Absurd Situation II

A few weeks ago, I had The Original Absurd Situation, trying to fly with a valid passport that expires in less than 6 months. Well, I was able to check in at the airport, no problem, with my US passport. And my parking reservation was fine. And I got to California for a nice visit. But, of course, 

The Saga continues!

I tried to check in online for my return - I'm going to France, and I have a French passport. Should be easy. But No! OK, I have plenty of time at the airport. The very helpful fellow at the Air France desk reviewed my situation, and explained that I couldn't check in online because my original originating flight (from France) hadn't been cleared up properly (it had been cancelled; I was rebooked on another day). I thought (and I'm sure he did too) that he was clearing it up. He got me checked in (and even managed an aisle seat 😁). (Do I have enough asides here (or do I need more?)?) 🤣🤣🤣

I was all set, checked in with my French passport, and thought to ask: I'm American, and I know it's illegal to enter or leave the US using a non-US passport; at security, should I show my US passport, or show the French one that is associated with my boarding pass? He said that he gets this question all the time - the pass through security is just that, it's not border control. So I should use the passport associated with my boarding pass. It's nice to have that all cleared up!

Speaking of border control...

When I was leaving France, transferring planes in Paris, getting *into* the international terminal, there were automatic face-recognition gates. They refused my US passport (too close to expiring), and I went to stand in line for an agent. That line was *not* moving, and people were all riled up (not a good place). I could see the other side, and there was no follow-up for documents (like ESTAs), so I went back to the automatic gates and used my French passport - bingo! Before they had this system, everyone went via an agent - you had to think about which line to us, depending on which paperwork they might want. Now, it's *fast!*

Once I arrived at San Francisco, I used my US passport as usual. There were no demands to see phones, just a quick question "do you have anything to declare?" - easy peasy.

All the rest of my travel back to France, I used my French passport. 

When I got home, I decided that it might be easier to have an account with Air France, so I joined. I also saw that I could apply miles from this last trip, so I did! Well... (wait for it!) My return trip was added, no problem, but the originating flight was not. More curious than anything else, I contacted them, and they looked into it. Yep, my originating flight was shown as "open, not used" 🤯 - so all that shuffling around was still causing problems! Anyway, that got fixed somehow.

I also thought, hey, my flight was cancelled! EU law says I should be compensated (beyond getting rebooked), so I filled out the form. A day or two later, the response is "denied" (in a nice way though) since it was due to a runway problem, not <enter meaningless static noises here>...

But NOW! I have my new US passport! 😅😁🎉

Passport!

We had a little excitement this morning! My renewed US passport arrived!

I hadn't realized that my old one was set to expire in September, and didn't have enough time (4-6 weeks) to get a new one before my trip. So when I travelled to the US, I had a few extra hoops to jump through. Airlines won't let you check-in online if you don't have at least 6 months of validity left on your passport...

Anyway, I got through that 🙄, and immediately (after recovering from jet lag) applied for a new one. 

Incredibly, it took 2 (TWO!) weeks and 1 day! 

I followed these instructions, and checked on the progress:

July 16 - mailed application from Sète 

July 18 - Collissimo tracking said it was delivered to the US embassy 

July 24 - Passport tracking said it was done, and mailed! Let's give them the weekend to get it from France to the US, and that's just 3 days to get the thing made!

July 28 - Collissimo tracking said it's on its way

July 31 - it's here!!!

What's the first thing I did? I added it to my airline account! 🤣🤣🤣

French Train - Example

Traveling by train in France can be great, but also a little confusing at first. Here's a little example of a relatively simple trip...

You can use other apps/websites, but here I'm using the SNCF app. The opening page asks where you want to go...

I entered "Sète" for the arrival, then "Perpignan" as the  departure, then the date I wanted. Notice that I have a choice about the type of ticket - there's "standard" but there's also a reduced price for 60 years or older (circled in blue). Then I clicked on "see prices" (circled in pink)

This gave me a list of possibilities. I can also click to see earlier or later trains. 

Notice that TER trains don't have reserved seating, and so (1) don't sell out, (2) might be standing room only, and (3) tickets can be used on TER trains at a different time on that same day and for the same destination and fare. 

