Started today finding a coffee shop in the Marais called Noir that I have been meaning to try. Excellent coffee but as usual no terrace. Inverse relationship between good coffee and good terraces! First idea was to check out the Pompidou center, closed till 11:00am so off to Luxembourg gardens, after that back to Pompidou, way too crowded. Walked around and ended up having lunch at a nice cafe next to Pied de Cochon called Poppy. Went next door to try and get into the Pinault museum, but even with a membership, the security line was way too long. From there, off to try the Arc de Triomphe yet again. Last trip, I was sold a ticket at 9:00am for a 10:30am entry only to find that they were on strike and had been for a month. Don’t think I ever got a refund in spite of a number of comical emails wherein I suggested that I use the ticket at another time and they said that is was only valid for the issued time and I pointed out that they had sold me a ticket when they knew they were closed etc…. This would be fraud in the USA but normal in France. Nice walk down the Champs Elysees and a stop at Gentlemen 1919. Then dinner with Darren, Sharon, John and Léopoldine at Pierre Sang. This is a Prix Fixe that really exceeds expectations. Many courses and much great converstations…. A Chateau Neuf and a Pomerol….Sorry no pictures of dinner!

Started with the traditional Sunday morning trip to the Bastille open market. This is one of the biggest markets in Paris and happens every Sunday. Normally go to the Breton booth for a galette, but wasn’t feeling like Sausage and mustard and cheese at 9:30am so ended up with some Vietnamese spring rolls instead. Met up with John R. And did the rounds of his favorite merchants while he stocked up. Then a metro ride to the Rodin Museum and spent some time in the gardens there. (Insider tip: join the museum and you can go anytime you want with no reservation, renewal was 27 Euros for the year!) From there a quick snack of escargots at the La Terrace du 7eme before heading to Printemps. This is a big department store and the cheese Monger in my neighborhood said that they had a restaurant there where I could taste more cheeses. This ended up being magic, as the restaurant was on the 8th floor with an outdoor terrace all around and I had a spectacular view. Had a Smash burger no bun and the a three cheese selection. Not sure how I had never heard of this, but really great view, good food and fair prices… A definite find. Walk through Rue de Montorgueil on the way back and a quick shelter to hide from a passing rain storm. Took some down time, laundry etc. and passing on dinner after the big lunch.

Started today by heading up to the 3rd where I had seen a lot of tents being set up last night. Found a new high end coffee place called Kawa, that had very San Francisco tasting espresso. Turned out a huge Brocante, or garage sale type thing was going on, and it was quite massive. Walked around and ended up connecting with John R., neighbor from NH who lives in Paris. There were shopping the brocante. After lunch at the Marche des Enfants rouge headed back and then to planned meet up at Le Baron Rouge. No one turned up for that some headed back and the over to the 6th for dinner with friend Christian. Lovely snack of cheeses that I brought and then rabbit pate and salad, after which we headed out to the LVMH owned Cravan cocktail bar. One French 75 and that was it for the evening! 18,300 steps!

The plan today was to take the metro out to St. Ouen and go to the Fabrique du Metro museum which is all about how the metro was built, history etc. Oddly enough, there is not Metro stop near this place, so after getting as far as I could, it was another 15minute walk to the museum. On arrival they told me I couldn’t possibly be admitted without a reservation, although it was clear that no one was there. So, hopped on the sight and tried to make a reservation only to find that the next opening is in January of 2025 and that they only do tours one day a week. Very French! Kind of reminds me of last trip where I bought an Arc De Triomphe ticket at 9:00am for a 10:30am visit, got there only to find they were on strike and had been for quite awhile. In the USA, this would be fraud, in France it is normal. Anyway, I exacted a certain small satisfaction from giving them a horrible google review, which I know they saw since they responded to it. Hopefully others will see it and it will save them wasting a morning schlepping out there. Hopped back on the bus and walked around the flea markets of St. Ouen, which are famous but not much open on Friday. They seem to do their thing on Saturday and Sunday with endless amounts of brick and brac and junk for sale. A decent Poulet Fermier at Paul Bert and then a long bus ride back into town. In an interesting inovation, the IDF Mobilites IPhone app now allows you to use your phone or watch for tickets. I jumped through the hoops and bought one ticket on my watch to try it out, and it does in fact work. This will be a major game changer for visitors who will no longer have to buy transit cards.

