20231103 Leaving: On Wednesday I packed. Had been packing in my head for a long time. Clothes are easy. It’s meds and stuff that I wanted to make sure made it. Suitcase if filled to the brim! It all gets rearranged when I get there, of course.
Went online Thursday AM to check in with Delta only to find I had to check in at airport and show the cc I used to book the flight. Did chat with Delta and found this is new requirement for international travel to avoid fraud. Would have thought passport would be enough, but ….
Thursday midday took Sadie to Wendy’s to live in luxury there until I get back. Then Marian drove me to St. Louis Airport Hilton about 4:00. Had dinner in the bar area. Nice food. Went to sleep way to early so I was up a lot during the night
20231104 En Route: Got up at 4:30, dressed, ready to go downstairs to get shuttle to airport. Almost forgot my iPhone in the room! Did final check, and…there it was! At Delta counter I had to present not only my passport, but also the credit card I had used to buy the ticket. Agent said it was Morocco requirement, but later events casts doubt on that.
David Levy and I were on the 7:15 flight to Atlanta. Got in on time and went to the Delta Sky Club for the six hours between our flights. Found out that David’s credit card that he had used to book the flights had been replaced and had a new number. He went out to the airport yesterday to deal with this since we had been warned by Delta when we wanted to check in online yesterday what the requirements were. Found out that this same thing happened to two other trip members, Kent and Ingrid. In all cases, Delta cancelled their tickets, issued a cc refund, and then reissued their tickets and charged their new cc number. Of course, the charge for the tickets will come in days before the credit gets to them. From what we can glean from others travelling it seems this might be a Delta thing and not something Morocco required. Very odd.
Met two of our fellow travelers in the Delta lounge, John Kalson and Kent Sweitzer, both from Madison, WI. Trying to see if Terry knows John who grew up there. So, the four of us got to know each other and we had a nice time. No politics or current news. Just personal histories and camera equipment. Food in the club was terrific and lots of it. And there is a set of machines that make gelato! Attendant puts in refrigerated liquid and it is made into gelato. Will wonders ever cease?
About 3:30 we all went to our gate. Met Ingrid there. Got onboard around 4:00 and took off about 4:45 for the flight to Paris. I’m in seat 4A. Lovely supper service…good food. Spotty WIFI, but what can you expect at over 30,000 feet. We will land about 6:00AM Paris time.
As I write this, it’s about 1:00 AM in Paris. Now, hope to get at least a few hours of rest. Sleep? Who knows.
20231105 The Last Time I Saw Paris: I dozed on and off, never got really comfortable. Slept a couple of hours, perhaps. Was awakened at about 5:00AM Paris time for breakfast. Landed a bit after 6:00. CDG is one long hallway after another. Up and down we went following the signs for transfers to other flights. Had some confusion where the signs were not clear. Finally got to a security checkpoint. I remembered from last year that they want laptop, iPhone, etc. out of carryon. But did not know they also wanted cameras out. So, my camera bag got sidetracked to be inspected separately. I’ll know next time when we return to US at the end of the trip through Paris.
Found our gate and sat. We were there until boarding for Casablanca at Noon…roughly 6 hours. Could not find any Air France Club, so the three of us just sat there, watched people, dozed, talked, got up to walk, went to the potty. Met another of our trip, Ruth, who found us.
Thought there was no food service on the Casablanca flight and got a sandwich and cookie. But there was food. Lots. I was so tired that I really couldn’t eat much, but felt better after I did eat some.
Landed in Casablanca a bit after 4:00….26 hours from first flight to landing here. Met Strabo driver outside the airport after going through passport control and customs. Long drive into the city and to the HYATT REGENCY, CASABLANCAwhere I am in room 427. Met the whole group downstairs in the hotel dining room for a casual meal and Ron updated us on various parts of the trip
When I had gotten to the hotel, Ron and our guide, Ishmael, said that they could run a Jewish Heritage tour for those of us who wanted it tomorrow afternoon. Seems as if there had been crossed wires regarding when Ishmael would be available tomorrow. So, I emailed our scheduled guide telling him that there was a change in conditions that I had not expected and wanted to cancel. Got nice emails back from him and the tour agency owner saying it was okay and they understood.
Time to organize things for tomorrow, wash my clothes, shower and shave…and go to bed. Been a long, been a long, been a long day.
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