DaveMM

FMT, Very nice work.

I have been “researching” our late April/ early May trip to France for the last year and I am reaching information overload. I scan the threads but there is very little “new” info. But your trip reports are the exception. I always learn something new and always end up laughing about something.

I loved the “kids cage.” If I were bringing my kids….as long as they were fed….I would be tempted to drop them off there. ;-)

Thanks again.

DaveMM

kerouac

I always feel so sorry for the people who think that Paris is expensive. If you go to an area like FMT has shown, it is quite economical, and the local shops and restaurants are much more 'authentic' (in terms of not being geared especially with tourists in mind). Lots of people here want to walk to the Louvre or Notre Dame or the Eiffel Tower from their hotel, but if they would just spend 15 minutes in the metro, they would see all of those places and save about 40%.

Treesa

French, thanks for highlighting the 12th. We've stayed at an apartment on Rue de France on several occasions. Pretended to be a local (without much success). Did you meet MY black swan at the Lac? Thanks again for the lovely memories.

FrenchMystiqueTours

DaveMM - Always happy to hear from you Dave. You must be reaching planning overload at this point. I'll do my best to come up with some more ideas for your upcoming trip. Thanks for your constant support.

kerouac - My 10 euro 3 course lunch proves your point.

Treesa - I have yet to see a black swan at the Lac. I've only seen white ones but I'll keep my eyes peeled from now on and if I see one I'll be sure to take a photo just for you. Thanks for reading.

CopperandJade

Once again, FMT, you’ve given us another unique and superb view of Paris! The 12th is well worth a visit as your photo essay clearly shows…the sensual Marche d’Aligre and surrounds, the Viaduct des arts, the Bois de Vincennes, Bercy, small passages, and, much more. In prior visits I have loved them all. This thread is now in my special folder for the 12th and also for Paris recommendations for those many people who are reluctant to move out of the arrondissements 1-7! As Kerouac has tirelessly suggested, the double digit arrondissements, and certainly the 12th, are much less expensive than the Paris 1-7 and are vital, alive and valuable to visit. Both FMT and Kerouac reveal this to us. Hmmm…I agree with Mrs.FMT…it would be wonderful to see a photo essay for each arrondissement, especially the less well known quartiers. Thank you!

Sue878

Love your pictures and Kerouac's also. I haven't been to Paris in 12 yr. What do you do with a DH that thinks you should only go places once.:-?

FMT & Kerouac keep up the neat pictures.

Nikki

"Here there's usually one guy standing next to a hole watching all the other guys in it working whereas back in Mass. it would be one guy working in the hole with everyone else standing around watching him."

You will not be shocked to learn that has not changed.

A great virtual romp through an area of Paris I am unlikely to visit in such depth, thank you.

FrenchMystiqueTours

CandJ- Yes, only 19 more arrondissements to cover. Gulp!

Sue878 - <<What do you do with a DH that thinks you should only go places once.>> - Show him mine and kerouac's reports! Certainly he hasn't been everywhere in France so as long as you don't bring him to the same place he can't say he's already been there!

Nikki - Indeed, I am not shocked. I promise in the future to show you many more places you will never visit.

taconictraveler

FMT - what can one say but thank you! it is such a treat to see real Paris for us ordinary people, expressed in such compelling photos. So, thank you. And please keep it up. You and Kerouac make me want to come back again and again.

Michael

For those interested in seeing some of the outer arrondissements but do not know how to organize such a tour, there is a book <u>Parcs et Jardins de Paris à pied</u> which offers 23 walks through Paris going from garden to garden. For the big gardens, like the Luxembourg, the walk is limited to the garden itself, but others, as for example <i>Des Batignolles à Monceau</i> (5 km.), become walks through the neighborhood.

FrenchMystiqueTours

taconictraveler - I suspect you are not an ordinary person. You must be extraordinary for having the courage to read my goofy reports! Merci!

taconictraveler

FMT I just went through this photo essay AGAIN and I still love it. It is just so engaging to see different parts of Paris and its environs. Too bad I was never very good on a bike.

Hope you and Kerouac are hard at work on more photo rides.

FrenchMystiqueTours

hi taconic - I saw your thread about wanting to stay in a suburb near Paris but I haven't had time to throw my two cents in. I know some people had suggested Saint-Germain-en-Laye and I think that is a good choice for a first stay outside Paris if you want to try something different. You might also consider Rueil-Malmaison. Both are on RER line A and it's easy to get to Paris in 20-30 minutes, depending on your stop. I've written a trip report about these towns called Paris's Royal and Impressionist Era Suburbs and if you search through my trip reports you'll find it. It's full of photos, as usual, and will give you a good feel for both towns, as well as some other nearby towns and all are very lovely. I bet you'd like them. I do.

In the meantime I'm in Italy at my sister and brother in-law's house in the mountains just off the Riviera in the Liguria region, where they have a farm, grow their own food and raise animals in a location with a postcard view. I know it sounds awful but I'll have to spend the next two weeks on vacation here. I'll also have to ride my bike on the promenade along the coast to nearby towns and explore centuries old villages that no one visits, in addition to walking through mountain trails, eating at the local restaurants (with the locals, of course) and sampling lots of local products. But don't worry, I've got my camera so you'll see it all when I get back. Good luck on the location search.

Mathieu

FMT, if your French photo essays weren't pleasing enough, I'm now really looking forward to your Italian one. It sounds wonderful.
I hope these two weeks won't be too difficult for you to get through !

taconictraveler

Oh, thanks, FMT - so sorry you are suffering in Italy! (wish I were)

Leely2

Great photos! Thanks very much.

FrenchMystiqueTours

Mathieu - Between the wine, food scenery, biking and hiking and maybe making a day trip or two somehow I think I'll manage to get by.

taconic - The pain is almost unbearable.

Leely2 - Thanks Leely2!