High speed rail is really fabulous when it all goes to plan. I made it from Central Bordeaux to Central Paris in a few minutes over 2 hours. 584km/363miles which would have taken 6 hours by car. That’s and average speed over 180mph! This was a non stop so no fooling around. Then out of Montparnasse to my favorite 96 bus which goes straight to my Apartment. All good with the apartment, and I immediately got a load of wash going, picked up some things to eat and went out for a crepe. After regrouping, headed over to Ile St. Louis and walked around a bit before taking the bus towards St. Germain for some tasty snacks at L’Avant Comptoir du Terre. After that, a quick walk around St. Germain and then a bus back to the Marais.

Started the day with heading to a cafe on the other side of town recommended by the “Lost in Bordeaux site” called Cafe Eriu. Had a good chat with the Barista who is from London and had some good restaurant recommendations. After headed into the spectacular public gardens. Large and nicely done. From there headed over to the wine negotiants museum. This was a well curated series of cellars followed by a nicely explained tasting of only 2 different wines, but the explanations were interesting. From there a lunch at Les Valliants recommend by the barista. Then it was off to the Musee d’Aquitaine, which does Bordeaux history pretty much from the Stone Age. I skipped up to more modern times but was interested in their rather forthright treatment of the slave trade. Nantes seemed to be a bigger transhipment point, but Bordeaux was definitely in the midst of it. After that it was off to the Ecole du Vin for a tasting, and luckily I got a waitress who was an enthusiast and happy to do small pours for me so I could taste some different things.

Took the bus out to Pessac this morning for a 10:0am tour of Chateau Pape Clement. This was the usual tour of the premises, which were spectacular, and then I had paid for the fancier tasting, and so myself and 2 others were taken aside for a more detailed tasting of various wines. Nicely done and found my way back to the center fairly easily via bus and tram. Managed to fine a Korean place for Bibimbap for lunch. Then did some walking around and found some of the wine bars I had hunted out yesterday to be open. My favorite being one in the St.Michel neighborhood called Julo, where the owner was happy to pour some tastes of different things. Never did manage to eat dinner as the charcuterie plate had me sufficiently full that nothing more felt needed. Nightcap at the usual Le Regent on the main square where I met 3 guys from Abu Dahbi who keep BMW motorcycles in France and come over and ride a few times per year. Usual off and on rain showers, but today at least it was predominantly not raining!

In spite of solid rain all day, it was a smooth trip from San Sebastián to Bordeaux. In this case the official ways that I found were not what I used. I knew from previous visits that there is something called Euskotren that runs from San Sebastián to Hendaye. When you are trying to go from Spain to France it doesn’t work very well because the train tracks are off different gauges. So, Euskotren is your basic local commuter train that runs along the Basque coast. For 2.75 it take 37 minutes to get from San Sebastián to Hendaye where the train ends right next to the SNCF station from there it is about 2 hours on the TGV to Bordeaux. I bought a 3 day tram pass for 12 euros immediately on arrival and headed from my hotel on Rue St. Catherine, one of the main shopping streets. Rain continued and it is some kind of holiday and a Monday so my attempt to find some new wine bars was largely thwarted. Tomorrow I’ve got a tasting scheduled in Pessac at Chateau Pape Clement. Will take the bus out there and see how it goes. Forecast is for rain for the next few days. I did end up at one of my favorite wine bars, which is near my hotel for a plate of Charcuterie.

San Sebastián has a big hill at the top of the old town with a fort, museum and chapel on the top. So, for today, decided to climb to the top. First headed to Simona a nice coffee shop and when I came out there was huge running race going on with 1000s of people running by. Managed to skirt that and make the climb. After descending it was time for a lunch snack, the place I ended up near my hotel had Albariño for 2.40 a glass and a free serving of paella came with it. Can’t really argue with that. Took some down time this afternoon as was dragging a little, then out for a few pinxtos for dinner. As usual, started raining late evening, but it does seem to pass in about an hour. Off to Bordeaux in the morning.