Greetings from Paris! (Monica)
May 14th, 2007, 02:33 AM
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Greetings from Paris! (Monica)
Hi everyone,
It's Monday about noon and I FINALLY found an internet cafe and the time to stop
and write some notes. I am on the left bank right now and this internet cafe is
cheap! 1.50 euros for 30 minutes...and with an english keyboard.
I have been on the go since day one and need new feet! Yesterday I ended up
sitting on top of the washer in the bathorom and soaked my feet in the sink.
I arrived on Wednesday after a good flight from Philadelphia on USAir. Talk
about a cheap company. Drinks and headphone cost $5 each. Fortunately I brought
some headphones and watched a movie. Of course I didn't sleep on the plane but
managed well on Wednesday.
I took the Air France shuttle bus to Gare de Lyon and then a taxi to my
apartment on rue Vieille du Temple, a fabulous street in the Marais. This whole
area is busy day and night. Very "gay" indeed. Very safe for women.
I met
Louisa, who was sitting at the cafe next to our apt entrance where she was
drinking an espresso. She had arrived 2 days before me.
The apartment is very small but manageable. Haven't cooked anything, but did
buy wine and water for the room. Been eating our breakfast at the bakery in our
building. The smells of the bakery every a.m. is fabulous!
Our first afternoon together we spent wandering the Marais area, including
village St. Paul. Love staying on the left bank. Lunch at Chez Julien was
wonderful. Details to follow on my web site when I return. We visited the
baudoyer market, which was fairly small.
Dinner was at L'as du Fallefel, on rue des Rosiers. We both had some wine and
had their falaffel special: pita pocket filled with falaffel, eggplant, hummus,
cabbage, etc. Delicous!
Thursday: This day we spent our time on the left bank first stopping to see
Notre Dame. The area was packed with visitors. We headed south and ended up
spending some time at the Maubert market, one of the roving markets in Paris.
Lots of wonderful vegetables, fruits, etc. Even clothing, jewelry, scarfs,
anything you can find.
We continued south t rue Mouffetard, another wonderful pedestrian street filled
with food shops, cafes. Nice lunch at Pot du Terre. Even a complimentary Kir,
white wine with a dash of cassis.
The afternoon was spent at the luxembourg gardens, Pantheon (free entry), and
other left bank sights. We stopped by one hotel to say hello to the owner, who
showed us one of the double rooms and his apartment that he'll soon rent out.
Definitely a place I would like to stay the next time I'm in Paris.
Dinner at La Guirlande de Julie. Pricey but very good.
Friday: Spent our day in Dijon - took the TGV train. Fabulous town, lovely
streets and buildings. My goal for this trip is to hit as many markets as
possible and we hit the jackpot at Les Halles. It's a huge indoor market with
many vendors. We were able to taste some freshmade tapenade, olives, cheese,
etc. We then went to the Beaux Arts museum, which was also free entry. After
lunch near the market, we climbed 319 steps to the top of the tower in town for
some wonderful roof-top views.
Dinner was at Chez Marianne - wonderful mezes. Small room packed and the tables
turned quickly.
Saturday. Louisa and I split up and toured Paris on our own. I headed to Les
Halles walking along the streets with my pan aux raisins from "our" bakery.
Yum! And inexpensive too. I went inside Saint Eustache and enjoyed watching
an Italian wedding. Lovely bride and groom. I headed up rue Montorgueil,
another great food street. Everyone was out shopping and enjoying the cafes. I
visited the various Passages and had lunch at a small place. Two men sat next to
me and offered some of their wine. They were on their 2nd bottle and couldn't
drink it all.
After lunch I headed to L'Orangerie, a museum that had been closed for a while.
Lots of wonderful Monets and other painters. I walked up to the Louvre and my
feet said, "no more," so I took the nearest metro back to the apartment.
Dinner at Les Ombres was FABULOUS! We were the first to arrive and got a table
at the window facing the eiffel tower. We ordered the 95 Euro tasting menu
(details when I return) and a bottle of wine. Bottles ranged from about 34
euros to over 600. Of course we were on the lower end. Food was wonderful,
as well as the service and ambiance. Loved seeing the E. tower lit up at
night.
Sunday: we took the RER to St. Germain-en-laye and enjoyed another fabulous outdoor market. we bought bread, cheese (Morbier), a house terrine, wine, and picked cucumber salad and sat at a bench for our picnic lunch. Several peple walked by saying "bon appetit!" Very friendly people.
