Hi Nikki,
Loved your story so far. Sounds like something that would happen to us. In fact, part of it did, at least the business class part of it. I'm hoping your trip over was wonderful and nothing else happened. I usually don't get on the internet at this time of night, but have been obsessed with Fodor's lately as we are going to Ireland in May, on the 13th. Only last night did I put together it's going to be on Friday and the 13th. I'm not to excited to travel on that date. Anyway, when I got up to get a glass of water at 3:30 this morning, thought I would just check the web site. I hope you've written more by the time I wake up again... at a more decent hour. Yours is the type of report I like to read. It's more of a story than just the facts.

Nikki - I am also wide awake but do not have the excuse of jet lag - perhaps my age!

I am looking forward to your next posting and sincerely hope your daughter is fully recovered. Do give us all the details about business class, food etc.

Sandy

Wow, Nikki, business class and $1000 to start off your trip to Paris! Like hitting the lottery!

Hope your daughter is much better now and that your trip was wonderful. Tell us more.

Oops, not so fast. Just as we arrive at the airport on Saturday, Alan says something that translates roughly to "Oh, no!" We had left our luggage in the car on Friday night, but Alan had taken in his carry-on bag, and he realized that he had left it on the stairs of the house without putting it back into the car. There are prescription medications in the bag. He says, "I have to go back to the house." I say no way, we'll send our daughter back for it, she might make it back to the airport in time, but I'm not risking Alan missing the plane. Worst case, I figure we can have it sent to us in Paris overnight. Our quick thinking daughter asks if she should call her friend who lives near us and ask her to come with the bag. She calls, the friend is amenable (apparently she had discussed with our daughter coming to the airport for the ride because she had nothing to do that day), and she arrives an hour or so later with the bag. We tell our daughter she should take the friend out for dinner on us. Or on Air France, I guess. NOW we're going to Paris.

Thanks for the expressions of concern; my daughter is much better now. We spoke to her daily from Paris and she was feeling normal after a day or two. She's going back to school today.

I promise that the next installment will actually get us to Paris.

great stories so far Nikki, I'm glad to anticipate that you actually arrived in Paris

Wow, what cosmic pranks!

Glad to hear that your daughter is feeling better and looking forward to hearing the next installation.

But it's 8:30 a.m. here on the East Coast. . . .maybe you've finally gone to sleep?

Business class was delightful. I saved the menu. Dinner began with foie gras and dried fruit. There was then a choice of pan-seared tournedos of beef (served rare) and poached fillet of sea bass. (We both had the steak, which was good. Can't vouch for the fish.) Large selection of drinks. Dessert was croustillant praline, a chocolate mousse sort of thing. Breakfast was fresh fruit, fresh juice, yogurt and pastry. The fresh fruit was particularly welcome. Loved the elbow room. The individual TV with movies on demand was working fine until I accidentally bumped into the controls and stopped my movie in the middle and could never get any movies back again. Oh well. I do like the French movies on Air France.

We took a cab from the airport to our apartment on rue de l'Ecole Polytechnique in the 5th arrondissement. The cab driver wasn't sure exactly where the street was, so I sort of gave him directions, which I sort of knew from studying the maps. This was the first of three cab drivers who didn't know how to get to this street. We never took a cab without having to give the driver directions. In their defense, it is a very small street, only one block long. Very little traffic, either pedestrian or motorized. But that one block has on it eight different restaurants: a wine bar, two cafes, a fondue place, an Ethiopian, a Greek, and a Chinese place, and a delightful bistro, les Fetes Gallantes (about which more later). Alan reminds me there was another one next to the fondue place, but we don't remember what type that was. The only other businesses I remember are a seamstress, a printer, and a couple of book stores. I loved this neighborhood. I would happily live there.

The apartment, rented from paris-sleeps.com, was reminiscent of the one portrayed in the movie I watched (this time from start to finish) on the plane ride back to Boston, called Le Carton. The movie was about a young Parisian trying to move out of his apartment with the "help" of a bunch of friends, very humorous. Tiny elevators, narrow stairways, even the street was similar to the apartment we had just left. Our elevator was so small that Alan chose to walk the stairs all week. If two people ride this elevator together, they'd better be very friendly. It was, however, working, for which I was grateful, since I had read on the Fodor's board that the elevator was not functioning when a previous renter stayed there. It has reportedly been completely renovated and has had no problems since then. As small as the elevator was, however, it was larger than the shower. Don't drop the soap. The bedroom and living room were pleasant, and there was a well stocked kitchenette. We appreciated the basics which were provided, as we have rented apartments where we had to shop for things like toilet paper as soon as we arrived. There were lots of things for basic cooking, including olive oil and spices, and plenty of dishes and necessities. There was also a complimentary bottle of wine, some snack items, and metro tickets left for us. Very nice touch. And at this point, Air France has virtually paid for the apartment.

Oh goody, this is perfect reading for a rainy Sunday morning, before my husband and I leave for Paris

Thank you in advance Nikki!

I'm really enjoying this report - makes me want to go back to Paris SO bad!

