Seeing a different side of PARIS - Trip Report

Forgot to apologise for some typos and add the next 6 days are still to come..................................

Your report is far too interesting for anyone to worry about the odd typo!

A question about your hotel as the price is certainly attractive... about how much extra travel time would you guess it took out in and out from La Defense?

Thanks... and looking forward to more. ;^)

Rob

Enjoyed your report. What a terrific price for the hotel. Sorry about your fall - but sounds like it didn't hamper your walking, anyway.

Tod,

Although I'm anxious to read about the Ireland portion of your trip, I am so glad you are posting the Paris portion first!

A great read so far - keep it coming!

Gina

Great report and wonderful pix. I love the color of the Chinese restaurants at night.

Horrible to have to admit it, but I don't know how to get the titles above the pix like yours are. If it isn't too difficult and time-consuming to explain, would you please share your expertise on captioning. The only way I found to do it, was to add it as a comment, but then you have to stop and check comments on each one. Not a good "work around.,"

Looking forward to more. Thanks.

Hi Tod

Good to see your report, I am enjoying reading about all the bits I can do next time!!

It was lovely to meet you and Peter at the restaurant and thanks again for the lovely stamp.

Keep the details coming and don't worry about the typos, just get that info down on the page!!!

Schnauzer

Hi Tod,

I have been looking for your report and here it is. Not a different side of Paris but many different sides--what fun for you both. Very sorry to read that you fell but from all the walking it doesn't sound as if it was too bad.

Thanks again for the stamps! Such a kind and thoughtful thing to do--what a treasure for those of us who received them.

Great photos. Looking froward to reading where your wanderings took you next.

Great report, Tod. I'm glad you liked "La Lune."

Wouldn't it be great to live in Paris for a long time? Enjoying this report.

Forgot to say "and pictures also"-good going!

Thanks all of you! I will do my best to get this report done soon as possible - it's the selection of photos and the awfully long time it takes to load them that slows things down. Anyway...........................to continue:

ParisAmsterdam: It takes aprox. 7-10 minutes from Metro Esplanade La Defense to Charles de Gaulle Etoile. From there one can connect to other lines.

Julie: When you have loaded all the photos and are previewing your 'album' there are some choices you have to click on - Just below the photo (small) you will see the word OPTION - click that, then choose the 'add photo title' or look on the extreme left of your screen and see a window already giving you the options headed Edit Album .
Hope that helps - one more thing - when you do add a title or change photos around, you must click the SAVE or SAVE & REPLACE option or else it reverts back to the original choice.

SUNDAY 24th May

We decided this morning breakfast was going to be a couple of those talked about galettes made with grated potatoe, onions, and Comte cheese, having read a post by Cape Cod in 2008 about the organic market, or correctly named "Marche` Biologique Raspail", on Blvd Raspail.
Exiting the metro at Sevres-Babylone nearest the Hotel Lutecia we soon spotted 'our man'! There he was griddling away as fast as he could - every now & then he would have to leave his galettes to serve another customer. Soon we made our way through the throngs of shoppers holding piping hot and very cheesy galettes.
Nearing the other end we bought some cherries to complete our breakfast 'on the hoof'. It was a beautifully sunny day so was our oportunity to visit Belleville.


BELLEVILLE & MENILMONTANT:
For this walkabout I brought along my Thirza Vallois "Around and About Paris 13th-20th Arrondissements".
She suggests this walk on a Tuesday or Friday if you combine it with a plunge into present-day ethnic Paris winding up at the open-air market on Blvd de Belleville.

Taking the metro to Telegraphe as instructed we find out that this metro is not accessible at the moment. This mean't getting the metro back to Porte des Lilas, the stop before Telegraphe.
As we came out on the street I spotted a MacDonalds. It was already pretty hot, I guess around 11am now, so we went to have a drink. I am one of those tourists who has given up carrying a water-bottle around because it just adds to the weight of my purse.
I get a beer & a coke for Peter - an elderly man who looks like a person who had his whole world on a sort of pully leans over and says to me " You are lucky they served you the beer - because you have to order a meal if you drink alcohol"
"I've already eaten, I say
"It's because they can see you are a tourist they don't mind" he adds.

NOW FOR THE HILL:
Well refreshed, it's back into the sun and a slow saunter up Rue de Belleville (Not Blvd), towards Telegraphe. Along the road shop windows have displays of clay tagines and I want to buy one so desperately!
At the top we see the metro entrance all shut up. Telegraphe is not called this for nothing. Here you will find a plaque fixed to the cemetery wall showing where in Sept 1792 Claude Chappe
had chosen to test his experiment the 'telegraphe' here because of it's notible altitude (128.5m).
This would have allowed Paris to communicate with the provinces of France who were engaged in a patriotic republican war against the monarchies of Europe, but the 'sans-culottes' wrecked his brilliant invention suspecting he was communicating with the incarcerated royal family. He tried again on 25th July the following year when he sent a telegraph to Ecouen, a distance of 35.5km away.
Then followed the connection with Lille to the northern most hill in Montmartre and Strasbourg was connected with Belleville.
The cemetery we are standing next to, did not exist at the time, only opening in 1804. I took a brief peek inside the gates.

ALL DOWNHILL FROM NOW ON:
Turning into rue du Telegraphe we walk past the reservoir of Belleville until the corner of rue du Borrego & rue de la Duee.
Here she suggests going along Passage Gambetta, then rue Haxo where you will find the church of Notre-Dame-des-Otages.
Being a Sunday we skip that part (but there is a lot of history here -Communards) and turn into rue Taclet instead. This leads to a lovely leafy area called Villa Georgina (it's a special name for us) It's quiet and peaceful with creeping vines hanging onto the stonework.
Back onto rue de la Duee we continue down to Sq. de Menilmontant. Just opposite is the narrowest alley in Paris - an 0.80m wide crevasse - Passage de la Duee.

The parklike square is full of families seeking shade under a few small trees, some lying on picnic blankets. Probably most are from the enormous block of flats which looms overhead.


GET THIS:
The square was once the propery of the Saint-Simoniens with neat vegetable gardens, a magnificent orchard and lilac trees.
Briefly, in 1832 the son of a wealthy banker and alumnus of the prestigious Ecole Polytechnique (which today still trains France's topmost mathmaticians and engineers) retired, oropted out of scociety more like it, at the age of 36 with 40 of his mates after inheriting the propery from his father.
Prosper Enfantin, was inspired by the doctrine of Comte de Saint-Simon and wished to promote the notion of justice and brotherhood through a life of simplicity.
To cut a long story short, these bearded chaps dressed up in red & purple, sang songs about equality and attracted the ire of the police who did not find them at all amusing! They ended up in prison for a year and the propery put up for sale.
Once released Prosper Enfantin travelled to Egypt where he stayed for four years. Here this brilliant engineer came into his own, befriending Mehmed Ali, Viceroy of Egypt, and conceiving the plan..........to build the Suez Canal.
Sadly he did not live long enough to carry out the project but it was taken over by his disciple, de Lessops.
So there you have it.


