Travel To Paris & First Day On Board
Kim and I were so excited to be back traveling again - to cruise on a Euro river and to spend time with good friends we've met on previous trips. Kim has her "social life" through her nearly every day pickle ball play, but for me my "social life" is nearly all restricted to interactions online. So to return to travel and spend time with people face-to-face was a huge bonus for me. PLUS we always seem to meet the most interesting people. Because our most amazing travel agent Nancy Nelson had found us a direct flight from South Florida to Paris - avoiding all the typical air issues of flight delays and lost luggage - we jumped on the opportunity, even though it meant leaving out of Miami International. We were not about to drive down there and the last time we Uber'd there (for Antarctica) we had a flat tire. So we opted to spend some money and enjoy the same luxury ride that had been part of our package to Iceland in January - to hire a limo driver to take us and pick us up. "Ernie" from Avanti arrived a little before 5pm and we had a smooth ride down to MIA. Check in and security was a breeze and we were at the gate a little more than ninety minutes before boarding. We had booked premium economy seats and were fortunate to get the exit row so we had a "mini apartment" to stretch out for the long overnight trip. We both watched a movie, had a small dinner and then tried to get some sleep.
I slept much better than Kim - but then I used a little bit of sleep medication to help the process along. It was also helpful that by the time we'd eaten and our movies were over it was after 10pm and we'd be heading to bed soon anyway. Landed in Paris around 11:20 am their time and checked through customs, picked up our luggage - YES it arrived pretty quickly (to be fair, we both took carry-ons with three days worth of clothes!). Found our Avalon rep and soon were on our way to the ship. It was a littlw less than an hour drive (kept caught up on some sleep) and as we got close to the ship we got our first glimpse of the Eiffel Tower. As soon as we walked on board we were greeted by our good friends Pam & Bob who'd arrived earlier. We had a light lunch, got into our panoramic stateroom - what a view out the three-sliding-door-floor-to-ceiling-wall-to-wall opening! Went up top to film a short video, back to the lounge for a drink and enjoy the scenery, then back to the room to unpack.
We had a safety briefing at 6pm and then a port talk for what would be happening tomorrow. Before leaving we showered, changed clothes and took a selfie in front of our amazing view as we were already on the move floating down the Seine River. Pam & Bob joined us for the pre-dinner activities and then we headed down for the 7pm dinner. Sat with two UK residents - Brian & Roz - who were delightful dinner companions. Headed back to the top as we went through a lock and then despite it being 9:30 pm the sun had still not set. Enjoyed the mid-70's weather with a light breeze blowing as we cruised through the French countryside.....does it get any better than this? Why aren't YOU here? What a great first day!
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