LuckyLuc

Ten days in Paris. Too long trip report by Luckyluc.

Yesterday for breakfast I had a tasty croissant from la fournée d’Augustine, this morning back in Ottawa, I am eating the regular grub and will have to learn to live without. So in order to ease the melancholia of being back home and so so far away from Paris here is my trip report.

Please bear with me and excuse the lack of style and poor syntax. French in my first language and writing in English is difficult for me. My oral English is getting better since my spouse is an English-Canadian.

My trips to Paris are a crescendo; the last one is the best, until the next one comes along. This one saw two firsts, one - I stayed in an apartment and two – I traveled with a friend. I usually preferred to travel solo or with my spouse, but since he could not come this time and that a very well-traveled and self-efficient friend was also going to Paris, the chance to cut the rental cost in two was very appealing so we choose to rent an apartment. Throughout the years I have stay at three stars hotels, two stars hotels, no star hotel (so I could stay for months) and I even slept at some grand hotels (when someone else was footing the bill) but after experiencing Truffaut’s apartment I am sold, no more hotel parisien for me.

After a short taxi ride we arrived in the 17eme section referred to as “Les Batignolles” I recognized the building from the web pictures and tell the driver “C’est ici monsieur”. I entered the building security code, push the large wood door, entered the vestibule and felt already so Parisian. A charming young lady greeted us in English but quickly switch to French upon hearing us, she assisted us in placing the luggage in the elevator and we walked up to the second floor (third in English).

While my friend listen to the instructions about the oven, microwave, dishwasher, coffee maker, washing machine etc.. I open one of the French doors leading to the balcony and look and the people buying bread from the boulangerie around the corner shop. I sigh and say to myself “Je suis à Paris.”

A thick binder giving us insights about our neighbourghood, the shops and restaurants was waiting for us on the dining room table, completed with an index and comments. Exactly what you would expected from Truffaut. lol.

We quickly empty our luggage into the three large closets and the two beautiful commodes; there is even enough space to make our luggage disappear so we can really “pretend” we are at home. A relaxing shower and off we go to get bread, cheese, wine, champagne, paté, yogurt and anything else we see around the nearby shops. We try very hard to contain our enthusiasm so that the locals would not believe we were from some third world country! Back with our treasures, we open the first bottle of champagne, and plan the rest of the day. With the help of Pariscope and l’Officiel des spectacles we choose the concerts and the visits we would like. Since l’Etoile is only five metro stations from our apartment we decide to walk part of the way and take the subway at Villiers. We got our carte orange (subway pass). Les Champs Elysées in December are fabulous, we get tickets at the FNAC for concerts and exhibits (I do not like the long queues at the Orsay or the Grand Palais so I buy tickets on the first day) We walk down the Champs to Rue Royale and stopped for coffee at Hédiard behind La Madelaine on the first (2nd in English) floor. It is a nice tearoom with a great view on the church, a nice rest stop from the crowd of Parisians doing their Christmas shopping. A Paris-brest and some macarons later we regained our energy. We took a look at the decorations of les grands magasins, subway back home, freshened up and ran back to the charming batignolles streets. Parisian families were choosing their Christmas tree at the nearby flower shops, it is so beautiful, and the image is now imprinted in my mind forever. For diner we choose the Wepler brasserie, Place Clichy, which was nearby. It was a favorite of Picasso, Modigliani and Henry Miller. Some more champagne, a short walk home to the apartment we have nicknamed “La Truffautière” and our first Parisian day in already over.

alya

LuckyLuc

Could you repost with on the same thread - your different posts will be read by posters at different times and get separated.

A nice long trip report needs to be savoured without hunting Fodors for the next post Or worse - wondering what happened next.

Just keep posting replies to your original post. Please

alya

Trip report (day 2 and 3)

Day 2.

Since we were late in bed and a bit jet lagged, we decided to do “la grasse matinée” and enjoyed the great comfort of our Parisian home. While browsing the numerous Paris guides we found in the apartment we planned our day. I realized it was the first Sunday of December and that all museums would be overflowing. Nevertheless I needed a little conversation with the Dame à la licorne so off we went go to the Cluny. A few crème later and it was already 14h30 so we toddled off to our first visite conférence (guided tour): The Gallo-roman thermal baths and the residence of the Abbey of Cluny. For about 2 hours an erudite historian guided our small group around the neighbourhood and brought back to life its rich history.

