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Anyone else planning to go to France during the fall of 2007?

Anyone else planning to go to France during the fall of 2007?

Old Mar 15th, 2007, 01:01 PM
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Anyone else planning to go to France during the fall of 2007?

We can hardly wait.
We are arriving in Paris on Sunday, September 16 and are staying in an apartment (first time in an apartment) near Montmartre for six days.
http://tinyurl.com/35ch3g


Saturday, September 22 we pick up our car and drive to Carlux in the Dordogne for 4 weeks. In Carlux we have rented accommodation.
http://tinyurl.com/palgh


We plan to drive back to CDG up the center of the country via Puy du Dome to catch our plane on Wednesday, October 24.
What have you got planned? Accommodation chosen? Any special events? La Dame aux camélias (a ballet) is playing at Opera Garnier while we are in Paris and we might think of that. The opera, La Clemenza di Tito , is also being performed – we saw it two years ago there.
Want to share your plans?
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Old Mar 15th, 2007, 03:45 PM
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I dream of the day that I can spend a month in France, but I should probably wait until my kids are off in College, whats another 10 years. So for now we are planning a whirlwind trip(without kids), we only have 10 days. September 12-22. We have narrowed it to 4 days in Provence, My husband would like to bike Mount Ventoux. The next 2 days in Villefranche (I promised my husband I would let him drive into Italy- Last time we were in Switzerland, I would not let him because we didn't speak Italian- I've lightened up a bit now).

Back in Paris Sept. 19-22 for a short 3 and 3/4 days. Paris is the hard part, so much to do, so little time. I have two hotels booked, I will need to cancel one, I just can't decide. I have Hotel Bretonnerie in the Marais and Hotel des Deux Iles. I am a little worried because I read reviews of the Bretonnerie smelling like smoke, but it is less expensive than Hotel Des Deux Iles which is also a great location. Paris hotels were already booked in January for September.

Because we have such a small amount of time in Paris this time around, I wanted to focus on the things in the Marais that I missed last time, like the Musee Picasso, Musee Cognacq-Jay, Musee Carnavalet, Maison de Victor Hugo. They are all very close so I think I can do it, but I also need to get to the nearest Lauderee(I think the one on rue Bonaparte). The only restaurant reservation I made is for lunch at le train-bleu on Sept. 21 (The decor looks fantastic). Otherwise food wise we just wanted to stick with our favorites, but I do intend to try the couscous place you mentioned. Like I said, so much to do, so little time! Planning is fun.
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Old Mar 15th, 2007, 04:55 PM
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robjame, Your plans sound wonderful! Your trip is longer than ours but kind of similar.

My sister and I arrive CDG on the 22nd and fly to Nice early that afternoon. I know many recommend the train, but we found a $67 one-way flight and couldn't resist. Hope it's not a mistake.

We are staying for 3 nights there at the Hotel Rex, and then we rent a car for a 1-week stay in St. Remy (http://tinyurl.com/2dxk6f). I've never been to Provence before, so I'm really looking forward to this.

We leave there and drive to Beaune where we are staying one night at the Hôtel de la Paix. We didn't want to drive straight through to Paris and Beaune was about half way.

Then we drive to Paris (likely dropping the car at Orly) where we will stay for 2 weeks (http://tinyurl.com/23bfn2) in Batignolles.

We haven't made any other plans yet, but I would like to make at least one day trip from Paris and maybe take a tour or two in the city. I've been to Paris several times before, but I've never taken a tour....thought this might be the trip.

We are very excited! This will be my longest trip.
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Old Mar 15th, 2007, 05:10 PM
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My two sons and one son's girlfriend, my sister, and I will be in Paris sometimes in September. My son is proposing to his girlfriend at the top of the Eiffel Tower. He claims he thought of that before Tom Cruise. Right. Then we will be heading to Nice and Italy.

We already have our tickets to fly into Frankfurt for the International Auto Show. We're flying out of Nice-Zurich with overnight in Zurich then flight back to Dallas.

No hotel reservations made yet. I haven't even booked all hotels for our May trip yet. Gotta get on the ball.
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Old Mar 15th, 2007, 06:31 PM
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I'm so excited! We are leaving on September 27, flying into Berlin and spending 4 days there. I'm running the Berlin Marathon on the 30th.

Then on October 2nd we are taking the train to Essen, dropping some things in our previous exchange student's apartment, spending the night there and heading to Koblenz in the morning. We're renting bikes there and are taking a 3-day bike trip along the Rhein, stopping in Boppard and Oberwesel, staying at a castle in Oberwesel, and then biking to Bingen, taking the boat back to Koblenz and then the train back to Essen. We're staying 5 nights in our exchange student's apartment (How nice of him), and we will rent a car there and drive to Cologne for a day and drive to Amsterdam and spend a night there.

