Issa Rae Is Here with the Holiday Travel Essentials to Make Your Season Bright

If there’s one thing Issa Rae loves to do it’s travel. As a self-proclaimed foodie and explorer, when she’s able to break away from her hectic Hollywood schedule (and isn’t traveling for work), Rae finds solace in the experience of personal trips—especially over the holiday season. 

“In December, my mom, pops—and even though it’s been the most annoying experience on earth—have planned a family trip to Senegal,” the Insecure creator told Vanity Fair, joking about her mom dominating their family group chat while planning the excursion. “We have not taken a family trip since I was very young. So she’s actually been able to gather us all: family, nieces, nephews, and stuff like that included. It’s going to be really, really special.” 

It’s no secret that Rae—who recently teamed up with American Express to curate an itinerary for Paris, France (her favorite city)—has an affinity for French culture. Not only is The City of Light one of her most-loved places, last summer, the star married her longtime boyfriend, Louis Diame, in a picturesque ceremony at the luxurious Grand-Hôtel du Cap-Ferrat in the South of France. The writer and producer’s love for all things French is the result of her family’s influence.  

“My parents met [in France] and they both went to school in Bordeaux. They got married there. And we used to visit as children. In fact, the layover to Senegal was always Paris. We would always spend time there. But when you’re a kid, you don’t really appreciate it. Too much cigarette smoke— and that’s also where I learned that I hate PDA. In Paris – it’s everywhere. Everybody’s just so loving and affectionate, they’re just free. So I just had a different perspective,” she laughed.

Despite her qualms with public displays of affection, the actress and comedian frequently visits France, having most recently traveled to Cannes. And like everyone who has experienced the madness of post-quarantine travel, the RapSh!t producer revealed her own nightmare experience this past summer, which began when she left her passport at home. Once she finally made it to the South of France, very delayed, upon her arrival to baggage claim, she discovered that her bag was stolen by a traveler bound for Norway. 

“After the third round [of luggage], I was like, ‘I know somebody stole my bag. I know my bag was supposed to come out first.’ And I kept on seeing his [bag] that matched mine but with all these stickers! I was like, ‘This dude probably took my bag.’ So I went to the person and said, ‘Hey, I think this guy stole my luggage. I really need it,” Rae recalled. “It was literally all I had packed. So they called him just in time and they told me, ’Ma’am we just got him…he’s literally about to check his bag to go to Norway.’”

She continued, “I was like, ‘Bro, can you just get my bag so I can go?’ He ended up missing his flight, but I was straight. But it was just madness. Everybody was crazy, this crazy!”