Like a lot of Parisians on Sunday we strolled about the Marais and then stop at L’Enoteca (25 rue Charles-V) for some wine and chèvre, the carte des vins is very impressive so we were forced to sample more then a few… We walked to rue Charlot in search of the Cathédrale Sainte-Croix des Arméniens where we attended a concert of three Bach’s cello suites. The church was warm, the music was divine and it’s been all free. Vive Paris. I imagined one of my favorite authors, Madame de Sévigné praying nearby, since Sainte-Croix was her church when she lived in the neighbourhood. From la rue Charlot it is a quick walk to rue de Bretagne for a delicious couscous at Chez Omar. The place was very lively and we struck up a conversation with a young couple sitting next to (almost on) us. And it is le métro back to la Truffautière. I go to sleep thinking that I must find a way to stop time. Day 2 is already gone.


Day 3.

Monday December 5th is the tenth anniversary of my mother’s death, I lit a candle at Notre-Dame, but the crowd was not favorable to reflection so I walked toward the Louvre and behind the palace I found some peace in the church of the Kings. The very gothic and quiet St-Germain- l’Auxerrois is often empty. Our next visit conférence was only at 14h30 so we slowly walked toward l’ile St-Louis for a cheap lunch at La Castafiore. Not a great culinary experience but pleasant nevertheless. Our guide, a young attractive history student named Vincent, took us on two and a half hours visit. He walked us into the courtyards of the private hotel of Charron and the staircases of l’hotel de Chenizot where we learned all the secrets of l’ile , the housing estate, the building of the bridges, the finances scandals. He relates the love story of Louis XIV’s cousin la Grande Mademoiselle and the Duc of Lauzun. A very well spent 10 euros!

We felt at bit lazy so we stopped at the Tea Caddy for a light and early diner. I chose a salmon tart with a salad. The tearoom was a stone through away from our evening concert at Saint-Julien-le-Pauvre. A very small intimate church that was builds with the stones not used for Notre-Dame. The church was a bit overheated but we were treated to a homage to Maria Callas, sung by Lina Castellanza, with arias from Mozart, Rossini, Bellini and of course Verdi. Even thought she is aging, Mrs. Castellanza still had great projection. At the exit, Notre-Dame seemed to float in a sea of light with a large Christmas tree on the square acting like a figurehead. It was getting cold I stopped for some vin chaud and I very slowly walked toward the nearest metro and emerged a few minutes later near my Truffautière.

alya

Author: LuckyLuc
Date: 12/30/2005, 10:26 pm
Day 4

Walking back home from la boulangerie with some Pistaches triangles and some croissants I stopped by the Internet café just a few doors near our building. There is an internet connexion at the apartment but I did not feel like traveling with my laptop. I am curious to see how our Canadian election is going and of course sent an email to my spouse who is left in the cold while I am enjoying +6 Celsius weather. Our guided tour this morning was actually “Les Batignolles” our very non-touristy neighbourhood! We looked at examples of art nouveau and art déco buildings, and we visited a section called la Cité des fleurs . A very different feeling, the houses have front yards and flowering trees, we can hardly believe that we are just a few meters from the noisy and populous Boulevard Clichy.

We tood the subway to les Invalides and walked toward the Orsay for the exhibit on Russian Art in the Second Half of the 19th Century. It was very interesting to see how the artists, while being influenced by some of the impressionists, still created a truly unique Russian spirit in their works. Since we reserved a nice restaurant for the evening we were contented to eat only a salad at the beautiful restaurant in the museum. We then went back home for a change of clothes, a bit of rest and off we went again toward l’Etoile for diner at les Elysées du Vernet.

