The Straw Fedora

June 26, 2012

My straw fedora may have a mystical power of which I may not be able to control.

On the four hour train from Casablanca to Fez in sauna substituting for a car while outside temperature is over 115 degrees, a man passed us in the aisle, stopping to remark about my hat. Within a few minutes, he was seated with us and his saga began, all the while eyeing the straw fedora. We quickly became members of his family and the best of friends. He, Mohammed, inviting himself to be our personal guide,  exchanging phone numbers, and arranging for us to meet him for dinner that night with his Japanese wife, Kiko. We kind of agreed to everything.

Is this guy for real? After speaking to his wife on the phone, we at least could verify that part of his story. But the hat? his fixation could not be ignored.

Casablanca

June 25, 2012

Casablanca, just the name stirs romance. Names don't make up for reality.

The city is a port of about 5 million. Maybe it is not fair to judge a place just after a long flight and one night, but I don't think we were alone as other travelers agreed, Casablanca is now dirty hole in the wall.

Still, the film was made in a studio. Humphrey Bogart never got close to the place. I don't want to ruin the image of the movie airplane flying into the foggy Casablanca night, separating the lovers forever. Casablanca skies can get foggy.

Now joined by Hanna Siemering whom was a Peace Corps Volunteer in Samoa and now also doing a second spot in the African country of The Gambia, we head by train to the Morocan city of Fez.

Charles D'Gaulle

June 24, 2012

International travel slams you into different cultures weather you want to or not. It is not so much the flight. They are pretty much the same regardless of the airline. It is when you step into the terminal that is when you notice the different.

Now Charles D'Gaulle airport in Paris is suppose to be a modern airport. It is huge with several different terminals dispersed around a large oval. The terminals are interconnected by buses which run every eight minutes. So far, it seems fine, except when several late flights arrive at the same time filled with passengers trying to transfer to another terminal. Here the system breaks down. Chaos ensues.
Getting on a bus is the easy part, for the "Security" awaits you on your next leg.

Since we were among those late for our next flight, we persuaded the "Guard of the Serpentine" to let us into the "faster" Business Class line. The flood gates opened and in flowed like passengers. Our line began to move backwards as people whose flights were already scheduled to have left, wheelchairs, women with children, and crew members were placed in front of us. In true French fashion, common sense took over. We streamed through the metal detectors as security personnel relaxed at being overwhelmed. In true French fashion, they let life continue.

I often wondered if passengers had the choice of flights where they had to go through security and those without, which would be more popular? As for me, I'd take my chances.