My husband and I spent 13 gorgeous days on a trip to Paris, the Loire Valley and Burgundy. Our trip took place September 21 through October 3. This trip report will give some of the highlights of sites we visited, hotels, restaurants, and any tips that I think are worthwhile for sharing. This was our 4th trip to Europe within the last seven years, having traveled to Italy twice and to France once previously. We love traveling to Europe and are especially interested in the food and wines as we are both fond of gourmet cooking.

I have posted an album of our photos on Shutterfly.com, but you will have to send me your e-mail address so that I can e-mail you with an “invitation” to view it. The invitation will contain the URL. Send your e-mail address to drbbbaldwin@hotmail.com, and please be patient if I do not get back to you immediately. This album is what Shutterfly calls a photo book and it contains captions and narratives laid out in book form. This is a great idea for you digital photo buffs who like to share your travel photos but aren’t especially wild about a collection of loose prints. I also was able to share this album with family far away. Sharing is free. After I laid out the photos (everything is online at shutterfly, you upload your jpg files, and position them on the pages) and typed in the captions and narrative, I was able to pick out a page background, a cover, and details like font styles, photo edge styles, etc. I choose a black leather cover and had it printed. I received the bound book within 3 days of submitting my order. Many other online photo services offer the same or similar products.

I normally start planning my next trip as soon as the last one is over. To me, the planning is almost as much fun as the trip. I do extensive research on the web (Fodor’s included) and also look at the typical guidebooks and the Michelin guides and website. I also like the Karen Brown guides for hotels. Choosing hotels and restaurants is a big part of the planning. We are not budget travelers and prefer to spend more to get what we want. I generally will look for hotels in the $200-300 per night range knowing that in Paris we will spend more. We plan on spending about $80-100 per lunch if we go to a nice restaurant and $120-200 at dinner, wine included. My husband is perfectly content to let me do all the planning, so I have free rein over what we will see, when, route to take, mode of transportation, hotel choice, restaurants choices, etc. Which is fine with me!

I make a list of want-to-sees, cull that down to 1-2 must-sees per day, arrange those by day to factor in closings, special events, and transportation logistics. I do factor in wandering-time, cafe-time, shopping-time. It's not planned minute-by-minute, but more "this is before lunch, and this is after lunch." That serves as my outline. As I read and research, I add in historical notes, architectural details not to be missed, interesting facts, suggested shopping stops, etc.

In some places I always make restaurant reservations. In cities like Paris, often for lunch and dinner. Or, for example, in the little towns, if it is a popular place with only 5 tables. We are foodies, and sampling the cuisine and wine is one of our greatest travel pleasures. I've found that if I e-mail the hotel concierge (we usually make hotel reservations 8-10 months in advance) with my proposed list and let him/her know I am open to suggestions, I will get good feedback. It is rare that we have been disappointed. I have also found that many European restaurants, both small and large, appreciate the courtesy of a reservation. Most often, we get a better table than someone who just shows up. In some cases, I merely have a list of 2 or 3 places in whatever town or neighborhood I think we will be in at lunchtime or dinnertime and we don’t make a reservation.

After all my plans are on paper (virtual paper that is), I print them out in a 4X6 format that I paste into a 240 page leather bound journal. I add some other touches like vintage charts, currency conversion, small maps of neighborhoods or towns, things I want to shop for, list of cheeses I want to try, etc. Voila! I have my own personalized guidebook plus empty pages for keeping my travel diary.

Although you may not believe it from what I’ve said so far, I have learned to be flexible. You can't plan for weather, illness, strikes, unexpected closings.

OFF TO PARIS!
Flight: Delta from Baton Rouge, LA to Atlanta and then to CDG in Paris. Uneventful. Normally I am miserable trying to sleep on one of these flights, but I tried a 3 mg Lunesta on this flight. I tried it first at home several weeks before the trip, worried that I would be groggy on waking up. But no such problem with Lunesta. I can’t say that I had a deep sleep but I did manage to have a relaxed intermittent sleep for at least five hours. Enough to make me feel rested when we arrived. I would definitely do this again on my next trip.

DAY ONE
We arrived in Paris on a Friday morning. I had made reservations on the web for a shuttle service called Airport Connection. It is 40 euros for two from CDG into the heart of Paris. I used this service before and have found it to be reliable. You call a toll free number from the baggage area and they tell you where they will meet you with the van. The web site is at http://www.netcapricorn.com/clients/airportconnection/paris-booking.htm

Hotel: Pavillon de la Reine on the Place des Vosges in the Marais. We had a superior room (405 euros per night) with a view on the inner courtyard. It was a smallish room (which is pretty standard in Paris) but it was nicely decorated, very quiet, and very comfortable. The public rooms and the front courtyard are gorgeous. The service was excellent. The Marais is a nice location, very good for walking to the 1st and 2nd arrondissements and close to the Bastille metro station. There are lots of little shops and cafes. We did not take breakfast here but found 2 cafes nearby on the square – the Café Hugo and Ma Bourgogne -- where it was easy to get morning café crème and a tartine or croissant. I would definitely go to this hotel again.