The concierge welcome us, our coats disappear, doors opened and we are taken to a nice sunken dining room. Of the dozen or so of tables, one is awaiting us under the glass dome created by Gustave Eiffel. We started with champagne and a basket of calamari fritti and shrimps. As an amuse-gueule we had potage de potiron et sa mousse de menthe. Our first course was l’aubergine confite (with foie gras, apples and pears). In order to cleanse our palette the server brought an araignée de mer et sa mousse à la laitue. Our main course made it entrance on a large platter: the famous house specialty the Pithivier de perdreaux et de canard sauvage. A pithivier is a puff pastry containing wild duck and partridge meat. In the sauce we definitively could taste chestnuts and a very good Armagnac. Yet another entremet (my favorite) lait de brebis glacé, poivre de cayenne et citon confit. For dessert I had the citron de Menton confit and my friend enjoyed the tarte fine au chocolat noir. The wine selection was large so it is possible to find an affordable wine to complement one’s meal. Our selection was a Cahors Prince Probus 1997. After eating all that food we were happy to walked along Avenue Wagram towards the subway Ternes and get home with almost le dernier métro.

Day 5

After our regular breakfast routine, we walked to the nearby Cimetière Montmarthe and spend two hours discovering all the interesting monuments and tombs. So many famous people are resting there: Berlioz, Stendal, Offenbach, Dumas and his Dame aux Camélias, Degas and the film maker Truffaut (not our TA Truffaut! Thank God). We even found a tomb decorated for Christmas, with garlands and a small tree! Our next stop was at Saint-Jean de Montmarthe, a church build in 1904. We particularly appreciated the colored glass cabochon and the art nouveau architecture. Rue des Martyres with all its stores bustling with people attracted us but we took a moment to visit Notre-Dame de la Lorette. The inside of the church was renovated a few years ago and some of the paintings are worth a visit. Our next events were two exhibits at the Grand Palais. Since our tickets were for later in the afternoon we decided to take a leisurely lunch at Chez Nicolas located behind La Madeleine. On the first floor was a wine bar; we had salad fromagère and a few glasses of Pouilly sur Loire les Moulins à Vent.

We visited two exhibits at Le Grand Palais, both crawling with people but both very worth the time. Melancholy, Genius and Madness in Occident was my favorite. The approach was multi-disciplinary and all aspects of melancholia were approach, psychology and theology as well as artistic. Some of the works were by Delacroix, La Tour , Goya,Van Gogh and Rodin.

The second exhibit was about Vienna in 1900. Paintings and drawings of Klimt, Schiele, Moser, Kokoschka were illustrating the birth of expressionism. They were great exhibits but the crowds, even thought well behave, was a bit too much for me. After four hours of swimming through the people (pardon Monsieur, pardon Madame), we were thirsty and tired and needed to sit down so we stop at Fouquet’s for some Fouquet’s Royal, a little snack and to let the metro rush hour pass. Back at apartment my friend started to go through the exhibit catalogues she had just purchase (I swear the women never meet a art catalogue she did not like!) and she decided to cooked pasta and stay home. I took a catnap and that later I went to Le Petit Robert, a small gay restaurant only a subway stop away in rue Cauchois.

