To Gaëlle, for her presence of mind.
On an unusually busy and early Sunday morning, I dragged D, to meet a group of Indian tourists visiting Paris. They were staying on the outskirts at Hotel Forest Hill Meudon-Vélizy.
The hotel lobby looked eerily similar to an airport – at peak hour. This, at 8 in the morning. It was jam-packed with people and their bags. Loud conversations and lots of confusion. Laughter, yelling, stress all rolled into one. The hotel staff, however, was calm – it was after all a weekly affair for them. We on the other hand were a little overwhelmed. Apparently, the hotel had about five or six different gangs of tourists visiting. 3 from India and 2 perhaps 3 from China. On an average of about 30-40 people per group.
Can you imagine the crowd you see around touristy places – think Eiffel tower, Big Ben, Empire State- during season? Put all those people in a hotel’s lobby, and breathe.
You probably can’t, can you?
The lady at the reception, Gaëlle, was on the phone non-stop. She was calling to wake people up, answer their queries, repeat her answers in all languages – verbal and gestural. On an endless loop.
She seemed pretty composed, yet had that French to-the-point way of speaking (English).
Anyway we got busy mingling with everyone. It was about 20 minutes later that an Indian lady, possibly in her 70\’s, ran across the room screaming that her hand-bag was missing. She had in there her passport, cash, credit cards, documents, pretty much everything that must not get lost. Especially when abroad on vacation. Even more so in a country where no one speaks your language.
Everyone is looking for the bag. Someone suggests to go check her room. Another runs out to look in the bus.
And in comes Gaëlle, limping, visibly shaken and talks to the lady. She is looking for the tour\’s manager (of a very renowned global tour operator). And more importantly, she is holding the hand-bag. At first, I think that the woman just misplaced her bag and Gaëlle was returning it. But eventually with the lady speaking in Hinglish (read: Hindi and English) and Gaëlle trying to communicate in English with a French accent, it was evident that this was not the case. I intervened to bridge the verbal gap. And that is when Gaëlle broke down. Just a few days earlier, someone had tried to snatch her phone in the metro. She chased the thief, and got her phone back. But the incident left her with a broken ankle and a sour taste in her mouth.
And now this.
She was in tears because she once again chased a couple who could have easily out-maneuvered her. In those twenty minutes that we were “mingling” with all the tourists, a “normal-looking” couple walked in sans any baggage. She thought that they had arrived earlier and were possibly waiting to check in. They approached Gaëlle at the reception and asked her the best way to get to Versailles. While she was responding, she felt something was miserably out of place. Why was the man holding a hand-bag, partially hidden under his coat? As they were leaving, she followed them and eventually ran after them tripping the guy and getting the bag back.
Can you believe it? Running – with a broken ankle and tripping a man with an accomplice. For someone else. Yes, you may say it is her job. Or that is just a human thing to do. But in today’s world it is a very brave feat. Really, it was her presence of mind that amazed me.
Thank you Gaëlle!
The one accessory that is a must-have on all your travels is your presence of mind. No matter how many blogs you read, or reviews you scan, it will be a lone journey when you are travelling. You will have unique experiences in even the most travelled, most written about places. That is what makes travelling so exciting. And at the same time a teacher of life’s biggest lessons.
And if you are one of those absent minded people (quite like me), we must be thankful for the Gaëlle’s of the world who take such good care of us.