TGV and InterCity trains are reserved. I'm picking the one circled (TER).

This is the information initially provided. However, they don't tell you the critical information you need when looking for your train at the station! The stations have arrival/departure screens that give the platforms for the different trains - the fastest way to find your train is to look for the destination. This is the *final* destination of the train not necessarily *your* destination. (It's the same for buses, BTW). Note that you can also use the train number, but for me, that's just more obscure.
So, to find out the destination, I clicked on the circled "Journey details"

The first train ends in Narbonne (which is where I will transfer). Transfers almost always involve going up or down from the arrival platform, across, then down or up to the departure platform. They're usually labelled "A" or "F" (etc), so look for the stairs/elevators and signs. Check the departure screen first, of course!

The second train starts in Narbonne, and ends at Avignon Centre. I want off before then, at Sète.

If I have a paper TER ticket (perhaps purchased at a machine), then once I know my train is coming soon, I "stamp" it at one of the little yellow machines (otherwise risking a fine). If it's electronic or reserved, I just go to my platform. Usually the platform (quai) will have a screen indicating how many cars, and where on the platform it will be (e.g., car 3 stops at section W). This is approximate (of course), and only really helpful for reserved seats.

Once settled on the train, I keep an eye on the stops, and head to the doors when mine is coming up (there's not much time to get off).

Here's a bird's eye view of the Sète train station (Gare). I can come straight out the exit/entrance (circled in blue), and turn left to catch the city buses (at the "gare routière" - outside of this picture), or I can meet someone in a car at the very-short-term "dépose minute" (circled in pink).

Busy!

This was not my normal kind of week! Summers in Sète are usually pretty laid back, with a punctuation of festivities here and there. This week...

Monday - La Fête Nationale (aka Bastille Day) 🇫🇷

Yes, it's a reused photo 😉

Tuesday - my 4th anniversary of Becoming French 🇫🇷

Wednesday - chores! Picked up my "SAM Pass" Sète city card, sent off my passport renewal at La Poste (line was out the door), through the Marché for green beans (unsuccessful) and cheese (found 3-years-aged goat cheese 😋😋😋), bought tielles for dinner, added bus tickets to my new SAM Pass, then home! 

Thursday - our 7 year old air conditioner finally gave up the ghost; we shopped for a replacement, finding one at the second place we tried. We had to wait 24 hours to test it out 🥵🔥🥵, and had to rearrange the room some more. It's awfully crowded until we can confirm it works and can get rid of the boxes and the old A/C.

Friday - fortunately, this was a somewhat cooler day, marking the end of the latest heatwave; sleeping without the A/C was bearable! And! The A/C works! But! It has that "new appliance" smell, so we ran it with the windows open for a while, and slept again without it. We also tried to book tickets for my next California trip - got right to the end of paying, when the site blew up! Without knowing whether the payment went through, or whether the flight is booked, we're in wait-mode for a few days 🙄

Saturday - woke up after a miserable night; humidity at 90%, fog shrouding the étang... More A/C, less and less smell - YAY!

~~~

Yes, this was the A/C that I had fussed so much with 😕. My drain-hose work came into play for just a couple of weeks! Luckily, all the window arrangements stayed the same 😜 and the new A/C came with a hose... 

Fireworks!

I'm surrounded by fireworks! Today is La Fête Nationale (Bastille Day) in France, and all our surrounding towns have fireworks going on!

There's a video here

On top of that, I got to see the 4th of July fireworks in California! Also from a convenient window 🤣🤣🤣

California Family

I had a great visit with family in California! Two weeks (well, almost), full of ...

Catching up

Empty chair for me and others 🙂 

Cooking

Duck à l'Orange

Potatoes Fondantes (sooo good!)

Making friends with the new dog

Checking out the flowers

More catching up (they demanded a selfie...)

Special times with Mom and Dad!

Photo-browsing - 1954; this is when they got Engaged!

Playing cards...

We had 4th of July Fireworks! 🎇🧨🇺🇸 But no pictures 😔

I did some of the usual shopping, then to the library's book sale (which included jigsaw puzzles 😜)

I left them with this beast 🤣🤣🤣

~~~

Recipes:

Potatoes Fondantes 

Spatchcock Duck

The Absurd Situation

The absurd situation...