alya

Author: LuckyLuc
Date: 12/30/2005, 10:29 pm

Day 6

Today is the dreaded day I know would come. Shopping. (Mental note to myself: I shall not tell anyone about a trip to Paris just before Christmas) Since we will be in the 9ème arr. most of the day we opted to visit the Gustave Moreau museum at 14, rue de la Rochefoucauld Métro Trinité. This museum is only one subway stop away from our apartment. Since we are before the 10am opening, we decided to go visit the nearby Eglise de la Trinité. This church has nice columns, pulpit and chapel. A stop at the local bistro for an other café serré (last night was a long one) and we discover the Moreau.
Gustave Moreau was one of the first symbolist, he legated his house and over a thousand paintings some 6,000 drawings to the state so it would be transformed as a museum. The only Moreau I knew of was l’Apparition, a painting at the Louvre, so it was just fascinating to go through the entire house. The first floor is a homage to his family and the rooms were left unchanged. What I really appreciated the most was the drawing cabinets that allow you to sit and view hundreds and hundreds of drawings of different stages and projects idea of Moreau. Only 4 euros for an entry and priceless hours of pleasure. There were five people in the entire place. As we left a school group was coming in and I was so envious of them, here I was in my forties with still so much to discover.
It is time for lunch. We made our way to La Taverne at 24 Boulevard des Italiens. There, I know I will find some delicious food and a nice atmosphere before the upcoming event. I picked the Menu at 27 euros and choose escargots, confit de canard and for desert an Ile flottante. My friend through herself on a platter of Brittany oysters. Back on Boulevard Hausmann we laugh with the children at the great animated windows of the stores.
We push open the doors to the Galeries Lafayette (or as I nicknamed them les Galeries Farfouillette) I looked at the great Christmas tree, the beautiful dome, the zigzagging mad crowd. Too much for me, so before pushing her into the sea of people I kissed my friend goodbye while reminding her of our 9pm reservation at Le Train Bleu. I walked down the Boulevard to an almost empty Old England store where a gracious and so polite young man assisted me in picking gifts for the gentleman in my life. The next shops were Guerlain on rue Tronchet and then for my own pleasure a stop on rue du Faubourg St-Honoré at the magnificent Parfums Caron for a refill of my Tabac Blonc. I was rather tired, so I bought a paper, a dozen post-cards and stamps before finding a pleasant corner in a nearby café to read and write home while sipping a chocolat chaud. A quick way home, a shower and fresh clothes later, I am making my way to Le Train Bleu.
Years ago, on my first trip to Paris, my French boyfriend took me to Le Train Bleu. It was an exiting time for me, so each time I am in Paris I must go there, and I am never disappointed. The no.92 table was busy so we sat at no. 95 in a quiet corner. Champagne, Pressé de foie gras et artichaut grillé, Dos de cabillaud, Baba au rhum, café et ses mignardises. I simply adored the place, if you don’t want to dine or lunch just stop for a drink at the bar and enjoy the unique décor. Here is the link http://www.le-train-bleu.com


Day 7

A bit of Internet, and we headed toward rue de Rivoli for the Musée de la Mode et du Textile for an exhibit about men’s fashion entitles l’Homme Paré. An extremely well presented exhibit of 300 outfits and accessories offered an overview of male costumes since Louis XIV. The original presentations of the past and modern put together were very telling and illustrated how much peacock men can be. We also visited the jewels gallery at the Musée des Arts décoratifs, which is located in the same building. The exhibit is a great panorama of 1,200 pieces from the Middle Ages to the present. We were fascinated with the Art Nouveau, the Lalique and also the Art Deco brooches and necklaces.
We spent the better part of the morning at the Musée de la mode; afterward we walked to BHV for an inexpensive lunch at their self-serve cafeteria. After lunch we visited the Willy Ronis photographic exhibit. It was great to be in Paris and look at Paris photographed with such flair and great technique.
Our tour guide of the Hotel de Ville was waiting at the rue de Lobau entrance. I am happy that our group consists of only 12 people. We were impressed with the different salons and rooms all done in a rich ornate style. The grand reception hall is a smaller version of Versaille Galerie des Glaces. Our guide, who was from the city protocol bureau, was very knowledgeable about the artists and about the history of France IIIeme republic. We discovered lots of interesting rooms, the views of Notre-Dame from some of the reception rooms is breath taking and the inside courtyard staircase is a replica of the one at the Chateau de Chenonceaux. We also learned a lot about the current city council at its operations. Our tour lasted1h30 however our tour guide favored us with a other ½ hour answering our questions. I gave her my calling card and invited her to a Canadian Parliament tour.
While waiting for the métro rush hour to past we spent the time at Angelina’s eating Mont-Blanc and drinking Africains. Once back at the apartment I freshened up and then went back to rue des Archives to buy a concert ticket for Bach’s keyboard and violin suites. While waiting for the concert to start, I went for a drink at the BHV café. As I drank the door opened and in walk a fellow with an equally good-looking black Scottish terrier. Since I am terribly missing my two Scotties (one black, one wheaten) I struck up a conversation with the owner. We talked about our respective scotties, and life with a dog in Paris. The concert at the Eglise des Billettes was a little moment of heaven, like every time Bach is well played. After the concert I got a little snack; a few drinks and I watched the people walking by until it is time to catch the last subway to la Truffautière.

alya

Author: LuckyLuc
Date: 12/30/2005, 10:31 pm
Day 8

A full Saturday in Paris, I am so lucky. As I pulled the French doors heavy curtains apart, I saw a blue sky and once on the balcony the early morning sun is saying Bonjour. I heard the door in the foyer opening, which meant my friend was back from the bakery with warm croissants. The smell of coffee from the kitchen signaled an other great day. We took our time enjoying the food and browsing through the collection of Paris guides that the apartment owner had left for us.