Then on October 10th, we're taking the Thalys train to Paris from Cologne and spending 4 nights in Paris before our flight home. I have quite a plan for Paris already. I've been for a couple of days before, but I'm taking my husband this time and another couple, our best friends. I have done all the planning and hope they will enjoy it!

I can't wait. Planning has been so much fun. I have been posting on this board, asking lots of questions. Everyone has been so helpful. I know we'll be really busy, but I hope we will have some relaxing time in between Berlin and Paris.

Enjoy your trips!!
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Old Mar 15th, 2007, 07:50 PM
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We leave US for Paris 9/10/07. Pick-up leased car a few days later, head southwest through eastern end of Loire Valley, south to Rocamadour and then Dordogne Valley area. Continue south to Lourdes before heading past Carcassonne to St. Thibéry where we have a gîte (3 story, 3 bedroom) for a week. Visit friends near St. Émilion before heading north to family in Brittany, then on to International Quimper Club Convention (faïience) in La Baule/Malicorne/Rouen before flying out CDG 10/05/07.
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Old Mar 16th, 2007, 06:21 AM
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happy - The time without the kids comes soon enough.
It sounds like you have some good plans. We had been thinking of Le Train Bleu. Do you need reservations far in advance?
Celiaanne - I wish we had stayed in an apartment in St Remy. Smart planning.
Then Beaune...I loved that place? Here are some Burgundy photos from May 2005.
http://tinyurl.com/m39xz
Our home base was Beaune. That apartment in Batignolles is the one we tried to rent but it was already taken! You will have a ball!
scatcat - We hoped to eat at Jules Verne in Eiffel Tower again but we are unsure it will be open.
CRose - what an energetic trip. You must be quite fit! Sounds great.
klondike - Quimper- are you a dealer or collector? Is the convention held at Quimper. I often thought that combining a business interest with travel would be perfect.
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Old Mar 16th, 2007, 08:22 AM
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robjame: I am not even sure if you need a reservation for le train bleu at lunch, but I was on the website and a few clicks later I had a reservation. If you or any other fodorite would like to join us there Sept. 21, I'm sure I can change the reservation, plenty of time.....

scatcat: I am wondering about the proposal, Is everyone in your group going to be there? or is he going to do this on his own? Does she have any idea? This is so exciting, you have to tell us how it turns out.

happytotravel is offline  
Old Mar 16th, 2007, 10:16 AM
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Robjame, Thanks for the link to your pictures. They're great. I see you were in Puligny-Montrachet. This is where we ended up staying in 2004 (at le hotel Puligny-Montrachet, which we loved). In fact, our original plans were to stay there for just 2 nights and then in Dijon or Beaune (can't remember) for 3 nights, but we enjoyed P-M so much we cancelled our hotel in the other town. I just loved that area. We did go to Beaune for the afternoon.

What was your favorite restaurant in Beaune? Since we have only one night, I think we will just eat somewhere in town. Unfortunately, I am not a real foodie. In fact, I'm pretty skittish as far as some foods are concerned (mostly "strange" (to me) meat and seafood). I will eat anything sweet!

I tried to make hotel/apartment reservations far enough in advance so I would have a choice. I read a very nice review on the Paris apartment (by LuckyLuc, I think it was), and it is very nice dealing with someone here in the US.

The apartment in St. Remy looked so nice and the woman (in Ireland) was also very nice to deal with that we decided on it, in spite of my determination to only go with apartments that had good fodors talk reviews!


Can't wait!
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Old Mar 16th, 2007, 11:11 AM
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We'll be in France in September also! We fly into Barcelona September 13 and travel up the coast into the Languedoc, spending a week in a gite in the Aveyron! We'll return back down into Spain for our trip home Sept. 25. Originally we planned on traveling from Barcelona to Biarritz in one trip, but there is so very much to see that we've divided it up, doing half the trip in May and the other half in September!
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Old Mar 16th, 2007, 11:53 AM
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happytotravel:

We will all be there for the proposal. No, the girlfriend has no idea. He bought a beautiful ring and she doesn't know that either. Although she had seen this ring and told him about it. He laughed and told her to lower her expectations a few notches. She will definately be happy.
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Old Mar 16th, 2007, 12:01 PM
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I could probably be convinced to make a swing by Paris and the Dordogne, but have no specific plans at the moment.
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Old Mar 16th, 2007, 02:26 PM
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Wow! A lot of you have great trips planned.

My husband and I are also planning to go to France in September '07.

Have you purchased your tickets yet? We have not bought ours for Atlanta to Paris. I am wondering if the fares may go down some, later this spring.

Any advice is appreciated.
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Old Mar 16th, 2007, 02:59 PM
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My husband and I too are planning a trip to France in sept '07. I have not booked anything yet. Hoping that plane tickets will go down a tad.

