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Passport, Please. Now Look at the Camera: Crossing Borders in the Digital Age

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  International travel used to mean standing in front of an immigration officer, handing over a passport, answering a few questions, perhaps getting a stamp, and waiting for that moment when you were officially waved through. On this trip, both France and the United States showed me just how much that process has changed. Leaving France: Passport First, Face Second At Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris, I encountered France’s automated border-control system. The process was remarkably straightforward. First, I placed my passport on the scanner. The machine read it, and the first glass door opened. I stepped into the small enclosed area between the two gates. Then I simply looked into the camera. Apparently, my face and my passport agreed that I was, indeed, me. The second door opened, and I walked through. That was it. No lengthy conversation. No complicated series of questions. No hunting around for another document. The system used the biometric information in my passpo...
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Where the Road Has a Name but the House Doesn’t: Finding an Address in Rural France

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  I had to dive deep in to the mailing system for the Chateau area as this is another topic for living as a local. I checked the known address that our group used to find the property against current French address sources, including La Poste, the French national business directory, Grand-Brassac municipal information, and a current site specifically associated with Château de Marouatte. The address in that message is not wrong, but it is incomplete for a UPS pickup. There is now a much more precise street address for the château. The address I would give UPS CHÂTEAU DE MAROUATTE 399 ROUTE DU CHÂTEAU DE MAROUATTE LIEU-DIT MAROUATTE 24350 GRAND-BRASSAC FRANCE This is the strongest version I found. The current Art at the Castle contact page, which operates at Château de Marouatte, gives exactly 399 Route du Château de Marouatte, Lieu Dit Marouatte, 24350 Grand Brassac, France .  The road itself is also recognized as Route du Château de Marouatte , and the Grand-Brassac ...
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CDG: Cleared for Takeoff… Eventually!

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I arrived at Charles de Gaulle Airport early. Very early, actually. And I am glad I did. I have to give CDG credit. Much of the departure process was impressively organized and automated. Check-in was efficient, the various checkpoints were clearly managed, and for an airport handling an enormous number of international travelers, everything seemed to move with purpose. But getting through the airport and actually reaching the airplane turned into quite the journey. First came immigration. There was a line, of course. I worked my way through it and thought, “Good. That’s done.” Not quite. There was another immigration line. Through that one, and surely now I was getting close to my gate. Eventually I reached the gate area, only to discover another line to actually get through the gate. Boarding pass checked, another clearance completed, and I thought this must finally be it. Nope. Instead of walking down a jet bridge onto the airplane, we were directed onto a shuttle. And not...
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Leaving Paris Before Paris Wakes

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  Leaving Paris Before Paris Wakes This morning began in darkness. I was up early, packed, and saying goodbye to my Paris room while much of the city was still asleep. There is something completely different about Paris at this hour. The streets that had been filled with pedestrians, café tables, shoppers and conversations only hours earlier were quiet and nearly empty. Outside Le Relais des Halles , the warm lamps of the hotel glowed against the dark façade. A taxi waited at the curb, and within minutes I was on my way to Charles de Gaulle Airport . The nighttime streets gave me one final view of Paris, illuminated by streetlights and storefronts, with relatively few businesses open and remarkably little traffic. That lack of traffic made the trip wonderfully easy. No crawling along the périphérique. No worrying about whether I had allowed enough time. Paris simply slipped past the windows as we headed toward the airport. The Mystery of the €65 Taxi I had it in my head that t...
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