Our first destination was the Musée Nissim de Camondo 63, rue de Monceau
in the 8ème. Since the weather was mild, we decided to walk along the Boulevard des Batignolles that turn into Boulevard de Courcelles, so we could cross the Parc de Monceau before entering the Museum. Some Parisians were doing their footing and were also enjoying the sunny morning.

Exiting the Parc we turned left on Rue de Monceau and easily found the Museum. As soon as one passed the porte cochère the façade of the hotel reveal it uniqueness. In a neighbourhood of Haussmannian buildings the Camondo hotel is done in such a pure Petit Trianon style that one expected Marie-Antoinette to wave from a window. In the foyer we immediately had the impression that we entered a private mansion and that the master of the house was going to tour us himself. The collection of furniture, objects d’arts, rugs, porcelain, paintings, and wood panels were simply remarkable in their great quality as well as quantity. What was most unique is the incredible coherence of style between the pieces and the efforts of the collector to bring to life, in all it beauties, France XVIII century. After viewing a few rooms we were simply charmed by the atmosphere and by the end of our visit we promised ourselves to come back. As I turned back and looked at the façade, I just wanted to escort out the few others visitors, closed the cochère and live there the rest of my life.

After living the museum we did a bit of shopping on the nearby Avenue des Ternes. Shopping for books at the Ternes FNAC was great even with the pre-Christmas crowds. It is already time for lunch. After shopping we meet my friend’s friend who is posted at the Canadian Embassy. She gave us rendez -vous at a brasserie near her apartment; so we walked to Le Ballon des Ternes at 103, rue des Ternes. The girls shared a tray of seafood while I enjoyed a magret de canard with caramelized shallots and a delicious millefeuille. After the nice lunch, my new acquaintance declares that her plan for the afternoon is to buy and decorate a Christmas tree. I excitedly offered my help knowing that this might be my only chance to decorate a Christmas tree in Paris. We picked a sapin de l’Aigle at the florist shop near her building on Place du Général Koenig. While in the elevator, my friend told me not to expect much of an apartment she did not choose. She apologized because the building was so modern and lacked the old world charm. Once on the top floor she gave me a tour. The apartment had three bedrooms, a very large living, a separate dining, and an American style eat-in kitchen. She confesses that she would gladly exchange the apartment for two rooms in any old building. I was about to agree with her when I returned to the living room and stepped outside to see her humongous terrace and saw her non-obstructive view of the Eiffel tower!!! I made her promise to remember to count her blessings instead of her “problems”. After a couple of hours the tree was brightly covered with glass ornaments and crystal decorations from Prague, Murano and Tokyo. The Christmas tree looked very nice in the window but with Mme Eiffel sparkling in the background it had some serious competition.

In the early evening I struck out on my one to take in some more of the sight of Paris. I took the métro Porte Maillot, after a look at the Palais des Congrès, which was shining with flash illuminations. I emerged from the subway at Hotel de Ville. I walked the Marais streets, full of life and had a few drinks at different bars. I went for diner at the restaurant Aux trois petits cochons at 31, rue Tiquetonne. For only 30 euros, I had Moules d’Espagne and champignons de Paris, Filet de dorade avec poireaux, and a plate of three cheeses (Chèvre, Brie, Conté fruitier). After eating I really needed to walk some more and enjoy just being in the streets, seeing the lights on the monuments and feeling the buzz of the city. I crossed the 4th into the 1st into the 8th until l’Etoile and reluctantly took the metro for the few last stations until my stop. I them quietly climbed the stairs to my comfortable bed in the Truffautière, thankful for today and already wondering what adventure, pleasure and discovery tomorrow would bring me.

alya

Author: LuckyLuc
Date: 12/30/2005, 10:34 pm
Day 9

Our second Sunday in Paris, our program for the day was a guided walk of le Marais in the afternoon, a concert in the evening, and whatever we felt like doing in between. So we started our day by taking the subway to station Cardinal Lemoine and them took a short walk to Place de la Contrescarpe. Even though we had nothing to buy, we decided to visit the street market on rue Mouffetard in the 5eme for the pleasure of seeing the great variety of products and hearing the merchants shout. There were a lot of decorations on the street and Christmas felt already so close. We walked down rue Mouffetard all the way to Saint-Médard church where a mass was already in process. It was full of people so we sat at the back, answered the prayers and listened to the organ. After the mass, in front of the church there was a group of about forty people singing old French songs while dancing to the sound of an accordion. I joined in, remembering all the songs from the 30s and 40s that my mother sang at home while she ironed our clothes. The accordion player started a song entitled “Mademoiselle de Paris” since my friend was too reserved to dance I look in the crowd and found an other partner to waltz with for a little while.

