I guess I must be the Third Musketeer! The March Fodor trip
 

I guess I must be the third Musketeer! I am the third Fodorite mentioned on Paris trip reports posted lately. As you will soon notice my focus is very different from the others.

My good buddies, gomiki and cigalechanta, were going to Paris and we weren’t!!! I tried hard to be upbeat and positive about their plans. I was giving my opinions when asked but jealous that we weren’t going. March is usually our time for travel since Tomas, my DH, works in a private school with the last two week in March as their spring break. This year we thought that I would have a work conference so Tomas scheduled a major computer upgrade for the second week of his vacation. After listening to me trying not to whine about not going, Tomas said ‘Let me see if I can move the upgrade to the first week of vacation’ and the rest is history.

Transportation:
I was able to book a seat on the same Air France sale that gomiki found that started this whole trip. Tomas decided that this wasn’t the time to ask for an additional day off and had to be home Monday Mar 30th. The difference between flying on Sunday vs. Saturday was $250 so he returned on Saturday. We hate Air France’s 747 since it seems so crowded. I swear they retro fitted them to fit in more seats! On the flight over we were lucky that one seat on the inside foursome was empty. Meals were eh. The funny part was the young woman who sat in the other seat asked for red wine and then proceeded to drink out of the bottle. I am sure she will go far in France-NOT!
The flight landed in Paris at some ungodly hour like 6AM along with 3 or 4 other 747s. It took so long to get through passport control that our luggage was already laying on the floor around the carousels. After a prior trip I have learned to keep enough Euros to get Tomas a café au lait when we land which we did. We then got some more Euros and tickets on the Air France bus to Montparnasse. We find that this is an easy inexpensive way to get into Paris especially since we usually arrive on Sunday mornings. We get a cab when we get off the bus and voila we are at the hotel in minutes.

Hotel:
Since our three friends had just booked their apartment when we decided to go I spent days trying to find an apartment nearby. After many spreadsheets (hey, I am an accountant-spreadsheets are my life!) and emails we decided that we would rather stay at our favorite hotel, Relais St Germain, which happened to be half a block from their apartment. So we booked our room, #20 at the hotel (used to be called Chateaubriand but they changed the name to a person’s and I can’t remember Albert’s last name) which is a deluxe room and it is wildly expensive. Tomas is an insomniac and is usually up for a couple of hours at night. The room has a sitting area in which there is a couch set behind the bed so that his reading doesn’t disturb me. Nice guy! The room includes a great breakfast, availability for dinner reservations at Le Comptoir (weeknights), special consideration for tables at the restaurant other times (they will hold a table in their no reservation dining room) as well as being very convenient to everything in Paris.

What we did:

Sites-
Rue Mouffetard (5th Arr.) – I wanted to see this street since Fodor’s mistakenly credited me with a statement about it in the Paris guidebooks. We went on Monday so probably missed what the fuss was about
Jardin du Plantes (Metro – Gare du Austerlitz) – Tomas, cigalechanta and I wandered through this garden on a sunny day and wished we were there later in the spring. It must be gorgeous then though there were spots that were harbingers of spring. Also we will return when they finish their work on some pretty amazing looking greenhouses. At the end of the Jardin is the Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle which went on our list for the next visit to Paris. After we finished wandering through the Jardin we went around the corner and found a sidewalk café and spent an hour or so drinking wine and Pastis.
Le Cimetières du Montparnasse (Metro- Edgar Quinet) We were across the street for the street market and decided to wander through the cemetery. The interesting thing was the first tomb by the entrance was the Famille Menard which is our surname. We tried to find all the famous names that were listed by the entrance but weren’t very successful. But it was a sunny day and flowers were blooming so no problem.

What we did (con't)

Museums-
We are museum people and find there is never enough time to do any museum we visit properly. I have noted where we used the two day museum pass we bought. The problem with the pass in my mind is that you are trying to make it cost effective and see many museums.
Musée Carnavalet (Metro – St Paul) This is a free museum detailing the history of Paris. We loved the models of Paris at a particular time in history.
Musée de l’Ordre de la Liberation (Metro – Latour Maubourg) This museum is part of the Invalides complex and is devoted to the wartime exploits of the Free French. The second floor has an exhibit on the Deportation and some graphic photos of concentration camps. Museum Pass
Dome Church – Also in the Invalides complex this church houses the remains of Napoleon Bonaparte and other war heroes. Museum Pass
Musée des Arts et Métiers (Metro - Arts et Métiers) This museum was on our list from our last trip to Paris where we had dined nearby and used the Arts et Métiers metro stop. If you haven’t seen that stop definitely go since it is sheeted in copper and looks like the inside of a submarine. There are portholes which look into little exhibits from the museum. The premise of this museum is the development of technology so each exhibit hall starts at the beginning of whatever the topic is so for example communication starts with the first printing presses and goes through the internet. We spent 3 hours here and barely scratched the surface. We will go back many times I am sure. Museum Pass

