The Mille Miglia 2020, Italy — the finest rally in the world, and one I had dreamed of for years.
Right in the middle of Covid, with Japanese entrants pulling out one after another, I never had “wait and see” as an option, and pushed through, more or less by force, to enter it for the first time.
In 2020, when the mood everywhere was “there’s no way you can go abroad”, I refused to stop and decided to set off for the entry.
Flights out of Kansai Airport were, as you can see, very thin on the ground, so I planned the long route: Kansai Airport to Amsterdam to France, and on to Italy, where the event starts.
In 2020, when the mood everywhere was “there’s no way you can go abroad”, I refused to stop and decided to set off for the entry.
Flights out of Kansai Airport were, as you can see, very thin on the ground, so I planned the long route: Kansai Airport to Amsterdam to France, and on to Italy, where the event starts.
The airport looked like this, almost empty. A negative test result was essential, of course. Vaccination was not yet mandatory at this stage, so I prepared the paperwork with great care.
The document checks at the airlines were extremely strict at this time, and it took a very long time to get through to boarding. Naturally the paperwork had to be perfect, which made it hard going.
Checking every required document — not one gap allowed. I had never been through a check-in this nerve-racking.
Getting flagged at baggage inspection would eat even more time, so I decided to carry as little as possible — and treated myself to one bottle of sake for the long flight.
What I always carry on board is cucumber, which I love. I had confirmed it would not trip up the food inspection on arrival, so it doubled as a snack, dressed with miso.
The cabin was nearly empty, and even in economy I had plenty of room to spread out.
Here is the in-flight meal! Air France’s meat pie is superb. It comes properly warmed, which is a quiet pleasure.
Handed out with the meal, of course, was a mask and sanitiser set.
So — having safely set off for France, next question: will I actually get in?
Look out for the next post.
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