On September 26, 2019 Jacques Chirac died. True, he had already left us for some time. The disappearance of a French president, even if France is no longer the leader of the world, remains an important event. If this is true in France, but what about abroad? In the US, without making headline of the news and news channels, the disappearance of Jacques Chirac minimaly deserved an insert, an obituary, a eulogy. In fact the silence on this subject was deafening. Nothing. There was a time when such a disappearance would not remain unnoticed. Remember that during the Mass celebrated at Notre Dame de Paris to honor General de Gaulle, President Nixon had attended the ceremony. He had also traveled for the tribute to Georges Pompidou. The presence of the highest authorities of a country during such events demonstrate the quality of relations between two nations. The friendship between the French and American peoples can not be decreed, it is obvious. In spite of useless photo-ops, this two-hundred-year-old friendship seems, at least for the last three years, to be nothing more than a mere facade. At best we went into a parenthesis.
To Chirac’s tribute, the US government will be represented at the lowest possible level, probably the ambassador. It is necessary to look for the reasons for these absences, ie the lack of media coverage and the absence of protocol.
As for the silence of the media, the explanation is simple: an earthquake disrupts the usual logic of these tributes. After three years of outrages, provocations, lies, on September 24, 2019, the US president finally becomes the subject of an investigation launched by the House, a trial that should lead to a « Impeachement ». For three years, the proven level of his outrages, provocations and lies did not allow him to be charged with a good probability of being convicted. A whistle-blower has triggered a false step probably fatal for the current host of the White House: in order to prove no wrong doing, he has made public the transcript of a conversation with the President of Ukraine. This conversation with the democratically and newly elected president should have remained within the formal congratulations format. The transcript of this conversation shows unambiguously that the current US President has blackmailed the President of Ukraine to obtain information about the family of one of his possible contenders in the US presidential election of 2020. Whether in France or the US, involving a foreign country in a national election is a crime that puts that country at risk. In France it would be the High Court, in the USA it’s the Impeachement procedure. And the revelation of this crime occupies, saturates the American media space which sees in the probable fall of this President a revenge to the humiliations undergone, insults shouted since the beginning of the mandate by the present host of the White House.
If in France the disappearance of the former president occupies an important and justified place in the media, newspapers and other information channels. Here in the USA, it has not been mentioned by news channels, channels too busy decorticating, dissecting, analyzing the elements of the coming fall.
Another reason contributes to this silence. Following the attacks of September 11, 2001, France sided with the US and NATO nations to intervene in Afghanistan. Mutual defense agreements triggered a natural French participation in this intervention. The US then tried to involve the Allies in a war against Iraq to get rid of Sadam Hussein. The US government at the time claimed that Iraq had accumulated Weapons of Mass Destruction. This State lie about the WMD, a lie built up from scratch, was denounced by Jacques Chirac. This denunciation was received in the USA as a betrayal. Dominique de Villepin, Foreign Minister of Jacques Chirac, delivered at the United Nations a speech showing both the State lie of the US administration about the WMD and the unmanageable consequences of such intervention. Almost fifteen years later, this speech remains fair and visionary. The US has engaged the world in a mob like war whose real purpose was to appropriate the Iraqi oil wealth. This war in Iraq has given birth to a war of religion that is destroying the stability of the region and has collateral dammages all around the world. The US has probably not forgotten this lesson in international politics and, by their absence, the US administration underlines the correctness of the positions taken by Jacques Chirac.
If stupidity is rancorous, History remains in the long run final judge that shows the consequences of wrong decisions. When it comes to the second war in Iraq, Jacques Chirac was right. The populist, demagogic, lying speeches of Presidents 43 and 45 show their limits. Jacques Chirac denounced corrupt decisions. By not honoring his memory, your current administration shows, once again its limits.
Que peut-on faire à Vienne sinon débuter le premier moment en allant dans une Bierstube.
Et se poser la seule question qui mérite de l’être, à savoir comment allons nous accompagner cette cervoise digne de sa réputation.
Fastoche, une Wienerschnitzel reste la seule et unique solution.
D’ailleurs, pour faire simple, sur les quatre repas, la commande sera dupliquée :
Naturellement nous aurons évité la désastreuse faute de goût, une halte dans un néfaste food.
Cela dit nous aurions pu choisir de manger 
Pour aller à Vienne centre ville, il suffit de passer le pont.
Vienne, ville de culture, ville de Sigmund et d’une tradition emprunte de culture juive.
Vienne, ville cosmopolite, n’oublie pas d’honorer de célèbres personnages.
Le discret François Hollande n’est pas oublié.
Ni même Barbara dont le superbe restaurant d’Orange Vaucluse, le Peperoncino di Barbara, se voit être reconnu jusqu’à Vienne.
