Loved your heading and the report so far. Looking forward to the next installment.

Love it (and owe you an email about pushing up the plans for France - will send tomorrow)!

My teeth are chattering already. Looking forward to more!

I hope you tell us how you like the apartment. It looks very nice, and looks like a good deal in a good general area.

Looking forward to more.

Thanks. Should have restaurants we liked ready to post tomorrow.

@stokebailey. - re the apt. It does look exactly like the pictures on the sight. First it had a cage elevator which I love and it worked great. We always stay without an elevator so this was a treat. The bed was two comfortable twins pushed together, not a king as they had told us. There was an armoire that was adequate for the two of us to store our clothes. One of the pillows was awful and I bought a new one which they said they will reimburse me for. LR/DR area was nice and comfortable.

Now the kitchen...I had read in the comments that it was not that great. I didn't worry about it because we rarely use our kitchen in Paris except for coffee and really easy stuff. This kitchen had a gas stove/oven which had to be both lit and the gas turned on. The coffee maker was practically falling apart and it was an effort to make our coffee. We had bought a really nice wine in Beaune and planned to make a steak one night to have with the wine. We never even tried figuring we might ruin a good cut of meat.
The bathroom was funny actually. A shower with no stall or curtain which just takes getting used to so you don't spray the whole room. It Had this bizarre metal dryer contraption above the shower but we were told not to use it. The washer was fine, but there was no dryer. This turned out not to be an issue as we laid clothes over the wonderful radiators that kept the apt nice and toasty.
So the bathroom and kitchen were relics from maybe the 50's. The manager said he keeps telling the elderly owner she needs to update. The other issue is that we live in an house so are not used to having anyone running around on top of us. The upstairs neighbor upon occasion was very noisy and got up 6ish some mornings. We also mentioned this to the manager and he said he has told her to not to that...walk around in high heels and play with her cat running back and forth in the night. We thought it was a toddler.
It was a decent rate. The manager was nice and responsive and very easy to deal with. Small security deposit upfront and nothing else. He said cancellation up to a few weeks before arrival would be fine...he'd return the sec deposit. so that was nice. Not sure if I would rent it again. Maybe for a shorter time when we wouldn't be as apt to want to eat in. That's the story on the apt.

Thanks, yestravel! I'd like a French person to post taking a shower on YouTube so I can see how they do it without a curtain. Wearing a bathing suit, of course.

Yes, it's esp hard for GT as he is 6'2"". I just find it not particularly relaxing ESP when I wash my hair.

Gottravel here. The following describes highlights of our best dining experiences during our eighteen days in the cold grey Parisian winter. Further posts re museums, shopping, etc. will be up shortly...

Onion soup and frisee salad with bacon and poached egg at Au Pied de Cochon. It’s true that this restaurant is cliched and over-touristed. But we have yet to find an onion soup anywhere in Paris that’s nearly as good. And it’s something of a bargain in over-priced Paris. Probably best for lunch. Inexpensive (for Paris).

A glass of superb Coteaux du Layon at Frenchie. Our meal was good, the desert was better, the accompanying dessert wine was out of this world (at €10 a glass, it should have been). The staff were kind enough to note the wine name down on a large piece of paper. The wine flash card spared me from subjecting staff at various wine stores to my French, which ranges somewhere between mangled and nonexistent. Our dishes at Frenchie during two recent visits have ranged from the sublime to the merely good. This time, our starters (“ferra,” a lake fish) and plats (pigeon for me, polock for yestravel) were good, desserts (a sugar tart and stilton cheese with speculoos) were excellent. Accompanying bottle of pinot noir was very good. And the glass of Coteaux du Layon…. Friendly staff. Expensive. Restaurant Frenchie 5-6, rue du Nil 75002. http://www.frenchie-restaurant.com