We walked back on rue Monge while on our way we looked at the Arènes de Lutèce. We crossed the Seine on the pont de Sully going toward Place de la Bastille. We stopped for lunch at Les Grandes Marches, 6 Place de la Bastille. It is a brasserie with a modern, yet comfortable décor. The menu was more traditional brasserie but with a modern twist. We ate an artichoke, tomato and zucchini tart followed but a veal tournedos.

The Marais tour was starting at 14h30 so we made our way up rue des Tournelles to the rendezvous at rue des Minimes. Again I was please to only see six others persons participating in the tour. We walked about le Marais while Ariane, our guide explained the different stages of the history of the neighbourhood. We entered some of the hotel courtyards in order to see the façade of the buildings and some exterior staircases’. I was particularly interested in the life of one of the Marais’s most famous resident: Louis Bourdaloue, often considered as one of the greatest French orators. Of course my favorite Mme de Sévigné was also invocated. During the tour, I befriended a young gay couple that just moved to the area. After the tour, the four of us went for hot chocolate and tea in a charming atypical tearoom, called Le Loir dans la Théière at 3, rue des Rosiers. We exchanged our impressions of Paris, French’s politics and life in North America.

After we parted way with our new acquaintances, my friend and I decided to walk down Rue de Rivoli on our way to the apartment. As we walked down the arcades of Rivoli we came across the Hotel Meurice and decided to treat ourselves with a cocktail at the Fontainebleau bar. After we pushed the door we saw a dozen of Christmas trees all decorated with flowers, fabric and jewels. It was a magical sight. The bar only had a few other customers; we choose to sit at a banquette, we adjusted the cushions and order some champagne cocktails. It was a relaxing place and was very enjoyable after our long walk.. My friend decided to take the subway home while I went on to the Quartier Latin for an evening concert.
Upon arriving in the 5eme I stop for a short visit at Saint-Séverin which had the indoor light on. After leaving the church I stopped at a nearby café and order a small meal (croque-monsieur, a small salad and a glass of wine) After eating, I went to St-Julien Le Pauvre to buy my concert ticket. I had some time to kill before the concert so I went to the nearby Shakespeare and Co. bookstore and browsed around for a little while. The concert started at 20h30, a counter-tenor who had great technique and a crystalline voice. He sang arias by Vivaldi, Handel and Gluck. Once again I was amazed at the high quality of the performance for such a meager price of 23 euros! The concert was over, the music was still playing in my mind. Once outside, the beauty of Paris illuminations brought tears to my eyes. My feet are rested, my coat is warm so I twisted my cashmere pashmina around my neck and tried my best to get lost in the city.

.
Day 9

Our second Sunday in Paris, our program for the day was a guided walk of le Marais in the afternoon, a concert in the evening, and whatever we felt like doing in between. So we started our day by taking the subway to station Cardinal Lemoine and them took a short walk to Place de la Contrescarpe. Even though we had nothing to buy, we decided to visit the street market on rue Mouffetard in the 5eme for the pleasure of seeing the great variety of products and hearing the merchants shout. There were a lot of decorations on the street and Christmas felt already so close. We walked down rue Mouffetard all the way to Saint-Médard church where a mass was already in process. It was full of people so we sat at the back, answered the prayers and listened to the organ. After the mass, in front of the church there was a group of about forty people singing old French songs while dancing to the sound of an accordion. I joined in, remembering all the songs from the 30s and 40s that my mother sang at home while she ironed our clothes. The accordion player started a song entitled “Mademoiselle de Paris” since my friend was too reserved to dance I look in the crowd and found an other partner to waltz with for a little while.

