Musee D'orsay, the Louvre, the Champs Elysee, the Arc de Triumph, the Eiffel Tower.....a whirlwind of activity in just 72 hours amidst Covid lockdowns! was the theme of our trip during Thanksgiving weekend this year, but the most striking thing for me was not the destination, it was the journey getting there....in first class!
MJ has achieved Gold status at Delta, which apparently is like a cheat code in a video game or opens a key to a secret level as it allows access to the Delta SkyLounge, which I as a Southwest passenger in my late-teens and early 20's never even dreamed of. The SkyLounge is the equivalent of a VIP room at an airport, where just flashing that gold status QR code grants access to nice seats, cool views of the airport, a cleaner bathroom (actually very underrated considering some of the general public restrooms I've been subjected to at some airports), a bar just for guests, and.......free buffet-style food. I wouldn't say it's like a crowning achievement to reach the SkyLounge, as anyone with enough money to spend accumulating Delta AmericanExpress points plus enough miles flying with the airline can get it, but I did feel my sense of self-worth ballooning as I indulged in all the fancy perks (short for perquisites) in both Atlanta (our connecting airport on the way to Paris) and JFK in New York (on the way back). I almost forgot the AirFrance lounge in Paris that partners with Delta but most importantly also let us in! Just when we thought our baguette and croissant eating days were over, we splurged on more right before leaving Paris! Food, glorious food! I wasn't so sure about a layover instead of non-stop flights for such a short span of time, but with SkyLounge the layover is almost as good as the vacation itself.....(I'm gonna try to exaggerate as much as I can the benefits of it and sell it as all that and a bag of chips). Chocolate fountains were flowing while unicorns flew over them and sounds of champagne popping could be heard throughout! And the attendants were nice and friendly! I didn't find the Fountain of Youth or the Holy Grail, instead I found the Delta SkyLounge!
The trick I've found on any airplane is to try to sit as close to the front as possible (or alternatively the closest to the nearest exit as possible), but I'd never been the FIRST person to get off the plane before, but that's what happened on our flight since MJ and I BOTH sat in the front row in first class. As Barack Obama remarked in his memoir "The Audacity of Hope," (except Barack was describing the amenities at Air Force One, quite a few steps up), it was quite nice. Served first for drinks, our choice of snacks, extra leg room, no need to fight for empty bin space.....what a time to be alive. Now I know what's behind that deftly planted curtain that usually separates me, the riffraff in the main cabin, with the elites up at the front, Titanic movie style. The flight attendant, working on Thanksgiving Day, even took the time to write us a handwritten note wishing us luck on our trip to Paris. They really care about us (and our allegiance towards spending more money at Delta)! They really do! I'm not a man who needs too many nice things in life (no fancy clothes, no fancy cars, watches, accessories), I'm just a plain vanilla guy who's easy to please, I guess, but once in a while it is nice to get stuff other people don't get and not feel guilty about it, which is what Delta and oher flights are trying to incentive I guess. As in life, being at the top pays off in a capitalist airline like Delta, whereas everything's the same in the Socialist Southwest. I pictured MJ and I cruising along at 30,000 feet to the tune of one of my favorite songs (and one of the few I can play by memory on violin), "A Whole New World" from Aladdin, where Aladdin and Jasmine fly off literally into the clouds on the magic carpet and sail over oceans, palaces, herd of animals, etc. It really is a whole new world, first class.
It also sometimes pays off to spend a bit more money for hotel rooms, especially in foreign countries and unfamiliar destinations! More on that next time!
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