Paris June 2009

Preparatory drama – Ready to leave for the airport, niece can't find her passport. Cripes! Into crisis management mode – call to airline to check availability of next day flights, repeat scouring of the house, searching for passport expediter who might be able to help. Good results on 1, no go on 2 and 3. Downloaded forms for replacement passport and reporting loss of old one, off to get new passport photos, then drive to hotel near EWR with plan to show up at NYC passport office and beg for mercy. Short version: it worked! Infinite blessings on the civil servant who expedited the same day passport issue. Had it in hand shortly after 3:00 PM for 8:00 PM flight. Meanwhile had time to visit Century 21 and Jacques Torres chocolate (close to passport office) and eat Allen's falafel.

And we are off – flight EWR to CDG on a CO 757 aircraft was quite pleasant – exit row with empty middle seat. CO's new AVOD is awesome. Food was actually decent. Managed a few hours of sleep, made possible in coach thanks to the inflatable neck pillow that is my new travel companion.

CDG arrival – got in a little ahead of schedule, breezed through immigration, bags were among the first on the belt and walked through the barely existent customs. A quick coffee, stop by the ATM for some cash and then taxi into town. Traffic not too bad on Tuesday morning. Taxi fare was about 50 euro.

Apartment – never stayed in the 15th before, have to admit a little trepidation about being outside the familiar single digit arrondissements. All for naught, location (metro two blocks in direction, tram two blocks in other direction, bus at the corner) was great and place itself was superb – 2 BR /2 BA, washer AND separate dryer, great WiFi, free phone back to US, fully equipped kitchen with full size fridge and freezer, table next to window with Eiffel Tower view, great beds, comfortable living and dining areas, loads of closets. Property manager met us on arrival, gave nice overview and left excellent manual on how things in the place (washer, AC, TV, etc.) worked as well as info on local neighborhood and transportation. Bonus – ground floor of building has a full service supermarket!

New things we did this trip – of course we traveled the well worn tourist trail to the usual sites and sights, as this was niece's first time to Paris, but we also did a couple things new to us:
*Saturday night spectacle at Versailles was terrific (tableaux in gardens and fireworks, not just music and fountains) http://tinyurl.com/nqgd8x Purchased tickets online, printed out at neighborhood internet cafe.
*Segway tour – more fun than I had expected! On our return leg there was an official motorcade that blocked some streets so we had to detour, resulting in an extra 20 or so minutes riding. http://citysegwaytours.com/paris
* Since the Saturday evening spectacle did not include visit to the chateau we went back on Sunday so niece could see the place. Walking from train station saw a sign offering admission tickets a shop and stopped in to check it out. Got our admission tickets for only a 1 euro service charge and avoided standing in the considerable ticket line at the chateau. Unfortunately, the forfait loisir that included admission tickets are no longer sold, but the tickets we bought also included the audioguide.
*Niece bought some cool fabric at a Montmartre shop as a gift for her sister who is a budding fashion designer
*Thanks to the WiFi and free phone niece stayed in touch with friends and family, posting photos on her Facebook almost every evening. Looked so cool, I have been dragged into the 21s century and have joined Facebook myself.

Getting around – Little bit more drama, but nothing by French standards. Told by agent at Concorde (where photo machine was out of order) we needed to have photos to purchase Navigo decouvert. Agent at gare St Lazare sold them to us without, said you have 24 hours to add the photo and laminate. Found photo machine at St Lazare metro - 4 euro each, and required close trimming to fit space on the pass. Once done, though, worked like a charm. Rode metro, tram, Montmartre funicular, RER and buses all over. Niece preferred using bus to be able to see more than a tunnel in transit, worked fine – #42 stopped half a block from the apartment. Also rode the famous bus #69, hopping on and off as we saw things of interest.

Food and drink – oh, yeah, that first bite of baguette slathered with sweet butter and apricot preserves! The supermarket downstairs from the apartment was well stocked and we had a ball roaming the aisles. Of course the morning baked goods had to come from a neighborhood boulangerie, but their baguettes weren't bad at all. And they had an enticing assortment of fresh meat, fish and cheese. We ate in the apartment a lot more often than on previous trips, probably because the kitchen was so well equipped and comfortable. Poulet roti and a salad made a nice dinner, and I stopped by he neighborhood Picard and picked up some chicken breasts and haricots verts for another. Lunches were typically a sandwich picked up on the fly. One lunch was at Leon de Bruxelles near Montparnasse so niece could try moules frites – and they were quite good. A dinner at Bofinger's was a treat. My open lobster ravioli ( really a lasagna noodle folded around the meat of a whole lobster in a delectable sauce) and niece's steak frites were both quite good. Of course we introduced her to the wonders of Amorino, too. On Sunday we actually entertained, inviting a Parisian friend to the apartment for brunch. Served an assiette de charcuterie and some cheeses from the Saturday street market right outside the apartment building along with a nice strawberry/raspberry torte from a neighborhood patisserie. Add some champagne and... heaven. Another day we met some friends for an afternoon drink at Cafe de l'Esplanade near Invalides, always a nice experience.

The inevitable amusing anecdote – Niece wanted to visit the catacombs. First time we went the line was huge, sign advised getting there before noon to avoid crowds. Decided to come back the next day – niece is not an early riser and we got there shortly before noon to find another huge line. Neither of us waits well, decided to postpone again. Since she really wanted to see the catacombs, she made the ultimate sacrifice and got out of bed early on Monday – only after getting ready to head out the door did I check to find that they close on Mondays. I told her that this is an omen that she needs to make a return visit to Paris, with catacombs visit top on her itinerary. (The other anecdote involves her trying to stifle laughter at seeing her uncle fall of his Segway, but we won't go there.)

More frustrating than amusing but oh so French– since on last year's niece trip we nearly missed our Eurostar train to London owing to mechanical malfunctions of elevators, escalators and ticket kiosks, decided to stop by Gare du Nord in advance to pick up the previously purchased tickets. Of course when I went to retrieve the tickets from the kiosk somehow her reservation had been changed to an earlier train. OK, off to the billets counter. After a wait that included an amusing display of a London travel agent dress down – in razor sharp French -someone she thought was jumping the queue, explained to the English speaking agent the problem and showed her the confirmation printout I had brought along “just in case”. After much fingers flying over the keyboard she produced tickets for all three of us, but while SO and I were in our previously chosen seats niece was in an entirely different car at the other end of he train. I asked her to fix it and she told me I could check with the train manager on the day of departure. Knowing the short window of time during boarding and that we are at the beginning of vacation season, I said I was not comfortable with that and would like her to assign the originally reserved seat now. Of course the response was the usual “it is not possible” but I was undeterred. My response was along the lines of “Oh, it must be so difficult for you to have to work with a system that will not let you do this simple thing. Perhaps if we involve a supervisor...” (I saw that the supervisor was standing within earshot.) Much more finger flying and sighing, but I got the seats we had originally reserved.

Best and worst of this trip- aside from spending time with my wonderful niece, best thing had to be the great apartment. Worst thing was having to leave!

Next: whirlwind London.