"Paris Trip Report" - OR - "How my 85 year old mother in law wore me out!"
Nov 19th, 2002, 01:49 PM
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"Paris Trip Report" - OR - "How my 85 year old mother in law wore me out!"
Thanks to all who offered tips for my trip to Paris with my 85 year old mother-in-law, Betty. We had a wonderful time! Following is our trip report. (I've included prices where appropriate)<BR><BR>Day One<BR><BR>Toronto to Paris. Flew on points with Air Canada from Toronto to Paris. Desperately hoped for an upgrade to Business Class but, alas, it was full. Nonetheless, the Economy class seating was quite comfortable (and I'm 6 feet tall) and the cabin crew was terrific - very solicitous of my mother-in-law's comfort - they were quick to notice she was cold and offer more blankets, etc.<BR><BR>Landed at CDG at 8:30am local time - sailed through immigration and baggage and a cab ride (43 Euro) to our Hotel - Le Regent in the 6th. - arrived at the hotel about 10:00am. I was hoping our room would be available when we arrived - and had sent a last minute reminder to the hotel - however they cautioned me that it was unlikely. Success! Our room was available when we checked in. Room #51 is a "Luxury" room - 183 Euros - facing Rue Dauphine. The room is very well designed - compact, but with good use of space with a small seating area, twin beds, a wardrobe area (including a safe and mini-bar), a good sized bathroom (complete with large tub/shower) and a foyer area with a full length mirror. Plus 3 large French windows (double glazed so it was quiet) give lots of light and a nice view of the street below. (I have good pictures of the room I can send via e-mail if anyone is interested in seeing the rooms at Le Regent - just e-mail me at the above address).<BR><BR>We unpacked and sat down to relax - I wasn't quite sure what Betty would want to do at this stage - the time difference meant it was about 4am for our bodies - maybe take a nap? Take a walk? As we relaxed Betty asked "Shall we have a snort?" OK! - A snort! We agreed that the "sun must be over the yardarm *somewhere*", and unpacked her small bottle of gin (which she had decanted into a small Evian plastic bottle for the journey!). There we were at 11am, enjoying our "snort" - Gin and Perrier (from the mini bar). Then…off for a walk - setting out for Notre Dame. <BR><BR>We walked up Rue Dauphine towards the Seine - 2 long blocks brought us to Pont Neuf - we could turn right to Notre Dame…or….ahead is Samaritaine, one of the suggestions for shopping/lunch from my Fodors post. When presented with the church versus shopping/lunch option - Betty went for the latter! We shopped for a while then went to Toupary, on the 5th (I think?) floor. Frankly, at the time I was paying absolutely no attention to the food - I was jetlagged and preoccupied with the mechanics of ordering (My French is absolutely dreadful - when we visit France, my husband, who is from Quebec - generally takes the lead. While I had prepared myself for this trip - memorized phrases, numbers, etc -my pronunciation is somewhat lacking). Once we'd ordered and relaxed a bit, I realized the food was actually very good. Very good. Betty had salmon served on a bed of fennel and I had an avocado/salmon mousse appetizer followed by grilled bar. With a couple of glasses of wine plus dessert, lunch was 43 Euro - and very enjoyable.<BR><BR>At that point, it was 2:30pm and time for a nap - back to the hotel and to bed. We awoke around 6pm - groggy and hungry. I sensed Betty wasn't keen to get dressed and go out for dinner. At the last moment I had packed a couple of plates plus knives and forks - turned out to be my best idea. I suggested I'd go out and bring back a picnic dinner - perfect, she said. The area around Le Regent has many lovely food stores plus a supermarket. I returned with quiche, salad, crème brulee and wine and beer. We had a lovely picnic and retired early.<BR>
Nov 19th, 2002, 01:51 PM