Weather: I had watched the weather carefully before our trip, and ‘reworked” my wardrobe plans since central France was warmer than normal for early Fall. Indeed, the afternoon temps were in the low 70s and gray cloudy skies threatened us with rain showers for several days. We always pack 2 very small umbrellas in the backpack that my husband carries. But this was Paris and it was beautiful.

Lunch: La Rotisserie du Beaujolais on the quai de la Tournelle. We had been here before. It is a quaint, sunny restaurant with good food. There is a fat striped cat who sits on a wine barrel right inside the door. He will inspect you as you walk in. We had a pretty table by the window so that we could watch the people go by. It was as good as we remembered. For starters, a warm leek salad topped with a piquant vinaigrette spiced with Dijon mustard and buttery, garlicky escargots with a baguette for dipping. Then a roasted chicken (you can see the chickens spinning on the big rotisserie as you eat) with buttery mashed potatoes and some truffled, scrambled eggs. Badoit and a pichet of Beaujolais of course. And for dessert, my husband could not resist the sorbet of mirabelle plums. A great relaxed lunch, two hours long (our usual). We love French three course dining -- the rituals of plates and silverware, the fact that there is always a tablecloth, linen napkins, a small vase of flowers. And attentive service by a mature waitperson who takes the job seriously. 78 euros total.

Shopping: We stopped at a great little store called L’Epicerie on the rue St Louis en l’Ile which has jams, mustards, vinegars, spices. I bought rhubabrb jams and a strawberry jam made with Bordeaux wine. We also went to BHV’s basement to check out Paris’ largest hardware selection as my husband is a hardware junkie. I bought bright pink gardening gloves -- nothing special but they are French, and I will think of Paris when I weed! We window shopped and spotted some other little shops that we went back to later.

Dinner: Aux Lyonnais, 32 rue St Marc. We walked here, a good hike past the Pompidou, the Bourse, Jardin des Halles. An Alain Ducasse bistro. A great amuse bouche consisting of herbed, garlicky fromage blanc with little toasts. We started with kir cremant, then a “pot” of a 1er cru Gevrey-Chambertin. My 28 euro menu consisted of a planche of Lyonnais charcuterie, the chef’s signature quenelles of crayfish, and a dish of fromage blanc with sugar. Excellent! My husband had a delicious wild mushroom soup, a roasted young pigeon on a bed of sweet sautéed onions and shallots. For dessert, a pain perdu with an apple-pear-apricot compote. And an unusual red dessert wine from the Chateauneuf-du-Pape. We were here for almost three hours. 144 euros. I would definitely go here again.

DAY TWO
We took the metro to Montmartre. The Abbesses station was closed due to renovation so we got off at Lamarck which is actually on the back side of the butte. Tip: use the interactive locator at www.ratp.fr to get exact metro directions from one location to another. It will give lines to use and correspondence points.

Sacre Coeur: our main stop for the morning. It was beautiful, inside and out. A mass was being said, and nuns were singing. Coming up the back of Montmartre, we did not encounter the hordes of sidewalk artists, street hawkers, etc., that one hears so many complaints about. We walked in the area and stopped at a few shops for scarves and souvenirs. You can get great scarves – 3 for 25 euros!

Lunch: A Beauvilliers, 52 rue Lamarck. A first amuse bouche of gougeres is followed by a sage, pink and white three-layered mousse of watercress, lobster and onion cream in a little shot glass. It was incredibly delicious and rich. We had tiny silver spoons to eat it with, and I felt like I was eating butter made by angels. Starters of a cold gazpacho-type soup and a layered salad of crab remoulade, matchsticks of tart green apple, and slivers of celery. Entrees were a beautifully rare duck breast with a sauce made from those exquisite yellow-red French cherries and a red wine reduction, and a braised veal shoulder, also in a red wine reduction flavored with orange peel. We drink a Bordeaux. My husband’s dessert was a delicate cookie “tube” standing upright and filled with sections of sweet red grapefruit, raspberries, and cream. I had a quenelle of ice cream decorated with minced pistachios and tiny bits of bitter chocolate. It was quiet here and no hordes of tourists. Heavy silver, linens, exquisite china. This would be a great place for a special dinner. 85 euros which I considered an excellent value for the quality of the cuisine. http://www.abeauvilliers.com/index.php

Our afternoon activity consisted of shopping, mostly in cookware and gourmet stores near the Pompidou and in the Marais. We bought dried morel mushrooms and some unusual pates in jars. Shops to look for: Comptoir de la Gastronomie, 34 rue Montmartre; A L’Olivier (olive oils) , 23 rue de Rivoli; Mariage Freres (tea), 30 rue de Bourg-Tibourg.

