Sounds like a GREAT trip. Can't wait for the photos - please don't take too long to post them.

Sounds wonderful. I will need to check out some of your restaurants on our trip this winter. We were at Frenchies a couple years ago and really liked it. Have not been ale to get in on subsequent trips. What was the seasonal menu like?

All packed, and I have added a few more photos now that I am waiting for my taxi...

It was a fabulous trip. Still cannot believe the week went so fast!

Frenchie's had a lot of root veggies, and the protein choice was either scallops or lamb (I think it was lamb, I opted for scallops). They must also be seasonal? We had it at least three different times.

Ah, a girl after my own heart with the RV shoes! Great restaurant line up...and I remember having the onion soup at les editeurs A few years ago. It was so good and perfect for a my oncoming sore throat. We love the area around les editeurs...sounds like you are staying close by!

Those pix are gorgeous--especially the fountain.

I didn't realize there were so many Eiffel Towers . hehe.

Sounds like a wonderful trip. I'm excited to make what feels like my first trip in February. The previous trip was 35 years ago--and everything was on strike!

Thanks for posting.

Love the pictures and waiting for more!

Often my digital greens come out too light/bright/yellow, and you seem to have the same issue at the fountain in the Luxembourg, though all your reds and blues are spectacular! Go figure!

Great photos! Loved the Medici fountain one especially.

Hi, flygirl! Wonderful photos--please share you camera name. The low-light shots are super. More, please!

Again, another wonderful gallery of phtos! My personal favorites are the night shots. I am looking forward to seeing the rest and hearing the stories! Thanks for sharing.

Lovely photos!

Great pictures, looking forward to hearing more about the trip.

Flygirl, great pics, sounds like a wonderful trip. Standing by to see more shots...

Great photos, especially loved the view of the rooftops from Galleries Lafayette and the Medici fountain.
How about a photo of the Roger Vivier shoes? I'm on their email list and love Ines's Little Diaries.

Looking forward to more!

Lovely photos, but I confess that I will never understand the visitor infatuation with the Médicis fountain other than it is conveniently located in the Luxembourg gardens. There are lovely fountains all over the place, and most of them are much more user friendly with benches to sit alongside the pool.

You took a good photo of the Medicis Fountain. Every time we have been there the lighting was impossible to get a good photo.

My favorite photo was the Galleries Lafayette dome and if I was from Paris, I'd say Oooh la la la la lala----Ok, so I've been listening to Grace Potter lately. Great song BTW!

Good morning everyone!

I am awake and will have pangs of jealousy all week long seeing my friends' facebook updates. They are still there until Saturday. They have already gone back to Jacques Genin, ridden the Grand Roue, and visited Printemps. Sigh.

I will be swamped at work all week but will post vignettes here and there. I hope to have more time this weekend and can make more progress on the photos.

I thought some of you may appreciate this: I had the cab driver rock star park outside Gerard Mulot while I sprinted inside to gather trois croissants and trois pain au chocolats.

Thank you for the comments on my photos! One big thing I neglected to do/tell you: hit slideshow in the upper right corner. The photos will fill your screen. So sorry, I usually link the slideshow immediately. I hope no one gets carpal tunnel from clicking through each of them. And when I am all done I will put a link of my "Top 70 favorites" here so that anyone who can't bear to look at 100s of photos will have them winnowed down.

I should also mention - I used my tiny camera a lot more, this time, than I typically will do - usually I use the Big Bertha almost exclusively. If it rained - the baby stayed home. Out to dinner or the ballet? Baby stayed home. I love love love love love love love love my 7D, but it really is like carrying a sack of sugar around all day (I have a 24-105 zoom on it). Plus you have to babysit it. Right now a third of the photos I've posted as of today are the tiny camera. Flickr will tell you which one - upper right of the individual photo.

I will come back later and reply to everyone - zooming around getting things sorted before I hit the shower.

Stunning photos ! The one of the Medici fountain looks like a painting itself. Bet Chagall could have used it for inspiration for one of his stained glass creations for the colours

I share your pain about lugging heavy camera equipment around. Last year I took over 1700 pics over two weeks in Paris, Reims and SW France using my Pentax. This year, barely 100 on it (it stayed in the apt most of the time) and about 500 on a tiny Canon, and they all turned out better than I expected. I used the Pentax in the Louvre though and, believe it or not, got literally the exact same shot as the one you posted.

Great work and looking forward to more.

Flygirl, what a delightful TR: so full of interesting descriptions and fab photos. I really enjoyed it. You are making me really want to spend time in Gay Paris on my next trip to France.

Bienvenue and merci for the above. Looking forward to the rest of the photos.

Welcome home, flygirl! Sounds like it was a great trip - looking forward to more details.

Nice pics!

Welcome Home! Looking forward to reading more. Now I'll check out your photos!

I love my Gerard Mulot! Fav place for pain au chocolat and it is such a pretty shop!

Sounds like my kind of trip: ballet, art and eating! I was underwhelmed at Septime last May, so I'm looking forward to reading what you enjoyed. Maybe we just had an off day.

Loooovely! And sounds like a really great trip. Bienvenue!

Looking forward for the photo riview!!

Hi flygirl,

Welcome back...we may have crossed in the sky...we were coming home as you were going over. Your photos are wonderful and bring back great memories....hope we will see you at a GTG soon!

Hi everyone

Sorry I haven't posted more, I'm back to being swamped at work as well as helping my brother with a personal issue. No down time last night.

Thank you so much for the compliments on my photos! I will try to post a few more tonight... but the whole lot will take me a while.