The entire dinner at Le Casse Noix. We met up with with Foderite gracejoan at her wonderful apartment near the Eiffel Tower beforehand for some Loire sparkling wine and pistachios. Then we walked to Le Casse Noix. YT and gracejoan both had a delicious butternut squash soup while I had jambon au persile accompanied with greens, a dish I had meant to get while in Dijon prior to our arrival in Paris. Tasty! Plats were magret de canard (YT and gracejoan) and “pave de rumpsteak” (me). Both dishes were delicious and the steak was perfectly done (i.e., very rare). Desserts were floating island (YT and gracejoan) and the cheese plat (me). We accompanied the meal with a great Cotes de Rhone and followed it with a heart attack. Le Casse Noix is at 56 rue de la Federation 75007. www.le-cassenoix.fr/

Lunch at Le Petit Bal Perdu, 25 rue Oberkampf 75011. YT’s dish was forgettable, but I had some little raviloles in a blue cheese sauce topped with walnuts that was wonderful. We were divided on the half carafe of house red. I liked it, YT didn’t. No website, at least that I could find.

Reed. Simply fantastic – everything was great! Cauliflower soup, pate with salad, roast chicken with mushrooms, risotto with Parma (or was it Serrano?) ham, pumpkin and sage, and tarte tatins for dessert. We liked it so much we went there again for our penultimate meal in Paris; both of us had the risotto the second time. The restaurant was almost empty both times we went, which allowed us time to talk to the chef/owner as well as watch her prepare our dinners. 11 bis rue Amelie 75007. No website.

Lunch at Camille. This place is an old favorite from previous trips. Deux salades landaises and a demi carafe of rouge, s’il vous plait. I’m not sure we’ve ever had anything here other than the salad landaise. Cramped, crowded and inexpensive, with the kind of neck-stretching people-watching that only the Marais can provide. 24 Rue des Francs-Bourgeois 75003. No website.

Dinner at Septime. A split verdict. YT liked it a lot. I thought it was pretentious, overpriced micro-portions of fusion food, mostly tasty, occasionally unexciting, and never identifiably French. (We ate at Itinéraires a couple of years back and felt the same way.) And both of us hate the “mystery menu” concept…for a start, it makes one reliant on the server’s judgment in regard to wine. In this case, the wine pairings were nothing short of fabulous, but they drove the price from above the roof into the stratosphere. Five courses and four flights of wine will do that. (One wine, an “orange” wine from the Veneto region of Italy, was particularly good.) In all fairness, other than the initial seafood appetizer – raw oysters, mussels, razor clams in a watery sorrel sauce - I thought the dishes were very good. Bottom line: I could have had the same meal in San Francisco or New York for 2/3 the price. 80 Rue de Charonne, 75011. http://septime-charonne.fr

L’epigramme. Another favorite from a previous visit. YT had snails in mousse and roasted lamb. I had foie gras and a cashew-topped chicken breast with polenta. All the dishes were transcendent, as were the desserts – try the mango tart. Moderately expensive but definitely worth it. It was a dead heat between L’epigramme and Reed for best meal during our stay in Paris. 9 Rue de l'Éperon, 75006. No website. This place is so old school that I doubt that the owners even know what a website is.

Crepes at West Country Girl. 6, Passage Saint-Ambroise, 75011. Inexpensive and delicious crepes, friendly Parisian hipster staff and tasty Breton cider at €2.40 glass. Not only was the restaurant named after a Nick Cave song, but the space doubles as a recording studio on days when the restaurant is closed. It became our neighborhood stand-by. http://www.westcountrygirl.com

Barbeque in Paris? Yes – and as good as any within forty miles of where I live in Washington DC. Blues Bar-B0-Q is at 1, rue Sedaine 75011. I can personally vouch for the ribs and the pulled pork sandwich sure looked great. And the accompanying music was appropriate: heavy on the Willie with just a touch of blues and R&B. The owner hails from Texas and got her training there and it shows. http://www.bluesbarbq.fr