Musée du Louvre (Metro Louvre though we took the bus) As anyone who has been to the Louvre knows you can spend years here and not see everything. My first trip to Paris had been when I was 18 with my family. I remember seeing La Gioconda (Mona Lisa) in a small dark room and wanted to see it again. So we tried to get there as early as possible and rushed up to see her before the crowds gathered. Ok, we did that. Then we retraced our steps, checked our coats and got the audio tour for the European paintings. I hope that someday all the art in the Louvre will be available for the kind of discussions the audio tour has. I feel bad walking past all the other painting and not knowing about them. Wouldn’t it be grand to be able to learn about any painting that strikes your fancy? We spend over 3 hours here and didn’t finish the audio tour. Well I guess we will have to return. Museum Pass
Musée d’Orsay (Metro – Solferino) This is one of our favorite museum in the world. We took a quick jaunt through to see some old favorites in the Impressionist rooms and were rewarded by a special exhibit of some donated works on the first floor. Nice to be able to donate some Monet’s to the museum. Museum Pass

Ive been waiting for this!! Like the title.

It's fun to read about the same trip from different people! Enjoying this very much. Have you been to Jacquemart-Andre (spelling?)-wonderful art in beautiful home.

AGM, you have convinced me that a museum pass is the way to go even if used for a couple of hours at each place of interest. We just don't have the time we should take at each museum but need a sneak preview so that we know what to come back to in the future. I have done Louvre & d'Orsay, Invalides, Rodin, Ste-Chapelle and Carnavalet but my husband has not done them all so I'm thinking the museam pass may be the answer.

Enjoying your trip report and looking forward to more!

TDudette- Yes, we went to the Jacquemart-André on one of our last trips to Paris. We were amazed at the salon rooms where the walls dropped into the floor for nights they were entertaining. Nice place to live.

tod- The museum pass is the way to go especially at places like the Orsay and Louvre where it gets you out of long lines. I am not sure if it still works to avoid the lines at Ste-Chapelle but that is worth all the time you stand in line IMHO.

What we did (con't)

Markets-
One of our favorite things to do in Paris is go to the markets! Here is where we went this year.

Marché Biologique Raspail (Metro - Sevres-Babylone) Our traditional Sunday morning outing in Paris is to this market on Sunday mornings. We love the market but really we go for the galettes. At the end of the market near the Lutecia Hotel there is a vendor who has a griddle and makes the most amazing cheese, onion and potato galettes for 2.3€. We each get one and then walk the market looking for anything interesting. I always buy flowers for the room and this year I bought daffodils from the woman at the end of the market. After we are done with the market we each get another galette and head back to the hotel.
Marché Président Wilson (Metro - Alma-Marceau) This market was recommended to us by JulieVikmanis and her husband, Val. It was Wednesday morning and we loved it. It has a very different feel than the one on Blvd Raspail on Sunday. Since we were cooking at gomiki, D & cigalechanta’s apartment that night I was free to actually shop at the market. As with most markets we wander the length and then return for places we saw the best produce at the most reasonable price. I loved the stand with a variety of fresh mushrooms and potatoes. Tomas bought himself a chapeau to keep the rain off.
Marché St Germain (Metro – Mabillon) This is a covered market close to the hotel. We use it for supplies while we are in Paris. This year it got more business than usual from us since we had access to a kitchen. D got his oysters here and got some real deals (when he was paying attention!).
Marché Richard-Lenoir (now apparently known as Marché Bastille) (Metro – Bastille) We went to this market on our final Sunday in Paris. Tomas had already left and he would have loved the energy of this market. While gomiki and cigalechanta were more interested in funky jewelry I was looking for a saucisson sec for my nephew. Gomiki and I also bought tins of foie gras which caused a little problem coming through customs.
Marché aux Puces de St-Ouen (Metro - Porte de Clignancourt) This was our Saturday excursion. It is definitely not my cup of tea. The hordes of vendors selling knock offs are annoying and I am just not into old stuff like that. All the great deals made in places like that predate my visit by decades I think. I went and never have to go again.
Marché parisien de la creation (Metro- Edgar Quinet) The Sunday we arrived we traveled to this arts and crafts market I had hoped to find some water colors similar to what we had gotten in Provence but no luck. There was an assortment of paintings, pottery ( I wouldn’t let Tomas even look at the prices of some spectacular Raiku pieces since I couldn’t conceive of how we would get them home in one piece) and other interesting pieces. It was nice for a jet lagged afternoon. If I am not going to a food market, then this is more my style then old clothes and stuff. Though that was what was interesting about traveling with other people. Seeing what their interests were and having them expand your own.