Nikki:

Welcome home! I can tell from your opening paragraphs that I'm going to enjoy your trip report immensely. Thanks...now, carry on!

Nikki, love your style! Looking forward to more!

More! More! And be snappy about it. Loving your report.

Looking forward to more, Nikki. Keep all the details coming, we love it!

Me too (rainy Sunday and all).

This is better than "Under the Tuscan Sun".

BAD start,
GOOD beginning,
GREAT your daughter's better.
BELATED Happy Anniversary
BIG welcome back.

When I was in Pairis in 1998 a local man we met recommended les Fêtes Gallantes to my husband and me, and we came back to eat there twice. It's a totally charming little place off the beaten track. I'm glad it's still there. I will be in Paris, staying in the 5th arrondissement, in early April, and I plan to go back there. My mouth is watering already.

After settling in to the apartment, we headed out before the inevitable crash from fatigue. It was around 8 AM, and we walked to the market at Place Monge. Sunday morning was very quiet on the streets, almost deserted. We did pass, however, several (well, OK, many) signs of activity from the night before in the form of little rivulets running down the sidewalk from the walls. This did not shock us, but I know there are Fodorites out there who find such things appalling and they are free to believe that these were created by very large dogs.

The market was just getting going when we arrived. We stopped at a cheese stand and I asked for an assortment of cheese. The proprietor selected a few for us and gave me a price. He then told me the camembert was very good and asked if I liked camembert. Bien sur, but I thought we had enough cheese. Un cadeau, he said, and threw in the entire camembert for free.

I love the French.

We picked out some fruit and some jars of fish soup and then headed over to a stall selling charcuterie, where we picked out three different types of pate, including one of sanglier (which I believe is wild boar). We carried our booty back up the rue Mouffetard, stopping at a bakery for a baguette, went back to the apartment and fell asleep.

After a nap and a heavenly lunch, we started thinking about our plans. I had hoped to make it to the Clignancourt flea market on Sunday, and to La Chope des Puces, a tiny cafe where on Sunday afternoons there are musicians playing jazz in the style of Django Reinhardt. But this was when I thought we were arriving on Saturday, and it just seemed like too much of an excursion for our first sleep-deprived day in Paris. Oh well, you can't do everything.

So we walked toward Notre Dame, with the idea of staying for the 4:30 organ recital. People came in and filled the place up. But it wasn't for the organ recital. We found a program and realized that there was a conference scheduled that afternoon and that the organ recital was canceled. A speaker got up, whom I believe was identified as the bishop, but I'm not sure, and introduced the topic, which was the difficulties of democracy. He spoke slowly and clearly, which might be necessary in a hall as large as Notre Dame Cathedral, but which made it possible for me to understand most of what he said. There was a huge audience, silent and attentive, of all sorts of people from young to old. All French. The woman next to me was taking notes. This was fascinating cultural anthropology, but after the first speaker finished and the second (either a philosopher or a theologian, according to the program) began speaking much less clearly, we got up and left. Our seats were quickly filled by people hoping to get closer to the speakers. I have no idea what the occasion of this conference was, but the program indicated that it was one of a series. It certainly attracted an attentive crowd.

The weather was cold and nasty and we walked toward the Marais until it was too uncomfortable to walk much farther. We stopped in a cafe to warm up and dry off, then walked back to the apartment. Dinner was at Le Petit Prince de Paris, which was on the next block from our apartment. We loved this place. I had a wonderful platter consisting of various preparations of duck, including two or three presentations of foie gras, a salad with duck gizzards, several slices of smoked duck breast, and a leg of duck confit. Alan had magret. For dessert a molten chocolate cake with cranberries. Oh my. We had to walk around a little after that, and so we went up to the Pantheon, just two streets up the hill, then back down to our apartment and eventually ended this very long day.

Oh no! I really wanted to keep reading about the rest of your trip (yes, very selfish of me ) I'm very much enjoying your report, Nikki. Love the easy style you have of writing, and look forward to reading the rest!

Welcome back Nikki! I'm glad your daughter is better.

Thanks for the trip report. I'm really enjoying reading it.

Thanks to all for reading and commenting. Your comments are much appreciated. I am trying to fit in writing this report between driving my daughter back to school, getting the pictures developed, unpacking the gorgeous blue pottery (oh no, not more gorgeous blue pottery to find places for!) and staring at the empty refrigerator. Can't do the laundry yet because my two suitcases (including the gym bag full of laundry) did not arrive with us from Paris. We're hoping for a delivery this evening, but no word yet.

Hey nikki,

You got upgaded to business and they gave you $1000 and you got a free Camembert

and you want your luggage to arrive on time, too?

I must read too many mysteries. I saw "Alan had magret" and thought it said "Alan had Maigret".

I am loving your report! Have to admit that I'm a little surprised that they served cranberries in France--I thought they were an American thing that wouldn't translate well elsewhere.