Dinner at Alain Milliat. This was one of our boisterous outings. Gracejoan had invited us to join her and some friends for the evening. We started with wine at her apartment then moved on to the restaurant. We had reservations for six, but a seventh had joined us and the restaurant had not seen the e-mail adding the extra person and was quite annoyed. In keeping with the Parisian attitude that the customer is always wrong, there was some snippy back and forth between the wait staff and the French members of our party. However this was all forgotten after we ordered wine and added new offenses to culinary decorum. All in all, we made some new friends in France and had a great evening. Restaurant Alain Milliat had a limited menu the night we went – two starters, two plats, two desserts - but not to worry…everything was excellent. This was one of the runner-ups in the best food category. As well, it has a sideline selling high-end fruit juices and jams. 159 Rue de Grenelle, 75007. Restaurant menu and reservations via http://www.lafourchette.com/restaurant/alain-milliat/16583

Lunch at Le Comptoir. Another old favorite. We’ve eaten here several times over the years. The food has always been excellent, the service hurried but friendly. Cramped space. Another runner-up in the best food department. The menu changes daily. No reservations are accepted. Your best bet – at least in February - is to show up ten minutes before the doors open at 12:00; you might want to make that half an hour in the temperate months. Highly recommended. 9 Carrefour de l'Odéon 75006.

Chez Janou. Our last meal in Paris. This place is fun and serves great Provencal food in enormous (rare for Paris) portions. The décor consists of movie posters from French film posters from the bygone days of French cinema in the 1950s. Try the mushroom appetizer. If one orders chocolate mousse for desert they have been known to bring over a huge bowl and you just help yourself and help yourself and help yourself. (I passed, YT didn’t.) A must for chocoholics and mousse lovers. 2, rue Roger Verlomme, 75003. www.chezjanou.com

Auberge Flora at 44 Bd. Richard-Lenoir. A nearby neighborhood restaurant that serves tapa-size dishes of French food. The small portions were nice as they allowed for multiple selections; we ordered five altogether. The duck w/ citron vert was particular good. The bread is outstanding. And they had Coteaux du Layon by the glass. What more can one ask for?

Hot chocolate at Jacques Genin. 133, rue de Turenne 
75003. Although YT liked it more than I did – I think Angelina is better - we both agree that hot chocolate is the perfect drink for a cold overcast afternoon. Perhaps a little added brandy would have enhanced my opinion. http://jacquesgenin.fr

Fougasse at Chez Manon, a bakery at 25 rue Bretagne. The fougasse was every bit as good as we remembered from prior trips. Closed Mondays, which gave us a fright when we first ventured by – we thought that it had gone out of business.

Banh Mi sandwich. Despite the long association between France and Vietnam, Vietnamese food is relatively hard to find in Paris. But we prevailed and had a great banh mi sandwich at a nameless storefront at 7, rue Volta off rue Rambeteau in the upper Marais. This may have been the bargain sit-down meal of the trip – a banh mi sandwich and a can of tamarind juice for a total of seven and a half euros.

Sunday falafel on rue de Rosiers in the Marais. Skip the lines at L’as du Fallafel and go to Chez H’anna down the street. The wait is shorter and the falafel is every bit as good. 54 Rue des Rosiers, 75004.

Pistachio muffins and cerise (cherry) muffins at Pattisserie Gerard Mulot. Absolutely heavenly. We made it to two of the three locations, in the 3rd and the 7th. Info at http://www.gerard-mulot.com/paris/actualites-gerard-mulot.php

Speculoos. It’s a dessert spread. It comes in a jar and costs two Euros and change in supermarkets. I was never quite sure what was in it besides ground-up Dutch cookies, but it sure was good when I had it with blue cheese at Restaurant Frenchie. A description and history is here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Speculoos#Spread_history Take heed - this stuff is addictive.

Amora Moutarde de Dijon. The strongest mustard I’ve ever taster and a bargain at 62 Eurocents. The container – once you ever make it through the incendiary contents – is intended to re-purposed as a drinking glass. Collect them all! Available at most markets.

