A Visit to Paris ----Complete with Snow 3/4/05-3/13/05
Mar 23rd, 2005, 04:38 PM
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Feb 2003
Posts: 29
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
A Visit to Paris ----Complete with Snow 3/4/05-3/13/05
I always enjoy reading trip reports, so I will post about my recent trip and hopefully add some information for the next traveler. When I was in college, a good friend and I promised to do something "fun" when we were old and turned 50. So here we are in 2005, now 50, but not "old". We decided to go to Paris to celebrate--just the two "girls", no husbands, children or pets. I had been to Paris twice before, but it was my friend's first visit (but as she said, not her last).
We flew out of JFK and back into Boston, both flights ticketed on Delta, but flown by Air France. Flights were uneventful (thank God)and as we flew in we saw the countryside covered in white--could it be? Yes, it was snow--the first indication that the weather channel had not been mistaken, it was cold.
We landed on time, got our luggage, euros from the ATM, and a taxi into the city. Our taxi driver was wonderful. He spoke French, Italian, Portugese and German, and he apologized to us because he did not speak English!! We stumbled along with our high school French and tourist Italian. He pointed out the sites as we went by and helped us get our luggage into the hotel lobby.Cost
48 E.
We stayed at the Hotel du College de France in the 5th. It was a great location, two different metro stations near by, as well as a bus stop, cheese, wine stores, pastry shops, restaurants, etc. We each had reserved a double room(92 E) and as expected they were small, but very clean. Each room had two windows (which we kept open at all times because the rooms were very warm--we keep our houses cool in New England. In fact, I turned my radiator off during my entire stay). The bathrooms also were small, but modern and equipped with hair dryers(a nice touch, not having to fiddle with adapters) and folding shower doors. I had stayed a few years earlier at La Familia, also in the 5th, and thought the rooms there a bit nicer.
After we checked in we went out to get our metro tickets (we got a carnet to carry us through the weekend and then a carte orange on Sunday) and lunch. Right across the street from the hotel was a wonderful restaurant, Le Pre Verre and for 12E we had a wonderful black bean mousse, salmon with tomatoes and a glass of wine. Nourished and warm, we decided to take a walking tour of Montmartre. Since it was about 30 degrees with snow flurries and sleet, we were the only people who showed up for the tour and thus had a"private" tour with two tour guides--although one was in training. It was fun, but FREEZING.
For the sake of brevity, I better do just bullet point facts, or I will be writing the next War and Peace. OK, tours--Saturday at 11:30-The English speaking tour at The Musee d'Orsay and the 2:30 English speaking tour at Notre Dame. Sunday at 10 walking tour of the Marais. Monday at 10:30 walking tour of the Cite Island and 2:00 English speaking tour at the Louvre. Tuesday- train to Versilles. Wednesday- We booked a day long tour with Michael Osman and concentrated on Architecture from the Romans on up. Michael was informative and fun, and lived up to his glowing recommendations. Thursday we were up early to catch the train to Reims, but the transportation strike kept us in Paris. Friday- 11:00 English speaking tour of the Carnavalet. Saturday at 10:30 we took a walking tour of , the DaVinci Code--(Yes we did, and it was fun and informative, the guide made it-- Her name was Iris and she was wonderful.) 2:30-walking tour of the Arcades of Old Paris. We also visited the Cluny, Musee de Camondo, Musee Jacquemart Andre, Saint Chapelle, St. Etienne, St. Germain des Pres, the Eiffel Tower, rode on Les Vedettes du Pont-Neuf and shopped, shopped and shopped. It is a good thing that we are hearty New Englanders because it was cold, snowy and raw almost every day, but as you can see, the weather didn't stop us. However, since we left I noticed that Paris has been in the 60's and delightful. Oh well, the hot chocolate and cafe creme just tasted that much sweeter.
Eating- We stopped for lunch wherever it looked good and only had one so-so meal. Except for Saturday, which was to be our splurge extravaganza, we tried to stay away from super expensive restaurants. We had dinner every night at wonderful restaurants that we really enjoyed. Therefore I can enthusiastically recommend the following: Le Bistro de Breteuil (7th); Le Repaire de Cartouche (11th); Le Parc aux Cerfs (6th); Le P'tit Troquet (7th); Au Bon Accueil (7th); L'Epi Dupin (6th); La Fontaine de Mars (7th); and Le Dix Vins (15th). We made good use of our metro passes. FYI, after 11 pm the metro attractes some different characters-not violent, but homeless men who have obviously been drinking. Just be vigilant--as you would be in any big city.
