sandi

Had a small budget and lots of cashed in Advantage miles and decided to &quot;go for it&quot;. Warning: This is a long post. Sorry, but I have a problem editing my travel notes. If it gets too much, just don't read it, instead of slamming me later....Here's my Paris trip report..<BR>Oct.17th- left DFW and flew non-stop to CDG. Left at 5:30pm and arrived at10:30am the following morning. The only thing to say about the flight is Ambien rules! I learned about it on this forum and took a half of one and slept for 4-5 hours on the flight. Woke up with no side effects. Slept through a crying baby that was sitting right next me. <BR>

sandi

Took a cab to the hotel, just under 40 euros. Hotel St. Germain in the 6th, 88 Rue de Bac (150.00 euros) for a double room. Fairly small but cute room w/ french doors that opened out to Rue de Bac below. People that worked there were very friendly and were earger to help, especially Wanda. We were on the 4th level of the hotel. Small but clean marble bathroom with a tub and a hand held shower device. Very narrow tub. The street can be noisy at all hours of the night. During the week, a small grocery store takes in deliveries starting at about 3am. On the weekends, people walking, talking, laughing etc..at all hours as they go down the street. It was a little annoying at times until you remembered where you were…. <BR><BR>We hit the ground running. Immediately walked to the Seine and through the Tuileries. The weather was cool and cloudy and the leaves had begun to change. Thus began our 4 day stroll. We turned and headed towards the Place de Concorde, past the obelisk and up the Champs Elysees. As we strolled, I remembered the Fodor thread about the top 100 things you must do while in Paris so I stopped and did the first one…I had my first crepe. Yummmmmm butter and sugar. I was rolled up and piping hot. We ate as we walked.<BR>(9 euros for 2 crepes and 2 bottles of water) <BR>

sandi

Walked to the Arc de Triumph and bought a 3-day Museum/Monument pass for 35 euros each. Proceeded to walk up to 200+ steps to the top for our first full glimpse of the city. It was pretty hazy but was an amazing site. We’ve all read and dreamed about this moment and here it was..Paris. Wow. We had many maps and guidebooks to study but I was still amazed on how beautiful and huge the city really is. It’s sprawling. <BR><BR>Headed back up the Champs Elysees and found a small brasserie (Le Victory) at 33 Ave Franklin D. Roosevelt and had a salad and a cheese dish. (24.50 euros for food and drinks) <BR><BR>We strolled back to “our neighborhood” and I bought a 19 euros cashmere/wool sweater and my husband bought a bottle of Bordeaux to enjoy in our room. We were exhausted but found the neighborhood lively and invigorating. I love the fact that there was a quaint store for everything. In one block, there was a florist, butcher, fish market, wine store and a butcher that specializes in horsemeat (remembered what I read about the horse head that appears over the doorway). There was also a tiny store that sold household items (soap, etc) and a small amount of fresh vegetables and fruit. <BR>

sandi

It began to rain slightly so we went up to the room. My husband had go ahead of me by several minutes and when I arrived, He had the wine uncorked and a small bag on the table. I opened the bag to find a ring box in which there was a diamond anniversary band to celebrate our 10th wedding anniversary. It was a wonderful moment and a beautiful ring. I’ll never forget that. <BR><BR>We went back on the street and walked up Blvd. St. Germain, window shopping all the way. It was early for dinner (by Paris standards) but we were tired and hungry. Went to the famous Deux Maggots for a drink and a light meal. I had quiche and my husband had a sandwich (ham &amp; cheese) and it was still 40 euros. We retired early. <BR>

sandi

Oct 18th – Got lots of rest and we’re ready to take on a full day. We began the day by going to Caf&eacute; Flores for coffee and croissants (20euros). Walked to Blvd. St. Michel past Sorbonne and the Pantheon (we’ll go back to it later) to Rue Mounffetarde in the Latin Quarter. What a fabulous area and an incredible sensory experience. It’s store after store and booth after booth of fresh fruit, vegetables, cheese stores, bakeries, chocolate stores, booths selling wine and froie gras, spices etc… it was incredible. We decided to buy some items for a picnic. We had a vendor pick out some fresh figs, bought a couple of baguettes, a creamy and an aged cheese and 2 pieces of roasted chicken. This place had a massive rotisserie set up and were cooking at least 2 dozens chickens at a time. The smell was more than we could handle. We gathered our goodies (along with the foie gras, wine and peppercorns we purchased) and walked to a small park at Place de l’Estrape where we ate a very satisfying lunch. <BR>