One small thing. OK, I know that no one cares. As no one should. But, I overcame my terror and jumped on the scale. I lost two pounds since before the trip - heck, before Thanksgiving, I refused to weigh myself after TG. Either my scale is off and I need a new one, or I have a deadly disease and will be gone by June. We hoovered all week long - 2x a day. Either that, or I put on pure fat last week (from all the rich food) which as we know weighs less than muscle.

Beautiful photos.. that's for sure. Sounds like wonderful trip. I'm looking forward to the shoe photo.. so don't disappoint!

Love your photos! And great about your weight...a trip to Paris and a weight loss---perfect

The shoes! I was actually going to take one this morning as it's clear we have shoe fans here. Drat. I will do that tonight. They aren't outrageous - very classic.

Loved the pics!!

I've been looking at your photo for several years
and you get better and better.
On a previous trip, our apartment was a few doors from the Editeurs.

Just found this, flygirl. We are still enjoying Paris but miss your company! I will be very excited to have maintained my weight. Fantastic photos!

Hi Judy!

I miss you guys too - what a great week! I have been wearing my purchases every day this week. Soooo soft.

I figured folks might like to see my apartment for the week. I used the rental agency Judy reco'd (having had much success with them in the past) and they were fantastic. I had a studio in the 6th, as mentioned, and it was a very decent sized room. I'd say the room (before you add bathroom to it) was about 13x16 or so. About 4 feet on either side of the bed and plenty of room in front of the bed to the far wall. There was a cafe table and two chairs, a kitchenette in the corner with fridge and two-place stove and a sink of course. I didn't use it though. There was also a small closet with cupboard/drawers built into the side. The bed had pull out drawers to find other towels/pillows etc.

The bathroom was decent sized - not massive but plenty ample, and a heated towel rack (looooooove), washer/dryer combo in a cupboard with cupboard space on top of that for your cosmetics and stuff, and a big shower with large waterfall type showerhead. It had better water pressure than my home shower even, which was great. It must have had a large water heater too.

http://www.parisvacationapartments.com/index.php/en/our-apartments-pva-paris/studios-paris-pva-paris/71-saint-germain-chic-studio.html

I could see a couple deciding to stay here because the room is larger than many hotel rooms, and no doubt couples stay in doubles all the time which are smaller. It is better for a solo person though, of course.

More later... BTW I did post a few more photos this morning. Nothing ground breaking though, mostly more rooftop photos.

Cynthia, it was an utterly fantastic trip. I still can't believe I can't walk out of my flat and over to Gerard Mulot for a pain au chocolat.

Denisea, yes, very close by! I had never been to Les Editeurs and I have to say I quite liked it. I could see it as my 'hood haunt when I go back assuming I stay local to it.

Songdoc, thank you! Have a great trip in February. Winter travel is not bad at all. Shorter lines. When I finish posting maybe you will find something from the list that you'd like to consider. Jacques Genin should be high on your list for sure.

Ackislander, not sure about the colors? I do think Canons favor blue/greens more than the warmer ones.

Thank you all for all the nice compliments on my photos. I will say I did not take nearly as many as usual because of the nature of our trip. A lot of eating and hanging out, so once you take a few photos of the surroundings, food, and each other, you are done. Many lunches were "oh my, look at the time, we have to think about dinner in a few hours". hahaha

TDudette, I use a Canon 7D and a Canon S90. I love both of them. I do prefer my 7D though.

Traviata, I enjoyed your photos on Anne's FB page. Wish I had been there a few days earlier to see you too. It has been too long. We really should go to Trummer's on Main soon...

Mimi, thank you so much! Practice definitely helps...

Shoes tonight, promise.

Flygirl, great photos! Nice remembrances of our Christmas trip to Paris in 2012. Really enjoying your report. Thanks!

Bookmarking
Love the pictures that you took, looking at them makes me excited for my trip this spring. Thank you for the report, looking forward to reading more!

Et voila. Les chaussures Roger Vivier:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/skywalkerbeth/8268853449/in/photostream

Simple and classic.

Thanks again for checking out my photos! Once I'm done writing the report I hope some find it helpful.

Wonderful photos. Which camera for the stained glass windows, please!

The 7D! I had it cranked up to 3200 ISO. No flash. Flash would ruin it.

Marvelous trip report!!

I was just there in October and cant wait to go back. Your photos were delightful!!

ps. Love Marc Chagall. I have a lithograph of the study for his Jerusalem windows that I bought in Amsterdam last year...

Thanks Anne!

Always post the shoe photos....important as the Medici fountain!

A galaxy of marvelous photos! They were a big treat!

Love the Audrey Hepburn billboard from the movie Charade. It's one of my favorite movies. Happy Travels!

I wasn't able to access the photos on my phone in Paris.....they are amazing, flygirl!

Thank you everyone! So tickled that you like my photos.

I'm not done writing or putting up photos, honest! I just got done unpacking yesterday so this is a sloooow roll. I did put up a few more photos though...

Thanks for posting the shoes! Hard to beat a classic.

So of all those pretty pictures, I think I liked the one of the chairs at Reims the most. Very unique and artistic. And it really shows the orderliness of the French - I don't think any of them are a hair out of place.

Thank you YankyGal! I go for patterns sometimes... I have taken many a "French Church Chairs" photo in my day.

OK, I am going to start writing up some details! Still chipping away at photos but at this point, if you are looking, may as well wait until they are all up and also I will post a "top photos" link so that you have an option to not look at 100+ photos.

