This time when I returned from Dechen Choling meditation center outside of Limoges, I decided to fly via Toulouse instead of Paris. I enjoyed my afternoon in Toulouse. It is a city with a distinguished history. It was a fairly small town until Airbus started in 1970. Now Toulouse is the 4th largest city in France. Up to about the last 30 minutes of the train trip from Limoges, I was struck by how agricultural France is but suddenly it is very populated. Fortunately I had chosen a hotel in the old part of the city. I don’t know if it was because it was extremely hot but people were walking at a leisurely pace. I walked along two broad avenues shaded by trees on either side. It was interesting to see McDonalds. Burger King and Kentucky Fried Chicken discreetly blended into the city scape. I had dinner on a lively square watching people parade by me.
The next morning, I caught the bus to the airport. I will never understand why buses that only go to airports do not have a space to put suitcases, not in Amsterdam or Santiago or Toulouse. I arrived early so I thought why not take some video. I am always struck by the sameness of airports and the optimism of merchants selling stuff. I catch the plane but I can’t take my carry-on luggage because the plane is small. I begin to worry. Will I catch my plane in Madrid?
No way can I catch the next plane. We landed in the satellite terminal. I had to take the underground train to the main terminal and go through security again. The information the travel agent had indicated that I was landing in the main terminal was not correct.
Then I spend at least an hour on the line waiting to talk to a customer service person. I am given a choice. I can spend the day at a hotel near the airport and fly the next day or I can go to Bilbao and then Bilbao to Santiago. I chose to go to Bilbao.
You will see snippets of all the airports. Taking videos is my way of not thinking I am not wasting my time. After all, I am making a video.