We walked back on rue Monge while on our way we looked at the Arènes de Lutèce. We crossed the Seine on the pont de Sully going toward Place de la Bastille. We stopped for lunch at Les Grandes Marches, 6 Place de la Bastille. It is a brasserie with a modern, yet comfortable décor. The menu was more traditional brasserie but with a modern twist. We ate an artichoke, tomato and zucchini tart followed but a veal tournedos.

The Marais tour was starting at 14h30 so we made our way up rue des Tournelles to the rendezvous at rue des Minimes. Again I was please to only see six others persons participating in the tour. We walked about le Marais while Ariane, our guide explained the different stages of the history of the neighbourhood. We entered some of the hotel courtyards in order to see the façade of the buildings and some exterior staircases’. I was particularly interested in the life of one of the Marais’s most famous resident: Louis Bourdaloue, often considered as one of the greatest French orators. Of course my favorite Mme de Sévigné was also invocated. During the tour, I befriended a young gay couple that just moved to the area. After the tour, the four of us went for hot chocolate and tea in a charming atypical tearoom, called Le Loir dans la Théière at 3, rue des Rosiers. We exchanged our impressions of Paris, French’s politics and life in North America.

After we parted way with our new acquaintances, my friend and I decided to walk down Rue de Rivoli on our way to the apartment. As we walked down the arcades of Rivoli we came across the Hotel Meurice and decided to treat ourselves with a cocktail at the Fontainebleau bar. After we pushed the door we saw a dozen of Christmas trees all decorated with flowers, fabric and jewels. It was a magical sight. The bar only had a few other customers; we choose to sit at a banquette, we adjusted the cushions and order some champagne cocktails. It was a relaxing place and was very enjoyable after our long walk.. My friend decided to take the subway home while I went on to the Quartier Latin for an evening concert.
Upon arriving in the 5eme I stop for a short visit at Saint-Séverin which had the indoor light on. After leaving the church I stopped at a nearby café and order a small meal (croque-monsieur, a small salad and a glass of wine) After eating, I went to St-Julien Le Pauvre to buy my concert ticket. I had some time to kill before the concert so I went to the nearby Shakespeare and Co. bookstore and browsed around for a little while. The concert started at 20h30, a counter-tenor who had great technique and a crystalline voice. He sang arias by Vivaldi, Handel and Gluck. Once again I was amazed at the high quality of the performance for such a meager price of 23 euros! The concert was over, the music was still playing in my mind. Once outside, the beauty of Paris illuminations brought tears to my eyes. My feet are rested, my coat is warm so I twisted my cashmere pashmina around my neck and tried my best to get lost in the city

alya

Author: LuckyLuc
Date: 12/30/2005, 10:35 pm
Day 10 and 11 (trip report)

Our last full day in France was spent visiting a dear friend who lives in Basse-Normandie, in the little town of Verneuil-sur-Avre, a 55 minute train ride from Paris. My friend Jean-Paul has the chance to have both Canadian and French citizenship. He was born in France but have taught piano at Ottawa’ university for years. A few years ago, he retired to Verneuil but he still teaches select promising pupils.

We ended out on Monday morning bracing ourselves for the joy of taking the metro in full rush hour. We had to be at the Montparnasse-Vaugirard station for the 9h26 train to Verneuil and we were afraid that a taxi was likely to get caught in a morning traffic “bouchon”.

After letting the first subway tram go by, we joined the crowd on the platform and pushed our way into a wagon. Once inside we were happy to hear that everyone had the good taste of suffering in total silence. And frankly if only one could choose who one was being pressed intimately against, it could be bearable, but of course one does not choose! By the time we got to Les Invalides, the wagon almost emptied itself and we finished our rush hour ride sitting down to our great surprise. Our rush was over and we finally had found a fault with our beloved Parisians, sometimes there was to many of them at the same place.


Once at the train station we bought our tickets, composted them at the yellow machine, and bought a newspaper and a magazine before the 9h26 train. As we entered the Basse-Normandie, we saw the fields, the farms and apples orchards all asleep for winter. A few jersey cows and horses later we arrived in Verneuil 55 minutes later as the station clock indicated. Jean-Paul was waiting for us and we all exchange a few air kisses. His house was only a ten minute walk from the station. On the way to his house he told us not to expect much since he bought one of the new houses in town, build in the 1780’s! Obviously by the delightful smell that greeted us upon entering his house, Jean-Paul had been cooking all morning. We had a café and we left for a walking tour of the town.

