Excellent - very pleased you enjoyed it so much.

I have to agree, Paris is amazing. We are about to go on our 6th trip in March. We had our first trip in 2006 and have been hooked ever since. Just start planning another trip, that's the only way to make coming home any better!!

So, I guess it wasn't too shabby then.

So not shabby. I'm jealous that you're there right now.

Irock5-Oh yes, I'm definitely going to start planning on going back! As soon as my wallet recovers from this.

I'm loving your report so far - it's making me want to return to Paris.

Since you've returned, have you learned that it's not necessary to get uptight about every little bit of your trip? I read that you were lost but found your way again - this is what happens. Not everything is perfect but but we never go totally astray. I love the wonderful moments when I'm lost and see something I never would have planned to see.

We keep needing to remodel our bathroom and bedroom ,but every year when my husband gets his bonus check, we are back off to Europe. Oh well, life is short, and the memories are fabulous!!

I wish your writeup was longer.
We plan on going to Paris in May.
Thanks for the report.
Rob

Adrienne- Yes, I have learned that! I was freaking out over nothing and to be honest, I forgot about all of the stuff I worried about before once I was there. Everything just fell into place. But, also it was my first real trip, so I'm allowed to be uptight, just this once

Irock5, I agree! Now, if I only full time students got bonus checks!

Rob-There is more to come! This was only the first day. I will be letting you all know here when I update!

Great blog, thanks!

Can't wait to read more. I have been reading trip reports for Paris and Rome(our other stop) for weeks. We are getting so excited. My sister asked me how we can afford to go on these trips and I told her it is about choice. I don't have a big fancy car and send all of my money to those car payments every month. We have gotten older and wiser and realize that those are just things.

I am so glad you liked Paris. It really is a magical place. I don't think I really thought it would be as beautiful as it is. I have been to Ireland and all over Italy and I think it is the most beautiful city I have seen. Just my opinion.

So glad you had a good time. BTW, it's normal for big city airports to have multiple terminals with transport between them - not unique to CDG.

---I am enjoying your enthusiasm for the city.

Great photos from the top of the Montparnasse Tower. We definitely must go there on our next trip. After 9 visits to Paris, one of which we stayed right down the street from M. Tower, we've never been there. I'll be looking forward to more of your exciting days in my favorite city.

Irock5---I'm with you. We'll forgo a bigger house, a new bathroom which we also need, or a newer car any time to be able to travel. I recently read a quote in a book about aging well that said, "My wife has decided that a year shall not pass without going to Paris." I'm with her!!

These wonderful Paris trip reports keep the dream alive.

TPAYT--What a great quote. I am trying to practice that right now!! We spent last Christmas (2011) in Paris, just husband and myself. What a wonderful experience. Our children are all grown up and we had Christmas with them before we left and then off we went. I cannot recommend that experiece if you have not done it. Really want to do it again.

Ha! I think we had your same accordian player on line 6. They obviously have it down to a science, they start playing and then you're out of the tunnel and the Eiffel Tower is right there!

nice start, pfd; keep it coming.

Ah, TPAYT, that's why I like you so much!

So, PFD....now you know why you got so much help...tons of us who are in love with Paris! Great shots from Montparnasse...after 5 trips I haven't made it there-but I will! I will never be done with Paris....this is the first year in four that I haven't been to Paris. I miss it.

I totally know the feeling of the hearing the accordion music. I remember being in Chatelet on my first trip and hearing La Vie en Rose being played on the accordion. Kinda magic! I have heard some amazing music in the Paris metro stations.

I have made 20+ trips to Paris....only learned this year that the musicians in the metro stations (not those on the trains) have to audition and are paid to perform.

Enjoying your report pfd.

Judy, they didn't used to have to, and weren't paid. That's pretty recent.

Holy crap! Is that real? I think I may have just found my dream job! Where do I sign up?

Loved reading your first impressions of Paris. Keep writng and please include a picture of yourself and perhaps your cousin.
After following all your questions and qualms about the trip, I feel that I know you and would love to actually see you.
In any event I am so glad that your trip was so fabulous and that ypu have joined the rest of us who feel that one trip is never enough.
I will be making my annual trip this May, I have lost track of how many trips I have made to this great city.