We are hoping to do 3 days in Paris then renting a car and heading down to the Loire valley for 2 days, then on to Dordogne for another 2 days ending in Provence for 5 days and flying out of Nice.

I have been "planning" this for the past few months. I am really hoping it'll work out.
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Old Mar 16th, 2007, 04:42 PM
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We’ll fly to Paris on 8/10, check into the Hotel Vivienne and have dinner that evening at La Chope de la Mairie, next day brunch at the Jacquemart Andre. Dinners at Le Vaudeville. One lunch on the terrace at Les Jardins de Bagatelle. Recuperative time at our favorite parks. Travel by city bus.

After three nights there, we’ll pick up our rental car on the Avenue d’Italie, pop in a CD, and drive down to Bléré; first picnic lunch at the park by the Cher. Three nights at Cheval Blanc. One excursion to Vendome, afternoons at the pool. Hopefully the weather will cooperate.

Then it’s off to Dijon for four nights, with an overnight stop near Courteney on the way. Dinner invitation to Coco. After that we’ll head to a hotel in the mountains above Lake Annecy [les Tressoms] for a couple of nights, then three nights in our favorite little hotel in Yvoire, the Hotel Restaurant du Port; the house specialty every night at dinner. Relaxing cruises on the lake.

Dropping the car at the Geneva airport, we’ll fly to Vienna. Then trains to Salzburg, Verona and Torino and back to Paris for one night before flying home.

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Old Mar 16th, 2007, 04:46 PM
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We fly into CDG on Sept. 8--pick up a leased car and drive to Beaune. Then on to Milan where we pick up friends and travel to Assisi for two days. A drive to the Amalfi coast for seven days (based in Praiano).

Back north where our friends fly home from Milan and we spend three days in Venice. Drive to the Lake District for a couple of days. Then to Neiderreid where we spend twelve days in our favorite chalet overlooking the Alps and the Brienzersee.

Leaving Switzerland, we visit friends in Anould (Alsace region). Drive to Paris and turn in the auto. Spend six days in Paris and then return home.

Not bad for a couple in their early seventies!

Jinx Hoover
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Old Mar 16th, 2007, 05:09 PM
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We will be flying out of Seattle on September 30 to Paris on Northwest. Got a cheapo fare of $518 we couldn't pass up. We have rented an apartment in the 5th, near Rue Moffetard:
http://preview.tinyurl.com/3bqsg4 for two weeks.

We have seen most of the biggy sites, so this time we plan on taking it easy and slowly examine all of the tiny, out of the way, places I have been taking notes on, but never seemed to have time for, before. Eating will figure prominently, as well.

At the end, we will take the train up to Belgium to stay with my Vegan son, who lives on a farm enclave near the tiny village of Welkenreadt. After a couple of days with him, we will train back to Paris and stay one more night before flying home on the 18th.

Rojame, you were wondering about lunch reservations at Train Bleu; we have eaten lunch there several times without reservations. We only had to wait once to be seated, and that was because we unwisely chose a Friday, right at the lunch hour for the business crowd. The other times we came a bit earlier or later and were seated immediately.

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Old Mar 16th, 2007, 07:17 PM
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I am going to a French immersion course at Crea Langues in Provence for two weeks starting 4th Sept. I am having a few days beforehand in Aix, to recover from my horrendous journey and to "get into the groove". After the course I am meeting a friend for 5 nights and touring around Provence. If I spent as much time on my French homework as I did researching the holiday then I wouldn't need to go to classes!!! But to me that is at least half the fun.
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Old Mar 17th, 2007, 07:17 AM
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Celiaanne - <<What was your favorite restaurant in Beaune?>> We liked Ma Cuisine but you would need to do a little reading and see if that is your kind of place. It has a great wine selection. (Reservation required)
StCirq - what a treat that would be to meet you! Perhaps Paris at Le Train Bleu for lunch on Sept 21 with happy? Or we will be at Carlux's gite for 4 weeks from Sept 22. (I promise no displays like your "friend" at Trois As)
Bindo & xp - we use air miles so tend to book almost a year in advance. Some people posting good fares now. Have you tried Kayak.com ?
Ron - you are planned - packed yet? LOL we ate at Cheval Blanc and loved it (see my Loire pics?)
Jinx - lovely trip - do this often?
nuke - love that area of Paris. happy is planning on Friday at lunch at Train Bleu so maybe a reserv is a good idea.
scnauzer - lucky you French immersion. Are you a student? I would love to do that (even at my age)

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Old Mar 17th, 2007, 07:33 AM
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Hi, robjame:

If you're going to be at Carlux's for 4 weeks beginning 9/22, it's almost certain we can arrange a meeting. My sister will be staying at the house in St. Cirq in mid-October and I'll almost surely go over to spend some time with her. Willlet you know as my plan develop (though they often develop very last-minute).
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