PARC DE BELLEVILLE:
Walking out of the gate I detect we are going too far down for us to be in line with the top of Parc de Belleville. Exiting the little parc in rue de Menilmontant and turning up rue Pixerecourt I forget to follow the road over rue des Pyrenees, where two blocks further along we would have come across a provincial red-tiled roof of a one storeyed house.
It is the gatepost to a quiet side street, appropriately named rue du Retrait where, at nos.29/31 Maurice Chevalier was born on 12th Sept.1888.
Not a great mishap as at the time of writing her book, this was an empty building site waiting for another concrete tower.
Maybe it's there already?

The writer suggests turning into Rue des Pyrenees & walking up to Place Guignier, Cite` Leroy, and Villa de L'Ermitage, rue des Cascades, coming across le Regard des Messiers & le Regard de la Roquette, both of which are points of interest in the book "Unexplored Paris".
But, one can only accomplish so much on a day when the temperature is rising to a very hot 29C I believe.

So, we turn into rue de L'Est and up Pyrenees and eventually walking down rue des Envierges and seeing some of the local women hanging out washing in their windows and conversing with passersby in the street. At last arriving at a lovely rural square with a Wallace fountain, a little restaurant, and a view over all of Paris! WOW!

THERE'S A SHOW DOWN BELOW:
Standing in the shade of the building covering the outlook over the Parc de Belleville we see people setting up for a show. Soon the amphitheatre begins to fill up and a juggler comes out and gets the crowd, especially the children, enthralled in his skill of never missing a baton?juggle?
When his performance ends a man comes out in disguise but soon peels off and shows his stuff. This chap is a dancer for sure - just look at those legs, just look at those splits!

Feeling hot & tired we snag a small table and two chairs and drag then into a tiny patch of shade. At this place you go inside and get your beer and bring it out yourself.
A good hour passes as we enjoy the atmosphere of being around the locals.

SURPRISE MARKET:
Well and truly rested we take the long flight of stairs down through a lovely curved vine awning. Every now and then the steps are crossed by a narrow footpath brimming with roses.
There are shady benches along the paths but we carry on down until coming out into the open lawns.
The heat pushes us forward and we leave the lovely and enchanting Parc de Belleville.
We keeping walking straight ahead and arrive at Blvd de Belleville where the market is still going on. Traders are trying to out-shout each other with last minute bargains for the housewife.
Strolling through I find the oddest tomatoes I've ever seen.
Enormous size with ridges running from top to bottom. The stall-holder tells me they are the best - 'Very delicious'!


WHAT'S NEXT?
The afternoon has worn on and we are definitely feeling a bit footweary. We go down the metro at Belleville and decide to go back to Chinatown in the 13th. Last year Peter wanted to take a ride on a tram we saw running along a track on Blvd Massena. Funny how one tends to go back to unfinished business!
We get out at metro Porte de Choissy once again and stand waiting for the tram.
The route takes us partly over tar road and partly over a grassy area every now and then. We just loved it. So different to the noise of a bus or metro train. This is silent and glides beautifully along it's track.
We go to the end of the line, Pont du Garigliano and get back on to come all the way back.

Walking up rue de Choisy we decide 6.30pm is not too early for dinner. We head this time for Tricotin. It's a very large restaurant which boasts more than one kitchen specialising in Chinese and Vietnamese dishes.
Most of the tables are large for 6 or more people but we take one near the windows.
We wait for some time before being attended to and order drinks. We decide on our good old standby's of a beef dish and sweet 'n sour pork with a rice accompaniment.
The place is empty except for a large table of ladies and one other of a local family. We then spot a couple that was on the tram with us. We wait and now see our waiter is sitting at a table having his dinner. The manageress is also having her dinner.
The food arrives with another waiter but we have to ask for sauces and chopsticks. It's delicious but not like La Lune.
We found the waiters here don't look at you and have a very off-hand manner. We almost felt unwelcome.
Maybe because it was early, maybe they just see so many faces, maybe our waiter's shoes hurt?! Anyway, after a year of wanting to go there so badly I can honestly say it was a disappointment.

Back to the Ibis to pack - we move out Monday morning to a new hotel on the Ile de Cite.
More on that in a day or two! Here are the photos:

http://tinyurl.com/lrojwn

Fantastic report. Love the way you travel. Nothing like getting out and about on. I'll be bookmarking for my next Paris visit as Belleville is somewhere I havent ventured as yet.

Oops that should be "out and about on foot."

I've been to Paris many times, but never have visited most of these places. This trip report gives me new ideas for the next time...merci! Loved your pictures.

Want to try the tram and Belleville! Again, great report and pix.

Tod, one of the best things about your photos of the view from the Parc de Belleville is that it shows how far you can be from the Eiffel Tower and the Tour Montparnasse and still be in Paris. I bet a lot of people looking at these photos didn't even notice the Eiffel Tower!

Thanks for the nice comments - I suggest to anyone wanting to walk around in these double-digit arrondisements, that you take along a very detailed guide book.
I have the three Thirza Vallois "Around & About Paris" which not only gives you the historical lowdown but suggests a walk with a map for each area.
With something like this in hand you can pick out what you can accomplish and leave some for next time. They are paperback and very light to carry.

Another couple of "walking" suggestions are:

PARIS - History & Mystery by Peter Cain - You can find their schedule of walks on www.paris-walks.com

CITY WALKS - PARIS by Christina Henry de Tessan
This comes as cards with a map and description of each walk.
Very handy if hauling a heavy guide book is not your thing.
Just pick the cards you want for the day and step out the door!

I also have the sixth edition of:
PARIS WALKS by Sonia, Alison and Rebecca Landes.
These walks are only in the most touristy areas but do give great information at what you are looking at along the way.

At the moment I have been loading more photos and hope to carry on in a day or two.

Kerouac - Yes I think that little A shape in line with the 'cigarette lighter' shape of Tour Montparnasse might well be missed, but hope now most don't miss the distance factor.
In ancient times people walked that distance to church and back every Sunday to say Mass - icy winters too.

I want to tell you that the book "Unexplored Paris" by Rodolphe Trouilleux has a page on the Mouzaia district.
He heads the page "Quarries of America" - referring to the gypsum quarries that once were there.
Also mentions the area gets it's name Mouzaia from an area in Algeria.
I have had this book for at least 5 years and never took any notice of that page probably because of the heading and also his photograph of those long steps is not very good. If I hadn't seen your photos I wouldn't have recognised the same place.

Tod, I think you were the one to give me the History and Mystery reco - a great book, thanks! I bought it before our trip.

Wow, you shame me. I cannot believe how much you and your husband do in a day. What energy!

The most recent link to your photos doesn't work for me...

todd, thanks for a wonderful report, photos.
and views of a very differeny Paris

Thank you for your lovely photos.

I hated Place Contrascarpe. I thought it was depressing and poor. I wandered down the Rue Mouffetard and was horrified by some of the odd characters I encountered. Many obviously have never seen the inside of a shower stall for months or heard of Aqua di Parma.

I honestly don't know why Fodorites recommend walking down Rue Mouffetard. It is grim.

Thin

Sorry, tod, I was being a ding-a-ling. The link to your photos works fine.

Oh Thin, Isn't it good we're all different!
I've seen place Contrascarpe in the raw light of day - empty and deserted. When we passed through it after our GTG it was a Saturday night and ALIVE! I loved seeing the young people out having a good time. Here in our poor old filthy city they are all inside dark dingy nightclubs.
Give me Place Contrascarpe anyday!