Monday we started slowly. In fact, we started pretty slowly all week. Fine by me. We had lunch at a Lebanese place a couple of blocks from our apartment, good sandwiches on pita much better than the pita I am used to in the U.S. In the area where we stayed, there were ethnic restaurants of many varieties in every direction. One could eat well and fairly cheaply for a long time without repeating onself very often.

We walked to the Deportation Memorial on Ile de la Cite, behind Notre Dame. This has been something I've meant to get to but hadn't done it until now. I thought it was a solemn and moving memorial and am glad that we saw it. Then we walked to another place that's been on my list for some time: BHV, the large department store behind the Hotel de Ville. I had a vague idea of looking for cabinet pulls, having read on Fodor's that someone found some there. We went to the basement and stumbled into the cafe, which is decorated as an old time work room, complete with antique tools. I wonder whether the tools have been lying around in the basement of BHV ever since they were sold there. The basement is now filled with an enormous selection of hardware and home improvement items. Alan wandered happily for half an hour while I sat in the cafe. Never found the cabinet pulls though. Then we went to the first floor, which had a large book and CD selection, and bought some things there.

By this time my feet were giving out, and we took a cab back to the apartment. Rather than go in, though, we went to have a drink at the Bombardier, a British style pub across the street from the Pantheon. Filled with French twenty-somethings but a comfortable place for us as well.

Dinner was at Les Fetes Gallantes, a few doors down from our apartment. This is a tiny place with only a few tables. We enjoyed dinner very much. I had more foie gras, I think, and then some lovely rare grilled lamb chops. The wall against which we were seated was covered with photos and letters from customers, friends, who knows who all, and there were odd sparkly things dangling from the ceiling, as if it had been decorated for a children's party. Only two people were in evidence working there: the teenaged waiter and the proprietor, whom I think was his father. At some point Alan asked me to look at the wall across the room. It was covered in bras and women's underwear. After dinner Alan ran out to get his camera from the apartment. He returned and took a picture of the wall. The waiter offered to take his picture in front of the wall, which he did. Then the proprietor came out and I took his picture with Alan. I asked him to tell us the story of the wall.

This is what he told me (or at least this is how I understood it. My French is not always adequate for the task). A woman who was eating in the restaurant was an attorney. I didn't catch the context, but somehow it came up that the proprietor thought the attorney would be appointed a judge. The woman said if she was elevated to the bench she would take off her panties in the restaurant. And of course she was, and she did. But, according to the proprietor, the panties were "pas si jolie", not so pretty, and he told her so. Then he asked if she'd donate her bra instead. Which she did. Others followed suit, as it were. There are pictures of some of the women on the wall. And many of the donated items are signed by their former owners.

And that is my story and I'm sticking to it. And then he gave us free drinks.

This report sounds like the makings of a film.

Just another reason to follow Mother's advice and always wear your prettiest panties.

elle, thinking the same thing as I remember some posters saying they bring their ratty undies and toss them after a wearing, YUCK!!

Mimi, that is what I was thinking. This trip of yours Nikki would make a fantastic film. Can't you just visualize it. Especially at the airport when your husband says "oh no" because his carryon was left at the house.

What a wonderful thread to read, especially on a rainy, dark and gloomy day. Please keep going - we are all hanging on your every word.

But the night was young, and we were still mostly on Massachusetts time, and the walk to the jazz club was downhill, so we sought out the Caveau des Oubliettes. We descended the staircase into the dungeon, where a band was playing to a packed house. Standing room only. Mostly very young. A fellow was walking around the room taking the names of volunteers to jam together, and after we were there a few minutes, a couple of folks came to the stage with their horns. A call went out for a pianist, but none was in evidence, so the group shook hands, introduced themselves to each other, and started to play. We didn't stay long after this because of the crowds.

We tried the Caveau de la Huchette, a short walk away, but Alan descended to that dungeon without me to check on the seating arrangements. Once again, SRO. So we went to a bar we had passed with a pianist on the ground floor, no descent required, and seating readily available. The name of the bar will come to me if my luggage ever comes to me, since it is listed in Time Out, which is packed in my still missing suitcase. There was a lower level here as well, with cabaret until dawn, but it hadn't really started up yet. The pianist upstairs was joined briefly by a singer who appeared to be a man until breaking out into an operatic soprano. Split decision on the singer's gender, since I don't think men can sing like that (they don't have castrati any more, do they?) and Alan doesn't think women can look like that. After an hour or so, we trudged back uphill to the apartment and called it a night.

Love your report!! Wish I had your "gift of gab"! Regarding the "soprano" --- a counter-tenor sings in a soprano range, so it could well have been a man.

Nikki,
Omigosh-- what ups and downs just getting underway! I'm so glad everything worked out OK.

I'm thoroughly enjoying your report-- and taking copious notes to use on my upcoming trip-- keep up the good work!

marcy, go to the Chickens in Paris thread too..

Nikki, just for future reference, the drawer pulls and knobs are on the 4th floor of BHV. I have door knobs and drawer pulls in both my kitchen and bathroom that I bought there. They have a large selection, plus every time I seem them (obviously, every day!), I think of Paris...

