As many of you know, to re enter the USA at this point you need a covid test taken one day before your flight. I brought the BINAX now AG card proctored tests for us, and took mine more or less without incident the morning before departure, L took hers as well and we were good to go. Out the door at 6:15am, taxi stand a block from the apartment and, wow out at the gates within about 30 minutes of arrival at CDG, this is record time. AirFrance lounge would not admit me even with my fancy new AMEX card, so coffee in the terminal. Luckily I knew our documents needed to be verified at the desk before boarding, mine were fine, but L apparently hadn’t updated her computer or phone to Paris time and her test then showed 04/26, since Hawaii is 12hrs earlier. In spite of explaining that it was just a time zone issue the gate agent was having none of it. Panicked calls (4!) to BINAX ensued with long holds and then various redirects and elevations to Level 3 etc. The other option would have been to completely exit to the lobby and get tested at the pharmacy pre security, this was not going to work time wise. (Seems a little weird not to have some kind of testing option post security, but CDG is not one of the worlds better airports). About 10 minutes before boarding, the email finally came through with the test result shown in Universal Time, UTC, which then showed the date of the 27th, which was acceptable to the gate agent. This kind of thing is yet another reason that you need a working cell phone! A hair raising and nerve wracking departure, but we made it. Lots of empty seats, we were in economy comfort, so easy if long flight at 9 hours 45 minutes. Global entry came through for us and we sailed out the door and into a Lyft all in about 15 minutes. Anyway after looking like there was no way we were going to be on that flight, it came through in the end. Here’s some food pictures from the final dinner, at Le Petite Marche, near Pl. des Voges.

POST SCRIPT: Came down with Covid Saturday after flying back on Friday, so glad it waited till I was home! Mild case and tested negative within 6 days.

Did some good walking around yesterday and today, with the morning spent doing the Binax now covid tests in preparation for departure tomorrow. Here are pictures from Isle Aux Cygnes, in the Seine, from Eglise St. Sulpice and from the top of the Montparnasse tower.

Went up to Montmartre today, always charming and interesting. In the old days, it was outside city limits and therefore not taxed. Many artists lived there and it was famous for its bars. Moderate crowds today. For those interested, there was general relief that Macron was reelected, but the French news had a blackout on election coverage until 8:00pm last night, so there wasn’t much to be found.

Decided to take further advantage of the Carte Blanche this morning and headed to the Orangerie. Monet’s water Lilys in situe and guest impressionist things downstairs. Not too crowded and a nice walk through the Tuileries in the process. The afternoon was a long awaited tour of the Opera Garnier, a spectacularly ornate building. Tour guide was not great, but did learn some new things. Since Napoleon III had an attempt on his life, he had the front built so his coach could pull up to the door, also the street from the Louvre to the Garnier has no trees, since the attempt was made from a tree. (I deleted videos from earlier posts, so hopefully enough memory open to post pictures again.)

Went to the Orsay museum this morning. Great workaround, get a Carte Blanche membership for 44euros/year and you get in at 9:00, before the public! Had the galleries to ourselves for the first half hour, also includes the Orangerie. Then a quick look at the Arc de Triomphe and then to Bastille market and Brasserie Bofinger for lunch.

Some walking around today, lunch at Au Pied de Cochon and then out to dinner at a Bar/restaurant in Belleville that has Edith Piaf singing. Quite entertaining!

Started off with a coffee at Le Peleton, then to the Bastille market, a huge affair. Lots of people, food, veggies etc. Then to NoGlu the GF bakery for a croissant. They do them quite well, although they are small. After, a stroll towards the Marche d’Aligre, followed by a glass and some charcuterie at Le Baron Rouge. Headed out to check out two tango events, one at Luxembourg gardens and the other on the Seine, neither of which showed any promise. Dinner was some risotto at Bon Vivant, a nice wine bar in the 5th.

After a mornings coffee, I decided to do a walk that has long been on my list. By taking the RER A to Champigny, way east, you can walk along the side of the river Marne, and there are numerous places where you can bail out at an RER station. It took about half an hour from Chatelet, and my Navigo Decouverte pass covered the fare. Lovely walk along the river and stopped for lunch at a classic riverside place. Eventually ended up at the outer edge of the gardens near Vincennes. See photos, and here’s a weblink with directions for any of you who might want to do this: http://anhourfromparis.com/an-autumn-walk-along-the-marne-with-two-surprising-detours

Met up with my neighbor from NH, JR who lives on ile St. Louis for dinner. He had booked us at a very nice restaurant in the 5th, Narro. Delicious lamb dish.

Click on the photos for larger images!

Pleased to report that the apartment is lovely. I decided to get a printer set up today, so after consulting with the owner of Le Pelton coffee shop, headed to BHV, a big box store. They had one HP printer in stock, so that was it. By some miracle the set up went smoothly and we now have a working printer. Beautiful weather, so out strolling and had a crepe for lunch. The crowds are definitely back in Paris, see photos.

Today, I had a bit of time in the morning for a walk before heading to the train station for TER to Bordeaux and then TGV to Paris. Luckily I saw there was an earlier train, so took that, which gave me enough time for a quick salad in Bordeaux before taking the train to Paris. Nothing like blasting along at 200mph! Got to the apartment and, it was more spacious than expected. I bought a share in this sight unseen during the pandemic, and compliments to Adrian Leeds and her crew for doing a beautiful job of remodeling it and making it well equipped. Still figuring out where to put things and how things work, but wow what a perfect spot! Paris is having nice warm spring weather and everyone is out and about and sitting on the terraces.