What we ate & where

I am a former chef trained by a French woman. Tomas and I met while working in a restaurant in Cambridge, MA. Food and wines are abiding passions of ours. Trips to Paris create a frenzy of research to find the best new places to go in a limited amount of time. Also we plan one full meal a day. Breakfast is at the hotel and it is a full spread (with a full provenance as well) so we just have either lunch or dinner out. Sometimes we will have a snack of ice cream or pastry during the day.

Le Petit Pontoise – (Metro - Maubert Mutualité) Finding restaurants in Paris on Sunday evening is often difficult. I had tried to get into Le Petit Pontoise on a prior trip but was turned away. Seeing the tiny dining room I was not surprised. While we were debating the menu and what was on it the couple next to us leaned over and confided that we could get English menus. I told them that we were fine with the French menus. After all how will we learn otherwise? When asked if I speak French I always say I speak menu. We decided on the tatin d’artichaut and risotto aux morilles to start. The tatin d’artichaut was a tart of artichoke hearts, eggplant and tomatoes that had been prepared like a tarte tatin, the famous French upside down apple tart. It was fabulous and I am going to try to make it at home. Followed by magret de canard with a sauce de miel et cidre and noix st Jacques provençal. Tomas was in heaven with fruits Armagnac for dessert. They took a large preserving jar off the side board and served him from that. I had ananas rôti which was caramelized roasted pineapple. Dinner without wine or drinks was 95€ and well worth it.

What we ate and where (con't)
Le Régalade (Metro - Alesia) The interesting thing about this trip is where we shared meals with our friends my memory of who ate what was clouded by the convivial nature of group dining. So my memory of this meal is sparse. I picked this restaurant because I had heard great things about it. It was the restaurant that Yves Camdeborde sold before he bought the Relais St Germain and created Le Comptoir.
We went on Monday evening after the GTG at the Lutecia so we did not order aperitifs which Tomas says created the problem. The problem was that we could not get service. We were seated, they asked if we wanted apéritifs which we refused. We ordered a bottle of wine and a carafe of water. Neither appeared. They took the order for the meal and we asked again for water. The terrine that the restaurant is famous for was set on the table. No bread or plates to put it on. I am not sure if that is the normal course of events but eating terrine out of your hands is not what I consider appropriate. When they brought the entrees Tomas asked about the wine. It appears that the bottle we ordered was out of stock. He ordered a different white and also a red. The white appeared but never the red wine. We ate our meal and debated about getting digestifs but decided it wasn’t worth the trouble. Tomas made his feelings known to the staff when he went to pay. They did not feel that he had grounds but the hostess was sufficiently annoyed to have problems with all our credit cards. None of Tomas’ would work and finally she got my reserve debit card to go through which meant that I paid a premium for bad service. Ah well at least the food was good:
Entrees – AGM –asparagus special
Tomas – shellfish soup
Cigalechanta – brandade de morue stuffed into a tomato
Gomiki - pate
D – I just don’t remember
Plats - AGM – pork belly (an experiment that I am not sure I will try again)
Tomas, cigalechanta, D – I think all got the dorade which is a white fish
Gomiki- a breast of chicken stuffed with foie gras

Desserts The only dessert I remember is Tomas’ pineapple gazpacho which was fabulous.
The pre fixe menu was either 32 or 36€ per person with a 6€ supplement for my asparagus.

Hi Abby, wonderful, keep going!

Abby, you could never be "the third" anyone/anything! Your perspective on this trip is just as important as the other two, and furnish a much more complete picture of the adventure of 3 Fodorites (and companions). I've enjoyed reading about this and your frank account of what you did and didn't enjoy about this trip. A shame to read that Le Régalade sounds like a bit of a rip-off. I can even put up with mediocre food if the service is good, but this experience was really quite inexcusable. Please tell us more; what meal(s) did you cook in the apartment of the other three?

BC

And it rained on us on the way back from the restaurant!!