As some of you might have picked up, I met Judy and her family from Fodors. Last September I was planning yet another destination from my bucket list: Annecy/Mont Blanc (flying into Geneva) and then Paris at the end of my 8 nights. I added Lyon after some thought. When I started asking questions on Fodors, Judy realized that our dates roughly coincided and even funnier, I was kind of drafting them (although they do trips up right: 3 weeks at a time, not a week here and there like I do). We coincided in all three places. So we emailed and said "why not meet for dinner".

Even funnier, after all my research I decided on the Hotel Splendid (which was a SPLENDID choice in Annecy). They did as well! So I think it was my first night in town when I was talking to the front desk about dining options when a couple came off the elevator speaking English. I was pretty sure it was Judy so I said "Hi, is your name Judy"? So, long and short, we met for several meals during that trip. I'm more than happy to follow Judy's restaurant recommendations - just say "yes" when she picks a restaurant. Later in Paris I met their daughters who had just flown in that morning. So fun to have family trips like that!

So at any rate Judy let me know they were planning a Xmas trip to Paris, this past June. I hemmed and hawed for maybe a day. Should I do a weekend? I've got that trip to Croatia in September, do I even have any vacation time left (with Italy, etc too)? Well I'll be darned, I can actually come the whole week. Judy really likes Paris Vacation Apartments and when I looked at the flats I realized the studio in St Germain was a good price, airfare was "reasonable" and I just jumped.

So, on our arrival day (a Saturday) I met Judy's friends. Her daughter was to arrive on Wednesday and her husband the following Saturday. We went to our flats and agreed to meet at Les Deux Magots for lunch. I've never been there before, despite having walked by numerous times. Nor Cafe de Flore nor Brasserie Lipp. It was so bright and sunny inside, somehow I can't picture philosophers holed up in a corner, puffing Gitanes and arguing dark and heavy thoughts until the wee hours.

After lunch we walked to Bon Marche, thinking that we could get our tickets from FNAC for the various museum exhibits. Along the way there were several stalls set up street side which had wine, foie gras, olive oil, soap, etc. I don't know if that was for the Xmas season or was a regular market. When we got to Bon Marche we were unsuccessful in finding the FNAC (it was near it, not inside, but we didn't know that and no one at Bon Marche apparently knew either) but at least we saw the Xmas decorations.

We still had a full dance card! I was hoping to see the Hotel de Ville exhibit on "Paris vu par Hollywood" and Judy and her friends wanted to visit the David Lebovitz book signing which was conveniently very nearby that. I had met David Lebovitz at a book signing the previous April and was happy to go along.

Quick note: I highly recommend you follow David's blog. He is a former pastry chef for Chez Panisse in California who moved to Paris some years ago and his blog has a lot of "pulse of Paris" kind of information on it. Great restaurant and cooking tips - be sure to read his FAQ first.

http://www.davidlebovitz.com/

One note: everywhere we went was incredibly crowded, including the streets, on this Saturday - although it did thin out on our others days there. It was fairly pleasant weather for a December day, but I suppose being a Saturday in December was the biggest reason for this. December is not low season in Paris! Is there a low season in Paris?

So, when we got to the Hotel de Ville the line was outta sight. We simply would not have made the book signing and I'm just as glad because while I did enjoy the exhibit (I went a different day) I did not at all feel it was worth watiting hours for.

We went to the address of his book signing at La Cuisine de Paris, a cooking school on the Quai de Hotel de Ville, and were too early. So we wandered into a dive bar a few doors down and had some fortifications. We then went to the signing and sampled some of the school's goodies on display in their teaching-kitchen (including macarons, which is the subject of one of their classes). David signed everyone's books and then we went on our merry way to O Chateau to meet Michael and Scott, tour guides extraordinaires. Old friends. Many of you reading this right now are nodding and smiling.

I love O Chateau. It is a wine bar very near Rue Montorgueil. I believe I have written about it before. I found out about it last year from, I believe, David Lebovitz's blog and met yet another Fodorite for some flights of wine there. CUTE owners. The one guy, Olivier Magny, is quite a mover and shaker. He has written a book, he has made documentaries on wine, and this wine bar has regular wine tasting classes. And an awful lot of really good wines on offer, sizing from a wee taste, to a slightly less wee taste, to a full glass. The other owner (on whom I crushed terribly last fall) was not there this time around. Not that I was looking for him or anything. There was a Ryan Gosling lookalike who worked there, so that made up for it.

http://www.o-chateau.com/

We had plenty of wine as well as a number of plates (charcuterie and cheeses) which were excellent and the staff gave us tips on pairing wines from the list. We had so much fun, and enough food and wine, that we forwent dinner. This was enough, on our first day.

After that we went our merry way home (flat, sweet flat) and that was our first day.

I guess I am writing a lot, given that this was only day one! I'll try to be more succinct...

Nice shoes--nothing like a pair of classic shoes.
Still enjoying your report. Did u write about your time in Lyon? We're going there this winter and there is so little written on it so would love to hear about it & missed it if you wrote it up.

Great memories...the first place I ever went in Paris was Les Deux Magot. And, I was fortunate to get a waiter who was kind about my French! Very encouraging and the he lied after I ordered and said "Parfait!"... The greatest lie anyone ever told me!

J'adore David L....have read all his books and follow him on Twitter! ��

Great way to relive our trip....thanks, flygirl!! I AM nodding and smiling! Speaking of nodding, with this amount of detail, Jim wants to know if he'll get to read about falling asleep at lunch.

Good morning everyone!

