France day 2-3/17, Madeleine and Montmartre

Later in our second day, after arriving in France from the overnight flight, we went on a prearranged, guided walking tour near our hotel, with Rafael of "Urban Adventures". The hotel is in the Madeleine district, not far from the Louvre. This photo of Gary and Susan was taken outside the Louvre.

On our third day, we started with another walking tour by "Urban Adventures", this time with Ellen. (Visit Ellen's personal web site at https://www.pembroke-music.com/https://www.pembroke-music.com/, this is her band.) In the photo is Gary's first official sit-down with an espresso at a real Parisian café, in the Montmartre neighborhood. In the background is a boulanger/patissier (bakery and pastry shop). In Paris, you might see a boulanger who bakes only bread/croissants and not sweetened goods, whereas an American "bakery" would almost always serve anything that comes out of an oven, sweet or otherwise.

By the way, our hotel serves American-style coffee, not fantastically flavorful but OK to get our morning started. In Montmartre, I did not discuss the menu with the staff person (he seemed to be the owner or manager). The espresso was great. I will look for a chance to have a coffee discussion later when I have a little more time and can maybe try a couple products.

In Montmartre, we zigged and zagged until we reached the top of the hill where stands the Basilica of Sacré Coeur. I am still sorting through photos, maybe later.

I have been joking about my limited ability to speak French with the person who has been at our hotel's front desk the last couple days, so I told her upon returning from Montmartre, "Nous parlons avec Picasso, il n'est pas mort."

Look it up.

France day 2 of 17, arrival

The AirFrance flight experience was very nice. We left Monday evening from Toronto and arrived Tuesday morning, so this is technically day 2.

We will be in Paris for nine nights, so we figured we should bump up the room category. The Hotel Waldorf Madeleine on Boulevard Malesherbes has three sizes of rooms with optional amenities such as breakfast. We ended up with the largest size room and the daily breakfast, for a better rate than expected. It is a lovely room, on the corner of a triangular shaped building, so we have three windows on two walls. We can squeeze out onto the wraparound balcony, but it's very narrow and not made for people. The WiFi comes at no extra charge and works well.

This is not a business hotel, so some wall outlets are a bit tough to access, but our phones and wearables will get charged.

Customer reviews suggest the smaller rooms are pretty small. We will be very comfortable in this room, but if you're planning to follow our footsteps, know that this is not at the economy price point.

Vive la France, en deux jours, this might just happen

Our trip to France starts in 2 days. Watch this space for daily info and photos once we get there.The most recent post appears at gocek.org.

The lawn is mowed and the suitcases have been dragged out of hiding. Even our wills are updated.

We have a folder full of vouchers and tickets, many of which refer to a booking of some sort that needs to be confirmed. I guess I will get used to making phone calls in France (although I can always ask the hotel to help).

Yeah, that really is me mowing the lawn, captured by the backyard bird cam.

White Privilege 2019

Vive la France, en 16 jours, coffee and church

Our trip to France starts in 16 days. Watch this space for daily info and photos once we get there. For now, a few practice posts. The most recent post appears at gocek.org.

Two topics today (before we travel) that will require revisiting after we get to France: Coffee and Church

Although we have many events planned, we'll be in France for 15 nights and will have free time. I have become a big fan of premium coffee over the last few years, as served in America. I drink a little espresso, but it's not something I sip on for a half hour (because the little cup is empty after three sips). According to the internet, shops in France prepare coffee in forms close to what we Americans think of as espresso.

I rarely put milk or sugar in my coffee, so it seems like I will need to experiment a bit. And that may not be so bad; after spending a couple weeks in England, I found pub beer at its pub temperature to be very enjoyable, and it remains different than American beer even in these days of craft brews. I have not traveled to Europe since 1990, so I am looking forward to writing my review of the French coffee scene.

Along with coffee, I am also a committed Episcopalian, which is the American denomination within the Anglican Community. Historically, "Anglican" refers to the church of England, started by Henry VIII when the Roman pope wouldn't annul Henry's marriages. We probably won't attend a church service in Paris, but there is an Anglican church in Nice, "Holy Trinity Nice" ("Sainte-Trinité Nice"), and this is where we can really meet the locals.

While we're in France, we will meet many people, but most of them will be serving us in some way (hotel staff, tour guides, etc.). But, by attending a church service, we will meet fellow Christians (specifically, Anglicans) in their local house of worship (and one wonders whether the concept of "coffee hour" is universal).

I might drink a few glasses of wine in France, but I am also hoping for great coffee and church experiences.

Vive la France, en 17 jours

Our trip to France starts in 17 days. Watch this space for daily info and photos once we get there. For now, a few practice posts. The most recent post appears at gocek.org.

We visited our travel agent today to pick up our final bits of travel information. Most of our transportation arrangements have been in place for a while, such as flight and train info, but we picked up invoices for some pre-planned group tours and asked a few final questions (like, will our room be ready at 8 am when we arrive at our first hotel - um, maybe).

I think travel agents are still relevant, especially for long trips. You can spend your life reading customer reviews for Paris hotels and still not be sure of what you'll find when you get there, but most agencies send their agents to the major tourist locations and have lots of recommendations and advice. Agencies have access to discounts that aren't available to private travelers. The internet does indeed make it possible for individuals to book everything on their own, but my experience with travel agents has always been good and financially beneficial.

Vive la France, en 25 jours

Our trip to France starts in 25 days. Watch this space for daily info and photos once we get there. For now, a few practice posts. The most recent post appears at gocek.org.

So yeah, I had this idea that I would wear a tux into Salle Médecin, the room at the Grand Casino in Monte Carlo where Pierce Brosnan (as James Bond) plays baccarat in "Goldeneye". Well, it turns out, although there is a real-life dress code in the evening, tuxedos are not a thing.

There is some talk in the forums that dressing well attracts better service and especially may help when the staff is controlling access to crowded areas. But, you don't want to go overboard. We're just hoping Monte Carlo isn't as casual as Vegas, where Americans dress like they just got out of the all-you-can-eat buffet.