My Winter Vacation - Airports

CDG
Originally uploaded by dangunderman.

With three separate destinations for My Winter Vacation, the missus and I and took six flights through four different airports.

JFK -- We began and ended our trip at the renowned John F. Kennedy Airport (once known as Idlewild) in Queens, whose motto cries proudly, "Give us your Malls, Your Airports, Your Huddled Gravesites." Locals enjoy complaining about our two airports, but it's been some time since I've had a negative experience with either JFK or Laguardia. It remains a travesty, however, that public transportation to both airports continues to be a major hassle and inconvenience. Still, overall for My Winter Vacation, I'd give the JFK experience a B+.

Charles de Gaulle -- Since Air France was the airline of choice for My Winter Vacation, three times the missus and I found ourselves navigating the monstrosity of Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris. Man, that place blows. Signs are unclear, terminal transfers are time-consuming and exhausting, and somehow, within a large duty-free mall, there wasn't a single ATM. Seriously, who organized this place? F. As in "French."

Edinburgh -- Flying into Edinburgh is a breeze. Security, passport control, and customs are thorough enough to make you feel safe, while efficient enough to keep you moving. The only real complaint is that the airline queue service runs a bit slowly, but that's true for Scotland in general, so get into the rhythm of the country, for crying out loud. A-.

Brest -- Serving Brittany (in Northern France, not Spears or Murphy), Brest Airport has the best name of any airport in the world. A+.