Usually when I travel for business, it is essentially assured that I will be wherever I am for a few days at most and in some cases, less than a day. Which means that I often do not have the time to pick up my favorite treats in any of the cities or visit my favorite places. Due to the fact that I had two major events, a quarterly Air France, KLM, Delta Joint Venture meeting and a requirement of staying in France in order to renew my visa, I spent the last two weeks in France.

As a brief refresher to the Joint Venture (as it was just our one year anniversary), together, Air France, KLM, Delta and now Alitalia, we have: 250 daily transatlantic flights, some 500 destinations to North America and Europe, over 104,000 Air France-KLM staff, over 70,000 Delta staff, and over 14,000 Alitalia staff. Some rather impressive figures.

Since the beginning of the Joint Venture, worldwide quarterly meetings have taken place, which we have named, “Joint Venture week.” It allows all of us to discuss how we can better further our synergies and offerings to passengers so that we really are providing our passengers with a travel experience as seamless as possible. What was exciting about the meetings this week, was that Alitalia joined us as the meetings took place shortly after it was announced that Alitalia officially joined the Joint Venture. We’re very excited to have the Italians join us as they bring much to the table, including: 250 daily flights and 55,000 seats including 20 daily transatlantic flights from five US gateways to Rome or Milan-Malpensa.

With Alitalia, the Joint Venture represents approximately 26% of the overall capacity on transatlantic routes with an annual income estimated at over 10 billion dollars. The arrival of Alitalia into the fold officially adds the Italian market, which represents the third largest market in Europe.   

Though I cannot reveal much, I can say that the meetings were very successful and we’re continuing to move full steam ahead as the world’s largest joint venture. As I had to remain in France as part of renewing my working visa here in the US, I decided to visit my hometown of Avignon. It may be a small village compared to New York (there are fewer than 100,000 residents, so approximately the population of the Upper East Side), for me it is always a joy to return home. While there I visited a special Miquel Barceló exhibit that is on display at the Palais des Papes (the Pope Palace) to celebrate the 10th anniversary of The Collection Lambert and will be on display until November 7th. The Palais des Papes is a must when visiting Avignon – it is one of the largest and most important medieval Gothic buildings in Europe and is also an official UNESCO World Heritage site.

Of course a visit to the coast of Rhône would be incomplete without visiting a winery. I met with Marc Perrin, who is part of the fifth generation of the family to own and run the Domaine de Beaucastel winery where I was able to taste some of their fantastic wines as well as discuss some partnership opportunities. As well as some interesting facts about wine production in Avignon: in 1321, under the reign of Pope John XXII, four barrels of wine were brought from the papal cellar in Avignon to be filled with wine in Châteauneuf where the Beaucastel winery is located. After this, the Popes increased their vineyard holdings in the region and papal wine gained in fame. According to Jay McInerney from “The Wall Street Journal,” who has more qualifications to talk about wines does a great job of discussing the particulars of the Beaucastel wines in this article.

My visit happened at an ideal time as the In and Off theater festivals take place in July. It is difficult to describe but the city is flooded with different plays, the program is often as thick as a phonebook, the plays always hit or miss – but it’s always an experience to go. The Festival OFF is a bazaar, party, fair, a theatre supermarket all wrapped into one. The shows often take place on the street with passersby watching, and spectators will often become involved in the production. For this reason alone, I would highly suggest visiting Avignon during July. 

A restaurant suggestion if you do stop by is the Restaurant Christian Etienne located in the Place du Palais. It is run by a friend of mine, and has a unique tasting menu that features tomatoes as the main ingredient in every course of the meal – even dessert! Of course there is an À la carte option as well, but what other opportunity would you have to sample a tomato sorbet?

A last suggestion: for dessert or a sweet treat, Amorino, a boutique that started in Paris, has fantastic gelatos and sorbets. I myself like the chocolate flavors.

I may have missed the heat wave in New York, but I was finally able to pick up a few of my favorite things to bring back, including my favorite tea (Vert Provence) by Mariage Frères. A winning situation all around. I’m back in the city now and ready for the full Summer ahead.