Dinner: Le Violon d’Ingres, 135 rue St Dominique. I had been here before in 2004 and LOVED it. And I was so looking forward to this meal. What a difference on this return trip! The decor, the menu, the service -- all significantly different. The decor seemed colder and blander, although I suppose it is intended to reflect a more casual atmosphere. The service was spotty which is unacceptable in a restaurant of this calibre - we were brought the wrong dish, we had to ask for silverware at one point, the servers seemed rushed and frenetic. I had a starter of oeufs meurette which was very good but my entree of cote de boeuf was nothing truly spectacular. It was a HUGE portion which is not a good thing in my opinion. I prefer Parisian portions and quality over quantity. My husband's rumsteak entree was also huge - again, good but not memorable. His dessert of berries and mascarpone cream ringed with a drizzle of lime-infused honey was the best dish of the night. When we finished our meal, it was pouring rain outside and the maitre d' basically pointed us in the direction of the taxi stand and left us to fend for ourselves. Our bill of 115 euros was much less expensive than on our last visit. But I would have happily paid for a repeat of my 2004 experience. I would not come here again. But it may be a different experience for first timers. http://www.leviolondingres.com/eng_home.htm

DAY THREE
Our activity of the day: Versailles and Les Grandes Eaux Musicales. Tip: If you are not going to other museums and therefore not getting a museum pass, get a “forfait loisirs” for Versailles at the St Michel Notre Dame RER station. You get the train tickets and the one-day pass to Versailles that gets you into all parts of the chateau and the gardens including Trianon, Le Hameau, etc. It is 21 euros per person. You can go into the chateau without waiting in line which is worth a sack of gold as far as I’m concerned. When we got there at 10 AM, the crowds were already huge and the line was 90 minutes long. Versailles is a great outing -- magnificent rooms, arts, architecture -- but be aware that the Hall of Mirrors is still being renovated and so is partly covered by a screen and scaffolding. http://www.chateauversailles.fr/en/ Another tip – get a room-by-room guide to the chateau before you arrive. I got two great used books with loads of color pictures, floor plans, history, etc. from amazon.com. I read them both and took one with me when we went to the chateau. They also had layouts of the gardens and grounds.

Lunch: We took a break from the chateau to walk into the village of Versailles, about a 15 minute stroll, and to Le Valmont, 20 rue au Pain. A very pretty restaurant decorated in blues and yellows. There was an amuse bouche of soupe de champignons. Starters were escargots (my husband will eat snails wherever he can get them) and a soupe de poissons served with croutons and a mustardy-colored aioli. Both were very good. Entrees were a sliced duck breast with bitter cherry sauce and a roasted rockfish with zucchini and tomato, also excellent. But my favorite was dessert, a refreshingly light grapefruit salad with a green tea sorbet and a red fruits gratin with a sabayon sauce. A very nice place to take a break from the chateau. 93 euros including a red Sancerre.

Afternoon activity: Les Grandes Eaux Musicales starts at 3:00 PM (only on Sunday). The crowd gathered on the steps leading down to the Fountain of Latona. On the stroke of three, the classical music began and all 50 fountains were in full, spectacular gush. It was a spectacle to behold. We spent most of our time in the formal gardens and did not walk out to Trianon or Le Hameau. But I would not miss the gardens on a Sunday. Highly recommended.

Dinner, our last meal in Paris: L’Ambassade d’Auvergne, 22 rue du Grenier St Lazare. The restaurant is quaint but not charming. I started with the warm lentil salad which is flavored with a vinaigrette containing mustard and bits of onion. It was the best part of the entire meal (if this sounds good to you, I just found the restaurant’s recipe at epicurious.com.) I then had the duck (well-seasoned but no sauce at all, thus a little dry) and the aligot (mashed potatoes, garlic, Cantal cheese). With every serving, there is a small show of whipping the aligot in a copper pot. We see it being done at every table. My husband's terrine of duck was followed by a "casserole" of pork and cabbage which was OK, but not remarkable. We had a good Gamay from the Auvergne with our meal. This was not an expensive restaurant (84 euros total) and it shouldn't be, given the food. If you're looking for something in this price range but regional, try Rotisserie de Beaujolais on the Left Bank, described earlier. If you're looking for Auvergne cuisine, I recommend Bath's in the 8th which is more expensive but with a higher quality. http://www.baths.fr/bath_v2_us/presentation.html I would not come back.

SUMMARY
Three glorious days in Paris. Lots of great food, good wines, beautiful sites. Weather warm and a bit drizzly at times but not enough to dampen (no pun intended) our enthusiasm. I found that on this second trip to Paris we were a bit more relaxed, having done all the required stops like the Tour Eiffel, Arc de Triomphe, Louvre, Musee d’Orsay, etc., the first time around. The Marais was a great base for our stay.

I will post Part 2 of my trip report within a few days. Next stop – the beautiful Loire Valley and the exquisite Domaine des Hauts de Loire.

Happy traveling!