Stu, no, I am Allison from upstate NY. We are not foodies and have no desire to eat at high end restaurants. We will be very happy to find some small mom and pop places! I think we wil likey eat a nicer lunch and then nibbles for dinner because I don't care for eating dinner relatively late.

DAX, sorry your experience wasn't good. We did have a meal at Leon De Bruxelles, and surprisingly, enjoyed it! It wasn't great food but we were sitting on a Paris street, eating and having a glass of wine. How bad could that be?

My DH is a no plan person, and I plan down to the second--especially so we can be assured of getting into the restaurants we want to eat at. Even though he doesn't want a plan, the first thing out of his mouth in the morning is "where shall we go today?" So even if I didn't have a plan, I'd have to make one up--on the spot. So when people say that they don't plan, I always wonder how they choose whether to go left or right when they open the door of their hotel to take off for the day.

Over the years I've gotten better and I no longer plan day by day, street by street, but I do have a general "plan" with options to select from each day. What helps me most is the markets. We start off for a particular market in a different arrondissement each day and then let things and a good map take tehir course. Markets are my favorite thing in Europe--or anywhere for that matter, but particularly in Paris, they can serve as the nucleus for a developing plan. Enjoy your time there.

I'm often astonished by the degree to which people plan their trips including reservations for lunches and dinners at specific places, but each to their own. It seems to me much is a matter of personality.I think a balance is helpful, we don't plan events for specific days but I often have a sheaf of information I've downloaded, articles, trip reports restaurant suggestions or info on museums/markets etc. I have travelled without this kind of research but often found we wasted a lot of time at the destination deciding what to do, as someone mentioned above.

I think there is a middle ground between planning everything like a military operation and what I'd prefer to do with a long list of things that might interest, perhaps making a dinner reservation if that's what you like, and leaving the rest to happen or not happen as you like. Letting each day happen and take you depending on your mood.

I think the difference in approach has a lot to do with how you see the trip. For some people it's a "trip of a lifetime" perhaps they won't be back or feel they won't be back because they want to see other places, either way this tends to put the pressure on to see THE places including the restaurants du jour. We always feel we'll be back so I can be quite laid back.

Nobody should have (or need) a plan by their third visit, IMO.