entering the wardrobe

As soon as I entered the door to the Air France Airbus A330, I felt I entered a different country. One moment a gentleman was speaking English to me. He was answering the question I posed about the difference between his Premium ticket and my Economy, which his proud response was, “I get to get on first.” Then he turned and began to speak English to his wife.


He stewardess was speaking French and English to the passengers. French elevator music was being heard throughout the plane. The pilot gave his announcements in French and broken English. “bienvenue a bord” was on every monitor viewable from every seat.

As I was walking down the ramp into the plane, I started removing my electronic gear out of my carry on bag , my neck pillow and a bag of black amd red licorice so I would not have to get it later from the overhead bin. I saw my exit row seat ahead and put my back pack in the overhead storage area a couple rows ahed of my seat. I got to my seat and noticed a pillow and blanket, separately wrapped in plastic, on the seat. The person was already seated next to my seat and the stewardess was standing in the area just in front of my seat. With my hands full of stuff, I attempted to grab the pillow and blanket so I could sit down to allow others to pass to their seats. As I gathered them all into my lap to sit down, the items in the plastic bags began slipping onto the floor. As I reached to pick up an item, another one would fall. I really felt like I was having a senior moment. I could not balance them all on my lap, no place to put them next to me or in front of me. I finally stareted stuffing the blanket and pillows behind me. It wasn't at all comfortable, but practical.