Love your blog. Keep on going...waiting for more about my favorite city.

Yes, yes! More please

Loving it and so glad you are home safe, happy and in love with Paris!

Musicians on metro trains are illegal. Musicians in the corridors are sometimes authorized -- there are something like 50 or 80 official spots which are allocated by audition: http://www.ratp.fr/fr/ratp/c_18839/inscrivez-vous-pour-les-auditions-des-musiciens-du-metro/

However, the musicians are not paid, except by you.

Just a note, in our small city on Vancouver Island,( very touristy) we have musicans and street performers audition to get permits too, they are not paid, but they have to be pretty good as we don't give away hundreds of permits.

Its a way to keep the numbers down( can you imagine a different instrument playing a different song every 15 feet down the metro corridors,, plus it eliminates 'turf wars" or "who got here first "wars among the buskers..

The guys on the trains actually piss me off as I am trapped, the ones in the corridors can sound so lovely and echo-y


Love your blog so fun, keep writing! Love to hear about hotel and everything else,, I like details( but admit to be pretty bad at remembering them myself for my trip reports.

Also loved your photos taken from Montparnasse Tour.

The guys on the trains actually piss me off as I am trapped, the ones in the corridors can sound so lovely and echo-y>>

yes, and if you are alone in a carriage with a "musician" it can be quite difficult to say no.

Welcome to the I LOVE PARIS club! It gets in your blood, doesn't it? Glad you had such a fabulous trip.

Add me to the "hate musicians in trains" crowd. I'm tone deaf and find them very annoying. Ditto for a lot of the ones that show up in restaurants - I bring my own entertainment. I don't see why I should pay for something I didn't ask for, and usually don't.

I loved your blog. Please update us here with another link when you post another. My daughter and I are passing thru for about a day and a half and I plan on seeing as much as possible as my daughter is in love with Paris.

I have so many pictures from my trip, over a thousand, but unfortunately, none of them include me! I don't really photograph, cause I figure I already know what I look like. So I dont really have any pictures of myself to post.
I hope to post another entry either Sunday or Monday, and I will let you all know when I do!
Thank you all!

Add me to the "hate musicians in trains" crowd. I'm tone deaf and find them very annoying.>>

i can assure you that they are just as annoying if you aren't tone deaf, thursdays.

we're waiting for more, pfd!

>>I have so many pictures from my trip, over a thousand, but unfortunately, none of them include me! I don't really photograph, cause I figure I already know what I look like. So I dont really have any pictures of myself to post.

You really expect us to believe you we're in Paris for the first time, (your dream trip!) and took NO photos of yourself there? I don't buy it. I understand if you want to remain anonymous here, but there's no need to be dishonest. Tsk tsk.

Well, Doppio, I've been in Paris more than 100 times and never taken a picture of myself. It's not out of the question.

As for the accordion players, I want to run and hide the minute the métro doors open and they get on!

StCirq, That just seems really strange to me unless you suffer from some kind of self esteem or dysmorphia issue. The only person I know who did that was overweight and hated the way she looked. I thought she looked fine, but you can't change how people see themselves. Makes me sad, really. No pictures of you in those beautiful surroundings. If I was PFD's parents I'd be a bit disappointed not to have photos of my daughter on her dream trip.

Doppio - what nonsense. I very rarely take (or, more accurately, have someone else take) a photo of myself. I'm certainly not overweight, but I can't see how it improves a landscape or building to have me standing in front of it. I find it annoying that people who insist on having their photo taken in front of every significant sight think that that is more important than actually looking at the place.

I don't really photograph, cause I figure I already know what I look like.

Don't worry about that -- I am the same. I enjoy photographing people who want to be photographed, I do not hide like a vampire if someone insists on photographing me, but I absolutely do not require any pictures of myself.

I do get a certain pleasure if I wander over to Trocadéro alone, because I am certain to be asked 4 or 5 times to take pictures of people -- couples or solo travelers -- with the Eiffel Tower in the background. I understand the importance of it for people who will only get one chance in their life to be in such a place (or who think so even if it isn't true).