If one can generalise, we found the French people to be warm, helpful and gracious. On the day of the transportation strike, a French couple were lucky enough to get one of the few taxis operating and when they saw we also hoping to get a taxi, they asked the driver to break the passenger number rule and take all four of us--and they insisted on paying for the ride. We had a wonderful birthday celebration and can't wait to go back and hit the other things on the to do list. If you have any specific questions, just ask and I will try to answer.
We flew out of JFK and back into Boston, both flights ticketed on Delta, but flown by Air France. Flights were uneventful (thank God)and as we flew in we saw the countryside covered in white--could it be? Yes, it was snow--the first indication that the weather channel had not been mistaken, it was cold.
We landed on time, got our luggage, euros from the ATM, and a taxi into the city. Our taxi driver was wonderful. He spoke French, Italian, Portugese and German, and he apologized to us because he did not speak English!! We stumbled along with our high school French and tourist Italian. He pointed out the sites as we went by and helped us get our luggage into the hotel lobby.Cost
48 E.
We stayed at the Hotel du College de France in the 5th. It was a great location, two different metro stations near by, as well as a bus stop, cheese, wine stores, pastry shops, restaurants, etc. We each had reserved a double room(92 E) and as expected they were small, but very clean. Each room had two windows (which we kept open at all times because the rooms were very warm--we keep our houses cool in New England. In fact, I turned my radiator off during my entire stay). The bathrooms also were small, but modern and equipped with hair dryers(a nice touch, not having to fiddle with adapters) and folding shower doors. I had stayed a few years earlier at La Familia, also in the 5th, and thought the rooms there a bit nicer.
After we checked in we went out to get our metro tickets (we got a carnet to carry us through the weekend and then a carte orange on Sunday) and lunch. Right across the street from the hotel was a wonderful restaurant, Le Pre Verre and for 12E we had a wonderful black bean mousse, salmon with tomatoes and a glass of wine. Nourished and warm, we decided to take a walking tour of Montmartre. Since it was about 30 degrees with snow flurries and sleet, we were the only people who showed up for the tour and thus had a"private" tour with two tour guides--although one was in training. It was fun, but FREEZING.
For the sake of brevity, I better do just bullet point facts, or I will be writing the next War and Peace. OK, tours--Saturday at 11:30-The English speaking tour at The Musee d'Orsay and the 2:30 English speaking tour at Notre Dame. Sunday at 10 walking tour of the Marais. Monday at 10:30 walking tour of the Cite Island and 2:00 English speaking tour at the Louvre. Tuesday- train to Versilles. Wednesday- We booked a day long tour with Michael Osman and concentrated on Architecture from the Romans on up. Michael was informative and fun, and lived up to his glowing recommendations. Thursday we were up early to catch the train to Reims, but the transportation strike kept us in Paris. Friday- 11:00 English speaking tour of the Carnavalet. Saturday at 10:30 we took a walking tour of , the DaVinci Code--(Yes we did, and it was fun and informative, the guide made it-- Her name was Iris and she was wonderful.) 2:30-walking tour of the Arcades of Old Paris. We also visited the Cluny, Musee de Camondo, Musee Jacquemart Andre, Saint Chapelle, St. Etienne, St. Germain des Pres, the Eiffel Tower, rode on Les Vedettes du Pont-Neuf and shopped, shopped and shopped. It is a good thing that we are hearty New Englanders because it was cold, snowy and raw almost every day, but as you can see, the weather didn't stop us. However, since we left I noticed that Paris has been in the 60's and delightful. Oh well, the hot chocolate and cafe creme just tasted that much sweeter.
Eating- We stopped for lunch wherever it looked good and only had one so-so meal. Except for Saturday, which was to be our splurge extravaganza, we tried to stay away from super expensive restaurants. We had dinner every night at wonderful restaurants that we really enjoyed. Therefore I can enthusiastically recommend the following: Le Bistro de Breteuil (7th); Le Repaire de Cartouche (11th); Le Parc aux Cerfs (6th); Le P'tit Troquet (7th); Au Bon Accueil (7th); L'Epi Dupin (6th); La Fontaine de Mars (7th); and Le Dix Vins (15th). We made good use of our metro passes. FYI, after 11 pm the metro attractes some different characters-not violent, but homeless men who have obviously been drinking. Just be vigilant--as you would be in any big city.
If one can generalise, we found the French people to be warm, helpful and gracious. On the day of the transportation strike, a French couple were lucky enough to get one of the few taxis operating and when they saw we also hoping to get a taxi, they asked the driver to break the passenger number rule and take all four of us--and they insisted on paying for the ride. We had a wonderful birthday celebration and can't wait to go back and hit the other things on the to do list. If you have any specific questions, just ask and I will try to answer.
