Wednesday, August 20, 2014

Homeward-Bound, Aloft In Luxury

We have done some long-haul flights: San Francisco-Tokyo, New Delhi-Sydney, Auckland-Tokyo-Honolulu, LA-Fiji, and many trans-Atlantic flights, many of them from central Europe to SFO. But we have never had a more pleasant flight than on July 31st, with Lufthansa, from Munich to San Francisco. Our usual protocol is to get there early, inquire whether the flight is over-booked, and, if appropriate, volunteer to be bumped. It doesn't work as often as it used to, but it worked in Munich, after a fashion. It turned out the flight was not over-sold, but the staff had assigned our economy/steerage seats to others, and "in gratitude" for our willingness to be bumped, the gate agents bumped us up, that is, up-graded us, to business class. Wowsers! Woof! The last time we were in business class was with KLH, in 1979, JFK to Schipohl, our first European adventure. I remember it well, especially the flight attendant's spectacularly successful efforts at getting me a rusty nail, sending forward to Royal Class for the drambuie. Anyhow, credit Vicki, as always, for this triumph of unaccustomed comfort and luxury.
OK, we are already boozing it up, just aboard, not even fully acquainted with all
the amenities
















Vicki of course is checking out the sales literature; and shortly, now giddy with
the experience, we did a video, at YouTube,
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CCBFhFhzQ38

















The food was actually pretty good















My halibut















Her beef stroganoff















Her Charlotte, and fruit















My cheese and fruit; not pictured...my assorted digestifs, but not so many as to prevent
my watching Monuments Men, Hotel Budapest, and Casablanca; OK, it may seem
ungrateful to watch three broadly anti-German films while enjoying Lufthansa's
hospitality...

















While she tried to sleep

Monday, August 18, 2014

Réservé aux réflexions sur Paris

Coming sooner or later to a screen near you...

Au Revoir, Paris! Vive la France!

So Friday morning, July 31st, WECAB took us to CDG and Lufthansa flew us first to Munich, and then (next post), to San Francisco. Our eleven weeks in Paris were quite special, some of the most memorable of our six years now on the road. We plan to do similar longer-term rentals and stays in London, Rome, Vienna, Edinburgh, Barcelona.... But they may all have to wait until we have done Paris again! I will add some further thoughts on our visit here...the urban experience, food, transportation, culture, people, architecture, whatever...and Vicki certainly will post on the practical and other stuff at our website. But for now it's au revoir, abientot, merci, and vive la France!
We'll always have Paris

Sunday, August 17, 2014

Notre appartement et notre voisinage

Pix of our neighborhood are scattered through the past hundred or so posts from Paris, but I thought I'd collect a few together and add some shots from our apartment, May-July.
Our street, Rue de Nice, just off Rue Charonne; Charonne
was an out-lying village until incorporated into Paris in the
mid-19th century; Rue de Nice was named to commemorate
Nice's becoming French about the same time (it had previously
been part of the House of Savoy, didn't you know)



















Our apartment building; plain and simple and
unadorned, etc; the apartment itself was plain
and simple and unadorned; but adequate





















We were on the 6th floor, served, happily, by the micro-
elevator
















Somehow we managed to acquire fridge magnets
in Paris; the door was metal and had three
siege-proof locks





















Living area















Dining area















Kitchen















Bedroom #1















Bedroom #2















Bath















Sun-dial/amphitheater in the big park down the street where
we would take Penelope
















Fountain in the park















Little kids' play area















The butcher down the street; already shut down for the
August fermeture
















The closest of three bakery/pastry shops, half a block away















An open-book landmark on Rue Charonne















The local Picard, on Boulevard Voltaire; one of the curiosities
of Paris, we thought: there are Picards all over the city, every
few blocks, like Starbucks in a US city; Picard is a strictly
frozen-food store...gourmet and international stuff...frozen;
this is where you can get your frozen sushi...!



















Statue of Leon Blum at Place Leon Blum;
mostly by osmosis, I managed to learn a bit
of French history and politics





















The part of the 11th we lived in was not
quite gentrified, although soon to be; anyhow,
scattered among the mostly residential blocks
were a variety of artisans' shops I always
intended to photograph...a shoe-maker,
carpentry/wood-working, even a shop that
made costume hats for historical movies,
plays, TV shows


























And finally, the G20 at the corner; about half the size of a
7-11, crammed with the merchandise of a Safeway!



