Days 2 and 3: The Saga of Socks and Shoes.
Unfortunately over the next couple of days things got worse.
At the end of Day 2 there was still no sign of my missing luggage. I had not expected such poor customer service and this was bad news, made worse by the fact that I had packed my proven, comfortable shoes in my suitcase. This had given me a problem.
You see, I had (in hindsight perhaps rather stupidly) decided to travel in new shoes, thinking that would be a better way to break them in rather than standing in them to train all day. There was therefore no comfort in learning I was right! The first day’s training had left me limping so badly that I trained in my socks Day 2, only putting my shoes back on at the end of day. Even so, the walk back to the hotel had now left me with bleeding, burst blisters and barely able to walk at all, and very upset with the way things were going!
The only silver lining was that classes for the next day had been cancelled. This meant that:
- I did not have to head out immediately to go shopping.
- There was still the chance that my suitcase would arrive the next day and save me any further shopping expeditions.
Consequently, I simply took off my shoes and proceeded to dinner in my stockinged feet!
The next morning, after a “barefoot” breakfast and phoning Air France again, there was still no sign of my suitcase. So, drumming up every ounce of courage, I somehow put my shoes on and, with my colleague to translate, set off to the shops once more. Despite taking a taxi I was in such agony by the time we got there that I could barely even face the thought of taking my shoes off to try on a new pair. Wisdom thus decreed that I dismiss all worries about style and appearance and buy a pair of sandals instead, which is what I did. 
Then, looking like a pensioner in black socks and sandals, and walking like one too, I was able to accompany my long-suffering colleague around the historical souk. Even then, I couldn’t accept that my suitcase was lost and, still expecting good news, did nothing about acquiring additional clothes.
Unfortunately, however, when we returned to the hotel later there was still no progress. In fact sympathetic hotel staff reported that apparently no-one had any idea whatsoever of where my suitcase was. It seemed (only metaphorically I hoped) to have fallen out of the sky! But what else can you think when even the airline cannot locate a labelled and tagged suitcase?
This meant that we faced another trip to the shops. By this time it was raining quite heavily, and I now discovered that I faced a new form of discomfort. Have you ever tried walking through rain and puddles in socks and sandals? It is not very comfortable, and although I have to admit the cold was quite soothing on my still hot blisters, I don’t think that was enough to make me sign up as a regular member of the black socks and sandals brigade!
However, this expedition was different, because I now also had to decide whether I needed to buy a new bag to transport home all this additional apparel. Probably not enough to completely justify a new suitcase, I still figured it would not all fit into my computer bag. Yet there was still a part of me that believed Air France's Customer Service was making every effort to find and return my bag. Also another part of me did not want to rush to buy another bag for Air France to lose! So I decided to leave it and hope for the best.
Was my faith justified? Read the next instalment to find out!