Dona, I don't think I wrote about Lyon - or much of it. I was there for less than 24 hours. Judy picked the restaurant and the name escapes me but it was really good, and near the large park. We wandered the park after our meal. When I was researching Lyon, I wrote a few threads asking about restaurants and got some good responses. I will find those later and top them (or you could click my name, they would come up eventually - I would have written them in August 2011.)

Denise, David is delightful, isn't he?

Judy, if Jim doesn't mind, sure I'll write about that.

Day two.

Sunday morning I had slept off jet lag and since I had always wanted to check out the Raspail market, and, it was near my flat, I went out early to investigate. I also hadn't wandered in my 'hood much yet other than pointing myself in the directions needed to meet up with my friends.

It was this morning that I realized, wow, I really am one block away from the gates of Luxembourg Gardens. Nice!

The Raspail market is not so huge so it did not take me long to go through it. Judy and I communicated each morning (before I left wifi zone) about times to meet up and we had an 1130 Jacques Genin reservation. Initially I thought I could walk most of the way there, but since I lingered over photos, wandering, looking around, I finally gave up and hailed a cab on the other side of the Luxembourg Gardens (I made it that far). I had also stopped at Gerard Mulot. Of course, you need to get goodies before you stop to get more goodies.

I also, during my walk, passed a lot of tempting store fronts of stores that were not open. So I took a number of photos of things I wanted to find again once they did open. I even posted a photo of one sweater find (actually bought three sweaters at that store, Autre Chose, not far from my flat).

On to Jacques Genin.

Judy had already visited J-G at least once, and I had heard about his creations from one of the blogs I follow (I follow a ton of Paris blogs, if anyone is interested I'll post a listing later). Not a difficult decision for a Sunday morning treat. Jacques Genin used to be a provider for some high end restaurants and hotels and at some point decided to open his own storefront. His lemon tart is legendary - you can even buy a book at his store that is just about that.

I'm not a food critic, I don't have flowery phrases, so all I can say is just "go". Don't miss his chocolat chaud, and be sure to get some whipped cream to go with it. Judy and I each got the lemon tart and we all dug in.

I have photos of the store itself, but any photos of the chocolat/presentation are on my iPhone and I might or might not get around to posting them into flickr. If anyone knows a way to put iPhone photos up on the internet (easily) please advise. Can you make an online iPhoto website with a few clicks?

We also loaded up on goodies before wandering out. His caramels will make you gasp (my favorites were the cinnamon, and don't bypass the "pate de fruit". These are NOT gummi bears, they are sublime.

We then wandered through the Marais and the Place des Vosges. I got some interested photos of some buskers and we visited a number of stores. But I was good - I didn't buy anything yet. That was to change as the week wore on...

Around 4 o'clock or so we decided it was time to actually eat real food and not just goodies (which I guess means we had breakfast after 4 PM). First visit to Cafe les Editeurs for me! Judy had mentioned she heard good things about it so off we went.

Cafe les Editeurs was delightful! Red leather seating and books piled to the ceilings. It was very crowded when we got there and we were finally directed to a seat in the corner. The onion soup was the best I've had yet. We had a professor type sitting next to us, reading and scribbling, and I so wanted to take his photo. Finally Judy said "take one of me, leaning in, and you can crop me out later". Hahaha.

http://www.lesediteurs.fr/

The rest of the evening was uneventful. We went back to our respective flats to rest up, and decided to meet for dinner at Fish, not far from their flat. Three courses (de rigeur) and wine and cute Canadians sitting next to us talking about their film production - they flew into town for a long weekend to make a pitch. Finally, we turned in for the night.

http://parisbymouth.com/our-guide-to-paris-fish-la-boissonnerie/

I put up the photos from this day's adventure...

Thanks -- I found the thread on your restaurant recs in Lyon.

Have you had onion soup at Au Pied de Cochon? That's my favorite and wondered how it compared to Cafe les Editeurs'. Will definitely have to seek out Jacques Genin. Did you need a reservation there or did I misunderstand what you wrote? Sounds like a wonderful place to drop into on a cold winter day to warm up.

I would love to have a listing of the Paris blogs you follow.

Dona

I have had Au Pied de Cochon onion soup. That was good too! You can't go wrong with either.

We did make a reservation at J-G, but at 1130 on that particular Sunday we didn't need it. But it's not a bad idea to make one.

I will compile the list before I'm done writing the whole thread.

With 18 days in Paris i can certainly manage 2 onion soups if not more.
Looking forward to reading more and your blog listings.

Merry Xmas everyone!

Dona, 18 days - plenty of time for onion soup!

Here is one blog which has been incredibly helpful. This woman is an American and her husband is Swiss, I believe. She loves to research and she loves to get out there and do and see things. She also has a facebook page which not only links her blog articles but also random photos she will put up, etc.

http://www.outandaboutinparis.com/

Here is another one, another American who lived in Paris with her family for about four years, give or take. They moved home to DC about a year ago I think it was, and she doesn't blog anymore, but, this blog has lots of little gems here and there. Look down the right side for her "labels" which will lead you to some treasures, also, she lists some of her favorite Paris blogs too.

http://justanotheramericaninparis.blogspot.com/

I already mentioned David Lebovitz... definitely follow him!

More blogs to follow... on with the report (is anyone else amazed that I am actually writing a full trip report not only in the same year as my travel, but the same month?)

Day 3. Monday.

This was the first day we had any rain (and luckily only the morning). It was a fairly gentle rain, so, I decided that I would walk to the Grand Palais from Rue Madame to meet Judy for the Edward Hopper exhibit.