We visited the chateau and the archeological museum. Also got in for free. We've lucked out!
Weather has been great. Cool mornings, mostly sunny days. Yesterday when we were in the arch. museum, it rained. We walked out right after it ended with blue blue skies.
Today we went our separate ways. Louisa to Montmartre and me back on the left bank. Now I am caught up, although this was short. I'm now heading to rue Buci to check out that food street, then metro over to rue Cler for lunch. I'll meet up with Louisa at 2:45pm for our 3pm French revolution walking tour. It will be a 2-hour tour.
Not sure if I'll get the chance to write again.
I'm really having a good time and although the days have been busy it doesn't feel like the days are going too quckly.
Monica
It's Monday about noon and I FINALLY found an internet cafe and the time to stop
and write some notes. I am on the left bank right now and this internet cafe is
cheap! 1.50 euros for 30 minutes...and with an english keyboard.
I have been on the go since day one and need new feet! Yesterday I ended up
sitting on top of the washer in the bathorom and soaked my feet in the sink.
I arrived on Wednesday after a good flight from Philadelphia on USAir. Talk
about a cheap company. Drinks and headphone cost $5 each. Fortunately I brought
some headphones and watched a movie. Of course I didn't sleep on the plane but
managed well on Wednesday.
I took the Air France shuttle bus to Gare de Lyon and then a taxi to my
apartment on rue Vieille du Temple, a fabulous street in the Marais. This whole
area is busy day and night. Very "gay" indeed. Very safe for women.
I met Louisa, who was sitting at the cafe next to our apt entrance where she was
drinking an espresso. She had arrived 2 days before me.
The apartment is very small but manageable. Haven't cooked anything, but did
buy wine and water for the room. Been eating our breakfast at the bakery in our
building. The smells of the bakery every a.m. is fabulous!
Our first afternoon together we spent wandering the Marais area, including
village St. Paul. Love staying on the left bank. Lunch at Chez Julien was
wonderful. Details to follow on my web site when I return. We visited the
baudoyer market, which was fairly small.
Dinner was at L'as du Fallefel, on rue des Rosiers. We both had some wine and
had their falaffel special: pita pocket filled with falaffel, eggplant, hummus,
cabbage, etc. Delicous!
Thursday: This day we spent our time on the left bank first stopping to see
Notre Dame. The area was packed with visitors. We headed south and ended up
spending some time at the Maubert market, one of the roving markets in Paris.
Lots of wonderful vegetables, fruits, etc. Even clothing, jewelry, scarfs,
anything you can find.
We continued south t rue Mouffetard, another wonderful pedestrian street filled
with food shops, cafes. Nice lunch at Pot du Terre. Even a complimentary Kir,
white wine with a dash of cassis.
The afternoon was spent at the luxembourg gardens, Pantheon (free entry), and
other left bank sights. We stopped by one hotel to say hello to the owner, who
showed us one of the double rooms and his apartment that he'll soon rent out.
Definitely a place I would like to stay the next time I'm in Paris.
Dinner at La Guirlande de Julie. Pricey but very good.
Friday: Spent our day in Dijon - took the TGV train. Fabulous town, lovely
streets and buildings. My goal for this trip is to hit as many markets as
possible and we hit the jackpot at Les Halles. It's a huge indoor market with
many vendors. We were able to taste some freshmade tapenade, olives, cheese,
etc. We then went to the Beaux Arts museum, which was also free entry. After
lunch near the market, we climbed 319 steps to the top of the tower in town for
some wonderful roof-top views.
Dinner was at Chez Marianne - wonderful mezes. Small room packed and the tables
turned quickly.
Saturday. Louisa and I split up and toured Paris on our own. I headed to Les
Halles walking along the streets with my pan aux raisins from "our" bakery.
Yum! And inexpensive too. I went inside Saint Eustache and enjoyed watching
an Italian wedding. Lovely bride and groom. I headed up rue Montorgueil,
another great food street. Everyone was out shopping and enjoying the cafes. I
visited the various Passages and had lunch at a small place. Two men sat next to
me and offered some of their wine. They were on their 2nd bottle and couldn't
drink it all.
After lunch I headed to L'Orangerie, a museum that had been closed for a while.
Lots of wonderful Monets and other painters. I walked up to the Louvre and my
feet said, "no more," so I took the nearest metro back to the apartment.