Here it is 12:30 at night and I'm thinking it's around 6:30 in the morning and it's time to get up.

Yes, maggie f, at first I was thinking the singer could be a countertenor, but I used to be close friends with a countertenor, and this was a very different kind of voice. Of course if my husband is correct, that is the only viable explanation.

SusanP, I somehow can't see myself getting back to the BHV any time too soon, but if I do I'll have to climb higher, I see. And by then we might have actually put drawer pulls on the cabinets that have been waiting ten years for them. Well, now that I look at it that way, we probably won't.

Marcy, you were my inspiration to run to the market first thing upon arrival and buy cheese. However, I remember you bought a tray with a "little" of several kinds of cheese. I bought a big bag with large pieces of four or five types, give or take a camembert, and we were still snacking on it at the airport on the way home.

Nikki, We just moved into this house a year and a half ago and since then have added a new cupboard in the kitchen. I told my husband that of course I have to go back to Paris so I can get knobs for that cupboard that match the rest! (OK, I admit it, any excuse to go back.)

Nikki,
I can't believe you're up now-- you really are all turned around time-wise.

You're making me hungry for some more of that wonderful French cheese!

And Scarlett, thanks for the tip on the chicken thread.

Tuesday morning we walked down to the market at Place Maubert. It was snowing and cold so there weren't very many vendors there, but we managed to find foie gras and cheese and wine and bread and strawberries. The guy selling the strawberries asked if I wanted a kilo or a demi-kilo, and I said un demi. Then he got a bag and said, "Un kilo?" and I said, "Non, un demi." So he filled the bag and said, "Un kilo?" and I said, "Non, un demi". Then he ran to the next stand to weigh it and said it was a little over. I caved in under the pressure and took the bag. Somehow we managed to eat them all.

After lunch we took a bus to the Musee Marmottan, another place on my list of things to see that I've missed out on until now. Afterwards I spent some time taking pictures at the park across the street. There was a small carousel operated by a man who ran around pushing it while children tried to catch rings on a stick as they went by. Too cute.

Dinner that night was at La Chantairelle, up one street from our apartment. Lovely regional food from the Auvergne. A mechanical cow mooed as we opened the door, and birdsong was on tape all night. There was also a clock striking the hour by hooting as a different owl for each hour, at least I think it was owls. I didn't notice the cat prowling the room until the end of the night. A glass wall at the rear of the restaurant revealed a lighted garden behind it, and occasionally the cat would be visible out there as well as inside. I had a very cheesey dish with potatoes, and local ham from the Auvergne which was served on the side. For dessert there was an absolutely wonderful apple tart with ice cream melting on it.

Wednesday morning, Alan went out to the fantastic Kayser bakery on rue Monge and brought back croissants and bread. We had tried going there the day before on our way back from the Maubert market, but they were closed already for lunch, and the smell of baking was tantalizing. Then we set off in the snow and the slush to walk down the rue Mouffetard in search of a shop I have been meaning to get to since I read about it several years ago, La Tuile a Loup. The snow was a novelty to the Parisians, and they were scooping it up off the parked cars to make snowballs. We saw people of all ages doing this, and Alan saw three young police officers throwing snowballs at each other.

We found the shop after a slight misdirection, on the rue Daubenton, just off rue Mouffetard. It is a tiny place filled with French country pottery, linens, books, butter molds, all sorts of great stuff. There was an older American couple inside trying to explain what they wanted to the shopkeeper, who was having difficulty understanding both their English and their French, so I tried to explain to her what they were saying. Afterward, the American woman said to me, "You speak English very well." Her husband pointed out to her that I was American. As I have told my children over the years, when someone gives you a compliment, just say "thank you very much". After they left, I told the shopkeeper what they had said, and she was greatly amused.

We walked back up the rue Mouffetard, shopping and taking pictures, and then stopped at a bar on the Place de la Contrescarpe to warm up. There was a teacher sitting inside correcting papers and a couple of other people escaping from the cold. We didn't stay long because of the unpleasant static coming out of the speaker near our table, although this didn't seem to bother the fellow grading papers. We went up to the Pantheon and back to the Bombardier, after which we went back to our apartment.

Dinner that night would have to be earlier than the regular Paris time because we had theater tickets in Montmartre at 8:00. We went to Les Pipos, the wine bar on our corner, which was charming and very inviting. There were big oyster crates outside the front door, so we ordered oysters. They had a dinner menu but weren't serving it yet, so we ordered platters of cheese and charcuterie and were very happy.

After dinner we took the metro to Place Pigalle and saw the show Gumboots at the theater La Cigale. What a fantastic show! Based on South African miners' dances and songs, named after the boots they wore in the mines, and which they used to tap out rhythms and communicate with each other, this show is on a world tour with just a week or two more in Paris. The performers were amazingly talented and the audience was wildly enthusiastic. Loved this.

I love your report...sigh.

I would enjoy even the snow and wet...

I very much want to go back to France...