If I had completely unlimited time, I would walk EVERYWHERE I go in Paris, as it is, I still make a good effort of it - walking is most of the fun!

So I set out from the flat and walked along the various side streets until I reached Les Invalides and the Pont Alexandre III. The timing worked out perfectly and we both went into the exhibit. For anyone who is going soon and wants to see Les Bohemes, it's also in the Grand Palais but a completely separate entrance. We didn't have time to do both before lunch.

There was an absolute crush of people waiting to get in, and once inside, hovering over every exhibit, but Judy had purchased the Carte Sesame and we waltzed straight in. I posted a photo of the snaking line, full of umbrellas. I guess they don't advertise the annual pass very well?

If I manage to learn a few new things from any exhibit I visit I am very pleased - even if I don't linger over every piece. The two big things I learned were:

1. Hopper was a contemporary of Monet and Manet! And Rodin for that matter. Granted, a much younger contemporary, but their lives coincided quite a bit. Hopper's first paintings reflected that time period. When I think of Hopper, of course I always think of "Nighthawks" and some of his more mid-20th-century works. I didn't realize that many of those famous pieces were done later in his life.
2. A lesser note than the above, but he also illustrated many trade magazines and advertisements. They had a large slide show of these efforts and many of them reminded me of, for instance, the posters you can get along the Seine at the bouquinistes.

After the exhibit we wandered to the FNAC on the Champs Elysees to finally get our Carte Blanche/Musee d'Orsay tickets. We passed some sad Xmas market stalls along the way (I really hope they are not all like that) and once we got our tickets we cabbed to meet the rest of the crew at Willi's Wine Bar.

Since we were still somewhat early for our 130 rez, we walked through the Palais Royal. We peeked in the window of Didier Ludot (is his store ever open? I've never seen it open) and tried on sunglasses at Gabrielle Geppert.

http://www.gabriellegeppert.com/

I had walked past Willi's Wine Bar a few times before but never dined there. They expanded the restaurant and now it's easily twice the size and very bright in the new room. The old part is still snug, cozy, and somewhat dark.

More of the recurring "eating and drinking, and eating and drinking some more" theme... then we parted company and I decided to walk along Rue St Honore and on to home. We were to meet at Opera Garnier before the 730 ballet.

I took my time along this walk - so many storefronts to admire! Finally I made it to the Place de la Concorde and the Grande Roue, and then I started strolling back through the Tuileries as I had greatly overshot my destination at that point. I made it pretty darn close to home before I looked at the time and realized I needed time to get ready so maybe I should get a cab.

Opera Garnier
I have always wanted to see a production under the Marc Chagall ceiling. I didn't even care what it was, I just wanted to people watch and sit in that glorious theatre. I had visited the Opera last year during the day time and got a glimpse of the ceiling then. Did you know that the Arch of Triumph would fit inside the theatre? It sounds almost too good to be true, but it is true. And the photos I took of the stage show that to be believable - and we were in the middle tier, not the top tier.

We all dressed up and showed up early for our coupe de champagne and people watching. And strolled all over to take photos and ogle the magnificent architecture. I posted a few photos but pictures do not do it justice, you really have to see it in person. Funny note: for all that we dressed up, when we finally got around to taking a group photo we already had our coats and scarves back on. Who'da known if we had on jammies under there, for all that.

The ballet that night (William Forsyth and Trisha Brown) was actually more of a modern dance production.

The music in the second piece was rather jarring (I think Laurie Anderson?) and the clothing worn was very sleek and athletic. This was not all frilly and frou-frou. Very spare stage - nothing at all in the first production, no props, nothing - and in the second as well. It reminded me of a Mark Morris production I saw many many years ago - spare music, no props, and some astounding gymnastic feats.

http://www.operadeparis.fr/en/saison_2012_2013/Ballets/forsythe-brown/detail/

When we left, we were hungry so off to Cafe de la Paix we went. The meal was uninspiring but it didn't matter, we were starving at that point. It was interesting to see the inside of this 150 year old cafe - I had never been inside it before.

Day 4.

Paris vu par Hollywood
Philou (lunch)
Galeries Lafayette
FRENCHIES

Tuesday morning dawned bright and sunny. More walking! I strolled with frequent photo stops from the flat, wending my way through the back streets of the 6th, across the Ile de la Cite, over to the Hotel de Ville where the Paris-Hollywood exhibit was being held. There was no line at all.

As I mentioned in another thread, I enjoyed the exhibit but wouldn't have felt a 2 hour line was worth it, so I'm lucky I walked straight in. This was, for the most part, Hollywood's nexus with Paris so I don't recall Amelie or Sarah's Key or other movies like that being in the exhibit (not that I lingered over every single exhibit). This mostly hit on old movies, for example, a few of those with Audrey Hepburn, or An American in Paris, etc. I walked out thinking "more Audrey, please". They had a number of costumes through the years (including a few belonging to Audrey) and a fair number of film clips at different stops. A large screen overhead ran a loop of different scenes from different movies - for instance, those I noted above. There were photos of the large movie sets being built in Culver City, California, back in the day (no, say it ain't so - many movies were not on site in Paris?).

I walked through part of the Marais after that before hailing a cab.

Our group plans started at 1 PM at Philou, which was another David Lebovitz reco'd restaurant we found shortly before leaving for Paris.

http://parisbymouth.com/philou/

Philou is in the tenth, and apparently is still somewhat of a local secret although it certainly has writeups from some names I recognize (David L, Patricia Wells, and Alexander Lobrano). This is a small place and I was told it's a good idea to get a reservation, even for lunch. I got there a little early ahead of the group and it was still empty, but sure enough it filled up pretty quickly.