Abby, is modest. She was trained by The Madeline Kamen.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XdevnmN6If8

"I speak menu."

Love that! ;^)

This is a great report. I love going to markets, so thank you for your list with descriptions.

Johanna

Now you see why I left the food to her :)

Hi Abby,

I, too, had the Tatin d'artichaut at Pontoise and thought it one of my favorite foods in Paris...I'm still dreaming about it. Enjoying your report...

bookchick, never meant to imply I was less since the Musketeer motto is "all for one and one for all!"

Traviata- I will let you know if I figure out a recipe.

Johanna- aren't the markets amazing? Tomas and I once saw a market where bing cherries were pyramided like the oranges are here. That takes time and dedication.

Last time in Paris, I stayed just down the street and around the corner from the Edgar Quinet metro stop. I loved that area. I caught the tail end of the crafts market. There were some lovely things there but it was ready to close. I left the following Sunday but my friend stayed to meet up with her sewing group so she got to that market as I was flying over the Atlantic on my way home...sniff, sniff. She got me a framed metro ticket from a dealer at that market. I really love it, it's very cute and fun.

You guys had such a great time and I'm loving your reports.

To me, this is the best of Fodors! Bravo for the Muskateers, meeting on Fodors and turning e-pals into lifelong friendships. Having been fortunate enough to have my own Fodorite trip a few years ago, I think this is great! Thank you all for posting your reports.

When I go to markets, I do what you did in that I walk through once to see what looks best and then walk back through to go to individual vendors to make purchases. Some of the colors of fruits and vegetables are so vivid that I think the displays themselves should be framed art work!

Brava! I'm still loving what I'm reading on all three reports of this trip!

Thank you,
BC

The combination of these trip reports has been one of the MOST interesting and entertaining reads! Thank you!

Would it be rude or presumptuous of me to ask about that tatin d’artichaut recipe (if you are successful in reproducing)? It sounds to die for.

I really appreciate your summary of the markets. I have been to some, but not all, but plan to add yours to my trip in September.

Chez L’Ami Jean (Metro – Invalides) cigalechanta was interested in going to Chez L’Ami Jean. So we submitted gracefully and arranged for lunch on Tuesday. We arrived 20 minutes late for our reservation but the staff was warm and welcoming. As with the dinner for 5 at Le Régalade my memory of lunch is sketchy. Tomas and Mimi started with a raw tuna which Tomas thinks came with scallions and olive oil. Delicate is how he described it. My asparagus were delicious with some porky products. I followed with scallops which I thought were wonderful but don’t remember the details. Mimi had a magret de canard which came with the skin on and she thought was delicious but fatty. It also came with a marrow bone. Tomas was in heaven with a saddle of lamb with the kidneys. The plats came with their amazing pureed potatoes. One was garlic potatoes. Mimi and I had a vacherin with raspberries –two meringue cookies sandwiched with crème fraiche and amazing raspberries. Tomas had something chocolate. Both he and Mimi indulged in Armagnac. We were the last to stagger out the door. Poor Mimi’s foot! We walked back to the hotel. With a bottle of wine and the Armagnac the tab was 184€.

Breizh Café (Metro - St-Sébastien – Froissart) After reading David Lebovitz’s description of the buckwheat crepes at this Cafe we just had to try them. We weren’t the far away on Wednesday afternoon so we popped in. Tomas had a smoked salmon crepe and I had artichoke and ham which came with a fried egg. The egg was a little strange to me but it was delicious. We also had a pitcher of their cider which was fabulous. We split a caramelized apple crepe with vanilla ice cream for dessert. Lunch came to about 38€.

crefloors-there is still a stand in the market with the framed purple metro carnets. I wonder if the artist has been hording them since the new carnets are white. It is a nice memento to have.

Bookchick, one of Tomas' favorite subjects to photograph is the produce in the market. Some day maybe we will print, frame them and hang them in the kitchen.

paris1953-if I come up with a recipe I will be sure to post it here. I will be looking for your trip report and information on markets I haven't been to yet. Have you seen the book 'Markets of Paris' by Dixon and Ruthanne Long?