Ok Nikki, what goodies did you buy at rue Daubenton shop? That sounds like a place I would like and I'm adding it to my Paris notes. Do you remember the name of the store? I got a kick out of the customers telling you that you spoke English very well - too funny!

Margie, the shop was La Tuile a Loup, at 35 rue Daubenton. They have a web site at www.latuilealoup.com. I bought a blue pottery butter keeper and a beautiful piece of pottery with a hole in the bottom that can be hung on the wall or placed on the counter, for holding wooden spoons.

I am sitting at home waiting for my luggage to be delivered, as the woman at Air France says it's coming some time this morning. Finishing up this report. If you stick with it to the finish, there's a twist.

Thursday we made our way to St. Germain for some shopping in my two favorite shops, La Maison Ivre for pottery, and Huilerie J. Leblanc for truffled olive oil. We also went to Laduree, and I finally bought and tried some of the macarons about which I have heard so much on the Fodor's message board. Yes, they were wonderful. And Alan bought a box of them to bring back to the teachers he works with. We walked to Odeon and had lunch at Les Editeurs, then walked back to the apartment.

I had had enough walking so I stayed there and began to pack up our things, as we were leaving the next day. Alan walked down to a bar we had passed where people were betting on horse races. He spent some time trying to figure out the French racing culture. This gave Alan an opportunity to add another page or two to his ongoing project: a thousand and one ways to lose by betting on horses. The two new ways were to pick the winning combination but to speak so slowly in French that the betting closed and the race started by the time he spit out his words to the cashier, and to pick a horse that came in first but was disqualified for unknown reasons after the finish. These new methods are added to the old list that includes such classics as forgetting the number and betting on the wrong horse (whose name, amazingly enough, was "Memory Loss") and a horse dropping dead during the race.

We celebrated our last night in Paris by going to dinner at Au Petit Marguery. This was our best meal of a trip filled with wonderful meals. I had a warm salad with duck gizzards and smoked duck breast, then pigeon in a dark, rich wine sauce with wild mushrooms. Alan had scallops in a fantastic butter and garlic sauce that was so good he says he will never be able to order scallops in another restaurant again. He says there's just no point. For dessert we had grand marnier souffles. Everything here was amazing, from the rolls that were waiting on our plates as we entered to the complimentary plate of sweets brought after the souffles.

We took a taxi back to the apartment in the snow. As we got out of the cab, a young French couple emerged from our apartment building and wanted to take the taxi. They were carrying a television and a tray or something. The cab driver asked where she was going, and the young woman said to Jussieu, which is really not very far away. Without a word, the driver pulled away, leaving them staring speechless after him. We spoke to them in the entranceway. They had been trying to call a cab without luck because of the snow and the lateness of the hour. "Ah well, that's Paris," said the young woman with a smile. I hope they found a taxi somehow.

Let's Make a Deal, Part III: Friday morning, after a farewell croissant from Kayser and a farewell walk around the neighborhood with my camera, we finished packing up and went to the airport. We reached the check-in desk and learned that only one of our reservations was confirmed for some reason, and the other of us would have to wait on stand-by. The flight was overbooked. I said, "What are you offering?" Drum roll. A flight the next day, Saturday, and 375 euros apiece cash or 675 apiece in flight vouchers.

This time we took the vouchers.

They put us up at the Ibis Roissy Ville. Nothing to write home about, but the shower was way bigger than the one in the apartment. I used it twice, just for the experience. We took the RER in to Paris and had dinner at La Coupole. Ordered a big seafood platter full of oysters and crabs and langoustines and mussels and clams and had a wonderful time. Heard the waiters sing Bon Anniversaire to a man at a nearby table who was pointed out to us by our neighbors as a Welsh rugby superstar from thirty years ago. Caught the last train back to the airport and a shuttle bus to the hotel. The plane ride home was uneventful. They were overbooked. We could have been bumped again on Saturday, but we're not that greedy, and we had to get our daughter back to school on Sunday. I'm still waiting for my luggage, but I'm not complaining too loudly.

For those who have been following, I have now gotten the Saturday to Saturday trip they wouldn't book for me in advance. At this point, I figure the flight, the apartment, and all our meals and purchases were paid for by Air France. And I'm checking on flights for July.

Nikki,
You are SOOO lucky!
I think you need to tell Alan to quit betting on the horses and just stick with gambling on Air France!

It sounds like a great trip. I'm glad to hear that you liked Au Petit Marguery-- it's been on my list for awhile, and I'm going to make sure we get there on this next trip.

Thanks for the wonderful and enticing trip report!

Nikki, I'm reading your report, walking along in my mind to all the places you visited. I like this virtual visit to Paris! Isn't Maison d'Ivre a nice little shop? And Laduree, beautiful, scrumptious Laduree...no visit to Paris would be complete without it. Thanks for writing and keep on writing!

Nikki, I laughed, I cried, I smiled, and I am so glad you & your DH took all in stride, had an enjoyable vacation, and your daughter is much better. Now that you & I have met (at the Fodors Boston GTG)I can picture you walking about the City of Light in search of a jazz club, etc. I hope July brings you the same strange but great luck, but without a daughter's illness!

