I booked an Air France flight for Katie and I in Premium Economy as any business ticket on any airline was typically 400,000 points each or the flight had multiple stops and it took more than 24 hours. Fortunately, the day before leaving they offered an upgrade to Business Class for $650. Well that had Katie jumping up and down in our kitchen.
We took BART to SFO with the usual couple of crazy people on board but we arrived early and made it thru security very fast. We enjoyed the Air France lounge where they served up some pretty good food and poured some nice wines. The flight was non-stop and both Katie and I slept a large part of that. We Uberred to Erin’s apartment in downtown Paris where she served us a variety of fresh cheeses and breads. Erin went off to work so Katie and I walked exploring the area around the Louvre and the Eiffel Tower.
We walked a total of 10 miles before boarding our sunset champagne cruise on the Seine. Beautiful views and it was just like I remembered in that people lined the river to watch the sunset. Great atmosphere. We met Erin and her 19 year old daughter, Hannah, for dinner. A nice warm night outside in a cafe watching the people go by. I guess I will note it now. Smoking is everywhere. Young and old though the young tend to vape a little more. The restaurants have indoor non-smoking sections but outdoors is fair game. Erin’s husband says its because it’s cool. I don’t see it. We slept 9 hours then in the am walked down to explore Ile de la Cite. Heavily touristed around the Notre Dame but just a few blocks away it was quiet. We did a tour of the restored towers in the church. 400 and something stairs but great views and the woodwork is astounding.
We made our way back to Erin’s where Katie and I fell asleep for a couple hours. We took the Metro to the Musee de Rodin. Amazing how frequently the trains come on the Metro. We rarely waited more than a minute for our train. The Rodin Museum is one I visited before going off to Berkeley a number of years ago! Spectacular sculptures both in the garden and in the building. Pretty much as I remembered and equally as impressive.
We had a glass of wine at a streetside cafe as we waited for Erin’s husband then off to dinner.
Lovely day but off to bed as soon as got back to Erin’s place. 9 hours of sleep again, some coffee, the newspaper, then Uberred to the airport for our flight to Milan. EZ Hertz car pickup and surprisingly easy driving to our hotel on the shores of Lake Iseo.
Au Revoir and Boungiorno.
How was Air France premium economy?
This post was just a trial to see if posting still works. We are flying Business Class tomorrow. Costs us $650 so very worth it! I will update the bog as we go