sandi

Walked back the way we came, and toured the Pantheon. A truly spectacular building with lovely murals and mosaics. The tombs in the lower level were very interesting as well. Walked on to the Luxembourg Gardens. So far the weather has been good to us and the park was packed with kids, dogs and couples strolling arm in arm. What a relaxing and charming park. Reminded me somewhat of Central Park where we had been just a few weeks before. The Medicis fountain, hidden in the trees, made me want to sit and stay forever….alas…up Rue Servandori to Place du St. Sulpice and then Rue de Dragon where we spotted a few interesting restaurants (French and Italian) that we’ll consider later. Walked back to the hotel to drop off all our acquired treasures. <BR><BR>Walked back to the Seine to Notre Dame. The famous stained glass windows were indeed awe-inspiring. Walking through Cathedrals was my favorite thing to do in Italy and it made me feel “at home” when I walked through Notre Dame’s doors. There was a private christening ceremony going on in the church while we were there, so the wonderful music floating though the air added to the “magical” feeling of the space. As we left, we realized that the towers had already allowed the last group up, so we hoped to go back the next day. <BR>

XXX

Great trip report! Just returned a couple of weeks ago and your report brought back memories-want to go back again!

sandi

We walked across the footbridge of Isle St. Louis where we saw the same jazz band that we had seen in the Latin Quarter earlier in the day. They were all Americans but some had lived in Paris for 30 years, working as jazz musicians. We decided to walk down the steps, off the bridge and to the water’s edge. We did this in Italy as often as possible..touch the water of whatever river that may be running through the city. My husband reached down and put his hands in the cold water, I stepped down to do the same but put my foot on an algae covered step and slipped. Fortunately, I didn’t fall completely in, but landed on the step with my rear and both feet went into the water. My long jacket covered my damp rear-end and my black pants and black shoes hid the water mark well, and it helped that it was getting dark. We were going back to the hotel to change but it was quite far, so at least it wasn’t an “emergency” situation. <BR><BR>We walked past St. Chapelle, it was closed but we wanted to look at the posters that announced the upcoming concerts. We spotted once for the next evening. Oh boy! I’m really looking forward to this. We had a snack at Le Soleil d’Or caf&eacute; to hold us for a late dinner.

sandi

Walked across Pont St. Michel and down the Rue St. Andre de Arts. The streets were alive with shoppers, cafes and people strolling all nestled in a very narrow corridor. Hundreds of people milling about, stopping to kiss or leaning against a building or railing to eat a piece of chocolate cake. The atmosphere of the street and the shops reminded me of Prague. The street turned into Rue de Buci, then Blvd. St. Germain then on to the hotel. <BR><BR>After changing for dinner (because of the Seine incident) we decided to try Le Jardin des St. Germain on Rue de Dragon (close to the corner of Blvd. St. Germain). The menu was fixed for a salad, main course and desert for 19.50 euros each. There were many choices for each category in the menu. I had a creamy French onion soup, beef bourguinonne and an “other wordly” cr&egrave;me brulee. My husband had the same except had a mozzarella and tomato salad instead of the soup. We also had a great bottle of beaujolais with the meal. The meal totaled 80 euros (add’l drinks before the meal). The restaurant had a friendly, semi-casual feel and the waiter was kind when we attempted our French. He spoke a mixture of French and English to us. We made it back to the room at 11:20 pm…we’d been walking since 8:30 am. <BR><BR>

Barb

Sandi - great report - keep it coming.

sandi

Oct. 19th – Had breakfast at the hotel, which was a nice selection of pastries, pot of coffee and fresh squeezed orange juice (11 euros each). Stepped outside to crisp-cool weather but no rain and absolutely nothing open. It’s Sunday- be aware that most shops, cafes and even pharmacies are closed on Sundays. We took the metro for the first time (Rue de Bac stop) to Pasteur the changed trains to Bier-Hakem stop for the Eiffel Tower. Note: the metro is wonderful, fairly clean and extremely efficient. Don’t be afraid to use it. <BR><BR>After reading on this forum that some of you opted to not go to the tower because of the line, we decided to try it first thing in the morning. It only took us a few minutes to get through the line and onto the elevators. It was probably about 9-9:30am when we arrived. I’m so glad we made it, and what a view. There is an area with windows that’s enclosed in case it’s very cold or raining. There are also maps that identify what you’re looking at. It costs 9.90 euros each to go to the very top. <BR><BR>