Leely2 - Good girl!
I have a huge amount all loaded for the next episode/saga??!

Flygirl - great! it was me.

Hi Tod!

I just found this thread. Glad you enjoyed the GTG on the 23rd. I did too! Thanks again for the Mandela stamp. My grandmother would be envious of me!

Monica

Hi Tod!

I am really enjoying your wonderful report. I feel like such a slacker with regard to trip reports, especially since it seems like half the folks from the GTG have done reports, including Schnauzer, Leely2, and Monica and Paule from our other GTG. It was lovely meeting you at the GTG and my daughter and I loved the stamp! Thank you again for such a thoughtful gift.

Louisa

I shouldn't say this here, but I will mention that at Anyport, it is wonderful just to give a little snippet of a detail of a trip -- just enough to inspire a little commentary.

I'll do that.

ON THE MOVE TO ILE DE LA CITE`

MONDAY 25TH MAY - LEAVING HOTEL (49euros)IBIS

We never unpack the entire contents of our cases so it doesn't take that long to throw it all back in!
This time we were given a room on the 6th floor of the Ibis - last time was 3rd floor. I gaze out at the Monday morning rush hour traffic. The metro is packed - people look like ants walking into the tall office blocks.

We walk to the metro and stop for 15min or so to have a croissant & coffee at the little kiosk.
When the metro train comes it's nearly empty on it's trip back. We are on Line 1 which takes us directly to Hotel de Ville. We only have to drag our cases across Pont d' Arcole and the wall of Hotel Dieu De Cite` is alongside - our new home right inside a working hospital! The entrance is off Place du Parvis Notre Dame, so we have to walk around the corner.

Going up to the hospital reception desk we are directed to walk down the long corridor and take the lift B2. I ignore that and take lift B1. 6th Floor but where the hell are we? Wheres the receptionist? I leave Peter there and go through some door opposite and find a lady sitting in an office. She kindly leads me to a lift and says I must start over. I go down and (this is the part where I LOVE my cellphone)and ring Peter to come down, forgetting he has to lug two cases, his camera bag & my vanity case. We meet in the corridor again and go to Lift B2.
Entering through two enormous doors we find ourselves in a sort of holding area for gurney's. A beautiful staircase leads upwards and the two lifts are opposite.


CLEAN & CLINICAL
The reception area of the Hotel Hospitel Dieu is small but has a little table and four chairs. Off to the oneside is a kitchenette and a large fridge where guests are welcome to leave wine or a small portion of food.
We are received with a warm smile and shown how to get in and out after 10pm & how to operate the sliding skylight in our room.
We are pleased with the cleanliness factor - spotless as a hospital room should be. After all this is where patients families get a special deal if they want to be near them.
I like the twin beds as they give far more room than a standard double or queen which is too small when one is used to a kingsizebed at home.
Nice FlatronTV, but apart from the skylight, no view at all.
Peter stood on the bed to take a shot of Notre Dame Cathedral through the open skylight.

We headed off right away not unpacking a thing - the sun was out and I was itching to explore the two islands!
As we get out the lift a patient with an intravenous needle sticking out of his arm is being pushed through the door by theatre staff. A scene of green gowns and masks - and one which we will get quite used to in the next three days.
Luckily I'm not the squeemish type.

Will continue tomorrow..............

A HOT SUNNY MONDAY IN THE MIDDLE OF PARIS.

In Leonard Pitt's book "Walks through Lost Paris" he starts his chapter on Ile de la Cite` thus:
'If dirt could speak, the rush of voices coming from the earth you are standing on would tell enough stories to send you into a state of vertigo. For it was on this tiny island more than two thousand years ago that the city of Paris was born"

Passing out through the main entrance of the hospital. This looks directly at the wide open space of Place du Parvis Notre Dame, crawling with the likes of us admiring the cathedral in all it's Gothic glory. Today the Grand Old Dame of churches is washed in brilliant sunlight.
Yes, it is one of the oldest standing vestiges of medieval Paris, however most of what you see today is the work of Viollet-le-Duc dating from the 19th century only.
To really get to grips with 'how it all began' those thousands of years ago, head straight for the Crypte Archeologique just down a few steps underneath that wide expanse of concrete and stone. We have been there on two occasions and also seen the interior of Notre Dame at least three times so I am now only interested in seeing old historic buildings made famous by one person or another, strange little streets, and some off-beat quirky stuff that I've read about.

RUE CHANOINESSE
Ever since seeing a photo and reading about 'Tombstones to keep your feet dry' in the book Unexplored Paris, I have had to do this.
Turning from rue d'Arcole into rue Chanoinesse I begin the search on the sidewalk for long flagstones with traces of Gothic script, and which in fact, are tombstones from some religious establishment on Ile de la Cite. They were used for drainage keeping generations of Parisians feet dry.
Down the street and up again - nothing! I think they must have been covered up with new tar or concrete. Why oh why didn't I lug the book with me so I can see the picture!
Frustrated after three tries I give up.
Just as well. They are not in rue Chanoinesse - they are in fact in a small narrow courtyard common to several buildings but closed to view by heavy wooden doors, no.26 next to the restaurant Le Vieux Paris at no.24! This cul-de-sac used to lead through to rue des Ursins a very long time ago. Darn! Have to go back now - what a same! (Says me, secretly pleased!).

From here on we stroll down rue des Chantres, a silent narrow alley, but not before looking at no.10 opposite with it's picturesque shutters and green vegetation and the elegant 17th century mansion with beautiful wrought-iron decoration.
This was where Abelard and Eloise met.

Where rue des Chantres curves around and meets with rue des Ursins, it is particularly enchanting. There are steps leading up to Quai Aux Fleurs, a little garden with a water feature depecting two spouting lions heads pleases the eye.
Our walk along the Quai leads us to Pont St Louis and think it's a good time to stop and have a spot of early lunch at Brasserie Ile St Louis. Trying to find a table in the shade was nigh impossible but we managed to squeeze into two chairs arranged cheek-by-jowl in the French terrasse manner.
I have the onion tart with a cold beer. Peter says he doesn't feel too well and just has a coke and nibbles at the bread. Since Ireland he has been blowing his nose quite a bit and I think a bad cold has set in.

We decide to take it really slow and just stroll the island for the rest of the afternoon.
We see all the strange and wonderfully decorated balconies, doorways, drainpipes and desireable hidden courtyards where, if you have the bucks, can live in sublime comfort.
Returning to Pont Ile St Louis we hear music of a South American style with panflutes and guitars. Wanting to sit and listen awhile out of the sun we take a table at the corner restaurant on rue du Cloitre Notre Dame & Quai Aux Fleurs. It looks straight at the back of the cathedral and gardens. I think it was called the Esmeralda.
Before I take a seat I ask the waiter to direct me to the toilets so I can freshen up and that I'm gasping for a cold Leffe. As I sit down the beer is placed in front of me - what service!
Next to us is a man smoking an enormous cigar. With him a clean-cut young man having a beer. He hears our accents and starts a conversation. They are Americans and as we chat we find out the younger chap is his son and having a break from a stint in Iraq.
The son's cellphone rings and I hear him say "Yes Sir, we're at Naartray Day-m Sir" - (his Commanding Officer or some such high official, just informing him of some important happening). We say goodbye to dad & son who were such nice people and carry on walking.