What did I eat? You would ask. Oh wait, I took a photo of the blackboard.

I had the foie gras (with chutney) - I always get this, if it is available - each time - and the joue de boeuf avec legumes anciens. Excellent, excellent. I'm completely partial to foie gras and would have been happy to have that twice in lieu of the main course. I can't remember what everyone else had but we had no complaints!

We had carafes of wine brought to the table (keep 'em coming) split a few desserts, and before we knew it, we looked at the time and said "wow, dinner's in a few hours, we should get moving". Rough life.

Before we left I got a good photo of the owner, Philippe Damas, in front of his original "Les Enfants du Paradis" movie poster.

On to Galeries Lafayette.

We wandered through the perfume section, snapping photos of the huge Swarovski Xmas tree, but other than that, more or less made a beeline for the champagne bar on the second floor. We ended up parking there with our hot chocolate (Angelina's) or champagne until the time came to hail a cab for Frenchie. A few of us made forays into the shoe section and the bathroom (very clean and large - so definitely use it while you are there - my rule is to take advantage of a clean bathroom every time the opportunity presents itself) but otherwise just hung out until it was time for dinner.

So off we cabbed to Rue Montorgueil. This street is delightful for wandering. Lots of restaurants and patisseries and food purveyors. Frenchie is at the far end of the main pedestrian area, on Rue de Nil.

Again, not a food critic, but I will say the meal was excellent. Was it better than our other meals? Well, that's hard to say. We had some fantastic meals that did not require a long and frustrating course of phone calls to finally secure a reservation. I'd surely go back and I would not dissuade anyone from putting this on your list, but if you can't get in, I wouldn't lose sleep over it.

What did I have? Foie gras (again) with quince. An app of oxtail/butternut squash/mushrooms. Scallops as the main course. There were a lot of opportunities for scallops this week. Is that more of a winter dish? I believe we saw it at least once a day and in fact could have had them at Philou if we wanted (one of us may have done so). For dessert, some Stichelton blue cheese with speculos and pear. Mmmmmmmm, I speculos.

When we were done, I had the bright idea to walk home. It was cold, but not so cold, and little wind. And who doesn't like walking in Paris at night? We walked the two-ish miles home and stopped on the Pont Neuf to get some good shots of the riverfront and the Eiffel Tower (posted).

Are you seeing a theme for the day? Wander a little, eat and drink, move on, drink some more, move on, then wander a little more before eating and drinking again? Now that's a vacation.

flygirl...

This report is killing me...in a good way though! I am loving every minute of it and it is definitely the kind of trip I Love! Good food, good wine (and champagne!) and good company. If you all ever need a another travel companion feel free to ring me up!

Love wandering Paris with you...

I have yet to go to rue Montorgueil...so it is now on the list.

Have been wanting to hit Frenchie. Love les editeurs, we stayed in that area two yrs ago and it's my fav corner of Paris!

Flygirl, great report! My notes re this trip were very sparse (could have been champagne/wine related). I did note the scary Philou bathroom as I might have been the only one in our party desperate enough to use it .....out the back door of the restaurant (unheated) with a sliding barn-like door with hook and eye closure.

You may have omitted or forgotten a little shopping (the reason we did not eat lunch til 4 on Sunday!)

Still loving your report! Cant wait to try your restaurant suggestions. We ate at Frenchies a couple years back, but could not get reservations our last 2 trips. I read that you can now make reservations online. Did u make reservations? via phone or online and how far out? Thanks!

LCI - for sure! What is so neat about this is that Judy and her friends and family do this all the time. I was just happy to tag along. It would be fun to have a girls trip.

Denise and Dona - we had our rental agency make the calls to Frenchie for us. It took them a while, but they finally got through. I think they told us a week or so before we left, that we had the rez.

FabulousFrance - I am going to sound like a broken record, but I found out about Rue Montorgueil through David Lebovitz. Having also been to Rue Cler, I am not sure why that gets all the attention when R-M doesn't seem to get as much. I like R-M much better.

Judy, would you believe (gasp) I forgot about the shopping on Sunday! I knew we wandered around after Diane and Barbara took off. I'm writing this up by looking at my photos...

Yes, I ended up shopping so much the timing is all a blur. I have about two weeks worth of new stuff, plus the shoes. To think I wasn't going to buy anything new this season, too.

And about that bathroom... you remember the Seinfeld skit where he said that restaurant bathrooms should have a rope, just like in the Tarzan movies? Swing in, pee, and swing out? Well, maybe it's not quite that bad, but when the barman said "it's through that door" I did not expect to actually exit the restaurant into a courtyard in order to find the bathroom. That's a mighty snug bathroom. Can you imagine using that in the dead of winter? I have used a similar kind of bathroom in the dead of winter (trip to Italy a few years ago) and it's mighty cold.

I know those courtyard toilets quite well. They keep you focused on the business at hand and you don't spend one minute longer than necessary in them.

I do think men have the advantage in those courtyard toilets.

kerouac - and how. Judy, agreed!

Tomorrow's installment will be day 5, Wednesday. Tuesday (day four) was the halfway part of the trip for me, boo hoo.

Sneak peek of Wednesday:

Judy's daughter arrives
Our day with Scott
Visit to the new Islamic Wing in the Louvre
Lunch at Cafe Nemours
Visit to the Musee d'Orsay exhibit on Impressionism and Fashion.
Dinner at Septime.

