WHAT HAPPENED TO WEDNESDAY?

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We woke to a beautiful Napa Tuesday, eager to get the day going. Christopher and I selected the wines for our journey and started packing them in the Wine Valise when IT happened…A most dreadful situation. DEFECTIVE! The inside strap (which secures the precious bottles) ripped from its mooring thereby rendering the case useless. BUT. WE. NEED. OUR. WINE…amiright? Well, this does NOT bode well. We leave TODAY! We loaded the defective valise into the car and off to Round Pond where we purchased it so we can make the exchange. They are out of stock. Uh. Oh.

With the help of Jane, Tasting Room Manager, who made a few calls – we learned that Jake (Napa Rep) is at the office and will exchange our valise for us!! YES! Off to Fly With Wine (dontcha just love the clever name?) to make our exchange. Jake pulled up within minutes of our arrival and presented us with a shining new valise- silver (much nicer than the black we had). So thankful to Jake, Jane and Fly with Wine. You all resolved an otherwise tragic (no hyperbole there) situation.

Back home we packed our precious cargo: Backus, Insignia, Cuvee Blanc, Sangiovese, Super Tuscan, Gilfillan Cabernet, just to name a few. Heck – we get thirsty!

Our driver, Dorian, arrived early as he was concerned with traffic and the possibility of accidents (he is a treasure). Off we go to SFO.

No traffic. No accidents. We are a bit early. Now…this is going to be tricky….we have a lot, I mean a LOT of luggage! I was sure our wine valise, which is the 7^th item of luggage…including carry on bags… will cost a pretty penny (a case of wine weighs a bit). Handed over our passports, ready to hand over the credit card – and whatever else it will take to get our wine safely to Oslo. She looks at the booking, looks at the passports, looks back at us and excuses herself for a minute. Uh. Oh. This can’t be good. She comes back hands us our passports and prints all the luggage tags – five in all. I try to give her the Amex card. Nope. Gratis. The wine flies for free. NO CHARGE! I am SO HAPPY!!! Clearly doesn’t take much to get a smile out of me.

Took us less than a minute to get through security (TSA Pre Check is worth every, single, penny). We collect our things and head off to the Air France lounge. A simple lounge but it gets the job done. Free WiFi, free food and booze works for me! We selected an assortment of refreshments (don’t want to overdo it since there will be a full meal soon on the plane). Just a bit here and there. While nibbling on some chips, a father and son enter the Lounge looking for a respite. This particular lounge is also a part of the Priority Lounge Group (a benefit of Amex Platinum) – they didn’t have their Priority Pass Card, membership number or anything which would allow them entry. I eavesdropped on their conversation. They called Mom (wife) no home, didn’t have card on her- it didn’t look as though they were going to get in. SO….fresh off my double experience of people going above and beyond to provide excellent service, I felt it necessary to “pay it forward”. I pulled out my Priority Pass card, went to the front desk and offered my assistance. Since we used our Boarding Pass as entry, they could use my card and get 2 people in (as my guest). They were so appreciative. Didn’t cost me a dime to be kind.

So. A few days back Marvin, a dear friend, sent me a video of Naomi Campbell cleaning every surface of her Business Class pod with some kind of disinfectant wipe. We had a good laugh over the video. Imagine my surprise when a husband and wife team seated across the aisle and behind one another did the same. I have NO IDEA how many wipes they used – but they cleaned each and every surface. Even the headphones. We bring our own headphones, so….there’s that. I was laughing inside (but hey…they probably won’t get sick…right?). Neither wore a mask, so they didn’t go full on Naomi Campbell.

I have to admit – business class does NOT suck.

The flight was uneventful. I actually slept. The lay flat bed is a thing to behold. I never, ever sleep on a plane – perhaps it was a combination of a later flight and Tylenol PM that did the trick. Hey – whatever works.

We arrived in Paris around 4pm and had a few hours to wait before our flight to Olso. Guess who got stopped at the security checkpoint? NO. Wrong. For the first time it was me! Poor Christopher is always stopped. This was a first for us. I think he was secretly laughing inside as they pulled me out of line and wiped my hands. They inserted the pad into a machine and 10 seconds later I was cleared.

The Air France lounge at CDG is similar to SFO. No surprise there. Not at all hungry, we drank water. I finished my book, Christopher occupied his time with the internet. I realized I had mistakenly initiated the $10/day plan with Verizon: S#@T. Oh well. Airline mode from now on!

Finally, time to board the plane. We are in zone 1, business class. At the gate, we queue up in zone 1. Hmmm. We are the only ones. OK. Turns out “business class” is one row – 4 seats at the front of the plane. First on, first off! SCORE. We even got a meal and sipped some champagne (on a 2 hour flight).

We landed in Oslo at 11:30 pm local time. Maureen, our amazing travel agent, had arranged for a driver to meet us at baggage. He was waiting for us with a smile (at that late hour). He managed to get all the luggage in his Jaguar (not the SUV) a few pieces had to sit up front with him. Christopher’s first ride in a Jag.

The ride to the hotel was quick, smooth and uneventful. Our driver asked if we had any issues “going under water”. Huh? Evidently, a tunnel we need to take goes 43 meters under the Fjord…and there have been issues with previous passengers. Nope. We have taken BART under the bay- piece of cake.

Must admit, watching the sun go down at 10:30 pm was beautiful from inside the plane. The moon, a giant orange ball, began its slow ascent shortly thereafter. It rose as we landed and hovered along the horizon as we drove to the city center.

We arrived at the hotel exactly at midnight. What happened to Wednesday? We missed it!

Both completely exhausted we washed up and fell into bed. Sleep came upon us quickly.

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Comments

[Steve Sharfman]

Innocents Abroad
Truly your humor and attitude are reminiscent of Mark Twain. Each new adventure brings a smile. I’m so glad you continue to provide enjoyment for those at home. And very glad the mythic wine case was able too o accompany you. Bon voyage.