Verneuil is a medieval town founded in 1120 by the son of Guillaume le Conquérant. The town still has a large dungeon and part of a wall built by Phillipe-Auguste. In the market place there is a famous church called Eglise de la Madeleine. It has a 60 meters bell tower in a pure flamboyant gothic style. Inside the Madeleine there are a few glorious sculptures as well as wonderful stain glass windows. The most impressive thing about Verneuil is the large amount of very well preserved houses from the XVème and XVIème centuries. There are also good examples of private hotels from the XVllème and XVlllème centuries. We were very spoiled, as we got to visit a few of the interiors since our guide was one of Verneuil’s notable. If one wish to tour the town there is an audio guide made by a city historian, which can be obtained at the City Hall.

We walked back to Jean-Paul’s house for a very long and delicious lunch, with of course cream base dishes, Camembert from the nearby village of Camembert, cider and calvados. He offered to drive us and show us the town of Alencon or Lisieux but we preferred to stay by his large fireplace with Caramel , the cat, on my knees.

In the early evening, before walking us to the train station, Jean-Paul treated us with a piano recital of Roussel, Satie and Fauré. I did not want to leave. I envy my friend Jean-Paul retirement in a peaceful large maison de maître in a quaint medieval town that is only an one hour train ride from Paris and its wonders.

Back home we proceeded to pack our luggage, always a more difficult task after some a few session of Parisian shopping. We then had a nice seafood meal at Wepler, a nearby brasserie. Wisely my friend went back to the apartment for an early sleep since our flight was an early one. But knowing that it would be months before I would have Paris under my feet again I did my very best to get lost in its magic.

alya

LuckyLuc,

I do hope that you don't think I was out of line by 'copy and pasting' your posts into one thread.

It's a wonderful trip report, thank you very much for sharing.

BTW your written English is very good, never apolgise for it again

alya

too, too funny

"apologise"!

Ronda

Wonderful report LuckyLuc! I couldn't quit reading it once I started. One could write a guidebook reading all the museums, restaurants, and places you went in Paris. Sounds like you have been to Paris many times. How did you find out about all the small museums you went to? Did you use a guidebook? And you do write beautifully!

LuckyLuc

Alya,
Thank you for the cutting and pasting, I am not familiar with Fodor's ways, but this method do make a lot of sense. Merci.

Ronda,
In one word "Pariscope" for finding museum, concerts, and my favorite visite-conférence. What is great about returning to Paris is that each trip is different and better at the same time. Now that I found the perfect parisian apartment I am already thinking of my next trip.

Betsy

What a beautifully written trip report! Would you be willing to share the website for your apartment?

LuckyLuc

Betsy,

The website for the apartement is http://www.rentalapartmentparis.com

It is owned by an American couple who actually lived there when they are in Paris. So their apartment is very well equipped, decorated with antiques a lot of flair and style.

What I liked the most about the apartement is the location in a totally non-touristic area, surrounded with an entire variety of merchants and commerce. One really feel like a true Parisian, yet in a 10 minutes métro ride you can find yourselves in the middle of the Champs-Elysées.

ira

Hi LL,

Thanks for a very nice report.

Hi Alya,

Thanks for putting it all together.

Bailey

LuckyLuc.....what a delightful way to close out the year...with a trip to Paris!!
Terrific report!!!
Happy 2006!!
Thanks

travginny

Bonjour Luc,

J'ai adoré ton récit de voyage. Je vais à Paris tous les ans, mais tu m'as fait découvrir des coins que je ne connaissais pas. Ton enthousiasme est contagieux... j'y suis allée en septembre et j'ai déjà hâte d'y retourner.

Ginny (Montréal)

AnselmAdorne

Thank you, Luc. This is one of the best reports I have ever read on Fodor's.

Anselm (in Halifax)

maryanne1

What a beautifully written report! I've only been to Paris once and saw the main sights,but your writing of places makes me know I could go back many times and find places and experiences that I would enjoy. Your English is very good. Just wish my French could be as good as your English. This is one of the most interesting reports I have ever read about Paris.

Nikki

The apartment looks great, and it looks like a fun neighborhood to try. Was there an elevator?