All Our Bags Are Packed!

 Blog # 8 - Paris and New York: The Good, The Bad and The Ugly

Paris is one of our favorite cities to visit; and why shouldn't it be...?

Over the years we stayed at some of the finest hotels. However, for our first visit many years ago, we stayed at a small hotel, tucked away (but very centrally located and affordable). Just for fun, we decided to stay at Francois I again for two days - for old times sake.

Looking out in both directions from our balcony. The hotel (now upgraded) is on a quiet side street and a short walk to the Champ de Elysée, George V and the Arc d' Triumph

Francois and his wife

The hotel is decorated with period furniture and old photographs

A one horse power vehicle - not exactly a Porsche

We have a tradition - take a photo (day or night) in front of this French icon

We ate a nearby bistro. Jerry ordered a "house specialty" - a sausage dish famous in Lyon. It was definitely a one-timer. Jerry thought it was a typical German-style "wurst." Not the case. It was chopped up pieces of pig organs. Nevertheless, we had a fun time talking to the waitress - She was from a small French town near the Spanish border. We knew the town and reminisced about a special, spicy candy that comes from this area.

Following a fabulous breakfast, we were now ready to head home on our favorite airline

Problems: The check-in agent acknowledged we had reservations for a noon flight, seats had been assigned to us but someone or something cancelled our reservation. Although they had two available seats, they would not let us board until we worked out "the problem" with American Airlines since it was an A/A agent that booked the tickets.

The A/A agent tried working with ATN. However, for some reason, the ATN (Customer Service) agent was not cooperative - also saying that there were no seats available when the counter agent indicated seats were available. With everyone traveling these days, the A/A agent indicated we would have to wait about a week before we could leave Paris. Not good! Then, the agent had an idea! She (and her manager) would try to "work a miracle" and put us on an Air France flight the following day even though the two airlines were not partners. 

 

After 2.5 hours of telephone calls going back and forth, we had confirmed reservations, assigned seats and the Air France departure time the following day was reasonable. For the inconvenience, we also got comped by A/A for this night's hotel and three meals (lunch, dinner and breakfast). Later that afternoon, Jerry noticed the Air France Tickets we were given had no assigned seats even though we were told the row and seat numbers by the A/A agent. We went over to the Air France terminal. That agent said the reservations had been canceled because A/A "did not confirm" which was not the case! We ran over to the A/A desk - different part of the airport - that desk was now closed. We were now totally out of luck. 

Just in case, the A/A agent had double booked and reserved seats for us on an A/A flight to New York the following day, connecting to Los Angeles in two days. The next morning we walked over to the A/A desk and told the manager what had happened. He was shocked. He thought we were on the Air France plane and was just about to cancel us off the New York flight when we walked up to the counter. OMG!

FYI - We got >10,000 steps going back and forth at the Paris airport

Following all of this craziness and ready to head off to New York, we got through security and were sitting in the lounge when we noticed we had an extra laptop. Somehow, with all of the security confusion (and there was plenty since we both had to be patted down), we ended up with someone else's device. With the help of an airport customer service agent, Jerry had to retrace his steps - go back to check-in at anther part of the airport, go through their TSA, another pat down, Police security, etc. The laptop was returned to a hysterical laptop owner and Jerry got back in time with minutes to spare to board the plane.

Following a great flight to NYC, we discovered our delayed flight to Los Angeles was cancelled. With all of the schedule mishaps and understanding A/A agents, we were able to stay an extra day in Paris (went to two museums) and spent the weekend in New York going to the MET and theater - with some of the costs picked up by A/A.

Since we were "international passengers," we were upgraded to A/A's "Flagship Lounge." WOW! Beautiful facility - great food - wine tasting areas - comfortable, etc. So, in the end (besides missing doctor's appointments), our situation was more of an inconvenience than a horrific situation. 

Paris Museums 

Musee d' Orsay:

Due the Paris flight cancellations, we had time for some "culture"

The museum was used as a train station many years ago

We returned to this spot to take one of our "traditional" photos

 With unexpected extra time in Paris, we had an opportunity to see a Manet/Degas exhibit and works from other artists known for their "Impressionism." You'll recognize most of the pieces and most likely enjoy them as we did.

