After the rapidly-becoming-traditional pre-travel lunch at the African Grill* with E, I went to the Air France office to do my pre-enregistrement. I don't have any checked bags so they were a bit surprised, but my ticket was purchases in two separate pieces, and part of it was an e-ticket (which, though I'd heard they could handle as of last fall, I hadn't tried to use yet). After waiting many minutes for the woman ahead of me to check in ** I had a pleasant surprise at the counter: I'd totally forgotten I'd bought business-class tickets with my E's frequent flier miles.
*I always seem to travel on a Tuesday, which is poulet yassa day, which is my favorite.
** She had an entourage of about six children, an older man that might have been her husband, and two young men. She also had several overweight bags which had to be negotiated one by one with the tired Air France lady, who had been arguing about overweight baggage since 10:00 a.m. Her overweight bags weren't suitcases, just plastic sacks. I had to wait while one of her gang wound them round and round and round with packing tape.
To Spain. Spainward! I am very very excited. Like my companions, I am looking forward to visiting a vibrant European city, exploring its museums and architecture and restaurants. Unlike my friends I am looking forward to exploring its restaurants without worrying about typhoid, breathing its relatively clean air, and wearing shorts in public (actually, I'm not sure if I can bring myself to, I'm very well trained now at living in a Muslim country -- a relaxed Muslim country, thank god, that at least lets me wear pants).
My only concern is the nightlife, i.e., how the hell am I going to keep up with these Spaniards?!?! I go to bed at 10:00, maybe read until 11:00. They are starting dinner then and gearing up for a night out. And they go to work the next day. How do they do it? I hope to at least make a good showing, maybe stay up until the first shuttle leaves Friday night's wedding party at 2:30 a.m. (if I miss that one I'm stuck until 4:30). Here are some factors in my favor:
- Barcelona is 2 hours ahead of Bamako. So my 10:00 bedtime becomes a not-quite-respectable-but-not-so-shameful midnight.
- I'll arrive in the early afternoon, really tired: a siesta, then a party, should put me on the right schedule.
- If I need to use it, caffeine will be extra-potent. I've only had a few cups of green tea since I was sick, so a little cup of espresso will wire me for hours.
- I do get a late-night second wind, if I stay awake long enough (see #3 above).
Hasta pronto!