Dammit, PFD, I keep clicking on your blog link hoping to see the next entry and still nothing! Get to work, girl!

People always ask me where the pictures of me are when I show them the photos I take on trips. I tell them I am in every picture; I am the one on the other side of the lens. It never occurs to me to take pictures of myself, and it would involve handing my camera to somebody else. If somebody else is taking pictures, I end up in them sometimes.

I'm really happy to read your blog, passionfruit, and to hear you had a great time after all your concerns.

Looking forward to following your week.

<<StCirq, That just seems really strange to me unless you suffer from some kind of self esteem or dysmorphia issue.>>

What strikes me as really strange is people who want photos of themselves posing in front of every landmark they visit. I'm not there to have photos snapped - I'm there for the historical or cultural hit. As for dysmorphia, feel free to take a look at my Profile pic. I don't have any body issues. And I certainly don't lack self-esteem LOL! Aren't you the person who started the silly overweight in Europe thread? Seems to be an issue in your tribe, not mine.

Come on PFD, we await the next installment!

I'm not lying, and it's annoying that I keep having to assure that I'm not. I took pictures of beautiful sights and buildings, not of me. My mom was upset I didn't take pictures of myself, but oh well.
I went to see Paris, not to snap photographs of myself as proof that I was there.

People who want to see photos of you in Paris, other than your Mom, are just being nosey. Don't let it annoy you.

Glad you had a wonderful trip.

God, get over it...she isn't going to post pictures of herself. Move on or stop reading.

She coulda gone with my husband who is awful about taking pictures of me. On some trips you would hardly know I was there.

just read your blog...
love your excitment for Paris.
I share that love...

first time I went to France I felt like I was home.

Who cares about the pics, but at PFD's age, I admit I took many of myself enjoying Paris. After I hit around 30, I didn't care as much about being in the photos. Then when I got married, of course I wanted a few snaps of my husband and myself in certain places we found and loved.

I guess it's just a matter of preference, although I am surprised, as a young girl, PFD didn't even take one. Oh, PFD, your poor mama! I'm taking our teen girls to Paris in a few months and you bet I'm going to have photos of them in Paris!

"That just seems really strange to me "

Not strange at all. (and looking at the responses it appears more folks don't stick themselves in their pictures than do) I also have next to no travel photos of myself. I've taken 75,000 to 100,000 photos in Europe and another maybe 25,000 in the States over the last 35+ years and can count the shots of me on maybe 2 hands.

pfd: Really enjoying your blog.

She coulda gone with my husband who is awful about taking pictures of me. On some trips you would hardly know I was there.>>

denisea - are you sure you're not married to my DH? he's just the same. AND he hides from the camera too so I have to snap him when he's not looking.

keep it coming, pfd.

Your enthusiasm is infectious pfd! Hope to read more soon

great trip report. it's hard NOT to have a soft spot for Paris.

Glad to know I am in good company, annhig!

Waiting for more.

Paris is...Paris, which is why it's wonderful...I have been traveling to France for 20 years and never get tired of Paris, or France

Second entry is up!

Great second entry. Sorry about the boots. There is a fine line between fashion and function.
And I really like your pictures. They are real pictures, as though we are there with you. Not overly pretty, but real, if you get what I mean. Very nice.

Ne pas toucher.

OMG I LOL'd. Good job with the blog. Sorry about the boots. They really do look as if they'd be comfortable.

Thanks ao much! I'm glad you enjoy the photos.
Yeah, those boots killed.

At least that's one mistake you'll never make again.

Enjoying your blog.

Hope you ditched the boots!

Very impressed with how much walking and museum-going you did with your feet killing you.

You have some very nice photos too.

My feet were numb at the end of the day and when I woke up in the morning. It was actually the worst.

I looked over my blog and I made so many mistakes. Typos and oops. I apologize for that.

Don't worry about mistakes, your enthusiasm far outweighs mistakes, but holy crap get rid of those uncomfortable boots!

I love your photos! I was in Paris for the first time this past summer, and absolutely love it!!! But you must wear very comfortable shoes. I am a lot older than you (in my 60's), and we walked EVERYWHERE!! I wore very comfortable sneakers with good support, or very comfortable sandals with backs & straps for good support.

