emmie119

I am so enjoying your report, gives me something to look forward to each day!

lifes2short

vanne, I too have been enjoying your report. Every installment has filled me with envy, but your story of being able to see Mireille Mathieu just put me over the top! Had 2 LPs that were much loved and well worn during my early 70's grad school days. (My other girl-singer crush of the era was Marie LaForêt, whom I got to see in a little boîte in Montréal.)

How serendipitous to find MM playing l'Olympia on one of your free evenings--so glad you enjoyed her performance. I remain more envious than ever, and ready for more of your report.

vanne

It was great to see her; Bob did not know about her, but when we talked about the highlights of our trip, the concert was one of them for both of us. I believe she's 68 now -- she started singing professionally at 18. Our seats were far enough back that we really couldn't see her face, but it was wonderful to hear that voice.

vanne

Day 10 This was the second day of our museum pass, so we headed to the Musee D’Orsay and spent a wonderful 2-½ hours enjoying this wonderful museum. It’s such a beautifully designed museum and I’m just in heaven viewing the magnificent collection -- particularly the Impressionist paintings.


We had a light lunch near the Tuileries (wish I could remember the name) and then went on to the Orangerie, which also has a magnificent collection of Impressionist paintings. To me Paris is worth the cost of the trip just to visit these two museums. I am in such awe at being able to see paintings I’ve enjoyed in books all my life -- as good as some art book reproductions are, it is nothing like seeing the painting in real life.


After our time at the Orangerie we strolled through the Tuileries, stopped in a few shops along the Rue de Rivoli and then made our way back to our apartment, stopping to pick up some pastries for our evening dessert -- a habit I was getting much too accustomed to -- diet goes right out the window in Paris.

That evening we walked along rue St. Dominique and decided to have dinner at a little Italian cafe -- okay food, but nothing special. We had thought about making our way to the Arc de Triomph, which was included in our museum pass, but I’d already had enogh walking for the day; the Arc will probably have to wait for another trip. Topped the evening off with our pastries and a pot of one of the teas we’d bought at Mariage Freres.

Lois2

nice report..thank you for sharing it...whenever I look to see what concerts are available I have never heard of whoever it is...never get as lucky as you...I would have bought those tickets really fast!

welltraveledbrit

Enjoying your report.

Next time you are at the Parc Monceau you might like to visit the Musée Nissim de Camondo which I found fascinating, or perhaps you visited on another occasion. It's a wonderful house museum with an extraordinary collection of French furniture ad decorative arts but it's the family's story that give the true insight into french society.

vanne

welltraveledbrit -- we haven't been to the Musee Nissim de Camondo, but I was familiar with it, just forgot about looking for it while we were so close; I wasn't very well organized the first week of our trip I'm afraid.

vanne

Day 11 - After spending some time at the Rodin Museum (we especially enjoy the gardens), we decided it was time to try a restaurant that we have had on our "one of these trips" list for some time: La Fermette Marbeuf (5 rue Marbeuf, metro Alma-Marceau). The main attraction is its stunning art nouveau décor. Unfortunately, since we hadn't planned ahead and made a reservation, we weren't able to be seated in the premiere seating area under the domed ceiling, but we were given a nice table in another part of the restaurant (which I would have been totally happy with if not for knowing how lovely the other area was -- I did get to see it when I went to the ladies); I definitely recommend you make reservations ahead if you decide to try it. Lunch was delicious -- Bob again had duck (I never make it at home so when in Paris we both order it quite often) and I had what they called "melting beef" which was beef cooked in red wine sauce -- very like boeuf bourginon. Both very good.

In the afternoon, we each had a museum we wanted to visit that the other didn't so Bob went to the Musee de la Marine in the Palais de Chaillot. From the photos he took, I can see that anyone who enjoys ship models, seascapes, paintings of ships, all things nautical would find this museum fascinating. I had read about the Palais Galliera, which is a fashion museum. They don't have a permanent collection; they only have temporary exhibits. I'm not a fashionista by any means, but I thought it might be enjoyable. The museum is located in a lovely Renaissance-style building. The exhibit going on through November 2 was French fashion from 1947-1957. There was already quite a long ticket line, but I assumed it would move relatively quickly. Unfortuntely this was not the case. It appeared that they were controlling how many people were admitted, which made sense when I saw the relatively small space the exhibit was displayed in. After waiting in line to get in for at least a half hour, I was kind of disappointed with the exhibit, which probably didn't take me more than a half hour to go through, as I found most of the clothes kind of drab and uninteresting. There were a few highlights --particularly a couple dresses designed by Yves Saint Laurent while he was working for Dior.

