The Best Bottle Of Coca-Cola I Ever Drank

Back in October, I went on a Cruise. Quite possibly the best holiday I have ever (currently) been on. I went with MSC Cruises onboard the MSC Virtuosa, and visited the North of France and the North of Spain! Over the course of a week, I visited A Coruña, La Rochelle, Bilbao, and Le Havre, and went on several excursions. The first one of which was in the port of La Rochelle, when I visited the Island of Île de Ré.

Originally I was supposed to go on a different excursion, but that had been cancelled due to bad weather, so I switched. Anyway, on the morning of the excursion, I was black-out tired, and so decided to sleep a little longer before disembarking. This did mean though missing out on breakfast. Not necessarily a bad move, it’s was more that the Marketplace Buffet on the ship was the really the only place on the ship where I was able to get any of the drinks I prefer. I don’t drink alcohol, tea, or coffee, and I’m not a fan of fizzy drinks either. So Apple Juice served in the Marketplace Buffet was something of a real luxury for me on the cruise (even more so considering I couldn’t buy a bottle of squash to keep in my cabin from anywhere on board).

So I was a little bit thirsty, but thought I might be able to get something off the ship. So, I went on the excursion, and was driven to the island on the coach and saw many of the island’s vineyards and salt marshes, before we then stopped at Saint-Martin-de-Ré. We were then given a brief tour of the town, before we could go out on our own.

By this point, my mouth was as dry as a bone, and had nothing to drink since waking up (or possibly even before then). So, I walked to a cash-point, took out some cash, then visited a café. Now the café didn’t have much to offer, but one thing it did have was bottles of Coca-Cola. Now I am not a big fan of Coca-Cola, it had been years since I had one, but beggars can’t be choosers; so I bought one of those, and made my way back to the bus stop, to prepare for the coach’s return to the ship. I did have a little wander around and took some photos.

Because of my dry lips, those bubble splashing onto my lips and tongue, it was so refreshing and rewarding, it was one of the best drinks I have ever had. It put me in mind of that roof scene from The Shawshank Redemption, or the fizzy drink scene in The Road. I just sat drown and drank it all down. It didn’t matter that it was not a personal or preferred choice of drink, at that moment in time, it was brilliant. Easily the highlight of my day.

Soon though it was all down, and to remember that moment, I took the above picture in tribute of that drink (and the café that sold it to me, which I sadly cannot remember the name of, but it was in Saint-Martin-de-Ré, near a cash point, and near the little harbor in the town’s centre, not far from the position of the below photograph, just sort of 90 degrees to the left). After this, it was back onto the coach, and back to the ship.