Welcome Home,
BC

I can't believe the luck you had with the AirFrance upgrades/compensations!! What a nice surprise after the scare with your daughter. Thanks for the wonderfully-entertaining report.

Au Petit Marguery sounds super yummy! I'm just starting to make a restaurant list for our trip in June -- can you tell me the address/location?

Hi Nikki,

I mean this in the nicest possible way because I enjoy your writing, but your report is making me sick: homesick for Paris! I am just now, two weeks after my trip, starting to settle back in and feel at home again, then I read your report and the longing starts all over. I think I need some sort of brainwashing therapy that makes me forget I was ever in Paris

Nikki:

What a wonderful trip report! I love your writing style and how you know exactly what to say and what to leave out.

I'm glad your daughter is better and that your luggage will be arriving shortly.

Thanks for sharing your memories with us.

Here's the info on Au Petit Marguery:
9 Blvd. du Port-royal (In the 13th Arrondissement)
Tues-Sat noon-2pm and 7:30-10pm
Métro: Les Gobelins
Reservations recommended
Phone 01-43-31-58-59
3-course lunch 25€-33€; 3-course dinner 33€

Okay, have to say....I'm hooked. Loved your tale so far. We must be about the same age as my husband and I have also recently celebrated our 25th anniversary.

We will be stopping over for a few days in Paris on our way home from Italy in May. Was wondering if you could recommend any "must see" spots or restaurants. We will be staying at the Hilton Paris next to the Eiffel Tower.

Also, I LOVED the airline ticket runaround! I booked in October with reward points and was told there were no business class seats. We almost canceled the trip since we really were opposed to flying coach. I got a funny feeling last month and decided to check on the seats only to find out there had been a screw-up with my confirmation and I had lost the seats.

Long story short, when I called to speak to some one they no longer had coach but did indeed have business class. So I rebooked and we are now very excited to leave!

Nikki, great report! I felt I was re-visiting some of the familiar places with you. Do I detect a duck fetish?

Thanks for all the replies and comments. Marcy, I'm glad you had the information to give awbaker about Petit Marguery; my information is all in the still-missing luggage.

Bookchick, thanks for the good wishes. And it really is nice to be able to put a face on the people we've met; it's much more interesting than emoticons.

Mermaid, this was my first visit to Laduree, and right now I'm just hoping that box of macarons made it intact to my husband's co-workers and they're enjoying them on their first day back at school.

JocelynP, if what you want is to forget about Paris, you've come to the wrong place.

TravelRibbon, and here I thought I didn't leave out enough.

Dejais, I'm afraid I didn't cover many of the must-sees in this report or on this trip. This trip was more about relaxing and combatting stress and less about seeing the sights than my previous outings. But there is a wealth of information on this website. Try reading the Paris Superthread for some great ideas. http://www.fodors.com/forums/threadselect.jsp?fid=2&tid=34519236

Treesa, I definitely have a duck fetish.

Nikki, thank you for your exquisite report, I tried to save it for tonight's Nor'easter but I couldn't resist reading it right away and you did not disappoint.

Happy 25th Anniversary to you and your husband!

Thanks, Nikki. As you can tell from my firsy post I had not read all of yours. I have now completed them and can not wiat to get to Paris.

I know what you mean about a "relaxing" trip (it sounds like you accomplished that!). We will be spending two weeks in Italy and will be avoiding the must-see sights except in Venice where we have never been. The rest of the trip will be for wandering and exploring an seeing where that leads us. *S*

We decided to stop over in Paris as we have never been and thought a short two night trip there would wet our beaks. (Actually, it is my sneaky way of getting my husband to take me BACK knowing once he sees it, he will want to return to see more).

So, anyway, thank you so much for your in depth reporting. The first thing I will do upon arriving inParis is stop for some cheese, fruit, and baugettes.

Loved your tales of "Let's Make A Deal!" Thank you so much - you report was a wonderful read. And thanks for the addres and web site of La Tuile a Loup!

Great report! I can't say I've ever read a trip report where the transportation to and from the destination is nearly as intriguing and eventful as the actual trip!

This has been one wonderful read, and like Kathy, let me say it was fun meeting you and looking at your photos.

It's a darn good thing I was too busy all day to even open Fodor's, or after luxuriating in your posts I would have spent the balance of the day in a reverie and accomplished nothing of my job.
As we were heading to the airport to depart Paris in early December it was just starting to snow, and I sooooo wanted there to be a weather delay, but it didn't happen. Reading your posts, Nikki, almost makes up for that.

Nikki, what a great report. I loved the craziness with AirFrance. You are lucky you were flexible enough to take advantage of it. I am walking around in a haze getting ready for our trip in March and your report has added to that.

In honor of the Oscars which I did not watch last night because I was busy alternately catching up on my sleep and writing my trip report, I would like to thank those who made this trip possible. No, not Air France, but all the Fodorites who have given me ideas and suggestions both directly and indirectly.

