grandmere, I understand what you're saying. On the surface it might seem odd not to have been able to see the Louvre in two trips, but it's certainly not. There's so much to see and do, and with limited time, you have to pick and choose. One of the things that prevented us from actually visiting sites (rather than just looking at them) was the incredibly long lines. I look at this trip as an introduction for my grandson; we'll be back!

Great report, Ellen. Thanks for posting. That's a great shot of Sacre Coeur. Since that's our 'hood of choice when we're in Paris, we have beaucoup photos of it, at all times of day in all kinds of weather, so I agree with your caption! Looking forward to more.

The Place Dauphine Apartment

There are numerous threads extolling the virtues of apartments over hotels or vice versa. This was the first time I’ve stayed in an apartment in Paris. Aside from providing more room than a hotel, it gave us a feeling of living there and I can’t imagine I’ll stay in a hotel again.

V had reserved the apartment by the time I knew I’d be joining them. She said she normally uses VRBO, but she stumbled upon ours through a google search. This is the website: http://www.allure-apart.com/. Click on Place Dauphine to view ours.

As I said in my first post, Place Dauphine is a heavenly oasis, an idyllic park with almost no traffic. I can’t imagine a quieter place in the middle of Paris. The apartment is on the 6th (top) floor of a 17th century building served by the tiniest elevator ever (even by European standards). But it worked and that’s all we needed! As far as I could tell, there was only one apartment per floor.

Mme. Vasseur has been renting out Place Dauphine for only a few months, so the renovation was recent. It has a lovely living room with a large screen TV, a full kitchen with a dishwasher and washing machine, and a bedroom which can be completely separated from the living room by sliding doors. Since F wanted to sleep on the pullout couch, I got the bedroom to myself. As you can see, the décor is modern and sleek. Mme. Vasseur told me that she has plans to create a second bedroom which should make the apartment even more appealing.

The apartment has wireless and there’s a great computer set-up in the bedroom, albeit with a French keyboard which takes a little getting used to (that’s not a complaint!). It’s tastefully decorated and has loads of storage. She even put a two-wheeled errand cart in one of the closets for our shopping trips!

The apartment overlooks the square with its beautiful trees. Can anyone tell me what the trees are which are in bloom now with the pink/red flowers? They were all over the city and were so lovely in the square. There’s a nice view of the steeple of St. Chapelle and the towers of Notre Dame. We loved everything about the apartment and I’d stay there again in a minute.

Here are some photos I took in addition to the excellent ones on the allure website:

https://picasaweb.google.com/Ellen.C...OWkpZaNpJuOOQ#

Wow, Ellen, that is a superb apartment! All that, and a view as well. Perhaps next time we will move to the other end of the Ile. Thanks for sharing.

Nukesafe, yes it really was. When you're there, take a walk over to Place Dauphine if you can. I'll also be interested to read about your apartment - also an excellent location.

Looks like a great apartment and I love the surroundings. I especially like that it has a computer and the errand cart is such a thoughtful touch. Very impressive. I agree with you, after staying in a Paris apartment, it is very hard to think of going back to a hotel.

Lovely apartment..I dont see any informations about the rates..Does Madame rent the apartment for a week or less? I would love to know more about it..

Wow! Your photos are amazing and the place looks so lovely..Love to travel to France, but before that looking forward to read your complete review..

Terrific report Ellen, really enjoying your writing style. I love writing reports also and appreciate the effort behind all that great detail. The photos are wonderful, what a cutie your grandson is!!

The trees are most likely Horse Chesnut trees, you get conkers from them later on - used to love playing conkers as a kid in the UK!!

Keep the report going - just love the apartment and the area.

Schnauzer

A word of warning for those checking out the apartment site, the music comes on really suddenly and loudly and nearly sends you through the roof with shock!!! Well, I nearly did!!!! Great site, a bit exy for my budget but....

Schnauzer

Sorry, I didn't realize rates weren't in the link. Here's another link with rates. I wouldn't be surprised if she rented it out by the night (that doesn't sound very good, does it?)
http://www.allure-apart.com/dauphine.html

Since it's new on the market, I imagine she would do what she could to maximize her income. Her e-mail is on the site; I'm sure she'd respond quickly.

