Damn the French. I have heretofore been inclined to look upon France with a kind, benevolent eye, pardoning their excesses and appreciating their cheese and wine. Now, I find that I must agree with an old Arabic teacher of mine, who said:
"I love France, I hate the French."
I'm sure her reasons are far more profound, more deeply experienced, and more justifiable than mine. Be that as it may, my girlfriend and I are going to Turkey in March. On the way, we have to stop in Paris for four hours. And for that, they're making her get a transit visa (she's a citizen of a "South" country). Two weeks of paperwork, two trips to DC, and $80 later, they'll let her remain in one of the crappiest airports in the world for four hours. What an honor.
Now, I suppose this is far better than the time when we were trying to go pretty much anywhere in South America, where the price of the visa was $20-$1000, and all the governments required an additional $3~4000 "deposit" which would be "returned" three months after her departure.
I love travel, and I hate it.
1 comment:
Dude, France was the country that denied even a transit visa (for at least a decade) to the political refugee who lived in their airport.
On the other hand, as no terminals have ever fallen on my head, I quite enjoyed my stay in Charles de Gaulle.
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