tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18071407.post7452382548251274653..comments2024-03-28T18:57:20.920+01:00Comments on Living the life in Saint-Aignan: Vézelay etc.Ken Broadhursthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04430899802705818716noreply@blogger.comBlogger22125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18071407.post-47890006432962513662014-12-12T08:16:01.101+01:002014-12-12T08:16:01.101+01:00Thanks, Beaver. We who live in France get our pass...Thanks, Beaver. We who live in France get our passports renewed at the U.S. Embassy in Paris. My last passport was not one of the biometric ones. I remember it costing me $50 (not euros but dollars).Ken Broadhursthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04430899802705818716noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18071407.post-29200666701664636692014-12-12T08:13:34.236+01:002014-12-12T08:13:34.236+01:00Thanks, Evelyn. N.C. has auto inspection, but I th...Thanks, Evelyn. N.C. has auto inspection, but I think it's pretty cursory. California had an emissions-only inspection, if I remember correctly. Walt and I went to Vézelay in 1993, and I had been there in 1989 as well.Ken Broadhursthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04430899802705818716noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18071407.post-67292166105964393532014-12-12T08:11:52.767+01:002014-12-12T08:11:52.767+01:00Ellen, another thing: I never answered your commen...Ellen, another thing: I never answered your comment and question about the English muffins Walt made. He told me yesterday that he followed the recipe as it was written except that he just used the flour we had in the kitchen, which wasn't bread flour. It might have been type 45 (pastry flour) even, not even 55 (all-purpose). It worked.Ken Broadhursthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04430899802705818716noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18071407.post-54066807253552304642014-12-12T08:09:10.508+01:002014-12-12T08:09:10.508+01:00Christine, my passport fee, with the shipping, is ...Christine, my passport fee, with the shipping, is starting to look pretty reasonable. I wonder how much I was charged for my first passport back in 1969...<br /><br />The passport renewal is processed at the U.S. Embassy in Paris. They don't send it to the U.S., so I should get it back pretty fast, if the photo isn't rejected.Ken Broadhursthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04430899802705818716noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18071407.post-56856853682520358032014-12-11T21:11:28.980+01:002014-12-11T21:11:28.980+01:00Ken,
It seems to me that the State Dept and its ...Ken,<br /><br />It seems to me that the State Dept and its equivalent ministries in the western world , like Foreign Affairs in Canada or Foreign Office in London or Quai d'Orsay must have passed the word. For the past five years most of them have either boost up the cost of having a passport ( yeah all in the name of security, biometrics and whatever /whomever is making money off of us travellers ) or start charging for administrative 'business at the consular offices of their embassies . <br />The airline industry is not of any help also since it is the ICAO which instituted the requirements for the picture quality and readable passports or what-have-you. Canada has a huge diplomatic mission in DC but Canadians residing in the US have to send their application for passport renewal ( including Fedex costs both directions) to Ottawa.<br /><br />We are supposed to live in a versatile and technology world but, alas, efficiency is not part of it.The Beaverhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11457136925020206640noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18071407.post-49520686242887899652014-12-11T20:11:04.703+01:002014-12-11T20:11:04.703+01:00Ken, there are more "old" cars in France...Ken, there are more "old" cars in France than I have seen anywhere other than Scotland...<br />I think both peoples have a general tendancy to "buy well" and "look after" any real investment...<br />as an example:<br />In my house in Scotland I "inherited" varicose items, including a rather dark, but in very good condition, all wool wall to wall carpet.<br />The pattern said it dated from the mid-to-late Sixties.... so almost 30 years old when I bought the house...<br />the vendors told me that it had been lifted and cleaned every two years... <br />and when I lifted it, I found a ticket stapled to a corner that was dated four years before I bought the place...<br />the house had been on the market for two...<br />it had cost £75 to have collected,cleaned and returned by a firm in Inverness.<br />The Caithness slab stone floor underneath... the real floor... was equally clean.<br />Presumably washed whilst the carpet was "away".<br />Wonderfull!<br />Timhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16439261142732764451noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18071407.post-77581028448873697632014-12-11T15:46:45.174+01:002014-12-11T15:46:45.174+01:00Hi Ken, we just recently got visas for travel to I...Hi Ken, we just recently got visas for travel to India…at a cost of nearly $300! Each. They do last for 10 years, but still. That did include a $100 fee to get it expedited…two days instead of multiple weeks. I recall the good old days when we could go in the morning to drop off the passport and application, have a nice lunch in SF, then pick it up on the same day. Sigh<br /><br />I hope your passport photo works out and your renewed passport is returned to you promptly. I assume they handle it in Paris, and do not need to send it stateside….C in Californiahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11797701714608179842noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18071407.post-69303881340080939642014-12-11T14:31:34.356+01:002014-12-11T14:31:34.356+01:00Good luck with the photo, Ken! Alabama has no auto...Good luck with the photo, Ken! Alabama has no auto inspection as you can imagine- we have lots of old clunkers including our 77 VW bus which burns some oil in it's old age. I hope you return to Vézelay someday and take in the view.Evelynhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17824964122794535252noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18071407.post-7695078233327686222014-12-11T13:27:59.057+01:002014-12-11T13:27:59.057+01:00Hope you enjoyed your time in Philly.Hope you enjoyed your time in Philly.Ken Broadhursthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04430899802705818716noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18071407.post-48340747911228351262014-12-11T13:27:09.098+01:002014-12-11T13:27:09.098+01:00So 35 dollars a year is still less than the 90 dol...So 35 dollars a year is still less than the 90 dollars every two years here in France. Not surprised about the governor of Florida.Ken Broadhursthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04430899802705818716noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18071407.post-6516615291896085972014-12-11T13:14:56.740+01:002014-12-11T13:14:56.740+01:00Ken, we thought of you the other day* when we saw ...Ken, we thought of you the other day* when we saw the Joan of Arc statue near the Art Museum in Philadelphia, the one you photographed in Paris. Philadelphia's Joan was really shiny.