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Day Two<BR><BR>Yikes! 10:15am! That's when we woke up. I suppose it's a testament to how quiet our room was. Went down to the desk and arranged a ParisVision tour for the afternoon (minibus tour of Paris plus Seine Cruise - 57 Euro each). I chose ParisVision's minibus tours because they pick you up and drop you off at your hotel, as I wanted to minimize unnecessary walking/transportation for Betty. After petit dejeuner in the room, we wandered up to St Germain des Pres (stopping at Deux Magots for coffee) and then back to the hotel to meet Fred - our ParisVision tour guide - at 1:30pm. As it turned out, we were the only people on the tour - so it was basically a private tour. Fred was delightful - a charming flirt. Perhaps because it was just the 3 of us it was a very 'personal' tour. We toured Paris for approximately 90 minutes then he dropped us at the Bateau Mouche (sp?) - escorting us to the boat and was there upon our return. Another 30 minutes of touring and then back to the hotel at about 4:30pm - it was perfect. We had a light (late!) lunch across from the hotel at Le Buci (an Omelet and Croque Monsieur + wine for 25 Euro - when did Poilane bread become part of a Croque Monsieur?!). That evening we met old friends of ours at Chez Rene (14 Boul St Germain) for dinner. Chez Rene's cuisine is Lyonaisse (sp) and was quite good (especially my Skate) - 200 Euro for 4 including 2 bottles of wine. We were the last to leave the restaurant at midnight.<BR><BR>Day Three<BR><BR>Slept in a bit - then off to Musee Rodin - my favourite Paris museum. Betty was enchanted by it - we spent almost 4 hours there including lunch in the café in the garden. (Quiche and a Tartine - more Poilane bread! - plus wine and café for 20 Euro). Back to the hotel as the late night before and worrisome cold-like symptoms were wearing Betty out a bit. She had a rest while I did some shopping along Boulevard St Germain des Pres that afternoon and then dinner in our room from our favourite market - delicious roast chicken, roast potatoes, salad, fromage and a decadent chocolate dessert. <BR>
Nov 19th, 2002, 01:56 PM
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Day Four<BR><BR>Up early (for a change!) and Betty was all set to go - no sign of a cold. This would prove to be our most power packed day! Booked a ParisVision tour to Versailles leaving from Rue Rivoli at 2pm so off to the Louvre for the morning. I had assumed we would purchase Museum passes (to avoid the lines, mainly) but by now it was evident that - at least in mid-November - lines weren't an issue. Arrived at the Louvre at 10:30am - no line at all - and bought tickets for the 11am English tour (90 minutes - Tickets are 3 Euro - follow the signs to the "Group Tour" area). Betty and I had talked about how to tackle the Louvre - in the end we decided that the guided English tour was the best option. It covers the highlights (Mona Lisa, Venus de Milo, Winged Victory, Michelangelo's Slaves, and the original Louvre ramparts) plus various highlights along the way depending on the guide and what's open that day (in our case the guide focused on the gallery of the French painters - Delacroix, Anger, etc - it was terrific) There were a lot of stairs along the way, but Betty sprinted up most of them - in fact leaving other (much younger) tour members in her dust! The tour guide was terrific - I would recommend the tour for everyone as you can obviously explore other areas before and after. <BR><BR>Lunch at Café Marly (facing the Pyramid - another Fodors suggestion) was lovely - a main course each plus wine was 40 euro. Then we walked a few blocks down the Rue Rivoli to the ParisVision office for our tour to Versailles. The tour was 52 Euro each including a guided tour of the apartments at the Palace - while it was expensive compared to other means of touring Versailles, i.e. taking the Metro there, etc, given our circumstances it was good value.<BR><BR>Versailles was lovely - the weather cleared that day and we had brilliant blue sky all afternoon. There was a lot of walking - on uneven stone - but Betty never flagged. We returned at 6pm to the ParisVision office and found a taxi right away (!). Back to the hotel for wine and cheese (leftovers from dinner the night before) and then to Eglise Saint Germain des Pres for a concert at 8:30pm. It was lovely - Bach and Haydn - the sound quality was superb. 15 Euro each.<BR>
Nov 19th, 2002, 01:58 PM
