and grilled hot dogs, hamburgers.

That evening we headed out for a late dinner at 98Provence, a local French restaurant recently purchased by the same new owner of the Beauport. The chef is French-Canadian and seems to draw a regular Canadian following. Although a nice menu, and pleasant food, the food is not Provencal, and is more a Canadian flair. The servers are all mature women who are trying hard to be attentive.

On Sunday, in much improved weather, we drove to Freeport, to assist my father-in-law with shoes he wanted to purchase at LL Bean, at their enormous retail store, the mother ship. It was quite impressive, as was the town full of outlet stores, all new construction but looking appropriate for Maine. I noticed a Bass outlet and went to investigate, looking to see if I could replace a favorite pair of bass clogs that had come apart during the winter. Instead of clogs I found clog-type sandals for $89 but noticed the sign advertising a 3-for-1 deal. If purchased the sandals, I could get two other pair of equal or lesser value for free. Not a deal to pass up. When I checked out, I was also given $5 off coupons for Izod and Van Hussen stores down the street, also owned by the same company. So, I ventured to Izod and found a $56 shirt, marked down to $11, less the $5, or a $7 shirt.

Now that is what I call black-belt shopping.

On the way back we drove through Portland to Kennebunk, stopping in Kennebunkport for a lunch at the local clam shack. People were lined up for what we felt were mediocre clams and fries. It was a pretty town, but small and did not have the variety of restaurants and shops we found in Ogunquit. We drove through Wells to find our way back to Ogunquit.

During the evening we headed for pizza and the local movie theater, (for Hangover II) which hasn't been updated I think since it was opened. The seats are hard-wood, and there is only one show each night.

We head out in the night, walking through the town, with a truly vibrant night-life, with piano bars, and quite a lot of action for a beach town in Maine. We had purchased fudge and saltwater taffy in two stores, one in Perkins Cove and one on Main Street, to sample. Although good, the fudge was not as good as what we get in Cape Cod. Likewise, the salt water taffy was equal to the Jersey Shore, but not as good as Cape Cod, and not as good a selection in flavors. But still, a refreshing

For our last morning on Monday, we headed down to Kittery, to the outlet centers there and for an early lunch at the Weathervane on Route 1. The service was excellent and the seafood fresh and well-prepared.

From there we headed home for a fast five hour ride with no traffic, thanks to my Inrix Traffic app.

A surprisingly nice trip.