Personally, I have spent an inordinate amount of time being in a hurry. Always having to be somewhere at a specific time is such a drag.

 For me it was even more futile as half the time I was rushing to wait. That was me, sprinting through the terminal, trailing an overstuffed wheelie bag behind me at an uncomfortable angle trying to beat the crowds and get through customs as fast as humanly possible, in order to wait……sometimes for hours to operate a flight. Looking back I wish I could have just been cool, despite the crowds and the endless searches and ever tightening restrictions on what we were and were not allowed to carry.

 It is so very annoying to know exactly where you are going at an airport. It puts you in the tiny minority; meanwhile hordes of people will stop, suddenly, just in front of you to check their messages, or the departure screens. Then there’s the guy who stops to greet someone at the top of the escalator causing all of the people behind him to stumble and jump out of the way all the while remaining blissfully ignorant of everything happening around him. Always with music in my ears, and nearly always with a smile on my face resisting the temptation to roll my eyes, I must have done the journey a thousand times.

 I was a commuter. It was all fun and games in the beginning; running through the airport after a fantastic ten day trip to the Seychelles or Rio and jumping on the last available seat on the flight home from London. I would instantly fall asleep, wake up on landing and then saunter through the arrivals hall at Toulouse with little or no queue.

Somehow it all went tragically wrong. Various idiotic attempts to blow up random innocent travellers led to much rule changing and suddenly lip gloss was a dangerous substance, shoelaces became a menace for anyone in a hurry and don’t even get me started on tweezers.

Suddenly I was running through the airport with chapped lips, furry eyebrows and slip on shoes (quelle horreur) in order to get past customs on time without too much disrobing or unpacking. The trouble is, even if you adhere to all the rules of air travel you can’t escape the random check. More often than not, at the gate, they will take your bag away anyway. Where, oh where did the glamour go? The good news is tweezers are once again allowed in hand luggage.

 As a recovering commuter I have managed to get most of my sense of humour back!

I am currently planning a road trip and downright thrilled at the idea of being able to throw a full sized bottle of shampoo in my « none of anyone’s business which dimensions» suitcase.  I am toying with the idea of leaving my phone behind. The GPS could be useful but at the same time if you can’t find your way to San Sebastian from Toulouse you shouldn’t really be driving. Getting lost in the Bardenas Reales might be a bit tricky but after all that’s when you discover all the really good stuff. Lost in Navarra; sounds like a dream to me. Off the beaten track!

What about looking out the window to check the weather instead of googling it constantly, allowing it to control my every move and then cursing ‘them’ for getting it wrong. All this has made me wonder, are we still capable of relying on ourselves? Can we live without a live feed? What if I just bring all weather gear; a little black dress and a rain slicker, devil may care?!

Have you ever had an all-out internet break?  I would love to hear from you, if you have tried it, even just for one day.

Follow me to keep up with me on my travels in and around beautiful Occitanie. Stay safe and stay calm…….à bientôt Christina.