Bon Voyage, Elaine
 

Elaine: Before the week begins to slip away, I want to send best wishes for your Paris visit.

Your thoughtful responses and expert advice on this board is valued and respected.

Enjoy! I anxiously await the details.

Same here, Elaine. Send me a dozen Hermés macaroons :)

Wow, I am honored.
Leaving Thursday.
Any sending of macarons will be to myself!
:-D

Elaine, where will you be staying?

Grand Hotel des Balcons, in the 6th
I'm going with a Paris first-timer and I've never traveled with her before, she's already referring to me, affectionately I hope, as 'the drill sergeant." I think I'd better relax.

=:)

Elaine-Have a wonderful time, your travel partner is lucky to have you as a guide.

I'll let you know if SHE thinks so!

HI, elaine:

I'm sure you'll come back with yet more invaluable information to impart on Fodor's. Just don't spend all your time gathering info - take time to smell the roses, or whatever the heck is in bloom in January in Paris!

Yes! Bon Voyage dear Elaine!
I have enjoyed planning my trip while you have planned yours :)
I hope everything works out perfectly, that it never rains and that your travel friend has a wonderful time, thanks to you!
((F))((F)) Scarlett
Takes lots of notes so I can use them too :D

Have a good time, Elaine. You have very good taste, and I am sure you will find fantastic restaurants to dine at. I can't wait to read the reviews.

Please, please do NOT take any "Da Vinci Code" tours. That would surely blacken your reputation amongst those of us in the INNER CIRCLE. :)

Cheers, darling.

Thank you John
As for The Da Vinci Code, to use a French phrase, blechhh!

Happy New Year to you Elaine and have a blast in Paris.

Looking forward to your restaurant reviews! Did you have Mon Vieil Ami on your list?

Have fun!

No I didn't/don't
Unfortunately, we can only have dinner once a day, so we had to do some ruthless narrowing down from all the choices, and I don't think that I'm even going to get back to any of my favorites.

I also don't usually like to plan long lunches--a salad or an omelette is usually fine, and doesn't take much time away from sightseeing. We may make one exception on our first day.

So, I'll only have a few restaurants to report on.
But, my travel companion insists in advance on a pastry break every afternoon, (she's done that much prep work so far)--I will <u>have</u> to comply. :D

Hey elaine, have lots of fun. Fortunately I don't have to be too jealous as I'll be there myself (albeit for a shorter period, as you know). :-)

You're making me all jealous. Hope you have a great time, Elaine. I think it will be fun going with a newbie and seeing things for the first time again through her eyes. Bonnes vacances!

111op
did you decide on a hotel?
Are you going to try for T/W/M on Sunday?

Oh, good for you Elaine!! Have a great time in lovely Paree!!

Hi elaine, I called Hotel Tiquetonne this morning and booked a double for 50 Euros. They're at 6 r. Tiquetonne, 01 42 36 94 58. It's central, and it seems to get good reviews. I hope that it's better than Hotel de Lille/Pelican.

I guess I'm going cheap with the hotel, but I'm sure that I'll be spending my money on other things. :-)

Yes, I suspect that I'll try for T/W/M on Sunday in the early evening. If that fails and time permits, I may try again on Monday, as my flight doesn't leave until 5:55 that day. Otherwise, if I'm desperate, I guess this can be my excuse to fly to London to see the exhibition at the Tate Britain (it'll be there until some time in May, I believe).

Have lots of fun!

I also wish you bon voyage, Elaine. As you know, I will be leaving for Paris on Saturday, so I hope to bump into you somehow. BTW, what is your return date?

Bon Voyage, Elaine. I'm green with envy!

Have a wonderful time, Elaine!

We'll all be thinking of (and envying) you next week.

Byrd

Our return date is Tuesday the 18th, but we don't leave CDG until 6pm so we have almost the whole day in Paris.
I'm still hoping we to do the Marais Pariswalk on Sunday, so come one, come all!

We will be there on the same dates as elaine. Hope to meet up with everyone on the Marias Pariswalk too!

Have a great time. I'm looking forward to the report, as I'll be going next month.

As a total outsider but enthusiastic viewer of your witty exchanges, let me also wish you bon voyage and I too am green with envy. Have a great time and we vicarious travelers anxiously await your return and trip report!

Have a wonderful trip, Elaine! We all look forward to hearing about it when you return.

Bon Voyage!

Have a wonderful trip! I think going with a first-timer can help renew one's own feelings of seeing it for the first time.

And poor you, having to have a pastry break each afternoon! :-)

Have a great time! des Balcons is where I always stay when I head to Paris. You'll have to report back as I would be interested in hearing if it's still a great place to stay. Your friend will have a great time with you.

Monica ((F))

Ohhh, Elaine, have a WONDERFUL trip! We should all be as lucky as your friend, even if you can be a &quot;drill sergeant!&quot; LOL!! :D

Looking forward to whatever new info you bring back to us from Paris. I'm hoping you get a chance to look into the replacement for Caf&eacute; la B&ucirc;cherie!

Bonne jour&eacute;e et bonne chance to one of my favorite Paris experts!!!

Beatchick
thanks for the reminder about the former La Bucherie, I will try to walk by or even stop in and see what's happening. Bonne semaine a toi.

111op, didn't you try to stay at the Tiquetonne once before and you couldn't get it?
We'll be curious to hear about this right bank bargain, that is, I hope it's a bargain.

Yes, in Sept. Actually I didn't try it exactly -- I was there over Labor Day weekend and it was closed (I think) for August (there was a phone message to this effect). I didn't want to wait so I booked Hotel de Lille/Pelican.

The Time Out Paris guide mentions a &quot;madame&quot; who tends to this hotel. I wonder if she was the one who picked up the phone when I called this morning. If so, she was a pleasure to deal with. She switched to English when I said &quot;Vous parlez l'anglais?&quot; so that I didn't have to make a fool of myself as her English was clearly much better than my French. Slow and deliberate, as I recited my credit card number in pieces, she acknowledged my existence with a &quot;oui.&quot;

At least for once I didn't have to worry about whether the other person understood what I was saying. :-)

Hope the hotel isn't too bad, but I guess I'm planning to be out of the time. :-)

elaine, have a wonderful trip! Hope you enjoy Balcons and Chez Maitre Paul if you decided to go there.

I'll be very interested in your hotel. I wish you great weather as well as the great time you'll have.

TC (Travel Companion) just called with the news that she has a cold.
Other than shooting her and/or having her drink liquids, any advice? (I did suggest Zicam)
I was paranoid about germs on the plane, now I'll be sitting next to a petri dish
=-O

Oh, and to 111op, PJI, and P_M, bon voyage to you as well and I hope our paths cross. If there's pastry somewhere, look for me!

Thanks elaine.

I've heard somewhere that colds are (much?) less infectious once the infected show symptoms. Not sure how true this is, but that may offer some comfort.

not really, but thanks for trying!
:)

Awww..your TC has a cold? Now that's a tricky situation.
All I can suggest is that you avoid touching anything that she has touched ( I know, I know, that's going to be tough and will require diplomacy) and that you and she wash your hands at every opportunity. How about each of you shlepping a bottle of liquid hand sanitizer in your carry on?

My fingers are crossed for you.....have a great time, Elaine.

Judy

Well, the travel companion has about three days to get well -- I think that that's pretty good odds that she'll be pretty non-infectious by then.