Mar 23rd, 2005, 06:39 PM
#3
Original Poster
Join Date: Feb 2003
Posts: 29
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Thank you, we had a great time. Yes, I made dinner reservations before we left so we could enjoy the day without taking time to call restaurants. I also hate trekking restaurant to restaurant and settling anywhere because you are hungry. I also enjoy reading reviews and trying new places.
Mar 23rd, 2005, 09:49 PM
#6
Join Date: Jan 2003
Posts: 127
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
I too really enjoyed this fine report. Thank you. My wife and I really enjoy the guided English-speaking walks. How did you get info re the walks, eg Da Vinci Code; Musee d'Orsay? Were they all by Paris Walks?
Mar 23rd, 2005, 10:17 PM
#8
Join Date: Jan 2004
Posts: 25,861
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
HI Anne-
Thanks for the report. My boyfriend & I were in Paris just 1 week before you, and we also went on the guided tours of Orsay & the Louvre.
I wrote about the tours ad nauseam in my recent trip report. I would love to hear your opinions on them.
Thanks for the report. My boyfriend & I were in Paris just 1 week before you, and we also went on the guided tours of Orsay & the Louvre.
I wrote about the tours ad nauseam in my recent trip report. I would love to hear your opinions on them.
Mar 24th, 2005, 05:40 AM
#11
Original Poster
Join Date: Feb 2003
Posts: 29
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Hi everyone, I am glad to be able to share our trip and glad that the information could help other travelers.
Jim01-the tours at the Louvre and d'Orsay were given by the museums. I got on their respective web sites and printed the schedules for the days we were visiting. Both of the tours left promptly and closed after a certain number had signed up. In the d'Orsay we took the "Masterpieces of the Musee d'Orsay" which only ran until March 5, but runs again April 12 to May 7. The walking tours, other than Michael Osman, we used two companies, Paris Walking Tours---they were uniformly wonderful and they offer the ability(with prior reservations) to take one couse/walk in their short course program if they have room.The second company was Walks of Paris which we found a bit spotty, but I know they are just starting out and will get better with time.
Tod-We contacted Michael Osman in January for our March trip. His email address is [email protected]. He charges 75E for an entire day (not per person). He is a wonderful companion and knows much about alot of different aspects of Paris. I love architecture and asked him to show us one or two examples from the Roman, Medieval, Gothic, Renaissance etc. We spent alot of time in churches and he also knew much about the different saints and customs in each church. As you can tell, we had a good day together.
yk- The tour at the d'Orsay was just fantastic. The guide was knowledgeable, fun and easy to understand. We also enjoyed the Louvre tour, but had a rocky start. The guide had been a visiting professor at Stanford and really knew his stuff, but was a bit put out by the "hordes" his word, at the Louvre. As you know, you wear a headset to listen. He yelled at my friend and me because we were fumbling with our wires in the meeting room prior to the tour. When he gave us the location to meet, my friend took off like a bat out of h*** and ran right up next to him saying I don't want you to yell at me again. He broke a smile and then relayed a story of how he had been yelled at--and my friend said, "not YOOUU, never". and He actually laughed and was friendly after that. I also asked some questions about a Caravaggio and when he saw my interest he showed us a few extra things. So after the tour, I can say we really enjoyed it.
Jim01-the tours at the Louvre and d'Orsay were given by the museums. I got on their respective web sites and printed the schedules for the days we were visiting. Both of the tours left promptly and closed after a certain number had signed up. In the d'Orsay we took the "Masterpieces of the Musee d'Orsay" which only ran until March 5, but runs again April 12 to May 7. The walking tours, other than Michael Osman, we used two companies, Paris Walking Tours---they were uniformly wonderful and they offer the ability(with prior reservations) to take one couse/walk in their short course program if they have room.The second company was Walks of Paris which we found a bit spotty, but I know they are just starting out and will get better with time.
Tod-We contacted Michael Osman in January for our March trip. His email address is [email protected]. He charges 75E for an entire day (not per person). He is a wonderful companion and knows much about alot of different aspects of Paris. I love architecture and asked him to show us one or two examples from the Roman, Medieval, Gothic, Renaissance etc. We spent alot of time in churches and he also knew much about the different saints and customs in each church. As you can tell, we had a good day together.
yk- The tour at the d'Orsay was just fantastic. The guide was knowledgeable, fun and easy to understand. We also enjoyed the Louvre tour, but had a rocky start. The guide had been a visiting professor at Stanford and really knew his stuff, but was a bit put out by the "hordes" his word, at the Louvre. As you know, you wear a headset to listen. He yelled at my friend and me because we were fumbling with our wires in the meeting room prior to the tour. When he gave us the location to meet, my friend took off like a bat out of h*** and ran right up next to him saying I don't want you to yell at me again. He broke a smile and then relayed a story of how he had been yelled at--and my friend said, "not YOOUU, never". and He actually laughed and was friendly after that. I also asked some questions about a Caravaggio and when he saw my interest he showed us a few extra things. So after the tour, I can say we really enjoyed it.