Wow! Thanks for the thorough info on your dining experiences - sounded fantastic. I just wish I didn't read this before lunch.

I'm so glad you decided to do a Paris trip report, afterall. Looking forward to more.

OMG! What is your secret for staying so slim after all that? Anyway thanks for that detailed report (again, you're brave!), looking forward to reading more...

Part #2 of 3 - Museums.

Musée Jacquemart Andre. This is a fabulous small museum housed in a once owned by an upper middle class couple, [Édouard André and Nélie Jacquemart-André]. The house itself was constructed in the 1870s and the interior is simply stunning. It provides a real glimpse into how the other half – or half percent – lived back in the day. They collected paintings, primarily Italian, of artists ranging from Tiepolo to Botticelli to Rembrandt. A superb Mantegna, “Ecco Homo,” is alone worth the price of admission. We’d been meaning to come here for years and finally made it this trip. 158 Boulevard Haussmann 75008
http://www.musee-jacquemart-andre.com/fr/home

Musée d'Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris. A must for modernists. We’d come here on our last trip to see the permanent collection and returned this time for a temporary exhibition (“L’art en Guerre 1938 – 1947”) that left the two days after our visit. However, the permanent collection is both free and provides an excellent overview of art from the first half of the 20th Century. An additional plus: The museum, compared to other museums, is under-visited – you can actually contemplate paintings without being jostled or distracted. The neighboring Palais de Tokyo hosts temporary contemporary exhibitions. 11 avenue du Président Wilson 
75116
http://www.mam.paris.fr/en/home

Musee d’Orsay. What can you say? One of the best art museums in the world. We’ve been there on just about every trip to Paris. We used to seek out particular works and had developed an expeditious itinerary to take us through the museum to view our favorites. Now, we’ve been there so many times that we just wander. There’s a Thursday evening discount, starting at 6:00.

Maison Europeene de la Photographie. This under-visited yet superb venue in the Marais has rotating multiple shows of photography – we saw the excellent Joel Meyerowitz exhibition (last day is April 7, 2013). 5/7 Rue de Fourcy - 75004 Check the website for future shows – there’s always something of interest here. http://www.mep-fr.org/english/

Fondation Henri Cartier-Bresson, the other major Parisian photography venue. We saw the Howard Greenberg photo collection here (exhibition continues through April 21, 2013). In my opinion, this was quite possibly the greatest collection of black and white photography ever assembled under one roof. It had everything from Arbus to Weegee. If Ansel Adams' "Moonrise over Hernandez, NM" had been included, it would have been the perfect black and white photo show. The Fondation is housed in a modernist building at 2 Impasse Lebouis, 75014. Check the website for future exhibitions. Admission is free after 6:30 pm on Wednesdays. http://www.henricartierbresson.org/index_en.htm

The Louvre. We hadn’t been here for years. It’s impossible to see everything in one go and you’ll frustrate yourself if you try. In my opinion, the best approaches are to either cherry-pick what you want to see – any travel book on the museum should have the highlights - or to focus on a particular area. We tried to cherry-pick; however, due to the confusing layout of the museum, spread between three wings with dead-ends and closed corridors, we ended up focusing on statuary and the ancient Middle East…French sculpture and the royal apartments of Napoleon III in the Richelieu Wing, monumental ancient Assyrian sculpture in the Sully Wing and Italian sculpture (Michelangelo and Canova) in the Denon Wing. We also visited the new Islamic Art section, which I found underwhelming after viewing Canova’s sublime “Cupid and Psyche.” YT, who also loved Cupid and Psyche, enjoyed the Islamic Art Section, although she did find it a bit weirdly laid out. Exhibits consisted of carved wooden screens, nice Ottoman ceramics and some handwoven carpets.

