Skeddie Sauce and other Delights: Nice could be nice

This very much needed little break to Nice started way back 2019. Yes, that's correct - 2019. Little by little, over the years, I slowly collect points on my MasterCard when I use it. I'm not much of a shopper so it takes quite some time to get enough points for a free flight. Usually, my points expire because they are for a limited time only. When a big chunk of points are about to expire, I get a message from SAS letting me know to use them or lose them. I couldn't believe it, I finally had enough points to actually fly to Nice for free. I've never been to Nice before and it was only for a few days so that Jens wouldn't have to spend too much time on his own in the local senior care facilities.

So.... I book my trip to Nice and very excited about it but also very nervous about putting all the ends together when it comes to Jens to make the transition as smooth as possible for him.

Our neighbors, Jan and Ulla, have now since moved, but they have a home in Nice and they travel there all the time. I knocked on their door to hear if by chance they were going to be there when I was going to travel there. What a coincidence, there were, in fact, going to Nice at the same time. We had loose plans to meet. How much fun it could be to meet my neighbors for an afternoon coffee along the azure blue French Riviera. Possibly later the next day we would make dinner plans or enjoy a cocktail under a parasol while being refreshed by the gentle on-shore Mediterranean breeze.

While at work in the cargo department, there was a rumor going around that the pilots might go on strike. Oh no! I sure hope they don't; at least not before departure date. Just one day before departure, we were coming home from the funeral of my mother-in-law, Rigmor. God bless her soul. A wonderful woman. We got along very well and we always had something to jabber on about and then we would laugh.

Anyhoo........... as we are zooming down along the motorway, approaching the capital, the news is on the radio and they announce that the pilots are in fact going on strike. What a total drag. We get home, I unpack the car and roll Jens into the apartment. Shortly thereafter I buzz Jan and Ulla's doorbell. Jan opens the door - Hej Eddie - he says with a big smile. I say, "Well, it looks like we aren't going to Nice after all - eh?" "What do you mean", he asks with doubt and then confirms, "We're going." So, I asked him, "How are you going to Nice if the pilots are striking"? "Oh were not flying with SAS. We're flying with Norwegian."

My heart sank. Here I finally collected enough points to have the opportunity to actually fly somewhere before 8,000 points were about to expire in June. I had exactly 30,000 points and it costs that exact amount to get to Nice. That's the only southern destination that requires so few points. I wasn't interested in flying north to Stockholm or Oslo in the early spring. And what happens? The pilots strike. Such luck :-(

Fast forward now to February 2022. I get another letter from SAS saying: You have 32,000 points on your MasterCard. 8,000 points will expire in June. If you don't have enough points to fly with us, you may want to consider using your points in our on-line store. Oh well why didn't they say that before? I want a new hard-shell Samsonite suitcase. I don't remember exactly what it costs in points but it was over 100,000 points. WTF!!!! 100,000 points for a bag or 30,000 to Nice? uh....... that's an easy choice. And for me - it was the only choice.

So, I booked a flight to Nice - again - and crossed my fingers that there would be no strike. Which, actually there was. But this time it was the baggage handlers striking. I followed the strike closely. I was really rooting for the baggage handlers and I was willing to have to eat another free flight for their benifit. Sadly, the strike was declared illegal. I felt badly for the guys. I was not a baggage handler but working closely with them, I understood very well the problems they were/are having. The guys decided to strike anyway, regardless of the court order forcing them to go back to work. That ruling gave the airline the upper hand and they sent all baggage personel a letter stating: your absence tomorrow, means you agree to be terminated. That was the end of that and I would soon be on my way.

On the day of my departure, I would have to dump the beautiful tulips that I bought for my mom for Mother's Day. Of course she had to enjoy them in thought, on-line. I bought them from Irma on May 7th. I departed on May 14th. The flowers could have lasted at least 2 or 3 days more.

Now the beautiful tulips will go to bio-energy.

At 8:10, I deliver my keys to my neighbor upstairs and then off to the airport via bus and train. I got really lucking on the way to the airport. The night before, I checked out google maps and it showed that there is actually a bus that will drive just 3 stops to the central station. This meant that I didn't have to walk all the way to the station I normally walk too. But I couldn't see the actual bus stop. I saw the bus coming and I waved my hand frantically up in the air while the other hand was pulling my baggage. The bus driver was kind enough to stop and wait for me to run to the stop. The bus stop was set back from the sidewalk and covered by tall bushes. That is why I never noticed it even though I have walked pasted it a 1000 times already. Then when I got to the central station, the train to the airport was just pulling into the station. It was perfect timing. Below is the airport station.