Mar 24th, 2005, 06:16 AM
#14
Original Poster
Join Date: Feb 2003
Posts: 29
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Thank you for the birthday congratulations. I have to say that leaving for Paris a week after my birthday took the sting out of turning 50, or as my 14 year old said-- a half of a century.
Hi Scarlett,
I was the one with the American style scarf in the begining of the week, but figured out the "French knot" by the end of my visit. I have proof that it works--two different people starting talking to me in French when I had my "French knotted" scarf. I hope you also had a wonderful time.
Hi Scarlett,
I was the one with the American style scarf in the begining of the week, but figured out the "French knot" by the end of my visit. I have proof that it works--two different people starting talking to me in French when I had my "French knotted" scarf. I hope you also had a wonderful time.
Mar 24th, 2005, 06:25 AM
#15
Join Date: Jan 2005
Posts: 56
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
ooooh, you've piqued my interest! pray tell...what's the official "french knot"? for me, i double the scarf lengthwise, hold it outstretched behind my neck, then place it down behind my neck, slipping the two loose ends together through the "looped end" and tighten. is this it? am i looking french? i know i can't possibly SOUND french, but at least i can LOOK frenchified!
so happy you had a lovely time on your trip! i have been back from paris 10 days and still read this board compulsively for news of people's travels.
so happy you had a lovely time on your trip! i have been back from paris 10 days and still read this board compulsively for news of people's travels.
Mar 24th, 2005, 06:37 AM
#17
Join Date: Jan 2003
Posts: 8,637
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Great report, thanks
Some of your restaurants, esp L'Epi Dupin and Bistro de Breteuil, have been on my own list for a while, just haven't gotten there yet. I didn't care for La Fontaine de Mars as much as you did, but one of the factors was that we had multiple chain smokers on both sides of us, and as you know the tables are close to each other. Maybe I'll give it another chance sometime.
Hotel College de France comes up a lot here lately, it sounds appealing. I'm a little confused, you thought the rooms were nicer at the Familia, or at the College?
Some of your restaurants, esp L'Epi Dupin and Bistro de Breteuil, have been on my own list for a while, just haven't gotten there yet. I didn't care for La Fontaine de Mars as much as you did, but one of the factors was that we had multiple chain smokers on both sides of us, and as you know the tables are close to each other. Maybe I'll give it another chance sometime.
Hotel College de France comes up a lot here lately, it sounds appealing. I'm a little confused, you thought the rooms were nicer at the Familia, or at the College?
Mar 24th, 2005, 07:03 AM
#18
Original Poster
Join Date: Feb 2003
Posts: 29
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
missdaisy- that is it, plus make sure the knot is off center. I actually studied people's knots while riding the metro. I love that both men and women wear wonderful scarfs.
palette- missdaisy's description is right on, but make sure you have an extra long scarf. Good Luck!
P.S. I am talking about winter scarfs (scarves??)-not the beautiful silk scarfs that French women wear.
elaine- I did think that the rooms were nicer at La Familia. That could be because I was traveling with my husband and son so we had a triple. Also there are beautiful murals painted on the walls in the rooms at La Familia (I think they are painted by art students). Also at La Familia, the room had a small balconey and a view of Notre Dame and beautiful tiled rooftops--and a mini refrigerator in the room which College de France did not.
palette- missdaisy's description is right on, but make sure you have an extra long scarf. Good Luck!
P.S. I am talking about winter scarfs (scarves??)-not the beautiful silk scarfs that French women wear.
elaine- I did think that the rooms were nicer at La Familia. That could be because I was traveling with my husband and son so we had a triple. Also there are beautiful murals painted on the walls in the rooms at La Familia (I think they are painted by art students). Also at La Familia, the room had a small balconey and a view of Notre Dame and beautiful tiled rooftops--and a mini refrigerator in the room which College de France did not.
Mar 24th, 2005, 07:25 AM
#19
Join Date: Jan 2003
Posts: 563
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Ah ha - but the women in DC wear their scarves like this all the time - I didn't know I was passing for French on my home streets, wearing my purple "pashmina" bought from a street vendor in the Marais. LOL