Dinner at Les Ombres was FABULOUS! We were the first to arrive and got a table
at the window facing the eiffel tower. We ordered the 95 Euro tasting menu
(details when I return) and a bottle of wine. Bottles ranged from about 34
euros to over 600. Of course we were on the lower end.
Food was wonderful, as well as the service and ambiance. Loved seeing the E. tower lit up at
night.
Sunday: we took the RER to St. Germain-en-laye and enjoyed another fabulous outdoor market. we bought bread, cheese (Morbier), a house terrine, wine, and picked cucumber salad and sat at a bench for our picnic lunch. Several peple walked by saying "bon appetit!" Very friendly people.
We visited the chateau and the archeological museum. Also got in for free. We've lucked out!
Weather has been great. Cool mornings, mostly sunny days. Yesterday when we were in the arch. museum, it rained. We walked out right after it ended with blue blue skies.
Today we went our separate ways. Louisa to Montmartre and me back on the left bank. Now I am caught up, although this was short. I'm now heading to rue Buci to check out that food street, then metro over to rue Cler for lunch. I'll meet up with Louisa at 2:45pm for our 3pm French revolution walking tour. It will be a 2-hour tour.
Not sure if I'll get the chance to write again.
I'm really having a good time and although the days have been busy it doesn't feel like the days are going too quckly.
Monica
May 14th, 2007, 03:01 AM
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Haven't really read any of the lead up to your trip but enjoyed starting my day reading about your adventures in Paris. Sounds lovely. There's a small exhibit of Monet paintings on in NYC right now at the Wildentstein Gallery-at least one and maybe more of them loaned from the Marmottan Mus. in Paris. Here's one http://www.marmottan.com/francais/cl...t/cousines.asp
If you like the impressionists and don't know this mus. you might want to go. Have fun!
If you like the impressionists and don't know this mus. you might want to go. Have fun!
May 14th, 2007, 04:49 AM
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Monica: Thank you so much for your enthusiastic report!
Glad to know Chez Julien is as good as ever.
We were thinking of a day trip to Dijon - we'll go for sure!
And, Les Ombres is where we'll celebrate our anniversary!
Glad to know Chez Julien is as good as ever.
We were thinking of a day trip to Dijon - we'll go for sure!
And, Les Ombres is where we'll celebrate our anniversary!
May 14th, 2007, 06:11 AM
#11
Hi Monica - Thanks for this. We will be staying at 8 rue des Rosiers June 5 for one week so I am picturing you walking in my neighborhood. I think L'As du Fallafel is at no. 32. We are also going to Dijon so I'm thrilled to hear about les Halles.
May 14th, 2007, 07:25 AM
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monica, enjoy reading about your stay. reminds me of a trip i made a few years ago. stayed on rue rivoli a few blocks from st. eustache and les halles. suggest you find a bar called le sous bok just a block or so frm st. eustache on rue rivoli. great local place, not touristy, place to share a drink with french working class people and have great mussels and frites. man id love to be there right now. pull up a stool at the bar and enjoy!!
May 19th, 2007, 01:50 PM
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Hi Sandy, Ira and everyone!
I'm back from Paris. Got home about 9pm last night. Good flight on USAirways, but lousy food. I guess the airlines are really cutting back on things. Tony had given me his headsets, as USAirways now charges $5 for them. I'll use them again for my October trip.
First to respond to your comments:
mclaurie, I have been to the Marmottan museum - loved it!
Kopp, the smells of the bakery were unbelievable! It was so nice to open our windows every morning and smell the fresh bread and pastries. Nadia, who works there treated us to extra goodies every morning. She would even give me a croissant from the tray that just came out of the oven rather than from the display case. Yum! When I got my breakfast to have at the airport, she tossed in some olive bread and another type of bread. I had some this morning.
Yes Girlspytravel, Les Ombres was wonderful and we just loved having the eiffel tower view. Everything was delicious and beautifully presented. Should be on anyone's list for a special occasion.
Chez Julien: We were the only tourists there. Great atmosphere. So very French with the decor and foods we had. Well, every place was so French!
cigalechanta, thanks for the internet tip. I think it was on my list. I know I had one in my notes.
Micheline, you can't miss L'As du Fallafel. Lots of people enjoying their food. There are other fallafel places, but apparently this one is the best and I loved what I ate. Could have gone there again, but too many place on my restaurant list to enjoy. Just gives me the opportunity to go back again!