<br /><br />*Of course I think of you every time I check your blog. Carolynnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18071407.post-49073141519350094192014-12-11T13:13:54.079+01:002014-12-11T13:13:54.079+01:00Ellen, I did my own photo for the last renewal, 10...Ellen, I did my own photo for the last renewal, 10 years ago, and it was accepted. I'm trying to be optimistic about this renewal. The problem with taking your own picture is the lighting -- no shadows allowed. So you have to have the right setup. And then the printing has to be just right too. I'll report back on my photo and whether it was accepted.Ken Broadhursthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04430899802705818716noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18071407.post-81403627353406760212014-12-11T13:11:13.049+01:002014-12-11T13:11:13.049+01:00Bonjour Anne Marie, only rich people can afford pa...Bonjour Anne Marie, only rich people can afford passports, I guess. Or need them.<br /><br />For your car inspections in Pennsylvania, what is the annual price? How thorough is the inspection? I think in N.C., it is pretty cursory. And then in Calif. the only inspection (my data date back to 2002 or so) was for smog standards. I don't remember what it cost.Ken Broadhursthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04430899802705818716noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18071407.post-78195696251661096832014-12-11T12:53:03.032+01:002014-12-11T12:53:03.032+01:00Car inspections here in Northern Virginia - includ...Car inspections here in Northern Virginia - including the emissions inspection cost about $35 per year. 30 years ago I guy was elected governor of Florida on a promise to eliminate the car inspection system - he delivered on that promise. Travelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07787024407420088973noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18071407.post-88746745056008216342014-12-11T12:07:41.987+01:002014-12-11T12:07:41.987+01:00the passport costs are that expensive here also. ...the passport costs are that expensive here also. must be a guvmint conspiracy. ;-)<br /><br />2 years for inspection? WOW! wish the USA would do that, instead of every year. :-(anne marie in phillyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11765140782182605141noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18071407.post-90956457092224231672014-12-11T11:45:45.330+01:002014-12-11T11:45:45.330+01:00There are times when I think there must be a secre...There are times when I think there must be a secret intergovernmental agreement to make passport and citizenship documentation as expensive as possible - I'm amazed at what the UK government is charging people for immigration and citizenship applications and processing. I've forgotten what my last passport renewal cost me, but at least I did the photo myself - took a bit of arithmetic to get the sizing and proportioning of the image right for their rules, and in the end the photoreduction of it they use to put in the passport made it all so wishy-washy anyway it would have been money down the drain to go to a professional.Autolycushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17642868944400656922noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18071407.post-6332347643853330732014-12-11T10:50:31.869+01:002014-12-11T10:50:31.869+01:00We can't go to the embassy for passport renewa...We can't go to the embassy for passport renewal any more. It has to be done via mail. There used to be a few photo shops near the US consulate in Paris that did the photos, but of course, now that you can't do the thing in person, that makes no sense. There was a local photographer in Nogent who would do the photos with the US format for me. I think one of my daughters did what you did, Ken, did it herself, and had no trouble renewing. I must renew at the beginning of next year. I think I'll get one of the family to take my picture for it and try that method.<br />Ellen Lebellehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01929639076042070115noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18071407.post-62138781484573513102014-12-11T10:11:45.928+01:002014-12-11T10:11:45.928+01:00For me, getting the photo was the hardest part. An...For me, getting the photo was the hardest part. And the money, of course, but you have to have a passport, so you have to pay.Ken Broadhursthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04430899802705818716noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18071407.post-15670334360353893882014-12-11T10:10:43.229+01:002014-12-11T10:10:43.229+01:00Wow, Susan, I hope that Australian passport is goo...Wow, Susan, I hope that Australian passport is good for at least 10 years. By the way, there's a professional photographer in Descartes. Have you tried him? <a href="http://www.photographe-touraine.com/Le-studio-photo-fr,1,11085.html" rel="nofollow">http://www.photographe-touraine.com/Le-studio-photo-fr,1,11085.html</a><br /><br />There's another in Loches...Ken Broadhursthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04430899802705818716noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18071407.post-76826143535188094842014-12-11T08:55:30.808+01:002014-12-11T08:55:30.808+01:00Still working on a photo strategy for my passport ...Still working on a photo strategy for my passport renewal. I have to present in person at the Australian embassy too as part of the process. My passport will cost the equivalent of US$200. Plus I have to do my British one a few months later.Susanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06472449597146519943noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18071407.post-34314253738440845722014-12-11T08:18:46.781+01:002014-12-11T08:18:46.781+01:00Wow a lond history abour the original abbeyWow a lond history abour the original abbeyGosiahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14604712540141917583noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18071407.post-28971937619064680922014-12-11T07:38:06.346+01:002014-12-11T07:38:06.346+01:00My passport is up for renewal too...I have to get ...My passport is up for renewal too...I have to get on that over the holidays. Thanks for the reminder!Betty Carlsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17155852272383173880noreply@blogger.com