Musee Nissim de Camondo. 63, rue de Monceau 
75008. Another glimpse into a past era. Camondo was a collector of French furniture and art objects from the 18th century. We had been looking for small museums that we had never visited and this fit the bill. It seemed much smaller than Musée Jacquemart Andre, but was no less elaborate. It also has the advantage of bordering on the lovely Parc Monceau which is a nice place to have lunch before or after visiting. Tickets can be bought in combination with a visit to the Musee des Arts Decoratifs . http://www.lesartsdecoratifs.fr/english-439/

Musee du Luxembourg. 19 Rue de Vaugirard 75006. This museum is adjacent to the Luxembourg Gardens. It doesn’t have a permanent collection, but instead hosts revolving shows. We saw a blockbuster Chagall retrospective there this trip. (It’s there through July 21, 2013.) I never appreciated Chagall until I saw this show. On a previous trip we saw a superb, if poorly staged, Modigliani retrospective. If you go to a show there, get tickets in advance (they’re sold at FNAC locations); otherwise, you’ll have to wait in line. Info is at http://www.museeduluxembourg.fr

The Petit Palais. This overlooked venue is recommended for the architectural sublimity of the building, the wonderful gift shop and the nice permanent collection. The permanent collection is free.

Pere Lachaise cemetery. Not sure if this counts as a museum, but a visit here is it worth it for the extravagant statuary alone. You’ll be in good company. Gertrude Stein, Alice B. Toklas, Max Ernst and Jim Morrison – among many others - are buried here. In particular, check out Oscar Wilde’s monumental grave. And the monuments to those murdered in Nazi camps during the Second World War – they’re on the outer perimeter near the east side – are truly moving. Visits are free unless you aspire to take up permanent residency.

Also…we ran across a fantastic, if somewhat depressing, black and white photo show at a gallery at 12 Boulevard des Filles du Calvarie 75011. (I think the name of the gallery was “Le Petite Douce Noire.”) While this show is gone by now, this location is certainly worth checking out if you’re in the vicinity. We also liked the moody, atmospheric photography at Atelier Valencin (46, rue Saint Sebastien 75011); you can view Valencin’s photography on-line at http://www.thierryvalencin.com

Hi! coco & YG -- glad u r enjoying the report or the highlights of ouur trip at least.
Some storm we had here, huh, YG?? If you r into Chagall don't miss the show at the Luxembourg when you visit Paris. It was truly a wonderful show. I loved it!
@ coco - We walk and we walk and we walk, probably 10 mies or so a day. Even with our hasty retreats into the metro sometimes with the frigid weather, we still walked and walked. Having an elevator for once avoided the climbs to the apt, but we hit the steps for the down.

MMMMMMMMMMMM!

Glad you made it to Septime. I am in the "really liked it" camp. I've been to a handful of your listed restaurants and am happy to have more for the list for the next time!

Wegmans carries Speculoos. Mine does, anyway.

Hope to see you at a GTG soon...

18 nights in Paris, I'm so jealous! Thanks for the thorough food reviews. Your itinerary is exactly where I want to go next time though unfortunately I won't have anywhere near a month to spend.

BTW, love the format of your report. As well as the content...

Count me as a fan of Septime too though I understand the could be anywhere comment.

Thanks, glad you are enjoying it.

@flygirl -- really! Wegman's. Which one is near you? I just may have to make a trip out there. Trader Joe's supposedly has it, but its like $10 a jar or something ridiculous like that. I tell you I truly became addicted. When I got back I read that Delta airlines apparently served the cookies I think on some flights and the Americans have gone nuts for it. So I guess I'm not alone.

@Patti - Lyon can easily be seen in 3-4 days and Dijon in a couple days. We are fortunate to be able to enjoy the towns at a very leisurely pace.

Re Septime -- I don't think that we thought the food wasn't good, just not noticeably French. As we said, we can get that fusion type food pretty much anywhere these days so its a disappointment when we have it in Paris
@flygirl I remember you had reported you liked it better than Frenchies and I think I did too.