What we ate and where (con't)

Itinéraires (Metro - Maubert Mutualité) I had two new restaurants on my list and was vacillating between them. I don’t know why I chose to have lunch on Thursday at Itinéraires but we were glad I did. It helped to hear that JulieVikmanis and her husband enjoyed it when we met them at the GTG. The staff was very warm and welcoming especially as I walked in gave our name and had a coughing fit. The waitress seated us and rushed me a glass of water. They had a printed menu and a blackboard with essential specials of the day. You could mix and match. We started with an asparagus salad with white and green asparagus which was good but didn’t hold a candle against a carpaccio of scallops with foie gras dotted with pomegranates on a bed of shredded celery root. We went with wines by the glass and they have some amazing wines. One was a Gewürztraminer which was golden in color and wonderful with the scallops and asparagus. The plats were a rabbit saddle with a mustard sauce, cabbage and bacon and a magret de canard with beets and raspberries. The combination of beets and raspberries was something we were a little leery of but it worked so well with duck that we will try it at home. The duck and the scallops were voted the best dishes of the week. Desserts were a strawberry soup which wasn’t really soupy and pears poached in different mediums-chocolate, wine and something else. I highly recommend this restaurant. We were one of the few Americans there and were treated very well. The pre fixe menu was 36€ per person.

Abby, what was your favorite meal?

What we ate and where (con't)

Le Comptoir Du Relais (Metro – Odeon) One of the benefits of staying at the Relais St Germain is the ability to get a table at Le Comptoir on weeknights. Mimi expressed an interest (ok, she demanded we go) so all five of us gathered for Tomas’ last night in Paris. We started with a bottle of Champagne and reviewed the menu. Contrary to other dinners at Le Comptoir on this night there were choices (with some pretty hefty supplements). Each night the menu is printed on a post card with the saint’s name. Friday March 27 was Saint Habib. The menu was:

Coque d’étrilles en gelée légèrement safranées Champignon de paris chips et mousseline (Soft shell crabshells stuffed with a mousseline of saffroned crab)

Asperges vertes du Perthuis et mousseline Boutargue et caviars de hareng fume
(Asparagus with a mousseline garnished with smoked herring roe)

Tomas and I substituted an order of Morilles de Turquie a la crème which were wonderful.

Carré de cochon de lait des Pyrénées rôti, Endive braisé á l’orange, jus lier tapenade (saddle of pork with braised endives in orange and a jus with tapenade)

I substituted Ris de veau de Corrèze au verjus (Sweetbreads in verjus). I love sweetbreads and jump at the chance to have them each time they are presented.

Fromages affinés par la maison Boursault (The famous cheese board that get placed on your table and removed when you have eaten your fill)

Meringue coco, fraise gariguettes Chantilly, crème glace <<lait fraise>> (Meringues with strawberries and ice cream)

It was a very good meal and they actually moved us to the sitting room off the lobby to finish Armagnac and champagnes. The menu is 50€ per person.

What we ate and where (con't)

Le Comptoir Up until 5PM weekdays and all day Saturday and Sunday Le Comptoir serves a bistro menu.

Tomas and I stopped in for a late lunch/snack on our first Sunday in Paris. The reigning staff person judged that for that we had to sit on the sidewalk while the tables inside were reserved for full meals. (I do miss our favorite waitress Livia. I wonder where she is.) We ordered a Planche du Cochonnaille. I found this description of it online ‘a pork lover’s dream of a final repast before heading off to the great sty in the sky. Imagine a thick slab of wood, two jagged edges artfully left asunder, topped with delicious homemade charcuterie from the Camdeborde family’s larder. I dive right into the unctuous boudin noir, a lightly spiced blood sausage so soft and velvety that it almost melts in my mouth. I love the paper-thin, fatty slices of sweet ham and the salami studded with big black peppercorns, but most of all, I adore the graillons de porc, chunks of pork fat fried until crisp and golden—junk food of the gods. To go with it all, there are tangy cornichons, bread from Eric Kayser and sweet butter.’ It was all that and went really well with two glasses of Chateauneuf-du-Pape

On Sunday night (our last night in Paris) gomiki, Dick, cigalechanta and I had dinner at Le Comptoir. Dick and Mimi started with Absinthe, Miki had champagne and I had a Muscat. We reviewed the menu and made our choices. Dick and I had the artichoke soup with foie gras and Japanese pearls (tapioca), Mimi ordered the same Planche du Cochonnaille Tomas and I had split the prior Sunday. Miki abstained. For plats Miki and I had the magret de canard, Dick had a stew I think and Mimi had the Brandade de Morue. This time she said it was as good as her grandfather’s. I had raspberry and pineapple sorbets for dessert but the hit of the night was nougat glace with ice cream. Dinner with wine and drinks was 50€ per person.