I have an air ticket from France (where I live) to the US (where my family is). I tried to upload my travel documents several weeks ago, but the website didn't accept my US passport. It is valid, but expires in 3 months, so I assume that is why it wasn't taken. So, since I also have a French passport, I used that - everything looked fine, except that I had to add a US contact (ok, I have that). And there was a note stating that I might need an ESTA (waiver for visa-free travel to the US); this would be automatically checked when I check in for the flight. But of course, a US citizen doesn't get an ESTA. And I can't check in until the day before my flight. It's recommended to use their website to confirm that I will be able to check in. I do this, uploading my US passport, and it states that travel is allowed. But there's no way to connect that determination with my booking number. I remain suspicious.

Fast forward to this week. My flight is on Tuesday, so Monday morning, I try to check in. Nope, not allowed, since I don't have an ESTA. A while later, I get an email from the airline, with a link to upload more travel documents. Great! I do that (upload my US passport, and comment that it expires in 3 months), and I get to check in. I print my boarding pass, and I go to sleep, comfortable with my ability to fly the next morning.

4 AM the next morning... I have a message saying that my flight is cancelled, and they're trying to rebook me. I'll skip all that detail, and just say that it wouldn't work. I start a chat (yay!) with the airline, and I get rebooked for 2 days later. My booking number remains the same (that's important, trust me). That's not ideal, but the best option. I confirmed that I would still be able to check in without reloading my document. "Yes" is the answer (but not really).

The next day (the day before my new flight), I try to check in online. (Drum roll)

Here's where it gets absurd.

It fails (of course). I get the same type of email as before (saying I need to upload more travel documents), I follow the link, uploaded the document again, then it days I'm all set, able to check in. But I still can't! OK, I try to re-confirm via the same link, but it won't let me edit (I'm thinking I'd add a comment), and it still says I'm all set! Apparently, the site "thinks" they've cleared my booking number for check-in, and so doesn't need to again. But the check-in site needs a new ok for the new check-in (new flight, but same booking number). Sigh.

So I try the chat route as before - no answer.

I try a different app to chat, and get the auto-guy, who's no help; he just says to check in at the airport. At this point, I just want to leave feedback... Hah!

Now, I'm really just hoping my flight tomorrow isn't cancelled, that my parking reservation isn't cancelled, and that I can finally check in at the airline counter and get to California.

Summer in Sète

It's Summer! We left a few weeks ago for the Alps, and when we returned, it was Summer! First on the ToDo list was to get the Air Conditioner (A/C) set up 🙂.

I wanted something a bit more stable this time; last year, I tried pool noodles. This time:

I kept a bit of mangled pool noodle to block the light (along with some weatherstripping (bourrelet). I originally went to the bricolage (like a Home Depot) with a list, knowing what I had done last time, and what I wanted different. Well. They no longer had what I expected. OMG. And I hadn't planned on having to figure out "something else"... After some quite time with my calculator, I took the risk, and asked for a cut (non-refundable, of course). Here's what I ended up with - excellent, by the way!

One 80x60x10 mm board cut in 4ths. I used three pieces. One end fit perfectly in the shutter groove - it blocks the shutter from coming all the way down, and closes out the morning light 

The next section bolts (flexibly) to the center section 

Then we get a bit kludgey... I used a bolt to force the shutter-stop outward, and a rubber band to pull it in enough 

Then, a *whole* lot of velcro and duct tape to seal the exhaust and sunlight 

I had an old board from before, and turned it 90°, so had a hole to plug - cardboard bolted in did a great job!

Then, I moved the light-blocking boards from last year into place

Next - a hose for draining the water...

Update! After I don't know how many false starts, I finally got a hose connected! How many false starts, you ask? 

1) tried electrical conduit (too small, returned it)

2) got a converter to screw into the A/C outlet. The other end is supposed to fit a 1/2 inch diameter garden hose. I confirmed that it fit the A/C... (OK, so this isn't technically a false start).

