Today was a perfect day to begin my assignments in a place, a destination so many people around the world dream about visiting, France’s own iconic landmark Eiffel Tower, which was named after Gustave Eiffel the chief designer, built alongside the Seine River.

Being translated from the quiet Basque Country to the big city in Paris, from the countryside into the very heart of Paris where the streets are so busy, I had taken a 90 minute drive through snarling traffic to get there, to meet a local Parisian Deaf named Mitko, from Bulgaria.

Since my recent excursion into old Bayonne, I couldn’t wait to go back there, where Bayonne city life starts bustling again when everyone is back to work, the shopping back to normalcy, and all the cafes open. I owed myself to see old Bayonne, or I wouldn’t have gone back home to the United States quite satisfied. Actually both old Bayonne and the Eiffel Tower, too.

As we left Bergerac, it was all wine vineyards throughout the hilly terrain, and this time I couldn’t rely on my GPS to guide me to a Deaf couple’s vineyard and winery. I had to rely on a traveler’s instinct, spotting the INFO wooden sign when I entered the village of Pomport, seeing the words “Domaine de Grange Neuve” to my thrill and utmost inspiration, because the wooden sign actually put the Deaf vineyard on the map!

From our hotel at Paris’ Orly Airport, we had a very crystal clear morning view, and as we are known for our love for aviation, we watched lots of big planes landing and taking off. Orly is one of the two largest airports in the Paris area, about 18km, or 6.9 miles from the center of Paris.

Two things gave my day a huge boost: Sunny Mediterranean weather and having a GPS with me, an invaluable tool. You definitely need one when you have to navigate your way through ancient roads in the heart of Marseille.

I had confirmed with different people at the Perrier Water bottling plant in Vergeze, France through my office, and drove almost two hours excited about the prospect of doing a video report on a water bottling plant only to find out the contact person was not there, they had sent a new person. They tried finding more contacts related to our media tour of Perrier, and called the Paris office. They informed me that proper permission for doing a video feature on Perrier Water hadn’t come through.

Having relished Escargot Comtois’ finest samplings the day before, we awoke in the cozy surroundings of Escargot Comtois, staying in one of the three rooms at the inn. The sensation we felt was of “joie de vivre,” the French phrase meaning a feeling of healthy enjoyment of life. The “joie de vivre” kick-off to a new day began by eating what I considered the very best French made breakfast which included a very fresh homemade apple (pomme) juice.

With escargot snails foremost in my mind, I flew to Paris’ Charles DeGaulle International Airport, also known as Roissy Airport, named after Charles de Gaulle (1890-1970), who was a leader of the Free French Forces and founder of the French Fifth Republic. It was the world’s 5th busiest airport (in terms of passengers) in 2008.