Dijon is a lovely city and easy to get to from Paris on the TGV. Do go on their market days (Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday from 8am to noon, and Saturday from 8am to around 5pm). From my notes, "A separate endeavor that specializes in used clothing, kitchen utensils, housewares, and flea-market castoffs, Les Marchés autour des Halles, operates along the market's periphery Tuesday and Friday from 8am to noon, and Saturday from 8am to around 5pm."
Okay, to continue my trip notes:
Monday. As I stated before, Louisa and I split up to explore on our own: Louisa to Montmartre and me on the left bank. After posting my original message, I continued on and walked along rue Buci. Some of the shops were open and I enjoyed returning to one of my favorite market streets. I continued onto rue Cler via the metro, but missed most of the street action, as it was about 1:30pm. I had a croque monsieur and a small salad.
I met up with Louisa about 2:45pm for our 3pm French revolution walking tour with Classic Walks (12 Euros). Jason was our tour guide and there were 8 women in the group. He seemed happy about having an all-women group. It started to rain and Louisa and I ended up sharing Jason's poncho for a while. We usually carried our umbrellas, but not this day! It did stop after a while. The tour began at Les Invalides and ended near the Conciergerie. Jason talked about the events leading up to the French revolution (and afterwards), King Louix VXI and Marie Antoinette and their beheadings, the guillotine, the Bastille (only 7 prisoners were released), etc. Very informative tour. The walk was about 2.5 miles and quite comfortable since we stopped along at various points.
After our walk back to our apartment (another mile?) and some time relaxing with our feet up and a drink in hand, we went to dinner at Chez Janou. This was a very lively restaurant and packed!!! We sat on the terrace with their standing heaters and plastic covering, as it was a much cooler evening. Everything was delicious: moules gratines provencale and a risotto with scallops and wine. Louisa had a pasta dish with escargots. We were glad to be on the terrace, as the dining room was quite smokey and noisy.
Tuesday the 15th. We woke up very early to take the train from Gare du Nord to Amiens. Gare du Nord is huge and quite confusing with its signs. I couldn’t get my pre-paid tickets from the ticket machine, so I stood in line for only 10 minutes at the ticket office. No big deal. One couple was in line complaining how slow things were in Europe and that they couldn’t wait to go home and never return to Europe. Good!
The train ride was about 1 hour 10 minutes and it was a lovely sunny day, although in the low to mid 50s. Amiens has the largest Cathedral in France. Construction began around 1220 and after going through several phases of construction, was completed in the 1500s. Amiens was bombed in both WW’s but the Cathedral was untouched.
We enjoyed the Picardie museum after our visit to the Cathedral. This museum has fine arts (I saw one painting by El Greco), sculptures, and archeologial artifacts. There was a special exhibit on Clovis Trouille, a Surrealist. Lots of sex involved in his paintings. On display was a “confessional,” which we were each given a token. Inserting the token and peeking through the small hole, one could see a woman ….er…. giving a very personal “oral” confession to the priest. We warned a sweet older couple not to look at it. Fortunately they told us their eyesights were very poor.
The Saint-leu-quarter is quite lovely, which is called the “little Venice” for its many canals. It’s quite picturesque. After our lunch of crepes, we took a walk along Hortillonnages, or gardens. Tourists were taking boat tours along the waterway.
Amiens has other sights, including the Jules Vern museum (closed when we were there).
Upon arrival in Paris, we go onto the metro at rush hour. Wow, we were packed in the metro like sardines in a can! We had to make one change, and as we got closer to our stop, it became less crowded.
Louisa packed most of her suitcase before dinner, as she was heading home the next day. We met up with fellow Fodorites/Slow Travelers (Sam, Anne and Jim, and Jan) at Bistro de L’Oulette (previously named Baracane). We had a great time (6 of us) and really enjoyed the food at this place. We all started with an aperitif. We ordered a few bottles of house wine to go along with our meals. I had their house pate w/mushrooms and a wonderful Cassoulet, which had beans, sausage, gizzards, and another meat (not sure if it was beef or pork). It was just wonderful and I couldn’t eat it all, as it was quite heavy. I need to find a recipe and make this for a winter day. Louisa had a duck dish with a side of potatoes au gratin. I had a taste and it was delicious! With dessert, we each paid 50 Euros. Well worth it for the quality and portions of the food, the service, and especially the company.