A VISIT TO MY WILLOW TREE
A slow stroll through Place Lepine where all the flowers and plants are, as well as metro Cite`, takes us via Place Dauphine and down the steps to Square du Vert Galant.
Here on the tip of Ile de la Cite has always stood a large willow tree. Some years back now after stormy weather it became unsafe and started to collapse, so they cut the old tree down.
I was devastated when I found only a stump!. On each visit to Paris I used to have a photo taken next to my willow.
Next time I arrived to find a new little sapling taking hold in the exact same spot. Last year it was looking good and this time it was positively huge! Must be all that Seine water the roots are sucking up.

Peter says his ear is painful and he feels really bad.
Going back through Place Dauphine we see if we can have a 6.30 dinner at one of the restaurants but the chefs are all outside having dinner and we are told to come back later in a 'get lost, stop bothering us' manner.
We walk to Brasserie Les Deux Palais kind of opposite La Chapelle.
We are seated at a nice table outside on their terrace (not the sidewalk) and I order the roast chicken. Peter just wants a bowl of French onion soup. Before our dinner arrives we are told to get up and move to another table near the side entrance. The waiter slaps a white paper tablecloth down and re-seats us. Why? we ask. 'Because you are not having the full menu'. This is where I feel we got ripped off. Outside the blackboard is advertising the Poulet Roti with a starter of soup and a dessert for 13.50euros. I didn't want all that but got charged 11.50 just for the chicken. A can of coke was 6.50 whereas my glass of wine was 4.50. Why is coke so expensive?! The bill came to 28.50euros and we headed home.
By now the pain was excruciating and Peter said he felt as if there was a soccer match going on inside his head.
I gave hime three strong pain tablets and a double dose of anti-biotics. He went to sleep but I was very worried.
We were in a hospital and I was in a good mind to go downstairs and admit him.
Anyway, thankfully during the night he felt his pillow soaking wet but no pain. A large boil or something had burst. We felt bad when we had to show the cleaning lady how messed with blood and muck the pillows were. She was so sweet and later when we came back that night she had changed everything and laid a clean white towel over his pillow.

TUESDAY - 2ND DAY AND WET WEATHER
I was in two minds what to do about the ear. The anti-biotics were very strong and the pain had gone.
Leaving Peter in bed I walked to Ile St Louis to the pharmacy and told the pharmacist what had happened. She tried to phone an ENT specialist but there was no reply. I took the number with me to try later if need be.

Feeling much better but not great, Peter decided he could keep on taking in the sights as long as we didn't rush.
Great! We walked over to BHV to have breakfast in their cafeteria before having a good look at what they have on offer.
What a place! I think it was GraceJoan who talked about the ceramic house numbers. Well I found them down in the basement and bought some for my son's house as well.
Totally overwhelmed we went from floor to floor - never seen anything quite like this.

Dragging ourselves away we headed to rue Poncelet. It was raining and windy and very unpleasant. There wasn't much going on but it is a very nice market street. (Not open on a Monday).
Walking down Rue Laugier for what seemed ages we eventually came to L'Entredgeu, 83 rue Laugier, 17eme.
This was to become the best French food of the whole trip.
I can only describe the dishes because I could not bring myself to photograph the food in this tiny restaurant filled with locals. Doing that would have broken the spell! I would have felt like the tourist I am! Sorry.

Going for the two courses we started with hot asparagus soup.
Two deep white bowls were set down in front of us with crispy bacon at the bottom covered with a few shavings of parmesan of suchlike cheese. The waiter then arrived with a jug of pale green liquid - the soup. He pored it onto the bacon until our bowls were brimming. It was devine! Gorgeous just gorgeous.
Next the mains. I had the duck breast and Peter the lamb.
Wow - just incredible. I ordered half a bottle of red Sancerre.

http://tinyurl.com/m5w7y7

Where to next?

Still following your trip with interest. I feel bad for your husband; getting sick in Paris is no fun, but to be staying in a hospital must intensify the feeling. Hope he was able to enjoy the rest of the trip.

Thanks Nikki. There I was hobbling along after my fall and now this!

I highly recommend L'Entredgeu as a dining destination. All the staff looked family, customers were greeted with kisses on the cheek and it had a really nice atmosphere. Very small so I would think booking would be essential for dinner but we took a chance on lunch and were lucky having called in at around 12.30.
The total bill was steep at 72.00euros. Worth every penny.


BACK INTO OLD TERRITORY
Leaving the restaurant the weather was really miserable and we made plans for a picnic supper in our hotel room for that evening. I suggested we go and find that award winning Patissiere out in the 18th - only next door seeing we were in the 17th!
From metro Porte de Champerret we go to change lines at Saint-Lazare and see it is possible to get line 14 to the Olympiades. Plans soon change and we headed there first.
What a superb underground station. Modern and reminiscent of Singapore. Lets hope all stations look like this with the new upgrade.
According to The Connection newspaper (June issue), Paris is to get a 35bn euro transport network upgrade. I quote:
"Paris will stretch to the port of Le Havre thanks to a new ten-year engineering project to revitalise the capital beginning in 2012. The project will include a new TGV line and canal link, while 140km of new metro tunnels will be built around the capital".
At the moment some metro stations are looking pretty grim - don't know if anyone else found that.

THE OLYMPIADES
Kerouac featured this destination in Paris just before we left and I had it on my list of new oplaces to go.
Unfortuately when we got out of the metro the rain and wind was something else!
Not faint of heart we were swept along, even the umbrella turning inside out. The Olympiade Village was deserted and rightly so. We got to a large supermarket inside - don't ask which village - I was trying to get out of the rain! We looked around and thought maybe we would get take-away dinner here but the bakery on the corner of one of the buildings didn't have much to offer that looked fresh.

Back into the metro we eventually got out at Marx Dormoy and the weather had improved slightly. I turned and glanced over to your apartment Kerouac and waved 'Hello Kerouac!'
Around the corner into our old street, rue Torcy we notice the scaffolding is still up on Hotel Torcy. Going past a little Tabac I notice maps in the window. Dashing in I am pleased to at last get my hands on a 'Le Petit Parisien- 3 plans par arrondissement'.
I have forgotten the name & address of the patisserie we are looking for and ask the store owner if he knows where the 'prize-winning' bakery is. Dosn't know. As we continue walking an elderly gentleman catches up with us and says he knows and also tells us the baker sent president Sarkosy some of his baguettes and now sends to the palace on a regular basis. How true that is I don't know. He directs us a few yards further along into rue des Roses and there it is!
Right on the corner this attractive little bakery called L'Angelus, is doing a roaring trade even though it's late in the afternoon.
As I wait to be served, young school children are rushing in, kissing the baker and at the same time sticking their hands into the glass display counter and grabbing a baguette filled with all kinds of nice things. Gosh, there are so many they can't all be his kids - must be friends as well?!
I choose a baguette with a filling and three different pastries and we head for home.
It's only 5pm when we settle in for the night but we've done a lot today and are pretty tired. I've carted a bottle of Chablis with me all the way from Ireland because it cost so darn much, and it will be perfect with our picnic supper in front of the TV.