sandi

Metro to St. Chapelle to buy tickets for tonight’s concert. We decided to go to the 9:00pm concert (there was also a 7:00pm concert). It cost 25 euros each. While we were there, we toured the inside of the chapel. It is indeed small but I thought the windows were stunning and was really looking forward to being there tonight for the concert. We grabbed a quick sandwich and were off to the Rodin museum via a taxi, since it closed fairly early. The building was as stunning as some of the pieces inside. It was small enough to not be physically exhausting to go through and each room seemed very intimate. There were even some Van Gogh paintings installed on the walls by the sculpture..an added treat. The larger part of the garden was closed but you could walk through the area with “The Thinker” and “The Gates of Hell”. <BR>

sandi

Since this was the last day of our 3 day museum pass, we opted for the d’Orsay as opposed to the Louvre because we knew we didn’t have time to see both, and we were so tired. What can I say about this masterpiece of a building and its contents that haven’t been said a million times, in every language. It’s breathtaking and should not be missed. By the way, the line to get in was literally blocks long and we walked to the front of the line and got right in because we had the museum pass. Well worth every penny-just for that one occasion. <BR><BR>By this time it’s nearly 6:00pm and knowing we had a 9pm concert we decided to go rest for an hour at the hotel. After resting, we ate at a caf&eacute; close to St. Chapelle, I had onion soup and a tomato salad and my husband had steak frite (with peppercorn sauce) and a salad…well, almost. After taking our order, the waiter’s shift changed and my husband’s dinner order disappeared. We were patient for a very long time, but the concert was drawing closer..

sandi

My husband ended up having a horrible case of insomnia and was up till after 4am. I gave him an Ambien (which rules) and he finally got a few hours of sleep. <BR><BR>10-21 Last Day – Because of the insomnia situation, we got a later start. On top of that, we were just tired. We had been to NY a couple of weeks before where we’d walked 12 hours a day and now Paris. I’m not complaining, but we just realized that on our last day we needed to slow down, stroll and enjoy Paris on a slower scale. We also had to come to grips with the fact that we were not going to be able to see everything we wanted to. We did, however, take the metro to a stop near Sacre Coeur in Montmartre and wandering up the steep streets to the church. The church has stunning mosaics inside, and the views of the city are stunning as well. You guys were right about the movie Amelie making that area look clean…..it was fun to trace some of their steps in the movie though. This was the only church that we came across where you could not take pictures or video inside. <BR>

sandi

Took the Metro back to the 6th and spent the rest of the day exploring and shopping for family. Bought lavender soaps, wine, scarves etc.. We also had made reservations, through the hotel, to take the Seine boat ride in the evening. I believe this cost about 15 euros each and I think it leaves every hour. We took the 7pm Bateaux-Mouches tour which left from Pont de l’Alma. It last just over an hour and was only up and back a portion of the Seine. No smaller canals. We enjoyed it. For our last meal, we took a cab back to 8, Rue du Dragon to La Locanda Ristorante, one of the Italian restaurants we’d spotted earlier. It had an incredible menu and the charming owner came outside and convinced us that his place was the best and he had the greatest Tuscan chef working there. It was outstanding. We both had the artichoke appetizer, thinly sliced, barely saut&eacute;ed with large gratings of parmesan and olive oil drizzled on top. I had spinach and ricotta stuffed ravioli and my husband had pasta w/ the most incredible bolognase sauce and, of course, a great bottle of Chianti. Too stuffed for desert but did top it off with lemoncello. The cost was 110 euro. <BR>Back to the hotel to pack. The flight tomorrow is at 11am. <BR>

Christina

What an incredible report! I'm leaving in less than a month for Paris (we'll be spending about the same amount of time there as you did) and this made me so excited. . thank you.

sandi

10-22 Cab picked us up and deposited us at CDG, with no problems. Allow yourself enough time to get through traffic. Arrange the cab ahead of time through your hotel. Landed at DFW around 3pm. Good to be home. <BR><BR>That's it! Sorry for the length. Fodors really prevents long postings.

Alice

Thanks for taking the time to do this... I printed off so I can read it in leisure this weekend...

kavey

Wonderful<BR>Though I think the segment on the concert in Chapelle is missing?<BR>Thanks for sharing, sounds a special anniversary trip.<BR>Kavey

sandi

Thanks for catching that. I had to cut-n-paste several times to find the acceptible length that Fodors would allow and it got left out. Here's the bit about the concert:<BR><BR>My husband finally said something to the manager and it was brought out –sans peppercorn sauce and frites. Oh well… On to the concert which was Vivaldi, Haydn and St. George performed by members of l’Orchestre Les Archets de Paris. Moving and memorable. Do not miss this if possible. Worth the money and time and ended up being one of my favorite things we did.