Both Christina and Dave in Paris provided lists of restaurants for me and may think that they did so in vain, but I really did have hopes of getting to the neighborhoods they described. It just ended up that we ate almost all our meals within a one block radius.

Whoever posted the information about that Air France promotion in May, I owe you a great debt.

All of you who have posted trip reports, thanks for the inspiration. My trips are all the more interesting for the efforts you put into yours.

The folks who attended the Boston GTG last month are now familiar faces to me, and it is terrific to see David, Mimi, Bookchick, Marcy, AGM, and TravelRibbon sharing my stories.

It's such fun milking a trip for all it's worth, planning months ahead of time and remembering for months afterward. I'm remembering things now that I left out of the report. The guy with the beard and the beret sitting on the church steps in the snow with his French poodle who caught me photographing him and turned out to be an expat from Seattle. The five piece jazz band squeezed into Les Pipos, the wine bar, as we paused to listen to them from the sidewalk on our way back to bed after our last walk through the neighborhood. The pheasant pate soaked in gin that Alan ordered as an entree at Au Petit Marguery.

But now it is time to start thinking about Greece. My older daughter and I leave a week from Thursday. Yes, really.

And oh yes, my two missing bags were delivered tonight just before dinner. They had delivered one of them to the wrong address earlier in the day and had left the wrong bag outside my garage door. The driver had to come back from Rhode Island to switch them to the right houses, but all is now well.

It has been my experience to see an occasional peasant soaked in gin, but I hope to get to have some pheasant soaked in gin next week at Petit Marguery!
Bravo, Nikki, Excellent report!

I am jealous about your experience with Air France. We just returned yesterday, 2/28. We also flew out of Boston. We also booked our tickets back in May with the same promotion. We had a great time. Four nights, but a kind of different trip. We only ate out 2 times, unless you count cafe creme and croissant at Ma Bourgogne (Place des Vosges). We had an apartment on the top floor with two terraces and great views on Rue Mornay in the corner of the 4th. Briefly:
Ate out at: Dong Huong, a Vietnamese restaurant on rue Louis Bonnet in the 11th. I had a crepe fritee vietnamese. Very tasty. Next was our dinner at Brasserie Ile St. Louis. My husband had the charcoute garni and I had a delicious omelete mixte with pomme frite and endive salad with roquefurt cheese and noix. Saw Jacquemart Andre museum. Very helpful listening guide thrown in with the entrance fee. Went to Opera Garnier for the first time in 6 trips; impressive ceiling by Marc Chagall. Walked all over and took the metro everywhere. It was cold and windy. Walked around the marais alot. The best market is at Richard Lenoir near the Bastille on thursday and sunday. Andre Cleret in the 1st has the best baquette sandwiches and pastries. I loved the huge meringue with chocolate chips. Au Levain du Marais (the one on Blvd. Beaumarchais in the 11th) had really good bread. The monoprix anywhere is convenient for just about anything you would want to bring back to your apartment. All in all a great trip and over with much too soon. Air France was great. I would always choose to fly them if the price was right.

Thank you so much for your spectacular narrative. Your writing style, anecdotes, wonderful luck and your obvious love of life make the story of your stops, starts and don't pass go an exceptional read. Thank you again, I'm going in May on Air France as well. Seeing Paris with as much panache as you have shown will be a challenge , I will try though!

Congratulations! You got your bags back.
Every time I think I have read a good report, someone like you comes along to put up the ante.
Thank you, dear Nikki.

Nikki,
yesterday, walking Pup, I told the Yankee about your Making a Deal with Air France..I kept trying to figure out how we would do it if we got that offer ~
Something else to keep me awake these nights before leaving

Nikki, I enjoyed your report VERY MUCH!! What wondeful luck on AF. I am anxious to check out the shops you mentioned on my trip in Sept. I am staying in an apartment in St. Germain. My first Paris apartment experience and my first business elite flight (splurged using my Delta ff mies).

Hope you get your flight in July and look forward to another fabulous trip report.

Thanks to all who have left their comments; I appreciate them greatly.

Opaldog, were they not overbooked on your flights? I guess you must have flown mid-week and returned on Monday, so you probably just missed the opportunity. It is my experience that flights are almost always overbooked the first and last weekends of the February vacation week, and I suppose one could plan for this. We have never been able to take advantage of the situation before, but this time it worked out perfectly. Your trip sounds terrific. I also enjoyed the audio guide at Jacquemart Andre when I was there two years ago.

Scarlett, the whole decision of what to take from the Air France offers reminded me of the Publishers' Clearinghouse sweepstakes-- if we win, do we want the blue Jaguar or the red one? And here's to hoping for many vacations with the peasants soaked in gin!

Nikki: Our flights were full, but did not appear to be overbooked. When I purchased my tickets I was unable to get the 27th. I would certainly have volunteered to be bumped. Funny you mention Publisher's Clearing House; I actually worked there 30 some odd years ago. It really does exist.

I filled out so many of those forms that for what I paid in postage
to win, I could have bought something special. Dreams aren't always cheap.