Manet and Degas

(Notice the "Japan" influence)

Simple - Eyes draw us in to the piece

This scene reminds us of our place in Oxnard

Getting a transparent "look" with paint is quite a task

One of these paintings is a fake! Gauguin (right side) copied the one real one on the left

Many of these paintings are huge!

Close ups help us better understand the brushwork and the use of paint

Jerry noticed the item on her arm. Is it a bracelet or a time piece of some sort? He asked several museum staff members if they knew what it was. It seems that they never noticed the piece. One person assumed it was a bracelet

These types of paintings provides a glimpse of life during the 1800's

Clever use of "color"

This is an interesting painting - it's almost like a photograph when people are not always looking at the camera when the photographer says, "Cheese!"

What are these people thinking?

We love this painting

This piece is a variation found in another museum

Art doesn't have to be (only) in the inside. It can (also) be outside!

A gorgeous day in "Gay Paris"

Musee de l'Orangerie:

Look familiar?

We can better appreciate brush stroke technique with a closer look

Jerry discovered (and confirmed by the museum staff) that Monet painted his face in the corner of one of the "Water Lillies" panels

Lovely

Unique look at people

"Modern" paintings are always interesting

Great neighborhood bistro: We sat next to three young women who migrated with their families from different African countries. They learned English and now work at high-end designer stores. Their only (visceral) knowledge of USA is "Calabasas" where the Kardashians live and market their TV show and lifestyle We tried to explain to the women that reality shows are not real. It was an unexpected fun evening.

                                        Great Bistro Dinner

We had an early dinner. It turns out that this was a very popular restaurant. By the time we finished, there was a waiting line that went out into the middle of the street

New York - Finally

WHAT????? OMG! What a surprise! 

We started our trip a month ago in this very spot - never thinking we would be back in New York!

Oh no! We're halfway home - another cancellation - three more days before we can get to Los Angeles

Times Square Event

Anniversary of terrorist attack in Turkey. Shoes belonged to the deceased

Making use of our time -Totally soaked but enjoying the MET

The MET is huge!

A house had to be extra large for this size fireplace

Quite an ornate coffin

Mosaic fountain

We wondered how long it took to produce this piece

Let's Take A Quick Trip To Egypt

Maybe we'll revisit Egypt one day

There is so much Egyptian "stuff" at the Met. FYI - The British Museum has the largest collection of Egyptian artifacts outside Cairo. Is there anything left to exhibit in the new Cairo museum?

Incredible artwork and technique

Arlene has a bezzle ring exactly like the the one in the showcase in front of her knuckles

Touching history

Enjoying the Egyptian section

Jerry's "friends"

We were surprised to see inside the sarcophaguses elaborate descriptions of the deceased's life

In some cases, it appears that the inside is more ornate than the outside

For those that took John Paul Thorton's "Egypt" class, some of these scenes were shown in his sessions

Heavy duty coffin!

Incredible!

Sandals, finger coverings and shears

Figurines are about five inches tall

Neckless: Amazing detailed work by the artisan

Cute little guys

Trying on for size: Almost fits

Putting technology to good use

               Moving Forward in History - About 1500 years

Jerry likes to look at armor, weapons, etc.

A lot of work went into making this breastplate

En garde

Fighting with a two-handed sword must have taken a lot of effort

Anyone missing a hat?

With no restroom near by and if you have to go...

A quick jaunt to Japan

Jerry loves everything about the Samurai and their history

Time for Broadway theater

We finished the weekend going to see the Neil Diamond story

and

A show we had forgotten we saw several years ago in Los Angeles

Still, a lot of fun

It's time to leave the chaos, excitement, electricity and New York fun and return to Los Angeles "normalcy"

         It seems that our manhole photos sparked some interest. Several friends and family members have sent us their own pictures. These manhole photos are from our friend, Lynn

Heading home...finally!