The 19 hours it took me to reach my destination were relatively uneventful. Quiet in fact. The time managed to pass fairly quickly and before I knew it, the plane started its descent into the Charles De Gaulle airport. Ah, I thought to myself, soon I will be in my apartment and can catch up on some much needed sleep. But that thought couldn’t be further from the truth.

The French police had a surprise up their sleeves. As I was waiting in line for customs, and announcement was made. Evidently the police had found a suspect package and needed to deal with the situation – again. If you recall, this happened the last time I flew into Paris. Hopefully this time the bomb squad wouldn’t be blowing up the package right next to us.

The 400 or so people in line for customs were pushed back into the terminal and expected to wait. How long – we asked. The police just shrugged their shoulders and turned to walk the other way. Just then, four more International flights arrived with 400 passengers each. Since the passengers were required to disembark the plane, everyone had to shove themselves into a relatively small space. Ah the joys of being squished next to several hot and rather smelly bodies. Thank goodness my deodorant was functioning!

After an hour and a half of standing around sweating on each other, the police finally opened up the customs line. As if our lives depended on it, the crowd rushed forward turning strangers into intimate companions. I felt like we were seconds away from a stampede and prayed that no one would trip and fall.

As we snaked through the switchback maze of ropes, passengers began to clap. With any luck, our baggage would be waiting for us on the other side. As I stepped up to the customs official, she merely glanced at my passport with a rather grim face and waved me through. So much for security. No questions about the length of my stay, whether or not I was here for business or pleasure, not even a passport stamp.

With that behind me, I slipped through the throng of passengers on the other side and picked up my baggage. I called for my shuttle and met the driver in another 10 minutes. As we drove out of the airport, the clouds covered the countryside like a thick wool blanket. Rain began to fall. I sat back and smiled. Welcome to Paris!

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