I've been meaning to post the name of that bar with the pianist and singer (Aux Trois Mailletz), so I thought as long as I had the books from my now-unpacked suitcase I'd list the restaurants and bars I mentioned in my report:

Au Petit Marguery, 9 bvd. de Port-Royal, 13th arr., 01 43 31 58 59.

Le Petit Prince de Paris, 12 rue de Lanneau, 5th arr., 01 43 54 77 26.

Les Fetes Galantes, 17 rue de l'ecole polytechnique, 5th arr., 01 43 26 10 40.

Chantairelle, 17 rue Laplace, 5th arr., 01 46 33 18 59.

Les Pipos, 2 rue de l'Ecole Polytechnique, 5th arr., 01 43 54 11 40.

La Coupole, 102 boulevard du Montparnasse, 14th arr., 01 43 20 14 20.

The Bombardier, 2 pl du Pantheon, 5th arr., 01 43 54 79 22.

Aux Trois Mailletz, 56 rue Galande, 5th arr., 01 43 25 96 86.

Nikki - I just saw this thread - I was away all last weekend - I can't tell you how much I have enjoyed it. As you might remember, I stayed in the apt on the 5th floor just last fall. I loved the apt. even though the elevator was not working when we were there and the climb up those stairs was grueling at the end of a long day. The area around there was great. Sounds like you sat at the exact same table as we did at Les Fetes and I also had the yummy lamb. Such a cozy little place - great story about the underwear wall - we wondered what was up with that. What is so coincidental - we also ate at Le Petite Prince and La Chantairelle. It was so nice to have such good restaurants so close by. Didn't you love rue Moufftard. We also enjoyed the little park across from Le Marmatton - they had donkey rides when were there. I loved the tree lined blvd. leading back to the metro stop. I'm leaving next Wed. for Rome, but I'm really missing Paris right now. Thanks so much for the great report and bringing back such wonderful memories.

Opaldog - how did you like that apartment? I am almost afraid to tell too many folks about it lest it be booked when I want to rent it!

Barb, it sounds like we had the same vacation in a parallel universe (donkey rides instead of a carousel). Have a great trip to Rome!

Seamus: We loved the apartment. Granted it was cold and we didn't sit out on the terraces, but we did go out on them and took alot of pictures. We slept in the murphy bed which we found to be very comfortable and used the small ante room for our luggage and dressing room. The kitchen was a nice size and the bathroom was also. The water was powerful and warm in the shower. I know what you mean about not wanting to give the apartment too much publicity. Thanks for the info on it though. We would love to go back. The location was good; very convenient. We probably used Sully-Morland and Bastille metros evenly. Near the end of the trip we started to head up to the Bastille more often. We walked all over the marais and up into the 11th. We walked over to Ile St. Louis a few times and up and down St. Antoine and rue rivoli. There was a monoprix not too far away. We went to a great boulangerie on beaumarchais au levain du marais. The apartment was so bright and the view night and day was unbeatable. Thanks again.

Thank you for a wonderful report. I just caught up with the end of it now.
Ahhhhhh Paris

Greetings Nikki,

Thanks for the wonderful report. We do our annual trip to France at the end of May and will spend our last 3 days in Paris--will try some of your suggestions then. Have a great trip to Greece--can't wait for the report--we've always wanted to go so I am most excited about your experiences there.

Take care,
Robyn France

Thanks Robyn, I'm looking forward to Greece myself now and reading as much as I can. I think the trip and the report both will be VERY different from this Paris trip and report, however.

Nikki, what a wonderful report you wrote, it was a pleasure to read it..
I am going to print the list of the restaurants also and would like to try the little Fetes Gallantes , we will be in Paris the end of June.
We have a reservation with Hotel Des Grandes Ecoles.
It is fun to travel in style with extra cash to spend compliments of Air France.
BTW, I have a beautiful black young cat named NIKKI...

I'm going to France with you next time .....

thank you so much for taking the time to post this report! I don't think I've enjoyed any other one as much!

Thanks for the further comments. And Seafox, why not? We've already shared an apartment. But we can't count on a the trip getting paid for by Air France.

Nikki, what a delightful story/trip report. And I thought leaving my underwear behind (nice ones, Mimi) was traumatic. What luck with AF!

I really enjoyed exploring Paris with you and Al--I can't wait till May! (of course, with the restaurant list I'm making, I may have to stay a month!)

Nikki, nikki, what fun , and I too might go with seafox and you and LVSue

Nikki, what can I say. I am so happy to have stumbled onto your post. This is exactly what I needed to read. WE do not leave until Dec but I am learning so much from this site. I never thought I might actually Post when I get back, but what you have written is exactly how I would love to write and its a great read. I am only up to you first night !!!! but I am now looking at Paris sleeps to see if I can do better than what we have booked so far. We are paying $2940 Australian dollars for 1 week and I am sure that is way too much , but first time in Paris not sure what to do, but after reading posts like yours I am very tempted to find something else. We have found our own accomodation in London and NYC and it has been very easy.............so thank you . Can't wait to finish reading.....when I've finished on Paris Sleeps.