I've been enjoying your report flygirl. How did you like renting from Paris Vacation Apartments? Several on their website look comfortable and they seem reasonably priced.

Scootoir, for my first Paris rental, I thought they were great! Very nice and helpful, the flat was nice, can't beat the location, and I also thought it was a nice touch that phone calls home (to a landline) were free.

Day 5

Wednesday morning. Judy's daughter was due to arrive and we were to spend most of the day with Scott, who along with Michael are tour guides extraordinaires.

Her plane was a little late and she arrived around 10 AM or so. We all hung out in their flat until she arrived and shortly after that took off for our first stop: Islamic Wing at the Louvre.

I didn't realize how very close their flat (on Rue Mazarine) was to Pont des Arts! What a great location! A shortcut to the Louvre.

We wandered across the bridge and into the Louvre courtyards. Scott made mention that the Louvre is still an unfinished building. They are constantly updating and upgrading it. Interesting...

The new wing, only opened this very fall, started in the Visconti Courtyard which is now almost completely under a golden undulating roof. The roof, which I guess is meant to depict a Bedouin tent, looks like a fragile masterpiece (even though it weights on the order of 150 tons). It cost some 97-98 million euros to create, and was the result of an Italian and French architect winning the competition to design the new wing, in 2005. Mario Bellini and Rudy Ricciotti.

We wandered through the top floor (under the tent) and then made our way down below. Apparently the items are arranged chronologically (regardless of region) rather than geographically, and spans roughly 12 centuries. Photos are allowed, although I believe no flash.

Flipping through my photos (only a few of which are posted) I see many examples of tile, stone work, incredibly delicate chain mail, pottery/vases, and some intricately designed plates/cups/table ware. I did not take a photo of Louis XIII baptismal font and I wish I had.

After we wandered through a few galleries, Scott took us upstairs to view the roof from above. The best view is apparently in the "Mona Lisa gallery". Interesting to see that here we were, gazing down upon this brand new and exciting addition to the Louvre, completely alone next to the window. The room, on the other side of the partition holding Mona Lisa, was completely packed and abuzz with people, some tiny flagpoles waving in the air (guides), yet we were alone. As we walked back out, a tourist in the doorway snapped a photo of the wall placard which depicted a tiny rendition of the Mona Lisa. Talk about giving up. "Eh, we didn't see THE Mona Lisa, but I do have this photo of a wall placard in the very same room".

We then went to visit the large scale French paintings (the Delacroix painting "Liberty leading the people" is at Lens, on loan - a new Louvre satellite) and then through the prior stables (or was it indoor riding arena?) and then out... and made our way to Cafe Nemours.

to be continued...

I have arrived!!! Loving the report so far, Flygirl, but incredibly jealous of the stuff I missed by joining late. I hate when work gets in the way of life

flygirl,

I am reading every word twice! You have helped my re-entry so much.....I can still savor Paris as I read your report...waiting for the next installment. Happy New Year and hope to see you soon........

Lisa, I know what you mean - I had pangs every time I saw your/Judy's updates on Facebook after I left.

For anyone reading this, don't hesitate to go to Paris in the winter. Sure, it's grey and drizzly at times - but the cafes are so inviting and you can even sit outside just like in summer - they have space heaters in many places (or blankets, although I would not use a blanket left outside).

Traviata, your visits to Paris are something to aspire to - twice a year a well! I'm home all winter so maybe after Anne and Kirk are home from Italy we can have a winter lunch GTG.

OK... on with the day.

We met the rest of our party at Cafe Nemours which is very near the entrance to Palais Royal. I've been to this cafe several times, and mostly with Michael or Scott. This cafe has had a cameo in some movies, for instance, "The Tourist" with Angelina Jolie and Johnny Depp. The cafe is also along the route of the "Arago Line" which is made up of plaques peppered along the Paris Meridian of old. Here is some history about that:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paris_meridian

After lunch, we wandered through the Tuileries to the Musee d'Orsay for the exhibit on "Impressionism and Fashion". Many of the "usual suspects" were on display (meaning the Impressionist paintings most of us here would recognize) but what was especially delightful was that they had many examples of dress from that time period and in one memorable instance, THE very dress worn in this painting below:

http://www.vogue.fr/culture/a-voir/diaporama/le-musee-d-orsay-au-tempo-de-la-mode-impressionniste/10021/image/629093

At least one of the rooms was set up as if it were an imaginary fashion show, with rows of chairs lining both walls and names of luminaries of the time on each place card.

In reading reviews after the fact, some things pop out at me: this was the era that fashion became big(ger?) business in France. Renoir was the son of a tailor/dressmaker, and Whistler designed a number of the dresses worn in his portraits. Mallarme (friend of Manet) edited a fashion magazine.

Seeing this exhibit, and reading about it after the fact, brings to mind a book by the author Jack Finney. He wrote many books in the 1950s-60s-70s and many of them were on time travel. In the book "Time and Again" (present day person travels back in time to the late 1800s) he describes the difference between seeing a woman's dress/shoes in a museum versus closing your eyes and imagining it as it must have looked when worn: brand new, sparkling, with crisp folds and shining leather shoes - and on a human form. I'm paraphrasing a book I first read at least two decades ago, but the gist of it is that you have to imagine yourself in that time.

One thought that I had upon exiting is how quickly fashion changed after this era, never to return. This era was from the latter part of the 19th century, with its voluminous skirts and bustles and layers and layers and layers (and impossibly tiny little waists)... and then just a few years later in the 1920s (and probably earlier) look how sleek fashions became.