Mais il n’y a pas que les restaurants dans la vie, la Kultur a aussi sa place, en particulier avec l’architecture baroque.
Un peu chargé me direz-vous. J’en conviens volontiers.
Adjoint à cette église se trouve le Cloître de Dominique.
Vienne est un doux mélange de traditions.
Et de post-modernité. Car où trouve-t-on encore des cabines téléphoniques fonctionnelles ?
Autre exemple de ce mélange modernité-traditions, le Palais Cobourg, un hôtel de grand luxe qui offre aussi un service le location de coffres-forts.
Et pour conclure ce superbe moment, nous rejoindrons l’aéroport par le train.
To find the place, we just had to follow the crowd bound to the sanctuary.
But is Jim Morisson the only one you should pay a tribute to? Of course not.
While we are in a remembrance moment, let us pay a tribute to the non French who fought, with courage, in France, to save Liberty and Democracy.
First stop.
The second stop is more emotional.
Susan loves art, so we made a stop in Barbizon. Please note that even the Post Office is Art.
Art did I say?
Probably yes.
Barbizon is not far from Fontainebleau famous for its Château built by François I (pronounce François Premier). Here Napoleon abdicated the first time in April 1814.
Back to Paris for a last walk before Susan returns to Florida. 
Of course a last fine lunch in our Tuxedo like attire.
As a final smile, a forbidden picture.
Along the right bank of the river Seine, East of Paris was a large estate dedicated to wine trade. By the end of the fifties, the area was reassigned: on the left bank a Science University, on the right bank, a park. Vanessa, my daughter and Salomé met Susan for a discovery of the park.
Sculptures, ponds decorate the park.
As everywhere in this world, shopping booths pop. Some elements of the previous architecture remain, so do the rails of the train that moved the goods around.
Last year, Susan discovered China Town, we had a dinner at this restaurant.
On the way to the restaurant, we ran into one of the 
Paris tries to keep the original artefacts, here an Art 
A promise was made to Susan a long time ago: a visit to the Musée Picasso. Here we are enjoying, on the ground floor, a common exhibition Calder-Picasso.
As we left the Picasso Museum, we ran into a feather covered bike.
As we were hungry, in the Plaetzl of Paris, the Jewish quarter, we made an attempt to enjoy Fallafel. The lines were too long, we gave up hoping to find another place.
During our search, a Rabbi asked me if I was Jewish and if I had done my daily 
Facing the restaurant was a shop named « The Trouser », the motto of the shop is
The first one is a famous Gay shop.
The second one is the world famous 
Paris is not exempt of vandalism.
Neither is the suburb of American invasion. We had to shop in the only COSTCO in France.
On Saturday, a visit to the market where we bought Shrimps to prepare Flambé with Pastis for lunch and scalops for tomorrow.
You may have the Greatest Pinocchio, we have the Greatest Flea Market.
An example of weird way to spend money: a toy for 20k$.
A booth more in line with Susan’s point of focus (desires).
After grazing for over two hours, the stomachs cried famine.
On the way back to the Metro, we ran into the French equivalent of Big Bird, a thing named 
A first for Susan and me, a ride in the Tramway.
Last but not least, I tried to activate the speed trap an X-Ray Kodak machine.
The week had begun with a visit to the Louvre.
Unfortunately we were not able to reserve the Louvre for a private visit. Susan had to share.
I know, this number 73 rue de Vaugirard does not ring a bell for you.
As we were in the Montparnasse area, we paid a tribute to the great men (and women too) burried in the Montparnasse Cemetery. For stupid reasons we missed the 100th Anniversary of Citroën, the car manufacturer, not stopping by the founder’s grave would have been an insult to his memory.
Some graves of unknown wealthies are overly Baroque. This one does not lack an ounce of bad taste.
Most Cemeteries have a Jewish quarter, Montparnasse has at least four.
Here a famous film maker, 
Talking about love, sorry LOVE, this deserves an Upper Case, the most famous couple of French intellectuals, Simone de Beauvoir and Jean-Paul Sartre.
We went to l’Orangerie where Monet’s Water Lillies are on a permanent display. 
In the lower part of the building another exhibit was waiting for us.
This modern abstract painting by 
Soutine was also part of the exhibit that included, but not only, Matisse, Renoir…
We left the Orangerie for, as Bankrupt Pinocchio would say, the most touristy picture in the Galaxy: from le jardin des Tuileries the alignment of la Concorde, les Champs Elysées and l’Arc de Triomphe.
Saturday was dedicated to my perversion, Arts and Technologies. This Museum hosts a collection of technological objects such as clocks, measuring standards, communication equipments, mechanical devices, looms (I just discovered this word) and technological cathedrals that will never be number crunching again.
Here a