I was thinking of not blogging this time but after my two readers responded with a resounding "that is not a option", I changed my mind. In fact the blog is a memory tool. As I recall the day and write it down it embeds into my ever shrinking brain a little better....so I am told.

So, we are off again.  Every since we experienced Japan Airlines "Premium Economy" class we have been searching for that level of service again to no avail. Air France premium economy had lots of room but no service and horribly uncomfortable seats. So this time we tried Lufthansa mainly because the fly not stop from Tampa to Europe.  It was a excellent experience. Great seats, even greater service. It was a great crew. We had large seats, great food, lots of alcohol if you wanted, great touch screen entertainment that worked with out have to play finger games to fool the screen, several options of where to plug in your headset and a little hanger next to the screen to hang up your headset.

 one of the pilots was completing his checkout on the Airbus 340 and his girlfriend/mistress made him a surprise.

 just as in the rest of the world a fender bender in the other lane backed up traffic in our  lane.

espresso....we have officially arrived...on to the wine.

Our home in Paris in a totally new neighborhood at 59Ave des Gobelins near Plaza de Italia. We thought we would try something new. It is on the 6th floor, In America that would be the 7th floor as the most of the world starts with "0"  as the first floor. Fortunately it has a elevator. It was a little confusing to find as the numbers on the street did not match up until Vicki found them hidden next to a gate. It is a great neighborhood and just up the hill is a large China town area.  We will investigate.
The only downside of this apartment is there is no airconditioning and it gets the afternoon sun. Fortunately today is the only hot day.

 

We both slept in. Rare for me, normal for her. I awoke her from her travel induced coma around ten. Two bad cups of coffee and we were on the street knowing that better coffee awaited ahead. First stop was the ATM. We both had received new ATM cards, mine arriving just days before departure, and we needed to see if they spoke French. Vicki put the little piece of plastic in and out came plastic money. I took a picture. Lots of countries use plastic money as it lasts much longer than the eighteen months of a U.S. Dollar bill. Korea says they are doing away with money by 2020. “Twenty Twenty” sounds like a futuristic date to a old guy like me but when you do the math it is like tomorrow in senior years.

Back on the walk down Ave des Gobelins I stop to take a picture of a bus stop with the same name and the numbers of all the bus's that stop here so I can research them when we go back to the apartment. At the cross roads of Saint-Marcel there is a building wall set back from the street above another building with old advertising on it on the other side of the I take a picture.

We walk along in perfect weather, temperature in the 70's and clear skies, taking pictures and looking at it all. Gobelins ends at the bottom of the hill and splits into three roads. There is a fountain in the middle and a large Starbucks on one corner. I take a picture of the fountain.

We chose Ave Moffetrad. This a very small street, wide enough for a car in theory and one person sidewalks on each side. It is lined with stores and all kinds of tiny cafes with a takeout window and maybe two or three small tables on the sidewalk or inside. They are serving all kinds of ethnic food, kabob's, falfals, crepes, hamburgers, etc. It is lunch time and every takeout window and the street is full of college students from the university around the corner. I take pictures of the people lined up at the windows, of the crowd in the streets, of the shopkeepers.

We follow Moffertrad up a hill and down the other side. We pass a building that says “Hemingway lived here from 1900 something to 1900 something”. I took a picture. It also said V””” died here and I took a picture of that also. As we get closer to the Seine river the restaurants get bigger, fewer and more expensive. Vicki is charge of lunch but none fit her fancy.

When we reach the Seine we cross the Ponte (bridge) de L'Archevechve which brings us to the back of Notre Dame, but we turn right on the Ponte St. Louis. This is a pedestrian bridge and today, as always, there are some musicians. Today there is a trio of two guitars and a accordion player. They are setting on really short stools and I throw a coin in the open guitar case and listen to the music and take several pictures. On Isle Saint-Louis we turn left and head for the Ponte Louis Philippe. On the short block to the river and across the street is a store selling large Eiffel towers made of ceramic and painted in many colors and they are displayed on the street. I take a picture. On this side of the street is a wine shop and the sign says “wine tasting in english with a accent, sorry”. I take a picture.

In the middle of the Ponte Louis Philippe we take a rare selfie for Sara. I must say it is a pretty good selfie too.

Onward we stroll on our perfect day. Someone had requested pictures of Vespa's with high heels. I have several with lots of bare legs attached to them. I take pictures of flowers, streets and people. We pass crowed sidewalk cafes with people taking the sun before fall arrives and it hides most of the day. Vicki says it is time to head back so we make a big U turn and reverse our course.

We cross back on to the Isle Saint-Louis not yet having stopped for lunch and we come upon a very small cafe on the other side of the street Deau Ponts that we have dined in before. I suggest we try it and Vicki agrees. I take a picture. I like this place because it is my image of a Paris bar. It is very small and the staff is supper friendly. After some banter with the waiter we order today's special, a roast pork with green beans and potatoes and a cold plate with ham, roast beef, salad and potatoes and a carafe of rose to wash it down with. It is all excellent. I got the street view as we were at a interior table, and got to watch the people come ago. They were all interesting, even the brigade of very, very pregnant women that came by. We ate slowly and talked and laughed with the waiter, cook and barkeep joining occasionally. After properly letting the food digest we ordered a fresh raspberry, whip cream, ice cream and a cookie delight. It was excellent. We followed that with a espresso. I took pictures of the chef in his “kitchen”. The open area was about three feet by four feet. His assistant worked in a even smaller space. That led to pictures of all the staff. We paid the bill, thanked them, and headed on our way. We were a few minutes short of our planed two hour lunch.

On the other side of the river we made our way back up the hill, eventually rejoining Moffertrad. On the way up Gobelins we stopped for a expensive coffee at 2.50 euro. At the top of the hill they are only 1.50. It is not unusual to pay 2.50 for a coffee but the view here was not worth it. We stopped in the Fran Prix for a little shopping and were back in the apartment by five.

We opened a bottle of wine and sat down to relax and me to download the catch of the day from the camera. I had reviewed them at lunch and I can tell you they were some of the best I have ever taken, what with the full sun and clear skies. But.....you touch one wrong button and your world of pictures disappears. I was stunned. Who knew. I am still shocked and saddened that I can not share the “perfect day” with you. It showed what Paris means to us. I apologize. I am devistated.

A recovery program has been running for 13 hours now, with 0 files recovered. I hope when it ends there will be something to show for it.

Meanwhile we are starting another perfect day. I will be more careful with my pictures today.