With my museum time a little shorter than anticipated I decided to search out a home goods store someone on the forum had recommended. I found it, it looked like it had some things I'd be interested in but, unfortunately it was closed for the day. It hadn't occurred to me to check open hours. Oh well. From there I headed back toward out apartment and decided to get ahead of the game and stop in the SNCF ticket office that was just a few doors away from our apartment and buy tickets for our planned train trip to Chartres the next day. I had a little time to rest at the apartment on my own as Bob thoroughly enjoyed the Marine Museum and then took some time to appreciate the view of the Eiffel Tower.

Since we'd had a big, expensive lunch, we just shared a baguette sandwich and our usual pastries for dinner that evening.

vanne

Day 12 We took the train to Chartres. It was maybe a 10 or 15 minute walk from the train station to the cathedral. The day was quite overcast -- in fact as we approached the cathedral the two steeples weren't fully visible -- so it probably wasn't the best day for viewing the stained glass, but they were beautiful nonetheless. After spending some time enjoying the stained glass we spent some time walking around town; there is quite a nice selection of shops a short walk from the cathedral. Although there were other things we had hoped to do I wasn't really up to doing a lot of walking and we confined our efforts to some light shopping and a late lunch at La Picoterie, a crepe restaurant about a block from the cathedral. We had savory crepes (the "Lozeriene" with chevre, lardons, potatoes and crème fraiche and the "Raclette" with egg, raclette cheese and ham) and a delicious cider. We hadn't read anything about it, but the restaurant looked very appealing from the street and we could see it was quite popular. There was some old fashioned red wall paper and checkered table cloths, with tables packed close together.

We didn't buy much, but enjoyed poking in a lot of shops -- we both thought the shopping area in short walking distance was attractive and we enjoyed the time we spent looking in the shops. I bought some very nice hand towels that were quite reasonably priced and very pretty. We had planned to see more of the city but decided to we would just have to come back on another trip as I was worn out.

vanne

Day 13 - Our last full day in Paris. This was one of our very best days. I of course was aware of the Opera Garnier and had passed it a number of times on previous trips, but had never thought about taking a tour. This was our last chance to take a self-guided tour; we were disappointed to see that the auditorium was again not open, but took the tour anyway. What an amazing building. Usually when you see such lavish decoration it's in a royal palace and it's intent is to glorify a monarch. It's wonderful that all this was created for the arts and the public (realizing of course that the people who attended back when it was originally built were primarily the very wealthy). One can easily imagine elegantly gowned ladies of the Belle Epoque in sparkling jewels descending the elegant staircase. The Grand Foyer is stunning, reminiscent of Versailles. We enjoyed seeing the models of stage sets and paintings of past performers. Next time we'll take one of the guided tours to learn more about the theater. As we were about ready to leave we noticed the door to one of the theater boxes on the balcony level was open and we were able to go in and see the auditorium and, most importantly, the stunning Chagall ceiling. I had been disappointed that we wouldn't be able to see it, so was absolutely thrilled to get the chance. It is just stunning; it really doesn't "fit" with any of the other art in the building but it is just magnificent. I think even those who aren't admirers of Chagall's art will admire it and the stunning chandelier. We had hoped to attend a performance while we were in Paris and it didn't work out this time, but will definitely plan ahead to do that next time.

After the tour we made our way to the Passage Jouffroy off Blvd. Hausmann to have tea and pastries at Le Valentin. I was anxious to go again and was sure Bob would love it. We will definitely make this a stop the next time we come to Paris. We bought some of the tea we enjoyed so much to take home with us.

Bob is a major chocolate lover and had been holding off buying chocolate to take home with us so after tea we went to several chocolate shops. Not being quite so obsessed with chocolate I had to bite my tongue not to say anything about all the money he was spending; particularly since he always encourages me to get myself things I admire when we travel.

We had several wonderful dinners while in Paris, but that evening at Chez Dumonet at 117 rue du Cherche-Midi was the best. First we had an amuse bouche -- a tiny cup of pumpkin soup that was just wonderful -- will have to try to find a recipe. As an appetizer we had a terrine that was delicious and followed that with a duck confit with a lovely crispy skin and wonderful roast potatoes. We were given complimentary glasses of a nice white wine. The bistro itself has old world charm, with a friendly, unstuffy atmosphere. As we observed people coming in you could tell that a number of people were regulars. I've read reviews that say the waiters aren't friendly or are inattentive, but we did not find that and had some good interaction with a couple of the servers. Portions are generous and some menu items can be ordered in a half size. One of the dishes they are known for is the bouef bourginon and I definitely considered ordering it, but we'd read a lot of good things about the duck confit and it was really delicious. We got to talking with a couple at the next table and the man offered me a taste of his bouef bourginon -- I was so full that I declined, but now wish I'd tasted it. Will have it next time -- this bistro is definitely on our must return to list.

After dinner we headed back to the apartment; this was such a great way to end our stay in Paris.