3) bought a "1/2 inch diameter" A/C hose. Unable to fit it to the nozzle end.

4) bought a "1/2 inch diameter" garden hose (note that here, the don't usually come with nozzles). Tried to fit it on - no!

What finally worked: I used my clothes dryer rack to hold the end of the hose, ran a hair-dryer over the end to heat it up, then worked the end onto the nozzle. I had a clamp already threaded onto the hose (yay me!); after several runs, the hose was "far enough" on, so I tightened the clamp. Then I had to screw it onto the A/C outlet 🙄.

Then I threaded the hose out the window, hoping for an automatic drain.

We knew it wouldn't work (window is too high), but had to try...

At least now the bucket is easier to get to - we have to dump it before bed, but then it doesn't overflow in the middle of the night!

Another Update! Waaay too soon, the rubber band snapped 🙄, so I replaced it with twine - this time, I just wrapped it around the bolt head and tied it (much easier)!

And then moved the wood back into the window slot

Annecy 2025

Annecy - Wow! Just Wow! It's a town full of views - lake, mountains, forest, and more mountains! We've lately been looking for places to visit that leave you with a sense of magnificence - the nature of Annecy did this. 

We spent just over a week here, in the Pre-Alps, at France's third largest lake. Our apartment was right at the edge of Old-Town; we could drive to the apartment parking garage, and walk* to any spot on our list.

Since the drive from Lyon didn't take long (1.5 hrs), we went directly to a beach to wait a bit before check-in time.

It was beautiful, but we weren't properly prepared for no seating 🙄. So, on to a grocery store to stock up, then to meet our host at the apartment - ahhh. It was one of the best apartments we've stayed in - it was like someone who loved life was living there, then decided to share it with others. 

The next day, we picked up the wheelchair, then rolled all around! Check the Annecy 2025 posts for all our big days. We had a few "easy" days too. We went to the Chateau d'Annecy (the outside; the inside is a museum)

And the Basilica (early 20th century)

Later that evening, I was surprised by a chanting crowd - I ran to the window to see. It was the championship soccer game, and France won!

Eventually, it was time to leave 😔 - our last full day included lunch out, with a short detour along the Quai des Clarisses. 

Then we returned the wheelchair and started packing...

~~~

There are a few more photos in the Annecy 2025 album.

What we left for another time:

Drive Col de la Forclaz 

Point de Vue Château de Menthon-Saint-Bernard 

Jardin de l'Europe (longer visit)

Drive around the lake

Tour Bus ride

Annecy-le-Vieux 

Train to Geneva 

~~~

*Prefer to Walk and Roll? Wheelchair rental from Bastide, ~16€

~~~

Our trip, including Lyon:

May 12 (Monday) - June 3 (3 weeks)

1040 km

37 mpg

6.3 l/100km

Annecy 2025 Alps Viewpoint

The Plateau du Semnoz gives a fabulous view of the Alps! It's only a half-hour drive from our apartment, *and* it was a fantastic, super-sunny day! Of course we went!

I had checked ahead (tourist office, and Google street view), so I was prepared for some winding, forest-lined driving - it wasn't too bad!

I walked to the peak (pretty steep) for the 360° views - I reversed my usual order of photo-then-info, and took a photo of the Orientation Table, then the corresponding view. (See the Annecy 2025 Alps Viewpoint album for these)

Massif des Bornes

Massif de Mont-Blanc and Massif du Beaufortain 

Massif de la Vanoise and Massif des Bauges

Then I took some close-ups!

Here's Mont-Blanc (left side), at 4810 meters (15780 feet), the highest point in Europe outside the Caucasus mountains

Pointe Percée, the sharp peak in the center

Aiguilles d'Arvres, the sharp double peak in the distance 

Well, then I had to get a shot of the ski lift 😊

On the way back, we stopped at a viewpoint of the lake 

 

We could just make out the Château de Duingt on a peninsula in Lake Annecy

We were back in time to catch the end of the marché ; we got rôtisserie for lunch! 😋😋😋