In 2011, my husband and I flew to France to visit friends and, of course, France. We took the cheapest flight available [I won't mention the name of the airline], and found ourselves crammed in the center aisle in seats too small, our fellow travelers too noisy, and the food the worst of all bad airplane food. However, we soon realized to our surprise that the entertainment system was state-of-the-art. Not only did it offer dozens of movies, tv shows, etc., but also the contents hundreds of whole CDs, including at least 60 classical and operatic selections.
We each put on our headphones and for the entire 7 hours hungrily consumed the choices, many of which were brand new to us, despite our own extensive CD library. I concentrated on the Baroque, first going through all of the Cecilia Bartoli offerings. Then I discovered the find of the decade: counter tenor Philippe Jarrousky. The recording that really hooked me was "Caldara in Venice: Forgotten Castrato Arias." What an ethereal voice! From there I dove in headfirst and only came up for air when the pilot turned off the system for landing.
The trip home was the same scenario. There we were, squished in between strangers, knees up by our ears, hungry, thirsty and tired. But because of the music, we became oblivious to our discomfort, and both trips seemed the shortest trans-Atlantic flights we've ever taken. We almost hated for them to end.