The trees could very well be red horse chestnuts. They were in full bloom all over Paris - so pretty. Thanks, schnauzer.

Place Dauphine is where Yves Montand lived with Simone Signoret, just above the <i>Restaurant Paul</i> (not to be confused with the fast food chain).

Interesting bit of information, kerouac. Not surprising, either. Restaurant Paul is a few doors east of the apartment.

https://picasaweb.google.com/Ellen.C...17902739060226

Bookmarking-can't wait to read this!

Wonderful. The apartment looks gorgeous. More, please!

Simone Signoret used to hang out of her apartment window and talk to American tourists when she heard them talking on the terrace.

Day 3

Up close and personal with the gargoyles of Notre Dame. We were up early to get a good spot in line to climb the 387 steps of the tower (F counted each one). I love the gargoyles and I had been looking forward to introducing him to them. As I suspected, he loved them, too. Looking out over the city, he spotted the Eiffel Tower right away and we had lots of photo ops with our new stone-faced friends. Back down (he counted all 387 again) and we strolled across the Pont St. Louis and spent quite a bit of time buying souvenirs and a gift or two for F’s younger brother.

Lunch was at a fantastic little restaurant, Le Caveau de L’Isle. F’s willingness – actually desire – to try new food amazed me. He and his mom had created a list on her i-pad and he checked each item off as he tried it. Sometimes he came across things he hadn’t previously known about, only to add them to the list in order to cross them off . Imagine my surprise when he said he wanted to order frogs’ legs! I’ve never brought myself to taste them until that day – they were delicious, and between the two of us they were gone in a few minutes! They’re a little hard to look at because they’re well, frogs’ legs, but if you can get past that, they’re great. The night before he devoured half a dozen escargots. Pretty impressive.

After lunch we strolled through the garden in back of Notre Dame. What I hadn’t noticed on any of my previous visits there were a couple of pieces of playground equipment. Of course F was drawn to them like a magnate. What struck me was how nice all the French children were who we came in contact with. There were a few boys a little older playing on the equipment and they encouraged F to play with him. They didn’t speak each others’ language, but kids don’t have to. He had a great time. I was engrossed in his interaction with them when V brought me out of my trance motioning that the police with machine guns were trying to ask me a question. Was that my sac à dos in the corner? No, not mine, but the young girl who belonged to the backpack quickly retrieved it. Ever vigilant.

We had discussed taking a ride up the Canal St. Martin that afternoon, but opted instead to hop on L’Open Tour bus. Each bus has two decks and it offers four different tour routes. With a lot of stops, it’s easy to hop on and off. I’d recommend it for first-timers; it’s a good way to get a feel for the layout of the city and the major sights and it was a good way to show F sights we wouldn’t have gotten to otherwise. We bought a two-day ticket at Notre Dame and took our seats on the open air top deck. I’ll let the pictures describe our route.

After a good hour or more, we got off at Madeleine and took the métro up to Abbesses for a visit to Sacre Coeur. It was another beautiful afternoon and Sacre Coeur was teeming with tourists like us, but its beauty and grace never ceases to amaze me.

That evening we went to Le Procope on rue de l’Ancienne-Comédie in the 6th for dinner. I was pleasantly surprised that the majority of the diners were French. We each thoroughly enjoyed our dinner as well as the setting.

https://picasaweb.google.com/Ellen.C...i9h8OC48rv3wE#

Your grandson sounds super and how neat that he is adventurous with food. Very enjoyable report and fabulous photos.

Lucky you and thanks for sharing with us. Can you tell us where in the Marais, your picture in the first set called "in the Marais, was taken. It looks like a delightful street. Thanks.

Fantastic report Ellen! We will be staying on I'le Saint Louis in 9 days! Your grandson's adventurous personality is charming. If he can figure out the metro I have no worries! And perhaps I will try frog's legs too.

The apartment is huge. Ours, though beautiful, is a studio with no view and just 200e less. Would gladly pay the 200e for more space and a view.

Great photos. What are you using?

Thanks for the posts and valuable information. Will definitely do the bus tour.