Wegman's also carries Biscoff cookies! Sooo good for dunking in tea. I ran out and may have to buy some more.

I enjoyed all of the meals that we had in December. Frenchies was good but not so good that I'd feel bad I missed out - huge hassle to get a rez. I'd go back, sure, but I wouldn't try as hard to get in either.

Good to know, thanks. I was thinking 3/3/6 split between Lyon/Dijon/Paris.

There are entire threads on the Flyertalk Delta forum devoted to Biscoffs. I had no idea speculoos came in a spreadable form. Sounds like something I need to stay away from

flygirl, you can now reserve Frenchie on line!

Yes, Frenchie's is easy to reserve online from the US. It opens at midnight Paris time, so that'll 6:00 East Coast time. I think it's 45 days out. I had no trouble reserving. Septime also has online reservations, but not 45 days out. LaFourchette is a great booking site.
@Patty-Lyon is much bigger than Dijon and more to see. I might say 4 for Lyon and 2 for Dijon. But your 3/3 is fine too. When do u plan to go?

What a great report and wonderful way to re-live Paris! Thanks for all the details. How nice that you were able to meet Fodorite gracejoan.

This reminds me that I have to finish my Paris report. I'll try to do that this weekend.

Good to know about online rez!

Yes, thanks to your mention of it in another thread, I have put the Chagall exhibit on the list for May.

Patty, that is so funny about the Biscoffs. I LOVE those things, and I only have them on planes, which seems so incongruous to me.

I've heard of speculoos, but haven't had the pleasure...yet.

Hi - Louisa -- thanks!
@ YG -- go into Monoprix or Casino and get yourself some -- it's in the aisle with and jams. They have the cookies also. I would have never found it except as I was swooning over it at Frenchie's the woman next to me was laughing and told me where to find it.


Shopping:

Window shopping in Paris is such a gratifying yet somewhat depressing pastime – the clothes and shoes are devine, the prices absurd so I know there will be few purchases. But nonetheless, looking and drooling and fantasizing is well worth the time spent.

The Bastille market on Boulevard Richard-Lenoir (near Place Bastlle in the 11th arrondissement). We went there several times and bought cheeses and flowers and pates and greens and roast chicken with potatoes and items like toothpaste, Mennon stick deodorant shaving cream. I’m not quite sure what you cannot get here – on our first Sunday we saw a couple of furniture dealers. I love how the man at the fromagerie ask when you are planning to eat the cheese and picks one for you accordingly – how wonderful is that?

Monoprix – Quirky clothing and a good grocery section. The Target of France. Multiple locations.

BHV – Fun browsing. Got my new pillow for the apt there on sale, no less. On rue Rivoli.

Arche stores - Well-made, comfortable stylish shoes for men and women. They’re only almost affordable during the sale seasons (Jan-Feb and June-July). The best time to go for the lowest prices are after sales have ended. They further discount the leftovers and you can pick up some decent bargains (not that Arche shoes could really be called bargains.) Multiple locations.

Oksa - Stylish women’s wear. Reasonably-priced.

There’s a small store, Nina Jacobs at 23 Rue de Franc Bourgeois where I seem to always buy a jacket. This store carries the most wonderful line of beautifully constructed boiled wool jackets and coats (Eva Tralala) made in Paris. They are warm, but not bulky. This year I bought a cute red coat. Of course the delightful sales person showed me several different ways to wear it – now if it would only get warm enough to wear it in DC and I remember how she showed me to wear it. Some of you in DC have no doubt seen some of my other purchases from there. I love being complimented on the jackets and saying “Oh, I got it in Paris!”

yestravel,
No idea when yet, hopefully the end of this year. BTW were there any pastries at Genin?

flygirl,
Yes, please finish your report. I'm looking forward to the Reims installment.