Wednesday the 16th. I slept in a little while Louisa got ready to leave. We both went to “our” bakery for breakfast. I took mine on the run after saying goodbye to Louisa, as I was heading to Montmartre for a 10:30am walking tour with Paris Walks (12 Euros). Malcolm was our guide for the 2-hour tour. There were probably about 28 people in the group, including Anne and Jim! I was very surprised to see them. The tour was very informative and about the various artists (Picasso, Van Gogh, Utrillo, Lautrec) who lived in the area. We walked along the various areas of Montmartre while Malcolm pointed out various sights, including the working houses, rue de la Mire (0 meridan line), etc).
Anne, Jim and I had lunch at Bistro Lepicurien, a lovely small place that seats about 25 people. My Salad Perigourdine was fabulous: mixed greens topped with a nice size slice of foie gras terrine, slices of duck and gizzard. I had a filet of Rouget a la Provencale, which is red mullet, on top of an eggplant puree. I wasn’t thrilled with the flavor of the fish but eating it with the puree was fine. I could have just eaten the salad and been happy with that. I think the salad was one of my best entrées on this trip.
We split up and I walked around the Sacre Coeur and Place du Teatre with all the artists. I headed out on the east side of the Sacre Coeur and down some stairs and ended up in the fabric district. Shop after shop were filled with any type of fabric you could think of. There were even shops selling belly-dancing outfits. Along Blvd Clichy, men were trying to sell belts and sunglasses. I took a few shots of the Moulin Rouge before getting on the metro and heading back to the apartment. I wanted to go to the museum Carnavalet, but I spent more time than planned at Montmartre. At least I was at the museum on one of my previous trips.
For dinner, I headed to Le Caveau de L’Isle. The foie gras with a plum puree was excellent but the portion I got at lunch was larger. I had the lamb chops w/potato gratin, which was very good and cooked to order – rare. Most of the diners were tourists, so it was a little disappointing, as most of the other restaurants we’ve been to were a good mix of locals and tourists. A young man took my photo with one of the waiters who decided to jump in on the photo op. Overall, it was a nice night. It was probably a 20-25 minute walk back to the apartment.
Thursday the 15th. My last full day in Paris! It was drizzly all day long. I a few markets: Bastille, which had a special food and arts/crafts market, the Marche d’Algre, which has both and indoor market and fleamarket, and back to Place Maubert (looking for something in particular). I had lunch at Polidor, which the main dining room seats about 80 people. When I got there, there were probably about 7-8 people eating lunch. 30 minutes later, it was completely filled!
Took the metro up to the Stalingrad stop so I could walk down the St. Martin canal. Well, I must have started too far north because I saw many campers or homeless people, and others drunk hanging out along the canal. I was uncomfortable and didn’t even finish my walk. At one point a man walked towards me with his bottle in hand and weaving as he walked, so I quickly made a turn and headed to the nearest metro (Republic). Not enjoyable at all. Maybe the canal area closer to the Bastille is better – I’ll check it out next time I visit Paris.
Back in my room earlier than planned, I packed my bags while enjoying a glass of wine. I had dinner plans with Susan (a fodorite), who lives in Switzerland and arrived this day to spend time with her mother (arriving the next day). We met up at L’epi Dupin in the 6th arr. The place had started to fill when they opened at 7pm. We had dinner reservations for 7:30pm. We both had a very nice time together. I enjoyed the asparagus starter with cabbage and a cream sauce followed by the filet canette (duck with vegetables - peas, carrots, shallots; dessert of a baked peach, vanilla ice cream and a cookie wafer ( 32 euro menu). There were two waves of diners: the tourists and later, around 9pm) the locals. It’s a non-smoking restaurant and I was glad for that.
I took the metro and shopped around rue de la Harpe, as I wanted to get a few souvenirs for my co-workers. The area was crowded and all the restaurants were filled. I took some final night photos of Notre Dame and walked back home. My street, rue Vieille du Temple was hopping. People were walking on the sidewalks and in the streets. I wanted to have one last drink at one of the cafes, but since I needed to get up early to head out, I just went back to the room.
Friday the 18th. After picking up my breakfast at the bakery (and one last good smell of the aroma) I walked to rue Rivoli and took a taxi to Gare de Lyon (7.80 euros) and caught the Air France #4 bus to the airport. I had purchased the round trip tickets for 22 euros, which I think was a good deal. The taxi driver was annoyed with me saying he could have taken me to CDG for 30 euros. Not sure if that was true based on other Fodorites comments saying closer to 50-60 euros. In any case, I got to the airport 3 hours early but the time went by quickly.