Wednesday, August 13, 2014

American Tourist Robbed By BNP Paribus; All's Well...*

In broad daylight, Thursday afternoon, July 30th, on the Boulevard Voltaire. I thought it would be wise to have a few euros as we departed France and Europe the next day. The cash machine at the BNP Paribus bank there, near the intersection with Rue Charonne, cheerfully spit out a receipt saying it had given me 30 euros, but--cash machine nightmare!--no money appeared. None. Nothing. At the machine next to me a young woman, bilingual, fortunately, saw the whole thing and agreed to accompany me into the bank branch to seek restitution. The receptionist was unsympathetic--apparently the receipt and a witness meant nothing--said I must check with my US bank to see whether the funds actually had been withdrawn, and come back the next day. When I told her, through my translator, that I would be out of France and en route to the US the next day, she was even less sympathetic, but finally agreed, under my threatening demeanor (don't laugh), to write a note, en francaise, apparently recounting what I'd claimed to her. We checked with our bank, Cap One, promptly, and eventually received a note saying they were investigating the matter and that it would be 45-90 days before we'd hear anything more. So, fellow American tourists, my advice would be to avoid BNP Paribus, France's largest bank. They had just been socked with one of the largest fines in banking history--9 BILLION bucks--by the US, in a criminal case, for laundering monies from Iran, Sudan, and other places black-listed by the US. Perhaps they figure to get it back from us via their cash machines. Stay tuned. I'm hoping for a just if not timely resolution. See http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2014/06/30/bnp-paribas-pleads-guilty-in-sanctions-case/?_php=true&_type=blogs&_php=true&_type=blogs&_r=1 for some interesting reading on the matter. In six years of world-wide travel, this is the only time I know of that I have been dealt with dishonestly. Anywhere. It's only 40 bucks, I know, but if you can't rely on a cash machine and the bank on the other side of the wall, you can't travel.

*Update: In early August Cap One credited the 35 euros to our account, pending an investigation. In late September, they wrote to say that the matter had been resolved in our favor. All's well that ends well, I suppose, although I'd rather things begin, continue, and end well.
Exhibits A and B

Tuesday, August 12, 2014

Final Out-takes de Paris, 2

Art Nouveau La Chaise de l'amour, from the Paris, 1900 exhibition; said to be 
that of the Prince of Wales, soon to become Edward VII
















I swear I am not making this up
















Thus


More from the naughty room of Paris, 1900















Jules Leblanc Stewart's Redemption, 1905




























Lady Asterbie's pet monkey (family joke)




















Random Roman arch, up near the Strasbourg-St. Denis Metro; actually, the
Porte St. Denis, celebrating some of the Sun King's military exploits, 1672
[just a few years later, we had another longer-term apartment, on Rue St. Denis,
just a block or so from this arch, and got to know it well
















In the fashion district...what you'll be wearing next year





















Look out, Colonel Sanders















Scribe, impresario of the Paris opera, Wagner's sworn enemy...















Maybe best not to do your cash withdrawal here...















Rain forest and restaurant















Love their humor

Final out-takes de Paris, 1

Subway poetry--nothing unique--just nice to see it here too















So there we were, on the Tuileries, Vicki, Penelope, and me, Bastille Night,
so to speak, awaiting the fireworks extravaganza from the Tour Eiffel and 
the Trocadero; as the sun sets, the resident rat population comes out, 
scrounging for the morsels that a quarter million humans have dropped, 
walking by during the day on one of the world's busier concourses; and 
Penelope exclaims, "It's Ratatouille! It's Ratatouille! It really is! He is real!
He is!" A similar response had occurred at Disneyland Paris when she saw 
an animatronic Buzz Light-Year; although she later conceded that all the rest 
of the ride was only "pretend"; these rats were not "pretend," and the city 
had a major PR problem in the following days























Advert for the Paris Plages; note the topless
babe





















In the storied Bois de Boulogne, a ho-mobile, open for
business















And another; we never did figure out whether the red sash
meant "open for business" or "busy"
















"The Frenc..." ran out of spray paint















School of Dentistry















Friend Dave Rott has a sense of humor that's ahead of the rest of us
















La mort d'un pigeon, episode 5 (running gag)















At Pere Lachaise: it really is a living cemetery




















Father Guido Sarducci at the Paris, 1900 exhibition