@Patty - Jacques Genin had a very limited pastry selection -- 3 types of millefeuille, chocolate, vanilla or carmel. We wanted to share a carmel one, but they were out them so we had a very good vanilla one. There was a note on each table which my have been saying they were no longer serving pastries? Did they used to have a larger selection? I don't read french, but the little I know seemed to suggest that. They also served you a little plate of their chocolates with your order.

That would really be too bad if Jacques Genin stopped serving pastries. I had the best tart citron in December.....even better than Gerard Mulot, which had been my favorite.

YT - Just about to settle in and enjoy your trip report as I always do but wanted to say we're in Milan now after 8 weeks in Italy and have had a lot of grey/rain as you experienced.....but it's still always wonderful.

Best

Liz

@Elizabeth - thankfully we didn't have rain except maybe one evening, just grey dreary cold weather, but as u say it was France in our case. Have you been posting your travels? I love reading them and picking up hints.

@judy - definitely no citron tarts offered. maybe it will be continued again--wish I could have read the french note. The servers didn't speak very good English so I didn't bother them to try and figure the note out. I really wanted the carmel millefeuille. The couple next to us had one and was barely touching it -- I wanted to take it from them, but refrained.

They used to have a full pastry case between the chocolates and caramels. I read that most of his pastry staff quit recently.

I would say the note indicated he was going back to what he loved, chocolates. Sorry I missed his lemon tart as I love Tarte citron.

Thank you, thank you,THANK YOU.

Can NOT wait for August 14 and 7 nights in Paris. We are NOT first timers......but haven't been there in decades. Why do I have a feeling we are going to want to return.......and return....and return.

I'm printing this out, darlin'. CHEERS!

Moreweird - Glad you found this helpful. Here's the rest...


Music:

Le Piano Vache in the Latin Quarter. We went there on a Monday night and caught two sets of gypsy hot jazz by a group headed by fabulous acoustic guitarist Rodolphe Raffalli and a supporting group that consisted of a fantastic accordionist, a second acoustic guitarist and a stand-up bassist. The first set included covers of the tango classic "Libertango" and Django Reinhardt’s "Nuages." Here’s a video of Raffalli in action with a slighty different line up.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ya_QGw5Gm80
T
he club itself is half dive bar and half journey to a lost past era, with a true cast of characters. My understanding is that Raffalli plays there regularly. Good fun and highly recommended. 8 Rue Laplace, 75005 Paris, France. http://lepianovache.fr

Unbeknownst to us, we were staying two blocks from Café Bataclan – a premier Paris music venue. Had we only known… Information regarding Parisian music venues is available here
http://www.guardian.co.uk/travel/2011/may/06/10-best-paris-music-venues
and here
http://vingtparismagazine.com/2008/12/20-music-venues-in-paris/


Transport:

Carnets (packets of 10 tickets that can be used either for the Metro or bus-lines) cost €13.30. They’re available by machine in all Metro stations. Note that said machine has a limit of twenty coins per purchase transaction; save up your 1 and 2 Euro coins before purchasing. (A few Metro stops still have manual ticket sales windows, but they’re few and far between.)

The 69 bus. This is the perfect introduction to Paris for the first time visitor. You can take it from the hopping 11th to the sedate 7th and see much of the best of Paris in between. We caught it from near Place Bastille and rode it through the Marias, down Rue Rivoli past the Louvre, across the Seine to the Left Bank, past the Musee D’Orsay, then backtracked on Boulevard Saint Germain before turning towards the Champs de Mars and ending at the Eiffel Tower. All for €1.30 apiece.

Walking. Anywhere. It’s Paris. Free.