These photos are in no particular order as they were photgraphed over three days.

http://tinyurl.com/l9au22

I will carry on after loading more photos.................

Tod, I'm so glad I found your report, you have a very evocative writing style. It's easy to imagine you in my favorite city.

I'm also glad Ron and I had the opportunity to met you and Peter at the GTG on the 23rd. I'm sorry to hear Peter was ill but hope he was healthy for the rest of your trip. On that Tuesday of the heavy rains in Paris Ron fell going down the steps at a metro station. I guess there were too many things on his mind so he forgot to "mind his step"!!

Thank you again for the Nelson Mandela stamp set. It was such a thoughtful gift for all of us at the GTG.

I'm looking forward to reading more about your time in Paris. You are giving me some good ideas for our next visit. Deborah

Traveling along with you. Liked the slide show very much!

The weather can really screw up certain experiences -- and give you more reasons to return!

(Meanwhile I am aghast that the scaffolding is still on the Hôtel de Torcy. That's like 3 years now. My only guess is that the contractor went bankrupt.)

Tod, strange coincidence, I just went to the ENT yesterday--ear infection. Very painful, poor Peter, but I suppose staying in a hospital was reassuring.

Great pics!

what is the GTG?

Hi tod, this made my day. Again I will say how much I admire your energy and zest for life. You and Peter just go for it, however small or big. Moving all about, trying to see and experience so many things. Then, you come back and share them with all of us.

The photos are great. Glad you were prepared for the medical stuff. I always bring my bag of what ifs..

I look forward to the rest of the story.

Lovely report and I have saved L'Entredgeu, 83 rue Laugier for our fall trip. I've often looked at the Hotel dieu website and was happy to hear you were satisfied.

I can't get your last 2 picture links to open tough but will keep trying

Just a few personal replies first:

frenchwow - GTG is short for a Get To Gether. If you ever see an opportunity, do give it a try - I've done 4 now.

ggnga - Hi there! Thanks for the nice and very encouraging comments. So very much appreciated!

avalon - you will really enjoy the typical French atmosphere and the excellent food at L'Entredgeu.
For the price and position, Hotel Hospitel Dieu is terrific.
You must remember as you come and go you won't feel you are in a hotel until you get to your room. The staff are terrific - especially the breakfast maker/room cleaner ! Always smiling.

WEDNESDAY 27TH MAY - PLANNING OUR NEXT MOVE.
The sun is out but the wind is freezing. We are unsure about using the metro for our move to the next hotel tomorrow. Just too many steps and with Peter not 100% decide to give the bus a try.
Le Petit Plan Parisien comes in real handy here.
We just want to be sure the bus stops are close enough otherwise we will get a taxi.
So, we set off for 'a dry run' to the 17th. May seem like a complete waste of time but the busride in itself was very enjoyable.
It works out perfectly!

CREPES & CHURCHES
There was something on UTube ( I think) about a large creperie in Beaubourg near Centre Pompidou which served every conceivable crepe available.
We find it off Place Stravinsky. It's not quite on lunchtime yet and they are not busy. We sit outside under a nice overhead heater. I order a savoury crepe with a side salad & Peter decides on the sweet lemon & sugar crepes.
My crepe is particularly 'lacey' and I detect a hint of cheese. The little birds are intent on sharing and we have fun feeding them titbits.

Leaving Creperie Beaubourg we visit the church of St Merri next door. This is the church that has part of it's building in the hotel next door. One of the flying buttresses crosses room 9 which also has Gothic-style furnishings.

The church itself dates from 1520 which accounts for it's flambouyant Gothic style but over the years has undergone many alterations. In the Revolution it was turned into a gunpowder factory so we can be thankful it survived!
The pulpit was designed by the Stodtz brothers in the mid-18th century and is supported by a pair of carved palm trees on either side.

Last year we were unable to really see anything of Tour St Jacques because of the scaffolding, so go and have a look at the new cleaned up tower.
The carvings are beautiful in their new creamy-white appearance. There is small playground in the garden surrounding the Tour and children are enjoying themselves while nanny or maybe mom, looks on from the comfort of a park bench.
Strolling back I notice Le Bearn on the corner of Place Saint-Opportune. This little cafe/bistro/bar is mentioned in the little pocket book called 'Authentic Bistros of Paris'. It's also next door to the famous Rat Exterminator's Shop.
Formerly a butcher's shop coverted into a cafe just after WWII it has attractive immitation Art-Nouveau tiles in the entranceway and behind the old zinc bar.
We settle outside for a drink as the day has got a little warmer. Before we leave I get permission to take a few photos.

FINDING GOLDEN JOAN
Taking a bus for a few stops down Rue de Rivoli we hop off nearest the golden statue of Jeanne D'Arc standing in Place de Pyramides.
I love seeing her appear on the big overhead camera, which I think is mounted somewhere on the roof of the Hotel Regina, during the Tour de France. Her challenging stance faces the riders as they exit the tunnel of Avenue du Gl. Lemmonier, but I bet they don't notice a thing!

Walking down underneath the archways of rue de Rivoli one is launched into another onslaught of kitchy souvenir shops but oh how necessary they have become. I buy a half a dozen silky scarves for friends, an apron for my mum & myself and yet another fidge magnet.

DINNER ON THE L'ILE DE LA CITE`
Our last night on L'Ile de la Cite` and we have accomplished a lot of walking today so aren't going far for dinner.
One of the places that was up for a choice as a GTG venue was Au Bougnat. Well Monica I think this is the one you mentioned?!
So that was our choice this evening - just to see what we may have missed out on.
It's very cosy inside with shiny wooden tables all down the oneside of the room and a few towards the middle.
The Onglet was a dish I had wanted to try this trip so that was my choice. Peter just felt like a nice decent hamburger with chunky french fries.
Before our main courses the waitress very kindly placed two little glasses filled with babbaganoush?(eggplant puree`) in front of us as she lit the candles. It was delicious and I suppose while we woofed it down gave them time to prepare our dinner.
As a venue for a GTG I'm not sure. I think the atmosphere of Perraudin was perfect.

Next will be our move and experiences in the 17th with photos.

You make me want to visit Paris, tod.

Keep em coming! Very enjoyable.

Kerouac - I'll take that as a great compliment!Merci!
TDudette - Heres more................


MOVING ALONG, BUT NOT BEFORE SOAKING UP SOME CULTURE
I have a few photos ready for this part of my report so will put them here:

http://tinyurl.com/lfnbkw

The Hotel Hospitel has very kindly let us store our cases for the day. Saying goodbye to "Twiggy" who has watched our every move from above our bed ( her children were at Marlborough at the same time as the sons of friends of ours), we hand back the keys and bid farewell to the reception lady & the cleaner.
We are off to see the Cluny Museum or if you prefer, the remarkable Musee National du Moyen Age.