What we ate and where (con't)

Dinner Chez ‘The Threesome!’
On Wednesday evening we cooked dinner at gomiki, D & cigalechanta’s apartment. Tomas and I shopped for vegetables at the market that morning. We got various mushrooms, potatoes, garlic, leeks, thyme, asparagus and French breakfast radishes. Dick, Tomas and I made a run to the Marché St Germain and picked up some fish, oysters, cheese and bread. On the way back we picked up some wine as well. While we all prepared dinner we munched on the radishes and bread. Then Dick opened the oysters which we had with the red wine vinegar mignonette. We sautéed the leeks, mushrooms, thyme and garlic and baked the fish with it. We also roasted potatoes and the asparagus. It was a pretty good meal. We finished with cheeses. I meant to get some pastries but Gerard Mulot is closed on Wednesday.

In my list of museums I forgot this one:

Musée de la Musique (Metro – Porte de Pantin) We tried to go to this museum last time we were in Paris but unfortunately didn’t read the guide book and showed up on Monday when it is closed. It was a fascinating place. When you arrive they give you headphones and an audio guide. There are about one thousand instruments in the museum. There are descriptions of the instruments on the audio guides. For several of the instruments there are also snippets of the instruments being played. There are harpsichords, clavichords, trumpets, didgeridoos and other exotic instruments. If you are a music lover this is the museum for you. Museum Pass

I wish I had thought of it and taken you to a shop on the rue de Mule while we were in the Marais. I had read about this man who deals with rare instruments in the NYTimes a few years ago so when I went to Paris a few years later I visited him and he played one of his weird instruments for me,

Travel tools:

We are techies so we are always on the lookout for things to assist our travels. I have a PDA-a Dell Axim- onto which we loaded the Paris Metro program. (http://nanika.net/Metro) With this program you enter the place you are starting and where you are going and it will tell you how to get there, how many metro stop there are and approximately how long it will take. I used it a lot!

We also loaded LingvoSoft English French dictionary which was very helpful. It also has a phase book which the Axim will pronounce out load. It is good to hear how it is supposed to be pronounced but my mouth doesn’t work that way unfortunately. Tomas has good pronunciation but his vocabulary is limited. When he lacks the French word he puts a French accent on the English word. I have had years of French as well as Spanish, Latin, Italian and some German. When I need a word it does not always appear in the language I am trying to speak.

I don’t remember who Donna Kittredge is but she once sent me her French Food Glossary. It is a word document of 12 pages of French food terms. It starts with “abats organ meats” and ends with “zewelwai onion & cream tart from Alsace”. I loaded it onto my Axim and at many restaurants it saved me from something like a chicken gizzard pizza. The only problem with it is that it takes a lot of memory and a long time to open. I plan to sit down one day and load all twelve pages of translations into the LingvoSoft program.

We bought a phone for this trip. Since we were trying to keep in touch with gomiki, Dick and cigalechanta it made sense. Also I have been traveling overseas for work and it is nice to be able to call and talk to Tomas on my schedule not work’s. The sim card had some number of minutes but we don’t know if we exceeded that number. I guess they will let us know.

Mimi, it is hard to decide which was my favorite meal. For the food definitely Itinéraires. But this trip was more about friendships so I would say my favorite meal was the night at Le Comptoir!

"We are techies so we are always on the lookout for things to assist our travels. I have a PDA-a Dell Axim- onto which we loaded the Paris Metro program. (http://nanika.net/Metro) With this program you enter the place you are starting and where you are going and it will tell you how to get there, how many metro stop there are and approximately how long it will take. I used it a lot!"

I used my free Metro map :D. And counted the stops. I used it a LOT being the Metro rat that I am. (Said in good spirit as a complete non-techie :) )

Waaaaaaaaa!!!!!!! I am utterly, absolutely and definitely beyond containing my jealous now!! WAAAAAAAA!

BC, stranded in midwestern America and uncertain about returning to Europe any time soon

LOL!! Awwwwww bookie, hang in there. You never know what can happen. That's how this trip happened....out of the blue!

What fun! Very interesting to see the same trip from several perspectives.

I would have had some of that chicken gizzard pizza if you ended up ordering it by mistake. But the stuff you did get sounds even better.

Nikki, not sure about the gizzards (too chewy) but if you put on the hearts and liver, I'm in!

>>When asked if I speak French I always say I speak menu.<<

LOL! I always tell people my SO speaks French but I speak food so we are always fine!

This has been a wonderful report (I still need to read the others) and I'm going to print it out for our upcoming trip! Thanks, Abby!