Looking forward to more. What was your favorite part of Paris, such as museum or neighborhood? By the way, I loved the Orsay, too, more than I expected.

Really enjoying your very fun blog PFD! Keep going.
I also laughed out loud at your man from the wrong side of the tracks.

I feel your pain about the boots, I took what I thought was a very comfy pair to Paris once and my feet just gave it up in the Louvre, horrible pain, I could barely limp outside to leave. Something to do with those marble floors.

Thanks! Its hard to pick my favorite place, I thought all of Paris was beautiful!!

I can't seem to locate youe blog..directions please!!

Go to the bottom of the first post on this thread and click on the link.

So glad your trip was such a success and that you got to see the Eiffel Tower flashing its lights on your very first night in Paris. I love your enthusiasm and love of Paris. I, too, look forward to your next installment.

I hope you can get dual citizenship based on your father's birth in France. That opens many opportunities to you.

great report and great photos. I am pretty impressed with the quality of your phone camera.

This would want me to travel to Paris this year! Better start double-saving for a great vacation!

Hi...

Enjoyed your blog, and I'm happy you had a great time...who couldn't in Paris? The adjective I most use when I describe my feelings about Paris is, "magical."

Next time, you'll know better than to wear new shoes on a trip that involves lots of walking.

SS

We want more. Yes, you did a great job capturing the wonder of the first visit to Paris. Your enthusiasm is infectious.

I'm also a hater of the metro "musicians" unfortunately for you PFD - I have to get up at 6am for work every day and so by the time I'm on my way home at 6pm, having busted a gut, I don't take too kindly to being treated to this noise and then, on top of that, effectively being asked for money for nothing.

I am enjoying your blog though! I also remember the wonder of my first visit (I was 18). Out of interest, though, why haven't you enabled comments on the blog itself? Or am I just unable to see where you've done this?

Your cousin seems very hard to impress (or is this "mangeable"/"buvable" business just a running joke between you?)!

Looking forward to reading the next instalment

We leave for Paris on Feb 1st so I am loving your posts, just the thing to get me into the mood.

By the way I love the boots I have that pair myself, and before you give up on them try a Dr. Schols gel insert, that makes all the difference in the world because it's not the heal but the lack of cushion in the boot itself that caused me to wince after the first mile. I can now walk in those boots all day. though admittedly I haven't tried it on cobblestones.

Keep the blog coming it's great.

Wait my comments are disabled?? Haha, I was wondering why I wasnt getting any comments.
The mangeable/buvable are actual things! She didnt like the food while we were there.

I'll look into getting the inserts for my boots!

She didn't like the food in Paris?????

No she didn't.

Fantastic photos! With your phone??? If so, thinking I will leave my camera home next trip! Thanks for the links to various places too. Keep up the good work!

what kind of food does your cousin like to eat at home? It is hard to imagine not liking the food in Paris!

Yeah it's my phone! Im really quite pleased with them too.
She's really into pasta and coca cola. She ordered pasta quite a few times while there and Coca cola pretty much with every meal.

PFD: You are so enthusiastic and your blog has the wonderful immediacy of a first impression. It makes for a great story - looking forward to more!

So, my laptop is broken. Not too sure when I will be posting my next entry. Im really sorry

Hmmmmmm

Your cousin sounds like my sister. We ate at every Italian restaurant in Paris. One we actual ate at twice. One night we were looking at another Italian menu and I had to put my foot down. I told her that I would eat there but it would be the last Italian meal we would have. We ate at the French place across the street.

>>So, my laptop is broken. Not too sure when I will be posting my next entry. Im really sorry

Womp womp..

Okay. I'm aiming for later today, my next entry. Sorry for the delay, but I had to face unforeseen, expensive circumstances -_-

That's OK - gives me time to catch up (busy season as work).

Nice blog! I liked the pictures from Montparnasse, even if they weren't taken with the fancy setting.

I'm so glad Paris was everything you imagined. Look forward to more...

It took a while, but it's up!!

http://derriereunkleenex.wordpress.com/2013/01/28/passionnement/

I'm so glad that you kept soldiering on in spite of your cousin.