But wait! First I want to show Peter a building across the Seine next to the Petit Pont Cafe`.
Millions of visitors dawdle past this very special but unnoticed structure, number 39 rue de la Bucherie. I've read two slightly different versions of the name 'bucherie': One book says it's a storehouse for wood, the other says it's name comes from the medieval harbour where the logs of wood (buches) were off-loaded.`

Anyway, rue Bucherie runs parallel to Quai Montebello, past Square Rene` Viviani and Shakespeare & Co., at no.37.
The little building, number 39, is architecturally interesting for several reasons.
Built in the early 16th Century, a small two storey wooden structure, the kind that was typical about 500 years ago and can still be seen in towns like Conques, Southern France or Riquewihr in Alsace.
The building called Le Petit Chatelet once served as an inn and was hidden from sight for most of it's long history It has survived whereas almost no wooden structures in Paris have.

We look at the large dormer windows that jut out from the steep roofline and the smaller windows on the attic floor above. On the exposed righthand side of the building you can see coming out from the exterior wall, the ends of beams used in it's construction hundreds of years ago. These are the wooden joists, half of which one sometimes sees as exposed rafters in a ceiling.
Looking at the buildings left side we can see one of only three open staircases (escalier a` claire voie) left in Paris. This was the typical staircase of the 16th C., and was replaced in the 17th C., by the closed corkscrew staircases ( escalir a` vis).
So next time you are strolling past Les Bouquinistes, look across and admire ' the 'ol gal' who's seen more happenings in Paris than all of us put together!

THE CLUNY
Before going in we get a coffee at Starbucks on the corner and go and sit in the Cluny museum gardens. We did not feel like eating our baguettes at breakfast so wrapped them up and brought them along. This is such a lovely spot and we enjoy the birds as well.
I have been to this museum once many trips ago but Peter has not and I must admit this visit was far different to the one I experienced.
First of all I've done a lot more research into what I found interesting - you just can't take it all in so every other trip to Paris might be a good time to see more. They change the exhibits all the time anyway so there is always something new.

Everyone heads for The Lady and The Unicorn tapestry, and the Kings Gallery. In the latter 21 of 28 stone carved heads of The Merovingian Kings are displayed. Here again I find two conflicting reports:
One book says they turned up in 1977 during excavations underneath a bank in the 9th Arr.
The other guide book says they were found buried in a basement of an apartment house in the 17th Arr.

We spend two wonderful hours looking at the rare objects and even got treated to a rehearsal by a choir.
Leaving the museum we make for our new home, The Hotel Eldorado in the 17th.

The bus trip is a cinch and we find Rue des Dames is on a downhill slant from the bus route.
Our room is through the courtyard and in an annexe of the hotel. Up the narrow winding stairs to the first floor we are put into room 3. The room couldn't be more different to our last one at Hotel Hospitel!
Bits 'n bobs of an arty nature decorate the room. Looking out of the window we have a lovely view of the courtyard and find it's to become even lovlier once night falls.

Next- Foot Patrol into the 17th!

Glad to hear your report on Au Bougnat - yet, this was one of my choices for the GTG. I think Perraudin was perfect too!

Monica

Thanks Monica - I think it's nice for a casual dinner and would certainly seat the number of people at our GTG. It was nice having the two tables next to each other at Perraudin though. Maybe give it a try next trip?

CONTINUING THURSDAY 28th
MINGLING WITH THE LOCALS

After a quick freshen up in our new hotel, we are off down Rue Des Dames. The Hotel Eldorado is near the Avenue de Clichy end of rue des Dames and I suppose you can say at the top of the hill. We head all the way down walking towards Rue de Levis soaking up our new neighborhood.

At the bottom on a corner is one of the largest Monoprix's I've ever seen. It takes up a big chunk of the corner and is a foodstore, then it carries on over the road and houses clothes, toiletries and the like.
I dash into the foodstore first and imagine what it would be like shopping here everyday. Crossing Rue de Levis I enter the clothing section and remember to find a new shower cap. I must have left my other one behind at the Hotel Ibis and its such a nuisance trying not to get my hair wet.


RUE DE LEVIS

What a fabulous market street! It's late afternoon and there a numerous people probably making their way home with their bags of shopping. The colourful food displays are just begging to be photographed. There are sections with clothing out on rails, fabics out on the road in front of the shop, flowers and plants and far too much to absorb in one visit.

My Thirza Vallois guide on the 13th-20th Arr., reveals that Rue de Levis is one of the most ancient routes of the arrondissement, believed to date back to Roman days, when it led in a straight line to Clichy.
After the Romans left it was abandoned and not used again until Medieval times, then a dirt road winding its way through the thick forest of Rouvray which covered practically the whole area.
The interesting thing is, THIS was the road taken by Jeanne d'Arc and her army of 12,000 men in 1429 when, following the coronation of Charles VII in Reims, she headed for the gate of Saint-Honore`, hoping to take Paris.

DINNER IN AN AVEYRONNAIS BISTRO
I did a print our of a restaurant I found on the internet called Au Petit Chavignol, 78 re de Tocqueville, 17eme.
They professed to serve the 'real' Salade Rouergate.
We strolled along from rue de Levis until we found this unobtrusive little bistro with it's faded awning and chairs & tables out on the sidewalk.

http://tinyurl.com/n2qzp8

We are greeted warmly by a nice young waiter who brings us our drinks outside. While we peruse the menu he teaches us how to pronounce the word 'rouergate' - I do quite well with the pronunciation, getting the air trapped between my pallet and tongue, and trying to clear my throat at the same time as saying the word! Yeah, it's complicated!

We are seated inside for dinner and start with sharing this 'rrrrrooooorrrrrggggaaarrrttt' salade.
To be honest, I didn't see much difference between it and my Salade Boyarde at Chez Papa only this time they put a softly fried egg on top.
My main course was Cuisse Canard, which was Ok but not great.
Peter went for Filet de Dorade. It wasn't dorado as we know it but rather a softer white fish. I chose a 25cl Chateau Bibian to go with my duck - Peter a Heineken.
The total bill was 72.40 including a Kir Royale & beer on the terrace. Can't say it was memorable especially at the price.

Here are some photos
http://tinyurl.com/lrff6z

Tomorrow, our last day in Paris with a lovely walk through Square des Batignolles.

Tod, rue de Levis was my first market street and that Monoprix was my first Monoprix. I lived on rue Dulong, just two streets over, for 2 years. But I never thought of that store as a particularly large Monoprix. On your next visit, I will direct you to some really impressive ones, if you want.

Yes, I always loved rue de Levis.

Funny, people here frequently argue against moving hotels mid-trip but it seems to work very well for you and Peter. Maybe the two weeks in Ireland relaxed you sufficiently. (Trying desperately to find a reason why I'm so lazy and you're so energetic.)

Hi Kerouac & Leely2 -
About Monoprix: I see them all over Paris as do we all, but they seem to be just big enough for the immediate neighborhood. This one, I'm pretty sure, had a front and back entrance. Not sure now if that was the food store or the other, but I went in search of everything!
I think I am totally overwhelmed with shelf upon shelf of unrecognisable products. The food store was incredible - as a matter of fact thinking back now, that's where I photographed the duck breasts & cheese. Oh, if only we had that here in just ONE of my 4 big supermarket chains in my city. We have a Super SPAR, a Pick 'n Pay, A Shoprite/Checkers, and the one I shop at for most food stuffs, Woolworths.
We can get French goats cheese in various forms, but NOTHING like the little mounds they offer in the cheese shops in Paris!

