We did all the calculations and figured we needed to leave our hotel in Segovia about 9 this morning to get to Barajas (Madrid's airport) for our 12:40 flight. Then we got a notice from Expedia, through whom we'd made these flight reservations, that the flight had been re-scheduled for half an hour later. Great - we'll have more cushion at the airport. So, at 9 exactly, we're on the road to Barajas, the Madrid airport.
Whoops, a traffic jam; stop (mostly) and go (occasionally) for quite a while. But, though we've used up some of our cushion, we get to the airport with plenty of time to spare. Then, the fun begins...
We drive to Terminal 2 for our flight, then realize that rental car return is at Terminal 1. We backtrack, and see a sign that says, "Rental car return" with an arrow. How easy is this? But why do I have to take a ticket from the machine? And why am I now in the public parking garage, separated from all the rental car agencies by a big fence? After driving around the parking lot, I realize we are hosed.
I try to leave the public parking, but the machine says that I have to pay before I can leave and, of course, the paying place is a long way from the exiting place and I still have not the slightest idea how, once I get out of the stupid parking lot, I can get into the rental car return.
I give up. I park the car, walk to the car rental office and, before I can even ask, the employee there says, "Public parking?" I'm obviously not the first bozo to do this. He gives me a printed map showing where to pay for my parking, how to exit the public parking, and how to get into the rental car return. Yes, they have a printed map because so many people end up in the wrong place. Turns out you follow the signs to rental car return and then, just before you get into public parking, you make a turn that is completely unmarked and has a gate across it for good measure, to get into the car rental area.
We do all that and get the car returned. We then walk 17 miles through the terminal to the Air France counter, where there is one - count 'em - one employee doing check-in. And remember, yesterday many flights were canceled because airlines were worried about the general strike in Spain, so people are trying to re-book and make new connections and all that. Maybe all the Air France employees thought today was the general strike and stayed home.
Finally, we get checked in, speed-walk another 17 miles to security, where we are held up because a guy in front of us has his wallet attached to his pants by a chain and insists that he can't unattach it and starts to take his pants off (really) so he can go through the metal detector without setting it off. He also has a dog and wants to take it through, leash and all.
We practically run the 17 miles to our gate because we have used up every minute of our cushion and it's getting close to departure time. Sweating, panting and gasping, we get to our gate with 10 minutes to spare.
There's no plane there.
Location:Rue Le Regrattier,Paris,France
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