Good, smooth flight home. Lousy food again.
Well, that’s my trip in a nutshell. I’ll post my journal on my web site with more detail (http://www.luvtotravel.homestead.com/home.html) as well as my photos and detailed information on the restaurants. I took about 1500 photos!!! I went overboard with the markets but hey with a digital camera….
If you have any questions, fire away!
Au revoir!
Monica
I'm back from Paris. Got home about 9pm last night. Good flight on USAirways, but lousy food. I guess the airlines are really cutting back on things. Tony had given me his headsets, as USAirways now charges $5 for them. I'll use them again for my October trip.
First to respond to your comments:
mclaurie, I have been to the Marmottan museum - loved it!
Kopp, the smells of the bakery were unbelievable! It was so nice to open our windows every morning and smell the fresh bread and pastries. Nadia, who works there treated us to extra goodies every morning. She would even give me a croissant from the tray that just came out of the oven rather than from the display case. Yum! When I got my breakfast to have at the airport, she tossed in some olive bread and another type of bread. I had some this morning.
Yes Girlspytravel, Les Ombres was wonderful and we just loved having the eiffel tower view. Everything was delicious and beautifully presented. Should be on anyone's list for a special occasion.
Chez Julien: We were the only tourists there. Great atmosphere. So very French with the decor and foods we had. Well, every place was so French!
cigalechanta, thanks for the internet tip. I think it was on my list. I know I had one in my notes.
Micheline, you can't miss L'As du Fallafel. Lots of people enjoying their food. There are other fallafel places, but apparently this one is the best and I loved what I ate. Could have gone there again, but too many place on my restaurant list to enjoy. Just gives me the opportunity to go back again!
Dijon is a lovely city and easy to get to from Paris on the TGV. Do go on their market days (Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday from 8am to noon, and Saturday from 8am to around 5pm). From my notes, "A separate endeavor that specializes in used clothing, kitchen utensils, housewares, and flea-market castoffs, Les Marchés autour des Halles, operates along the market's periphery Tuesday and Friday from 8am to noon, and Saturday from 8am to around 5pm."
Okay, to continue my trip notes:
Monday. As I stated before, Louisa and I split up to explore on our own: Louisa to Montmartre and me on the left bank. After posting my original message, I continued on and walked along rue Buci. Some of the shops were open and I enjoyed returning to one of my favorite market streets. I continued onto rue Cler via the metro, but missed most of the street action, as it was about 1:30pm. I had a croque monsieur and a small salad.
I met up with Louisa about 2:45pm for our 3pm French revolution walking tour with Classic Walks (12 Euros). Jason was our tour guide and there were 8 women in the group. He seemed happy about having an all-women group. It started to rain and Louisa and I ended up sharing Jason's poncho for a while. We usually carried our umbrellas, but not this day! It did stop after a while. The tour began at Les Invalides and ended near the Conciergerie. Jason talked about the events leading up to the French revolution (and afterwards), King Louix VXI and Marie Antoinette and their beheadings, the guillotine, the Bastille (only 7 prisoners were released), etc. Very informative tour. The walk was about 2.5 miles and quite comfortable since we stopped along at various points.
After our walk back to our apartment (another mile?) and some time relaxing with our feet up and a drink in hand, we went to dinner at Chez Janou. This was a very lively restaurant and packed!!! We sat on the terrace with their standing heaters and plastic covering, as it was a much cooler evening. Everything was delicious: moules gratines provencale and a risotto with scallops and wine. Louisa had a pasta dish with escargots. We were glad to be on the terrace, as the dining room was quite smokey and noisy.
Tuesday the 15th. We woke up very early to take the train from Gare du Nord to Amiens. Gare du Nord is huge and quite confusing with its signs. I couldn’t get my pre-paid tickets from the ticket machine, so I stood in line for only 10 minutes at the ticket office. No big deal. One couple was in line complaining how slow things were in Europe and that they couldn’t wait to go home and never return to Europe. Good!
The train ride was about 1 hour 10 minutes and it was a lovely sunny day, although in the low to mid 50s. Amiens has the largest Cathedral in France. Construction began around 1220 and after going through several phases of construction, was completed in the 1500s. Amiens was bombed in both WW’s but the Cathedral was untouched.