And how could we leave out the bells of Notre Dame? This was a once in a lifetime experience

2013 is the official 850th anniversary of the construction of Notre Dame. In celebration, the cathedral is replacing nine large bells that have been in use since the mid-19th Century. (The existing bells may, or may not, have gotten out of tune through use; opinion is divided on the matter.) The nine new bronze bells, named after saints and prominent Catholic figures, were on display inside Notre Dame through February 25. There was, for once, no line that day so we braved the throngs inside and visited the bells on the very last day they were on display. Seeing the new Notre Dame bells was an extraordinary experience. I never thought I could get excited over bells, but these were stunning. They were lined up in the center of the cathedral in ascending order of size. The exterior of each hand-forged bell had been worked differently; they were all beautiful. They are now (as of March) being hoisted into place inside a bell tower and tested. Plans are to ring them in their official capacity for the first time on the Saturday before Palm Sunday. Anyone in Paris on that date or after will be treated to the tintinnabulation of the new bells, bells, bells.

More details here:
http://willows95988.typepad.com/tongue_cheek/2013/02/the-new-bells-for-notre-dame.html

Love the restaurant list! Love Le Comptoir and Frenchie has always been on the list. Great to know you can reserve online now...many complained that they called and called and no one woud ever answer the phone there!

I live in Atlanta and now you can get Biscoff spread in most stores. No one woukd buy speculoos spread, but they know Biscoff and everyone loves the cookies on Delta ( even if you hate the airlines). You should try the speculoos ice cream at Berthillon on your next trip.

OMG - speculoos ice cream and I missed that??? How tragic! I'm going to look for the spread in this area, DC. I have now finished off the jar of Lotus speculoos spread that I snacked on in Paris and brought back.

We lucked into Frenchie's shortly after it opened having a sublime lunch there in 2010, but then we were never able to get reservations for subsequent trips. So the online reservations is great. We actually had made 2 reservations online, but decided to try someplace else for our last nights and cancelled via phone once in Paris.

We managed to get Frenchie reservations twice, most recently 12/12, when flygirl got them for us......not a task for anyone without a lot of patience!!
I'm happy to hear things have changed but the challenge (and cost of many calls to Paris) of making those reservations sort of soured me on the restaurant.

We have friends who live in Paris and tried to call for for us on a trip in 2011 and gave up in disgust -- thought it was absurd that no one ever answered their phones - didn't seem to matter when they tried to call. So the online res is great if you want to eat at Frenchie and plan ahead as they do get booked up quickly.

Thanks for some grat Paris restaurant reviews, part of a very good report!

Glad it was helpful.

Thanks so much for posting this -- I really enjoyed it! We leave for Paris next week, so your report has me all revved up!

Great report. Many thanks, saving for my trip this year

@Magster2005-have a wonderful trip -- I envy you!
@tdk320n - enjoy your trip. When are you going?

Yestravel, you will just have to go back to try the speculoos ice cream! Worth going back for and I only need a small reason to go back to Paris!

named Alexandre for Denise!!

That ice cream will top my list for our next visit to Paris! I feel sad that I have missed all those years of speculoos. So glad u told me about it Denise.

Wonderful information. Plus I'm so jealous that you stayed awake late enough to enjoy clubs!

Loved your trip report, thanks so much for sharing. Just an FYI, our local Wal-Mart carries the Lotus Biscoff spread, I thinks it's around $4-5 for the jar and is near the peanut butters.

Glad u enjoyed our TR. Wlamart...who'd have thunk? I may have to find a Walmart. InParis the speculoos was placed near the jams.

I am so very happy -- I found speculoos cookies and the spread at Trader Joes - just have to compare it to what we had in France. If it doesn't compare favorably I will have to search out a Walmart-they must be somewhere in the DC vicinity.

Oh, guess what yestravel...Haagen Dazs has a special edition ice cream that is caramel biscuit or some thing like it and I suspect is Biscoff/speculoos flavored! May not be Berthillon, but I bet it is good.

re Cupid and Psyche @ The Louvre

It is stunning to see a material as hard and heavy as marble transformed into a figure that seems to hang, suspended in the air, weightlessly touching the figure below.

Logic says it's heavy and supported through the lower figure to its base, but my eyes and heart refused to accept that thing called gravity.

A piece of art that makes the heart soar!