I rushed out of Paris quickly to catch a train to Beauvais Airport. My anxiety was getting the best of me again. I was so nervous about taking this train out of Gare du Nord that I took a cab instead of riding the Metro. I spent about 15 euros. Not bad I thought. The cab driver only spoke French. I was praying he was taking me to the right station. It's scary putting your life in the hands of someone who doesn't speak your language. He seemed harmless though. Once I was inside the station, I knew I was able to ask one of the attendants which train to take. Again, they speak multiple languages, so I felt positive I was heading towards the right direction. My train ride was over an hour long. I relaxed a bit.
When I got to Beauvais, I had to find the airport. Anxiety strikes again. I asked an attendant at the train station where do I go. He only spoke French, but I managed to make out that I had to take a bus. I was getting nervous again. I walked along with other confused travelers to a bus stop. I didn't know how far the airport was. I ran back to the station (it was down the street) and asked again, just to make sure, and he clarified once more that there is a bus there that will take us all to the airport. I wasn't sure how much this was going to cost. A fellow French passenger assured me that it should not be no more than 1 euro. I felt so alone. I had some change with me (euros come in change too). I prayed I had enough to take this bus.
It turned out to be 4 euros but I had the money. Another word of caution. I went through my cash quickly in Europe. I wouldn't advise taking a large sum with you, but not every place has access to credit cards like we do here in the States.
The bus left us at a small airport. Anxiety strikes again. I booked this flight out of Ryan Air and I had trouble printing out my boarding pass. I followed the rest of the crowd inside. My flight didn't leave out for another 4 hours. I had plenty of time to relax and check in. Or so I thought. Here's where my French fears came to life. I wasn't in Paris anymore. I was somewhere an hour away. I was in the heart of France, which we've all heard, isn't a friendly one. I waited in line for "customer service". I wanted them to printout my boarding pass. The man behind the glass was expressionless. He explained to me that I had to print out my pass. I told him that I tried but with no such luck. He motioned me to the left that the airport had computers towards the back and to print them out there. I walked over to the kiosk and of course, the computers were out of order. I asked around where can I print out my boarding pass and people advised me to go back to the "customer service" line. UGH! My anxiety was getting me to the verge of tears. Not to mention, I was having trouble logging on the wifi at the airport. I wanted to let my friend in Italy know what was going on. She was going to pick me up once I landed.
I had no choice but to take my antidepressants. I couldn't calm down anymore. I needed to talk to that horrible man again, and I knew already he was not going to be helpful. I started to feel relaxed. I ate a sandwich and worked up the nerve to stand back in that line. It seemed that everyone was having a problem with something. When it was finally my turn (after a 30 min wait with 4 people ahead of me) I explained that that the kiosk were out of order. He looked at me expressionless again and then said, "If you would like I can print them out for you."
By this time I was too drugged up to respond. I managed to say, "Thank You. I would appreciate that." He wanted me to pull up my information off my phone but I told him I couldn't because I was having trouble logging on to the wifi. "It's not working today," he said. No wonder! Now he looked annoyed that he volunteered to "help me". He had to look up my information. He brought out my boarding pass and I tried to pay him 6 euros (which is what it would have cost me to printout the pass at the kiosk). He refused to take the money, but then added that "you were suppose to do this."
Whatever! I was so relieved I got my boarding pass. Now it was time to check my suitcase. I knew I had to pay for my luggage. That AGAIN turned out to be another ordeal. I had to wait in another line to check my luggage. Then I had to GO BACK to the "customer service" line to pay that fee. I didn't care because I was prepared to do that in the first place. There was another customer that was having a hard time at the airport. She was being directed to different lines as well. She ended up losing her cool at the "customer service" line. She began to throw things at the window. She couldn't help it. I felt her pain. They push you over the edge. But losing your cool at the hands of their mercy is NOT GOING TO GET YOU ON THE PLANE. That's the harsh reality. A security woman came over to calm her down (or more like intimidate her with her size). I finally paid my luggage fee and moved on to the security clearance line.
I PRAYED that they wouldn't stop me for something, but I made it through. I was almost on my flight! A sign of relief came over me but then fear set in. I had to get on a plane again. A much smaller one. Once we started to board I took 2 melatonin. I closed my eyes and off we went...