We enjoyed the Picardie museum after our visit to the Cathedral. This museum has fine arts (I saw one painting by El Greco), sculptures, and archeologial artifacts. There was a special exhibit on Clovis Trouille, a Surrealist. Lots of sex involved in his paintings. On display was a “confessional,” which we were each given a token. Inserting the token and peeking through the small hole, one could see a woman ….er…. giving a very personal “oral” confession to the priest. We warned a sweet older couple not to look at it. Fortunately they told us their eyesights were very poor.
The Saint-leu-quarter is quite lovely, which is called the “little Venice” for its many canals. It’s quite picturesque. After our lunch of crepes, we took a walk along Hortillonnages, or gardens. Tourists were taking boat tours along the waterway.
Amiens has other sights, including the Jules Vern museum (closed when we were there).
Upon arrival in Paris, we go onto the metro at rush hour. Wow, we were packed in the metro like sardines in a can! We had to make one change, and as we got closer to our stop, it became less crowded.
Louisa packed most of her suitcase before dinner, as she was heading home the next day. We met up with fellow Fodorites/Slow Travelers (Sam, Anne and Jim, and Jan) at Bistro de L’Oulette (previously named Baracane). We had a great time (6 of us) and really enjoyed the food at this place. We all started with an aperitif. We ordered a few bottles of house wine to go along with our meals. I had their house pate w/mushrooms and a wonderful Cassoulet, which had beans, sausage, gizzards, and another meat (not sure if it was beef or pork). It was just wonderful and I couldn’t eat it all, as it was quite heavy. I need to find a recipe and make this for a winter day. Louisa had a duck dish with a side of potatoes au gratin. I had a taste and it was delicious! With dessert, we each paid 50 Euros. Well worth it for the quality and portions of the food, the service, and especially the company.
Wednesday the 16th. I slept in a little while Louisa got ready to leave. We both went to “our” bakery for breakfast. I took mine on the run after saying goodbye to Louisa, as I was heading to Montmartre for a 10:30am walking tour with Paris Walks (12 Euros). Malcolm was our guide for the 2-hour tour. There were probably about 28 people in the group, including Anne and Jim! I was very surprised to see them. The tour was very informative and about the various artists (Picasso, Van Gogh, Utrillo, Lautrec) who lived in the area. We walked along the various areas of Montmartre while Malcolm pointed out various sights, including the working houses, rue de la Mire (0 meridan line), etc).
Anne, Jim and I had lunch at Bistro Lepicurien, a lovely small place that seats about 25 people. My Salad Perigourdine was fabulous: mixed greens topped with a nice size slice of foie gras terrine, slices of duck and gizzard. I had a filet of Rouget a la Provencale, which is red mullet, on top of an eggplant puree. I wasn’t thrilled with the flavor of the fish but eating it with the puree was fine. I could have just eaten the salad and been happy with that. I think the salad was one of my best entrées on this trip.
We split up and I walked around the Sacre Coeur and Place du Teatre with all the artists. I headed out on the east side of the Sacre Coeur and down some stairs and ended up in the fabric district. Shop after shop were filled with any type of fabric you could think of. There were even shops selling belly-dancing outfits. Along Blvd Clichy, men were trying to sell belts and sunglasses. I took a few shots of the Moulin Rouge before getting on the metro and heading back to the apartment. I wanted to go to the museum Carnavalet, but I spent more time than planned at Montmartre. At least I was at the museum on one of my previous trips.
For dinner, I headed to Le Caveau de L’Isle. The foie gras with a plum puree was excellent but the portion I got at lunch was larger. I had the lamb chops w/potato gratin, which was very good and cooked to order – rare. Most of the diners were tourists, so it was a little disappointing, as most of the other restaurants we’ve been to were a good mix of locals and tourists. A young man took my photo with one of the waiters who decided to jump in on the photo op. Overall, it was a nice night. It was probably a 20-25 minute walk back to the apartment.
Thursday the 15th. My last full day in Paris! It was drizzly all day long. I a few markets: Bastille, which had a special food and arts/crafts market, the Marche d’Algre, which has both and indoor market and fleamarket, and back to Place Maubert (looking for something in particular). I had lunch at Polidor, which the main dining room seats about 80 people. When I got there, there were probably about 7-8 people eating lunch. 30 minutes later, it was completely filled!
