Stuffdate - An Update on Roberto's Stuff
What did I manage to get to France this trip?
“Are you fucking crazy? You have got to be kidding me!”
These were Carolyn’s words when she viewed my folding saw in the collection of sharp objects that I planned to bring in my suitcase. We were packing for our April journey to France to close on our apartment. She’d asked to preview what I was planning to bring, and declared her right to line-item-veto my choices.
My kit included two Hans Karlsson spoon knives (right hand arc, left hand arc) and two slöjd knives (large and small), plus a Svante Djarv spoon axe, and the Gomboy folding saw from Japan, which provoked Carolyn’s outburst. She didn’t even see the items I’d left in my shop and decided were too provocative or too difficult to replace if confiscated by French customs—an adze sized for small work and a draw knife.
As a reminder, outside of clothing and the basics, there were four categories of stuff that I was concerned with getting to our new home in France:
tools for my carving/woodworking
bicycles
musical instruments
cameras
We have both worked hard to turn ourselves into light packers for most travel, but this time we brought so much luggage (when we came for ten days in December we only brought carry-ons). It felt like we were going off to college or, dare I say, fleeing the country.
Gentle readers, I am pleased to announce that all of our concerns about the carving tools were unfounded. I don’t know if the immigration/customs officials were on strike in Montpellier or what, but after getting our passports stamped in Amsterdam, not one person looked at our bags or passports when we landed in France. We just grabbed our bags and walked out to the taxi line. That night Carolyn asked if I was disappointed I hadn’t brought the folding saw since I could’ve just sauntered into the country with it. “No way! Now I get to find the saw store in Montpellier!” (Look out out for my post entitled: My best friend Pierre who owns the saw store).
The next question I’d been struggling with was whether or not I should bring a bike, and I really went back and forth on this one. I ended up bringing one that breaks down into a large gray suitcase (pictured below). We paid for one extra bag, but it was still less expensive than shipping it. The bike will live permanently in France, and I’ll leave behind most of the clothes and shoes as well.
Guitars: I left my fancy guitars at home. Sigh. A year or so ago I purchased a Journey Instruments carbon fiber travel guitar for a family trip to the Caribbean. We brought that guitar to France; we might buy another (wood guitar) in Montpellier. I will eventually bring one of our nice guitars to France, but we were already loaded down on this trip and a large guitar flight case would have been too troublesome.
Cameras: I brought a small film kit with me: a Leica MP and two lenses, both are Leica Summicron lenses in 35mm and 50mm focal lengths. On our first morning in Montpellier I walked to a film store and bought two 35mm rolls, Fomapan 100 classic and Fomapan 400. I’ve never shot Fomapan before (I’m usually a Tri-X guy), so it will be fun to see the results. In a recent post I wrote about how the presence of an actual negative made film photography more “real” to me. I feel justified after reading an article yesterday about how an AI generated image won a photography contest.
The win was retracted after the entrant revealed the image’s provenance (he’d submitted the image to test whether photography competitions were prepared for AI. Spoiler: they are not). I think AI will keep film photography alive. A negative is proof that something real happened—what if all news photography went back to film as a way of establishing the veracity of reported news?!
And finally, I am writing this Monday morning, April 17th. As is my habit, I read Heather Cox Richardson’s substack, Letters from an American, while having my morning coffee. I was disheartened—crushed—to read about two more mass shootings in the US yesterday. And furious to read about the tone deaf Republicans who that very day went on to promise even looser gun laws. I was further infuriated by the financial disclosure scandal that continues to unfold around Justice Thomas. I don’t think this scandal is unique to him. I have read about questionable trips made by other justices including my beloved Ruth Bader Ginsburg. I love my country deeply in a way that maybe only a military brat and grandson of immigrants can, but I’m happy to have our escape hatch: France.
Peace be with you all, my friends.
Jusqu’à la prochaine fois (until next time),
Carolyn & Roberto
So, reading this brings to surface my qualms about bringing “handcuffs” to DE for a German friend who bought them online, then asked if I’d kindly bring them over, but please “in your carry-on not the suitcase.” These two sets of cuffs have longish chains between the cuffs for neck, hands, and feet. When I received his purchase, my mouth dropped to the floor. TSA claims I can carry handcuffs and bike chains in my carry-ons but seriously, these things look far more suspicious than a bottle of clear liquid. I’m also worried about what Copenhagen’s security will say. (Oy, why didn’t I just tell him NO?)