I didn’t even want to look at it.
Sitting there, all empty-like. Teasing me while I waited for the jet doors to close for good. I watched as fat droplets of warm, South Florida rain leaked down the pane across the aisle. 10 minutes left.
Five.
That “it” would be seat 41B on my Air France flight from Miami to Paris, which, to my delight in 41C, would remain empty the full 8 hours we soared across the Atlantic.
Paris, affectionately known as the City of Lights, would play host to a few more shiny objects this week as the team at Viking Cruises set out to name a handful of new vessels built specifically for the gentle ribbons of France’s Seine River.
If you recall last week, I was aboard the world’s largest cruise ship, Wonder of the Seas from Royal Caribbean. Going from the robust Spring Break party that was the Coco Cay lagoon in the Bahamas to sipping a Bordeaux while ingraining the finer points of 19th century Impressionism was going to be quite the change of scenery, but hey, c’est la vie.
At my disposal was three years of high school French (shout out Madame Schmidt) and a handful of ski trips to Quebec City where the most I learned was how to ask for the boiled maple syrup poured in the snow and rolled on a stick.
Thankfully, I had the PR team at Viking to lean on. For the past few weeks, they’d been nothing but saintly as I navigated vaccine requirements, PLF forms, sworn statements and pre-cruise COVID testing protocols.
What’s a lot? surah Did Viking make it easy? you bet
Fast forward to landing (the most important part!) when that delicious jolt of anticipation burst out from my core. Of course, what do I open the window to? Fat droplets of cold, French rain leaking down the pane.