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Day Five<BR><BR>"And bring no book: for this one day we'll give to idleness". Betty greeted me with this Wordsworth quote first thing - I got the message! A leisurely petit dejeuner in the room, and then the plan was a walk to Saint Chappelle and Notre Dame, and maybe some shopping. Once again, we walked up Rue Dauphine towards the Seine. Betty had been looking for a hat - voila! - a hat store! Well….an hour and a half later - after trying on every hat in the store with the help of the delightful owner - we both walked out with our new chapeaus! We were giggling like schoolgirls and decided we looked very French! Off to Saint Chappelle - how is it possible I've been to Paris before but never to Saint Chappelle? It was magnificent - we sat for an hour in the Chapel examining each of the panels. Betty was so intrigued she bought a very detailed book about mediaeval church architecture and proceeded to study it as though she had a mid term! <BR><BR>After Hat Shopping, Saint Chappelle and lunch (yet MORE Poilane bread - is this great marketing or what?), once again the church/shopping question - Notre Dame or Galeries Lafayette? I suppose by this point I wasn't surprised by the answer - Galeries Lafayette! We walked up as far as the Pompidou Centre then took a cab to Galeries Lafayette - wandered through it and then over to Printemps, then found a cab back to the hotel. Dinner that night was at Jacques Cagnas - a lovely restaurant around the corner from our hotel. Cagnas is a special place for my husband and I - we first went there 20 (!) years ago and it spawned our interest in fine cuisine. While we had a lovely evening, the service was a bit iffy (too busy) and the food wasn't as wonderful as I remembered (Thomas Wolfe may be right…..or, more to the point, North American cuisine has improved immeasurably since) but nonetheless it was a very special evening for the two of us. Betty said "Why didn't I do this sooner?" - while the answer was somewhat self evident (tons of kids/not much money) - she followed that question pretty quickly with "Where are we going next?" - we're now talking about a Madrid/Barcelona trip.<BR><BR>Day Six<BR><BR>Our last full day in Paris - we poked around in the morning packing up and then off to Opera Garnier for a matinee dance performance. Betty loves modern dance - the performance was coincidentally by a Canadian choreographer which was nice for us - and made more special by the venue. The Opera Garnier is beautiful.<BR><BR>Our last night we had dinner once again with our friends at their apartment near the Pompidou Centre - we left early the next morning for Toronto.<BR><BR><BR>All in all, a very successful visit to Paris. Once again, thanks to everyone for their advice - happy to answer any questions. <BR>
Nov 19th, 2002, 03:45 PM
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Elizabeth<BR> you have brought tears to my eyes, 2 years ago I brought my mother to Paris for the first time. She had never been out of the USA before, she sounds as if she could be your Mother In Laws sister. She too wanted to know when we would go again and she has been to London, Paris (2), Monaco, San Remo & last but not least Cannes.<BR> I know that traveling with an older person can be a little difficult, but worth it. I know my mom appreciated it and still does. You're Mother in Law is blessed to have a daughter in law like you.
Nov 19th, 2002, 03:49 PM
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Great report, Elizabeth. I'm glad to hear that you had such a good time. It just added fuel.....I must get to Paris soon! <BR><BR>I appreciated all the information.<BR><BR>You two will have fun in Spain.<BR><BR>To others: I met Elizabeth in Toronto and she is a love; she would be a great traveling companion and it sounds as if her mother-in-law is as well. <BR>
Nov 20th, 2002, 12:24 PM
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Thanks for your nice comments! I realized I left out a couple of prices:<BR><BR>Opera Garnier - 2 tickets (excellent - three rows from the front) 55 Euro each. The Hotel Le Regent staff organized the tickets, charging them on my Visa card. <BR><BR>Jacques Cagnas - 2 Aperitifs, Main Course + Dessert for Betty, 3 courses plus dessert for me plus one bottle of wine - 200 Euro<BR><BR>One point I didn't make strongly enough was how delighted we were with the Hotel Le Regent. The location was terrific and the staff were so helpful - ordering cabs, making reservations, booking tickets, etc, etc. I highly recommend the hotel.<BR>
Nov 20th, 2002, 01:26 PM
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Dear Elizabeth:<BR>What a wonderful report and what a great memory for the both of you. My 81 year old mother, my sister and I went to Italy in October. It was wonderful. My mom said the same thing as your mother-in-law: why didn't we do this sooner, and: let's go to Spain next year!!