Wow! Thanks so much for your latest entry. First, I was so glad to read that you replaced your boots. Then, I was wowed by your pictures of St. Denis and of Notre Dame. I’m glad you got to St. Denis. I loved seeing all those sarcophagi with the sculptures of the royalty buried within as well as the church itself.

Also, I had my first Cafe Gourmand at a cafe on the plaza in front of Saint Denis, which was a great treat: a little chocolate cake with a molten center and a little bowl of whipped cream, a little creme brulee, and a little tiramisu together with an espresso.

Thanks so much for reading!
Yes replacing those boots was the best decision of my life! And thanks for enjoying my pictures! Notre Dame and Saint Denis were absolutely gorgeous and I'm so glad I went!
That dessert sounds delicious!

Love it! Your pictures are great, and I'm so glad you went to St.-Denis despite it being a "worker's area," whatever that means. The cousin sounds insufferable, but good for you for not letting it dampen your enthusiasm.

Thanks! Im glad you enjoyed it. I was always going to go to St. Denis haha and I loved it. I just found it funny that my dad asks me not to go right before I leave, and it ends up being really enjoyable.

I'm so sorry! I was in such a hurry to post this that I forgot to share some interesting anecdotes about New year's, like the drunken mess I encountered on the metro.
I think I'll include it in the next entry!

You bought your replacement boots early in the morning but didn't change into them until back at the hotel that afternoon? You actually carried "sweet relief" in the shopping bag while your feet still hurt?

I don't understand why you didn't wear them out of the shoe store and carry the bad boots?
But I'm glad you had such a wonderful, memorable visit!

I thought I satisfied my lust for Paris last summer for a couple of years but now you are making me want to go there again. Now!

...I don't understand why I didn't change them either. I don't know, I guess it never occurred to me, or maybe I enjoy pain?
I wasn't thinking obviously.

Haha! It is beautiful, I don't think I'll ever be satisfied of it!

i like how your trip report features FOOD!

But it is just mangeable<i/> according to certain people.

That is funny about carrying the boots. It did not register when I ready the blog.

On our trip, our travel companion had to buy a pair of comfortable shoes because she had a stress fracture in her foot (from wearing sandals for 5 days of walking). The sales lady did not even ask if she wanted to wear them out. She just wrapped up her sandals.

Looking forward to you next installment.

Okay, passionfruit, let's hear about the drunks on the metro on NYE.

Eagerly awaiting your next installment!

I've had problems reading your blog -- not sure if it is my browser or what but it just takes forever to load. So I've only really read the first entry but I've been following everyone's comments on this thread and have been sort of able to keep up. Enjoying what I do get . . .

The mess in the metro is something that happens every New Year's Eve. If you need to take the metro that night or early the next morning, it is something you have to brace yourself for, just like the people passed out on the trains riding back and forth. Quite a sad way to "celebrate" but I figure it is useful if being in that condition once is enough to teach them never to do it again. Yes, wishful thinking...

I would like to say that I am kind of happy that PFD has abandoned us. It indicates that she is a healthy normal young person who has priorities that do not include throwing crumbs to internet forum fanatics who have nothing better to do than lick every detail off their screen.

More power to you, PassionFruitDrink37, even though you sort of raped us for information before your trip. You had valid reasons.

Haha, I will be posting the next entry. But not now. Sorry, midterms.

kerouac - i'd rather be raped by PFD37 than wooed by Dobby.

PFD37...

Glad you enjoyed St Denis - one of our favorite places -- to me it is more mystical than Notre Dame.

One of our visits about 4 years ago, we walked around to the back side of the block facing the basilica with all the touristy restaurants ...and found a tiny joint that had some grilled chicken in a really tasty sauce with frites and a drink for about 6 Euros.

If that's what was meant by a "workers area," then I say, "Bravo to the workers."

SS

I tried to be gentle....

So glad you enjoyed your stay in Paris!
One thing that stuck with me after our visit is: TOO MANY FREAKING STAIRS! Stairs everywhere you go. No wonder French people are in such a good shape
Wow, you actually had the energy to go out in the evening! How did you do it?

Where's the rest?

I think she abandoned us. Like a one-night stand.