KTtravel

Terrific report. After reading your report, I want to return to Paris again very soon.

SharonG

What a lovely report. It was fun to follow along with your travels but how I envy you seeing MM. I love her and it gave me quite a shock to hear she is 68! I remember she had this lovely short haircut that I wanted as a teenager. You were so lucky.

Cathinjoetown

Just now reading.

lrock5

We leave February 27 for Paris. I wish it would hurry and get here. Sigh! Loved your report!!!!!

powhatangal

Thank you for the report-greatly enjoyed it. I love all the chocolateries in Paris and usually spend way too much buying chocolate when there!

vanne

Ending my trip report was interrupted by a trip to San Diego -- while we were in Paris my husband's uncle died and the memorial service was scheduled for late November. He was a great guy with a strong sense of family; he'd lived a good long life (91) and, though we were all sad he was no longer with us, the memorial was truly a celebration of his life, with lots of tears but also lots of laughs and good memories.
We took a few days to enjoy the city and get away from the Midwestern snow and cold.

When we couldn't find the alarm clock I was sure I'd brought with we purchased one at BHV. When we got it back to the apartment I wasn't sure it would actually wake us, as its alarm was so soft. Bob sleeps so soundly that the phone can ring right next to his head and it doesn't wake him and I wasn't sure it would wake me either. So I set it several nights running but kept waking up before it went off, so I still wasn't sure it would wake me for our cab ride to the airport at 6:30 a.m. I was extremely anxious about this. In the end, Bob said he'd just stay up all night, which was not a big sacrifice for him, since he is a major night owl and often stays up till 4 or 5 a.m. I set the alarm too just in case, but in the end Bob was still up when it went off and, with my restless mind, I woke up before the alarm again.

I waited with our luggage out on the sidewalk while Bob did some last minute checking; the cab arrived on time and we had an uneventful trip to the airport.

The taxi service we experienced while in Paris was excellent -- we took cabs 3 times and each was very professional and the cars were very comfortable and clean. Not always the case at home, where the cabs are generally beat up looking, the drivers are constantly talking on the phone, and the front seat of the cab has all sorts of trash.

If I ever do another trip report I will make a point of keeping a daily note of what we did. I didn't always get each day right; I know it doesn't matter to anyone but me, but wish I'd kept a better record.

We really liked the apartment on rue St. Dominique and will likely use Paris Vacation Apartments again in the future.
We enjoyed staying in a new neighborhood -- although we thought we'd be using the bus, we ended up mostly using the metro.

When we went through security at the airport, they checked my small carryon bag -- the one I stored all of our purchases. Unfortunately, I didn't go through the bag before we left for the airport. They ended up confiscating my jar of Maille mustard. No tragedy, but I was bummed I forgot to check. The security guy was really nice about it. I suppose we could have gone back to check the bag, but I didn't want the hassle. The security guy also pulled the long-lost travel alarm from a small side pocket of the same bag -- I know I would have slept better the whole time we were in Paris if I'd been using that reliable alarm. Whenever I'm worried about something I keep waking up.

All in all, this wasn't the trip I'd planned. Particularly the first week I was hampered by my hip pain and sometimes was feeling that this would be a disappointing trip. But in the end, for the most part we pushed through and just slowed our pace a bit. We didn't do everything we'd planned, but with highlights like the Impressionist show, Mireille Mathieu, Giverny, Malmaison, and all the wonderful restaurants we went to, topped off by our wonderful last day with the tour of Opera Garnier and our fabulous dinner at Chez Dumonet, the trip was a success and any disappointment at things we didn't get to do just means we'll have to go back to Paris soon!

Will try to get some photos posted soon.

lrock5

I'm so sorry for your loss. I really enjoyed your trip report and completely understand about not sleeping well when anxious. A few years ago we accidentally left a very nice corkscrew my husband bought in the carry on and he was so upset about it. Oh well!

lifes2short

Vanne, sending condolences for your family's loss.

I am also sorry that you experienced so much anxiety over the alarm clock issue and fear of not waking. Have you given any thought to using your cell phone as an alarm clock ? Mine happens to be an iPhone, but even older non-"smart" phones will have an alarm function. My cell has been my alarm clock at home and traveling for about 15 years.

You would have the advantage of one less item to pack/lose, and the combination ring-vibrate function provides extra insurance for waking sound sleepers. During waking hours, the alarm can be used to help organize your time for catching trains, dining reservations, etc.

I think you might find this to be a great stress-reducer. (Apologies if this suggestion was already offered and I missed it).

Thanks again for your informative and insightful report.

lrock5

Yep we use the iPhone too for everyday, not just a travel alarm.

vanne

Lifes2short and Irock 5 - My husband and I are more or less luddites when it comes to phones -- we both have very basic phones. But that's a great idea to get one that has an alarm.