Moving around is all very well Leely but I mostly started doing that when I travelled alone and met up with folks.
I seem to have perpetuated the theme somewhere along the road.
We both now feel we are ready for an apartment or just maybe two hotels?! You know what they say - they mind is willing, but the flesh is weak!'

Sorry - I did mean THE mind is willing.........

FRIDAY 29TH MAY - OUR LAST DAY IN PARIS
HOTEL ELDORADO
We spent a comfortable first night at this quirky & somewhat bohemian hotel. There are no modern touches here. The room is furnished with a mishmash of odd lamps, lights and pictures.
Hanging from the ceiling in the centre of the room is a twisty metalic lightpiece - not ununattractive I might add.
Above our beds in the centre - the only reading light. It was a cute bunch of highly coloured glass grapes but so dim you wouldn't even attempt a few lines of your travelguide.

Across the room in one corner a large old fashioned wooden wardrobe - the kind my grandmother had in her house and which I am told was brought over from Scotland by ship. In the other a little table and fancy chairs.
The wooden floorboards creaked unmercifully everytime you crossed the room. A sisal or grasslike ropey carpet was unfortunately very threadbare just where the bathroom door and the bedroom meet. In fact I thought it could become darnright dangerous and catch onto your feet if you weren't looking. Being launched into the handbasin would certainly have woken up anyone half asleep!

As I sat leaning on the windowsill watching the crowds below in the courtyard, I noticed the tie-back on the curtains was handbeaded in beautiful black glass beads. So personal were the furnishings in this room.
Across this lovely fairylike Garden of Eden was the building of the main hotel. A balcony ran along some of the building and had tables and chairs on it. This I was told is room 8 if you want your own little patio.

OFF TO THE PARC
In the morning I get up first and go downstairs to the dininroom - which also happens to be the Bistro des Dames by night, and grab a coffee. When Peter joins me, and has had a cup as well, we start off for the Square des Batignolles.
Down rue des Dames and into rue des Batignolles. This was the street of Edouard Manet throughout his career. Like Renoir, he kept his home seperated from his studio.

Straight ahead is the little white provincial church of Sainte-Marie, so called because of the bronze statue of Virgin & Child unearthed here. The church was built in 1828 but unforunately the stauette was stolen in 1888 and never found.
A new Mary now radiates down from above the alter and is particularly beautiful in rays of sunlight.
In front of the church are some cafe`s, a florist, among other buildings, surrounding this cresent with it's benches under the shady trees.

We go inside the church and are quite taken with the lovely interior. Much more beautiful than one would imagine in this simple building.
Square Batignolles is much grander than a mere Square. I rather like to call it a park.
The main pathway meanders through green lawns (untrimmed for sometime) trees and little flowerbeds.
The pond has the most beautiful ducks I've ever seen. So colourful as they attend to their feathers or just stand on the grass waiting to be captured on camera. A magnificent black swan emerges and swims into the sunlight.
We sit on a bench for a while and watch the nannies with the children. It seems they also find this a good time to catch up on the latest " nanny" gossip as the little ones enjoy themselves.

LUNCH AT AN OLD FAVOURITE
The morning has flown by and by not having had any real breakfast we are ready to make our way to a highly recommended and favourite of mine, Le Bistrot du Pentre, 116 Ave Ledru-Rollin, in the 11th.
Last year we arrived here to find it closed for renovations and were relieved to find it back in business.

Seated outside because it's such a wonderful sunny day we order my favourite Leffe beer and a coke.
Here there is no English menu. The blackboard gives the daily specials but quite frankly we are more than slightly mistified by the description of what's on offer.
With a bit of help, we finally decide. Peter will have the Lasagnes d'Aubergines and I order what I thought was lamb chops.
The food looks lovely and Peter takes a quick photo.
One bite and I know this is not lamb meat but lamb liver!
Oh well, I like that too so all is not lost.
When we pay the bill the headwaiter/manager/owner - I don't really know - does not want us to have the cashslip printout.
No, we can't have it! Then, he actually asks what we want it for?! 'For a rememberance' I tell him. Oh, in that case he'll make me a duplicate, and that's what I've got here - Duplicata Note! Never experienced something like that before.

OFF TO SEE THE CIRCUS & FIND A FRIEND
It's been years and years of longing to see the magnificent Cirque d'Hiver but never finds enough time on my long list of 'must sees' in Paris. Well now it's time!
A bus back to Bastille and we decide to go in search of another Fodorite, ggnga or Glenda. Travgina & I met her at a small GTG in 2006? & Peter & I in 2008.
I go to Passage du Chantier and have no luck there. Walking up Rue du Faubourg St Antoine we head for Okey, restaurant Italiene recommended as a good inexpensive place to eat by Glenda. I have kept the Okey business card she gave me ever we had dinner at L'Insulaire.
I find it and approach a young woman busy dusting and wiping down the surfaces. With a little English here and there I take it she does not know if Glenda is still in Paris. It was a longshot but I was guessing when someone stays in Paris for any length of time, you tend to go to the same places quite often.
On the way down again I find a shop with dishtowels stacked up on the sidewalk - they are the best I've seen in ages and even though our cases are about to split I get 12 for 10euros.

We find another couple of buses and eventually get off near rue Oberkampf.
I am more than pleased to see the beautifully maintained round building of Cirque d'Hiver. It's closed of course, but we spend a good long while admiring the decorative frescos around the walls.
I remember reading somewhere that Hemmingway would come here to box a few rounds with his friends and where young Maurice Chevalier began to dream about going on the stage. He would buy a cheap 'standing room only' ticket and after the performance go to the stage door on rue Crussol where his favourite performers would come out in ordinary street clothes. He and his friends would then follow them on foot, thrilled to be near them, until they entered a little tavern where they went to eat after their show.
Next door is the Clown Bar and we thought we may have a drink here but as we enter a middle-aged man comes over and says they are closing. We ask permission to take photos and he says 'yes, but not of this side of the room'. Well, that's the only part worth a photo ( clown drawings )so we sadly leave.

CIMETERIE DU PERE LACHAISE
What to do with this gloriously hot sunny afternoon? "Did you say you've been to Pere Lachaise"? Peter asks me.
"No, I've never been but always wanted to". - He says "C'mon let's go!"

All the advice Fodorites have given is 'start at the top, and work down'. I forget this good advice and we jump off the metro at Pere Lachaise stop.
Here to my relief is an icecream vendor with a good measure of people lining up to get something icy cold in the late afternoon heat. He is generous with his scoop - so generous in fact it's three times the size of anything offered by icecream parlours on L'Ile St Louis!
The young lady standing nearby selling maps tells us to walk down to the main entrance which will give us enough time to finish our icecreams. No eating inside the gates is permissable due to people resorting on having full-on picnics. This is disrespectful to the funerals taking place everyday, she tells us.

MAIN ENTRANCE - NOT FOR THE FAINT HEARTED
Oh dear, I realise we are in for a mountain of a climb and it's fiercly hot.
What do we want to see? We only have an hour before the cemetery closes some other visitors tell us, so it's a rush to find Abelard & Eloise ( under renovation), then Edith Piaf.
Lots more I would like to have stumbled across but after negotiating little steps leading onto terrace after terrace we pass through The Columbarium where Isadore Duncan's ashes are kept and leave this enormous place of unusual sculptures and tombs.