Took the metro up to the Stalingrad stop so I could walk down the St. Martin canal. Well, I must have started too far north because I saw many campers or homeless people, and others drunk hanging out along the canal. I was uncomfortable and didn’t even finish my walk. At one point a man walked towards me with his bottle in hand and weaving as he walked, so I quickly made a turn and headed to the nearest metro (Republic). Not enjoyable at all. Maybe the canal area closer to the Bastille is better – I’ll check it out next time I visit Paris.
Back in my room earlier than planned, I packed my bags while enjoying a glass of wine. I had dinner plans with Susan (a fodorite), who lives in Switzerland and arrived this day to spend time with her mother (arriving the next day). We met up at L’epi Dupin in the 6th arr. The place had started to fill when they opened at 7pm. We had dinner reservations for 7:30pm. We both had a very nice time together. I enjoyed the asparagus starter with cabbage and a cream sauce followed by the filet canette (duck with vegetables - peas, carrots, shallots; dessert of a baked peach, vanilla ice cream and a cookie wafer ( 32 euro menu). There were two waves of diners: the tourists and later, around 9pm) the locals. It’s a non-smoking restaurant and I was glad for that.
I took the metro and shopped around rue de la Harpe, as I wanted to get a few souvenirs for my co-workers. The area was crowded and all the restaurants were filled. I took some final night photos of Notre Dame and walked back home. My street, rue Vieille du Temple was hopping. People were walking on the sidewalks and in the streets. I wanted to have one last drink at one of the cafes, but since I needed to get up early to head out, I just went back to the room.
Friday the 18th. After picking up my breakfast at the bakery (and one last good smell of the aroma) I walked to rue Rivoli and took a taxi to Gare de Lyon (7.80 euros) and caught the Air France #4 bus to the airport. I had purchased the round trip tickets for 22 euros, which I think was a good deal. The taxi driver was annoyed with me saying he could have taken me to CDG for 30 euros. Not sure if that was true based on other Fodorites comments saying closer to 50-60 euros. In any case, I got to the airport 3 hours early but the time went by quickly.
Good, smooth flight home. Lousy food again.
Well, that’s my trip in a nutshell. I’ll post my journal on my web site with more detail (http://www.luvtotravel.homestead.com/home.html) as well as my photos and detailed information on the restaurants. I took about 1500 photos!!! I went overboard with the markets but hey with a digital camera….
If you have any questions, fire away!
Au revoir!
Monica
May 19th, 2007, 02:09 PM
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Thanks, Monica, for the fun, informative report!
About Polidor...can you give me more information as to price/quality ratio? At what time of day did you beat the lunch crowd? I'm pretty sure I ate here 25 years ago and have been thinking it would be fun to try it again.
About Polidor...can you give me more information as to price/quality ratio? At what time of day did you beat the lunch crowd? I'm pretty sure I ate here 25 years ago and have been thinking it would be fun to try it again.
May 19th, 2007, 02:19 PM
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klondike,
My lunch: pate (4.50Euros)followed by chicken w/sauce and white rice (13 euros). They had a daily menu but for Thursday their plat was kidney, not something I'd eat although I've eaten a variety of foods. I probably got to the place around 11:45am. They do have a back room, which filled up as well. The restaurant is large and holds plenty of hungry diners. As for price/quality: Prices have gone up somewhat since I was there the last time (2000) but I think for the food the price is right.
Monica
My lunch: pate (4.50Euros)followed by chicken w/sauce and white rice (13 euros). They had a daily menu but for Thursday their plat was kidney, not something I'd eat although I've eaten a variety of foods. I probably got to the place around 11:45am. They do have a back room, which filled up as well. The restaurant is large and holds plenty of hungry diners. As for price/quality: Prices have gone up somewhat since I was there the last time (2000) but I think for the food the price is right.
Monica
May 19th, 2007, 05:39 PM
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Yes indeed, they both have the turkish toilets. The one at Polidor is tiny and since I was alone, had to deal with my purse and bag of shopping goodies. No hook to hang up my bags.
Monica
Monica
May 19th, 2007, 06:25 PM
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Monica - enjoyed reading your report as we just returned last week as well. We stayed in the 3rd on Saint Gilles. We had dinner one evening at Chez Janou as well. Agree that it was a fun place - very crowded. It was just around the corner and up a block from our apartment. You are doing great to post a report so quickly! I am still trying to get caught up and hope to post one soon!