This show will be stateside in both NYC and Chicago.

Shortly after we exited I parted company with our group to stroll around for a bit before heading back to the flat to get ready for dinner at Septime.

To be continued...

I really enjoyed the Fashion and Impressionism exhibit! It was so unique and well displayed.

There were so many things we did, though, that I loved. It would be very hard to choose a favorite!

We also enjoyed the Fashion and Impressionism show, but am bookmarking your post for ideas on where to go next time. Is Judy's rental apartment from the same company? Is it a one bedroom? If so, can I get the info on it please? Thanks.

susncrg, I was in a 2 bedroom with 2 friends and my daughter. The website is www.parisvacationapartments.com I've stayed in many of their apartments (though never in Montmartre)and have never been disappointed.

The only issue I've ever had has been availability as they tend to book up early.

I am only now catching up on your lovely report. I knew it would make me pine for Paris.

Cafe le Nemours is my fave cafe in Paris. I just love the location - especially seeing that whimsical metro entrance only metres away.

I am happy to say that I've now seen three apartments where Judy and her friends and family have stayed. One on the Ile St. Louis, one on Rue Mazarine, and one on Rue Dauphine. All two bedrooms. I think their last one, Rue Dauphine, was the star of that galaxy. They were all pleasant, but this one just sparkled. Two massive bedrooms, two bathrooms (one of them truly impressive upon viewing, would love to hear if it was as useful as it was pretty), a DINING ROOM (truth), a kitchen with a BREAKFAST NOOK (oh yes).

I liked the Ile St. Louis one a great deal as well. The Rue Mazarine was perfectly pleasant with a fabulous, large kitchen but not quite the same vibe.

I didn't stay in them, so who am I to say, but those were my impressions. I'm telling you, Judy has the scoop. If you get tips from her, follow them. She knows how to pick them!

Mez, nice to see you here!

OK, the rest of the evening:

One of Lisa's friends was also in town for a conference and he joined us for dinner, so we had a party of six. The more the merrier!

The reservation this evening was at Septime, in the 11th arrondissement. I learned in reading some reviews that the chef, Bertrand Grébaut, started his career at a three star restaurant (L'Arpege) and in time earned his own Michelin star (not at Septime).

This restaurant, like Verjus, serves what the chef makes that evening. I'm not even sure we were handed a menu although maybe Judy or Lisa might remember differently. There was a wine list. They will ask you ahead of time if you have allergies or things you dislike, but otherwise, you will eat it and you will like it.

I don't even have a menu, this time, to cheat from. I have a few pictures but I'm not completely sure what all the ingredients are. I know, I'm useless. But it was really good! I put it above Frenchies. I know, I know, the New York Times, she's a-calling with a new post for me - restaurant reviewer.

It did have a somewhat more vibrant feel to me, than Frenchies. A lot of talking and laughing going on all around us, and the wait staff were friendly. Not that Frenchies was stuffy, but it seemed somewhat more "low tones" to me than Septime.

http://parisbymouth.com/our-guide-to-paris-septime/

Sneak peek for day 6, Thursday:

Early train to Reims
Reims Cathedral
MARC CHAGALL WINDOWS
Les Crayeres meal, complete with wine pairings.
Ruinart cave tour.
250 euro bottle of Rose, Grand Cru Champagne.

flygirl, I know Lisa will recall some of the menu as she ate some things she never thought would pass her lips (the venison carpaccio with wild strawberries being one item)

I'd had lunch once before at Septime and there were choices, limited, but still choices. I would definitely return and take my chances on the dinner again. I can't remember everything we ate but I know I ate every bit of it!

I know there was a scallop dish and veal with veggies. I also liked the vibe better than Frenchie, not as much as Verjus.

OK, I thought there were scallops! I didn't have a photo of them. And that was venison, not lamb (I did have a photo of that). VERY good, all of it. This is definitely a must-return. And bonus, you can actually get a reservation.

flygirl, the spectacular bathroom on Rue Dauphine was just as functional as it was breathtaking! It was a very happy week there for me. Septime was wonderful - I also don't remember everything I ate, but do remember the venison. It was a wonderful first dinner to kick off my trip. I did not make the dinner at Frenchie on this trip, but had been on a previous trip and prefer Septime as well. I think the dining theme for the entire trip is "when in doubt, there were scallops

So enjoying reliving the trip through your report.

Glad you enjoyed Septime. It was our favorite from last December. Looking forward to the next installment.

Grr! I had a new installment half written yesterday.. went to sleep without saving it.. and fodors logged me out overnight which deleted the whole thing. Whimper.

Here is a teaser, photos of just Reims Cathedral, nothing else:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/skywalkerbeth/tags/reimscathedral/show/

Lisa, good to hear that the bathroom was a delight to use!

I found the link for the photos for this particular apartment, check it out folks. Look at that huge bathroom!

http://www.parisvacationapartments.com/index.php/en/our-apartments-pva-paris/2-bedroom-paris-pva-paris/78-galerie-photo-appartements-saint-germain-charming-2-bedroom.html

Patty, I saw your restaurant list - wow, if Septime was your favorite, it was in good company! I had hoped to visit "Un Dimanche a Paris" for hot chocolate one morning but I spent so much time wandering I couldn't fit it in along with the exhibit I hoped to see, too.

Oh, how frustrating!! Sorry that happened, flygirl.

Lisa did enjoy the huge bathroom....I prefer a walk-in shower to a bathtub and she benefited in this case!