Off on another adventure with an afternoon flight out of SFO for LHR. This was a very inexpensive freeby using Chase points, 14k, transferred to Virgin Atlantic. I juggled my seat assignment at the last minute so no one would be next to me, resulting a a row of 3 seats. That allowed me to lie down and mostly sleep for the whole trip. As long flights go this was an easy one, and although there is a very long walk to immigration at Heathrow, it is now all done by machine and very fast. Before you arrive you have to get an Eletronic Travel Authorization, so they already know you are coming. Direct train in from the Airport to Bond St. station, walking distance to the Hyatt I’m staying at, also free on Chase points. After showering and regrouping I took the tube over to the London Bridge and Borough market, walked around a bit, stopped in at Evensong at St. Paul’s cathedral and then headed back again by tube to the neighborhood that I am staying in. Found a wine bar with some small plates for dinner, and now just trying to stay up until at least 9:00pm to minimize future jet lag. It is interesting how different in character London is from Paris. Many more modern buildings integrated among older buildings. Also interesting to hear people speaking, assume it is a foreign language and the realize that they are actually speaking English! Transit well sorted with no need to get any kind of pass, just use the Apple Watch and scan Apple Pay on and off! Very practical! Also they have a daily cap, so once you reach about 8.90 you don’t pay more that day. Both of my phones have French SIM cards now and after a few minutes of hooking up and reboot seem to be functioning well.

Got going early and took the bus to the Orsay in time to get in with the members only at 9:00am before the general public. After renewing my expired card went to the visiting Caillebot exhibit and then up to the 5th floor for the impressionists. After that, headed to the Rodin for a quick walk around the gardens and then to try Bisto Paul Bert. That was a bit of a disappointment but that’s how it goes sometimes. Beautiful day with temps up around 75degrees. Prepping for departure tomorrow.

Had a meet up with some other Francophiles for coffee then off to the Musee Conqac Jay. A small museum in the Marais in a beautiful old house. From there a lunch on Rue de Rozier and then off to the Musee Andre Jacquamart. Unfortunately they were not dealing well with walk ins and that plan got abandoned after a substantial wait. Note to visitors of France, just because hours are listed as 10:00am to 6:00pm, don’t be surprised if they are closed for many hours at lunch. Such was the case with this museum and no indication that this would be the case. Common problem throughout France and worse in the country side. A quick visit to the Grand Palais, before and apero and then dinner with John R. And Atsu at their apartment on Ile St. Louis.

Ran in to David Turnley this morning, he is a very well known photographer who happened to attend University of Michigan, Residential college as I did. His twin brother Peter, also a famous Photogapher also attended. We had a nice visit, then it was of to the Butte Aux Cailles in the 13th followed by Pho at Pho Bom. A pleasant dinner with Christian C at his house with oysters and and a number of interesting cheeses.

Very nice weather today in Paris, off the the Bastille Sunday market this morning and the to the Marche d’Aligre. A stop at Le Baron Rouge for some oysters and then Metro to St. Germaine for lunch at Atlas. Visit to the Cluny museum. Very interesting and a nice size. A couple appetizers at the Avant Comptoir de la Terre for dinner and that was the day!

Grey skies to start the day, but not actually raining. Headed over to Rue Mouffetard for the Saturday market. Had some lovely oysters at the seafood place and then headed over to Hotel de Ville, Paris city Hall, for the once a year open house. Unfortunately lines were crazy long so that wasn’t happening. From there over to Galleries Lafayette and on to Printemps. On the 8th floor of Printemps there are a number of good restaurants with great views over the city and a good terrace. Unfortunately too cold to sit outside but an excellent lunch all the same. Rainy afternoon. Nice meet up with some fellow owners at the Lanterne apartment. Dinner with Sharon and Darren at La Pie Noir. Vastly amusing waitress and good food!

Today ended up being a pretty full day! Lovely crisp, cold weather to start with. I went off to find a copy shop to print some tax stuff, after that it was up to Montmartre which is having their annual Fete des Vendages. Today there was a wonderful tasting of food and wine that covered many tents and quite a few streets. Ended up with a very nice Sausage and two kind of potatoes for lunch. Then walked down Rue des Martyrs all the way to see the fancy Starbucks the Madeline. From there walked over to Pl Vendome and then to the Louvre area. After a brief regroup, it was off to dinner with Pam and Léopoldine at Pierre Sang. This place does a set menu, no choices and does a really nice job. Following dinner a long walk home!

Today was a good travel day as those things go. Pam picked me up in her rental car and we drove a little over an hour to Tours-Nord to return the car. Then a brief walk to take the tram to the Tour Center Gare. Had enough time for a coffee and then on to the TGV from Paris. Just over an hour to Montparnasse and then on the 96 bus to Odeon for a crepe at Breizh before heading to Ile St. Louis to find my AirBnb. Fourth floor tiny one bedroom, but has an elevator and great location. Got settled, went to the supermarket and ran into Atsu on the street. Then it was off to a meet up for Frenchie types from my facebook groups, and the headed to rue de Montorgueil for a bite of dinner. Got lucky and got into Frenchie Bar A Vins, and few appetizers did the job. A stop at Les Philosophes on the way home completed the evening.

A very rainy day today! Off to Chinon which has the remains of a big fortress on the top of a hill. Explored this between rain showers and then eventually found a good place in the town for lunch. Then it was back to Saumur to pack for tomorrow’s trip to Paris. Dinner at Domaine Beaumont with Pam and Gerald and Sarah-Jane, was fun and casual.

Met up with Pam for coffee and the took her rental car to visit my brother’s friends at their Chateau. They bought this place during the pandemic with the idea of using it for a semester abroad program for young college students. It has been quite the project as the place is enormous and was largely in a state of decay when they got it. They’ve put untold hours and effort into fixing it up and have enough of it functional to house 25+ students, but they have a whole floor of 13 rooms they haven’t started on yet! Beautiful place and it was fun to meet them, but wow, what a project! They have not moved more or less permanently there from Portland, OR. After our Chateau visit we went to a nearby locals restaurant, La Brocard, that they recommended and were not disappointed. If anything a little too much food! Then back to Saumur, where Pam went back to the winery and I did the Combier distillery tour. Combier History. Quite interesting with copper stills from the 1850s still in use. Here is a link to the Chateau Grifferae YouTube channel: https://youtube.com/@chateaudelagrifferaie953?feature=shared