WHAT'S FOR DINNER?
We wander down rue des Dames after catching a bus home and decide on one last Chinese dinner.
The inviting lights of Sinotak, 39 rue des Dames, beckons us inside.
They have a set menu which gives you a bit of everything from mini sprigrolls to a main dish like boeuf aux oignons.
I get a Cotes du Rhone instead of Chines beer which Peter is having.
The food is gorgeous and we are pleased we chose to come here. The service is very friendly and we feel most welcome.
I also noted the spic 'n span interior especially the toilettes.
Time to pack - the bill comes to 42.80 and the hostess gives me two sets of chopsticks as a souvenir.

As we stroll slowly up to the Eldorado we peek in at an open cafe` window where a young girl strumming a guitar.
The Bistrot des Dames is packed as it was the night before.
We pass between the tables in the courtyard full of merry people having drinks and dinner.

The fairylights strung from tree to tree, through tall bamboo and back again give an atmosphere nearer a tropical island than somewhere in Paris.
Peter packs - I stare down out the window at the people below.
Finally, time to put the light out but I don't want to shut the windows - I want to go to sleep with the sounds of conversation interjected now and then by a high giggly laugh!

Before I fall asleep I'm already planning our next rendevous in Paris..............the city who truly has my heart.

Photos:http://tinyurl.com/ln6sow

Next: Ending our three weeks holiday with a lovely day in Munich

Tod, you remind me how much I enjoyed my two years living at Batignolles. On of my favorite things every morning was going to metro Rome, where there is a spectacular view of Sacré Coeur at the end of the boulevard.

I really liked the Batignolles neighborhood also. I stayed in an apartment there for two weeks. Totally agree about the beautiful ducks in the Square des Batignolles.

We will not, however, mention what goes on in the Square des Batignolles in the middle of the night (yes, they have to climb over the fence to do it).

Thanks for the tip on the Rome metro Kerouac! We never took a metro from there as by now we had decided buses were the mode of transport we LOVED! I will most definitely take a walk to that metro next time - maybe as soon as next year.

I'm a bit surprised by Sq Batignolles being a naughty place by night! I saw lots of evidence of the goings on in the Bois de Boulogne when I was forced to go behind a clump of bushes to spend a penny. Everything the guide books tell you is true!

Nikki - Could you be so kind as to give me the link for that apartment.

http://www.rentalapartmentparis.com/

Nikki: Thanks a ton!

THE END OF OUR FAB 8 DAYS IN PARIS
We left in the morning and took a bus to Gare de L'Est to catch the TGV to Stuttghart, changing to the ICE for our onward journey to Munich.
I have posted photos under a new heading -

MUNICH FOR A DAY - How we had the best time!

Hey tod - Really enjoyed your trip report! I am finally able to be writing my 'first visit to Paris' type report, and I am inspired by your repeat visits. I love your observations and pace.
thanks!
V

Hi tod, thank you so much for your report and for sharing your photos. I loved reading about these different areas of Paris. I wanted to get to Belleville on my trip last year but ran out of time- it's on the top of my list for next time. I'm also noting down your book recommendations. Thanks again!

Thank you both! There is much in Belleville to be explored.
We only scratched the surface.
At the moment I am halfway through a delightful little 'French romance' by an author who lives in Belleville!

CAUGHT IN THE ACT: A little addition to our departure from Paris:
We caught the 74 - Not long into the journey The INSPECTORS boarded the bus. Just ahead of us were two very early 20's something girls, laden with suitcases and whatever. I saw them jump up out of their seats and sit down immediately before I realised what was happening.
You guessed it! - they had tickets which I saw them show one of THREE inspectors but it was no use - they got fined!

This is how you cannot escape: When the bus stops ALL EXITS and ENTRANCES are beseiged by the authorities. They won't let you off unless you hand over your ticket and as these poor young things tried to do was exit apon seeing one of the inspectors then soon realised all three doors were blocked.
I have no idea of the fine but saw one of the girls handing the other some money.

I have often wondered how so many people get away without paying - it's called 'taking a chance!'

Very enjoyable report tod. Where to next?

Hey tod -
In all our journeys we were checked once - as we walked down one of the corridors between two metro stations (and we were very excited to be able to show our valid tickets!)

Why did the girls in your story get fined if they had tickets?

Canada_V - I don't know if the tickets they produced were valid or if they had not been put into the ticket machine or what was wrong with the tickets, but we were delighted to produce our Navigo cards! This was the one and only time we encountered Inspectors.

TDudette - Thanks for the thumbs-up! Next? Well, next year I have plans to go to Canada. I now have to work out the best way to do this as I am in South Africa. I do not enjoy flying within the USA so may opt to go via Paris - heck why not!!!

TDudette - Sorry I forgot to tell you that my Paris Trip Report was the end of 3+ weeks on holiday and I have now just started my Trip Report on Ireland, which came first!

I have enjoyed all of it and look forward to the Ireland report. Thanks, tod. And many thanks again for the Nelson Mandela stamps, something I truly treasure.

Expect you are glad you ended up in Paris?

Why don't you like air travel in US (just curious-I'm not wild about it either!). DH and I think that travel in France and Italy is less "fraught" than in US. Do you feel the same? Plus I'm hugely annoyed at paying extra for food so we avoid US airlines except for US Airways-they always just served nuts (har har).

Hi, I have flown US Airways to Atlanta and back about 17 years ago when they used to come to South Africa. That soon came to an end. I can see why - the plane was only a quarter full there and back. The hostesses were elderley ( 40's at least) compared to the young 20 somethings we have nowadays.

Other than that I have flown with United & AA and recall almost everytime people were overbooked and a lot of 'bumping' had to take place. Too harum-scarum for my liking and not suited to an enjoyable holiday experience.
Admittedly I have not flown to the USA for about 10 years now so maybe things are different??!

I'd say they are getting worse.

Tod, thank you for writing up such a wonderful report. I am heading to Paris for my first visit in Sept, and will definitely be back for a re-read. I loved your story about the Willow tree.

Kerouac - that's sealed it! I am going to look into flying either out of Paris or a neighbouring country like Germany or Switzerland, directly to a city in Canada. From there rail or bus connections can be made to our final destination.

rr2035 - You will Paris in September. I will be looking out for a Trip Report !

rr2035 - That was meant to be: You will enjoy Paris in September ! If I can't go in Springtime that month is my next choice.

We flew a so-called partners in the sky Delta/al Italia to Venice several years ago. Each airline had different flight numbers and one didn't have our counterpart number. DH walked the 1/4 mile between the 2 airlines' counters at least 3 times to get it straight before leaving USA.

Air France has partnered with KLM and we checked out in Paris at the old alItalia desk-it all worked out though.

Keep hoping for the Star Trek's transporter SOON! Spock, beam me to Paris!

We have what they call 'Star Alliance' Partners to S A A.
These are numerous airlines including Lufthansa, Quantas,and others. The problem is: they, that's our Star Alliance partners, refuse to upgrade your seat. I am therefore stuck with flying our local airline only!
What's the use of having "partners"? They are of no use at all.

Our lovely holiday ended on a high note:

http://tinyurl.com/mvml7q

More nice shots, tod.

I'm bookmarking this for some great ideas for Paris!

Tod has always written wonderful reports.