09 May 2009

2006: All My Bags are Packed, I'm Ready to Go

Time for a little lesson in "What's Goin' On" and "Where is She Going?" ::

I'm flying light this time, with one laptop bag, one camera bag, and one backpack crammed with clothing (and not very much, at that. Takes up room, though)... All non-essentials have been winnowed down, and I am extremely hopeful I've packed everything needed, from battery chargers to foreign power plug converters to passport, and Euros/Pounds/a few dollars, just in case credit and/or debit cards end up being frozen for what the card companies deem "inappropriate activity", ie, use in another country though warned it would happen...

For the most part, planning for this trip has gone smoother than others, perhaps because I've done it so many times. You learn what you can take, what you shouldn't, and hope you've made the right decisions. My only concern will be the puddle-jump from London's Luton Airport to Brest on Thursday (10 May), as RyanAir has changed their carry-on policy recently, and I'm hoping they'll see two small bags (cameras/computer) as "small enough not to check"... If not, I'm going to be quite anxious while RyanAir has my belongings in their custody...

Pedernec is located in the northwest corner of France, in the state of Bretagne. Even Google Maps didn't know where this place was until a few days ago (literally), and the streets were not labeled when last I checked two weeks ago. I will endeavour to update you with an exact location once I'm actually in-country and settled, but generically-speaking, here is where I will be in 48 hours or so: Here is a decent-sized map, and here is Google Map's vision -- feel free to zoom in or out to get a better idea where TravelGirl will land...

The N12/E50 appears to be the main highway between Brest (flying in a little after noon local time on Thursday) and Guingamp. The drive should take about an hour and change once the leased vehicle has been procured...

Wishing there was more to this entry than the above; Sorry. I will make it up to you. Promise. Yeah, I know... Take care, people... Plan leaves in just a few hours :)

[ 2009: Even today, the Google Maps satellite view of the area surrounding Pedernec is blurred for most towns; hopefully, that will change. I took about 1500 Euros with me in cash, so that my US bank wouldn't ruin everything by closing down accounts accidentally. Thankfully, that didn't happen. However, given exchange rates and how many places didn't take debit or credit cards, it wasn't a bad decision in and of itself. I found a way to use them all, no pressure, no worries. ]

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