ell, it's finally time!  A real summer vacation at last.  We all need a few days off from time to time, and this year I decided to combine some R & R with a wonderful jazz experience I'd heard about
for many years in Juan Les Pins. (pronounced Jhew-on-lay-PAN.) I'm hoping by telling you a bit about my experience it may spark something in you to choose a trip you've perhaps not taken if you're one of our lucky winners in the Trip A Day contest!

Stepping aboard the Air France jet, I'm smiling because earlier today I went to their website  at   www.airfrancelasaga.com and learned a bit about the history..including footage of the early days of flying and about the first intercontinental flight in 1946.  Saw the videos of what the passengers looked like back then, how the chefs in tocques ran around giving orders for the kitchen, and of course explored the 'closet' which featured the uniforms designed by Balenciaga, Christian Dior and many more.  Even the berets the flight attendants wore were couture!  Most amusing, and so very French.  :) Loved watching the line chefs stuffing whole poulets with thyme and garlic.

The musical voice of the flight attendant wishes us a cheery "Bon Jour and Bievenue!"--resembling a melodious doorbell--and we are on our way. Loved the part of her speech where she told us to "kindly shoot off your cellphones at this time"--and almmost ducked in case anyone took her seriously. :)  I was surprised and impressed that my fellow passengers actually listened to the safety instructions and didn't blab all the way through it. Well done, New Yorkers!  I'm proud of you.

There are small cloths on the tops of the headrests that resemble little flags--red, white and blue, mind you--the same as our own--and I'm reminded of all the times throughout history that the Americans and the French have banded together over the years....and when they bestowed us with our leading lady of Liberty.  I sincerely hope we can get back to a place where that respect and comeraderie is strong once again.

When people were pouring out French wine in the streets and eating Freedom Fries a couple of years ago, I wanted to say:  "You are rebelling against a CUISINE! Or, in this case, a beverage. Stop it!"  If you have a complaint with a governmental stance, then complain to that government and don't punish the vintners who loving grew the vines to make a world-class wine for your pleasure!  But I digress.

I must say, i revel in the fact that everyone from the pilots to the flight attendants to my fellow passengers--is unfailingly civilised on this flight.  This is THE month when people want to go to the French Riviera in earnest, so every single seat is occupied--yet people are using impeccable manners and their children are behaving beautifully.  This isn't the first time I've noticed how obedient French children tend to be--and how often their noses are buried in a book--and not glued to a video game. Hear, hear!  There ARE several adults, though, indulging in a hand of cyber solitaire on the individual television/media monitors that flip up from the armrests to allow everyone to choose the form of entertainment that's best for them.

The menus are passed out (even in tourist class, I notice!) as we fly over Halifax.  According to my monitor, we're flying at 35,000 mph and it's 58 below outside.  So much for that after-dinner stroll.
The menus are just what you'd expect from tres chic Air France--they resemble post cards until you realise they open up to reveal your menue choices.  Very clever.  I pass on the perch-trout with potatoes and zucchini and opt for the chicken fricassee wiht wild rice and veggies, and it IS tasty. The wine was free as well, and there were these delicious sweet biscuits   called "Les bons gateaux Du Mont Saint-Michel instead of your basic bag of pretzels. Like little elephant ears you might find at a French bakery--it's the little things in life that make such a difference, don't you think?

The French take their gastronomique seriously, as you know. And I should note that on the sound system before take-off, there was a nice blend of chill tunes playing. Chris Botti and Rafe Gomez would have been proud. It all worked together to put me in the European mind zone....where one orders a Coca Cola Light instead of a Diet Coke.

A short nap and 3 chapters of a great book later, we land in Paris.  300 "Orange Shirts" are employed at the city's airports to help guide you to your connecting gates--and they all have 3 or 4 years at the University level and speak 2 or 3 or 4 languages in order to help you.  They're posted in strategic places and are on the lookout for passengers who may be lost and/or confused.   I latched onto a
fellow passenger whose French was better than mine and together we found the bus to take us to our connecting gate.

Flying from Paris to Nice is like flying over a fairy tale. GET A WINDOW SEAT IF YOU CAN!  All the history that's taken place here!  The castles, the farms, the art, the architecture!  The mind boggles.
Marie Antoinette, King Henry the 8th, Napolean and Anne Boleyn..Joan of Arc , Sir Lancelot!  Monet in his garden in Giverny and on his travels to the south of France...the impressionists banding together to capture the incredible light found nowhere else in the world!