Thanks to everyone who gave advice about our trip we returned having had a wonderful trip. I'll share some info for those of you who are planning a future trip:
-I tried taking ambien to sleep on the plane, but it didn't really work and we probably got no more than a couple hrs. of sleep in economy plus from United.
-We used Blue Van Shuttle for $78 euros - they were there waiting for the 4 of us w/ a van and took us right to the Marriott Champs D'Elysee w/ all of our luggage at 7 am.
-The Mariott has a great location and is very upscale (we used our points so not to pay $600/night). Our room was on the 3rd floor w/ 2 sets of french doors leading out to a small balcony. Our friend's rooms was on the 1st floor looking out over the lobby. Large king size bed, large bath w/ tub & shower, phone, hairdryer and all usual amenities. The concierges were there 24 hrs. and had great advice.
-We left off our luggage and headed for a Paris Walks tour of St. Germaine. We saw St. Sulpice and learned about the artists (Delacroix and more) who worked and lived in the area.
-Lunch was at Les Deux Magots. I was not too impressed w/ the menu but the location was nice to sit and rest and watch everyone walk up and down the St. Germaine blvd. We had croque monsieurs and 6 drinks for $74 euros.
-Walked over to the Isle St. Louis and got ice cream from Berthillion - it was worth the walk (except for the gingerbread flavor)
-Dinner was at the Royal Madeline @ Rue de Chevalier ST. George (off of the circle of St. Madeline). This meal was so great we returned a 2nd time during our trip. Tablecloths, dim lights, 2 bottles of excellent white burgundy, foie gras for the table, escargot, onion soup, a delicious veal dish served in a copper pot (we all shared tastes of our food) for $74 euro - it was a great deal. Our waiter, Paul, spoke English and was a great help in suggesting from the menu.
Amazingly we stayed up until 10:30 pm before crashing.

Nice start, dolciani. We will be in Paris in two weeks and hope to take in the Sunday a.m. organ recital at St.-Sulpice.

What was the weather like?

Day #2 - It was amazingly warm throughout our stay. Although we had packed for weather in the high 60's it ended up being in the high 70's - we actually got sunburned!
-Today we started at Notre Dame and toured the exterior and interior using Rick Steves guidebook. We saved the tower for another day due to the long line. The gypsies were all around- we were approached by at least 4 of them, but after having been robbed in Barcelona we told them we would take their picture for the police unless they went away. If I were to give advice for Notre Dame, I would tell you to go early and get in line for the tower first and go in the church afterwards. We did this on a later day.
St. Chapelle was our next stop - a 2 hour wait! This is the church that has so many stained glass windows and housed the crown of thorns for a long period of time.We kept asking if we could get into the shorter line next door to the Palace of Justice and then go from there into St. Chapelle. We were repeatedly told "no" but we discovered that both lines fed into the same security line and we could have saved ourselves 2 hours by getting in the Palace of Justice line and then after security take a right outside to the courtyard toward St. Chapelle. Not one security guard seemed to know or care which line you were orignially in before security.
Next was the Concierge (next door to St. Chapelle) where Marie Antoinette (and others) was prisoner before her beheading at the Place de Concorde. I found it more interesting than the Churches.
-Lunch was a baguette and quiche pickup from a local bakery and we walked to Place Dauphine to eat at the square w/ the locals.
We also did some shopping from some of the vendors along the Seine.
A quick stop back by the Marriot to drop off our goodies and we were off to the Louvre w/ our download from Rick Steves audio guide. We saw Venus De Milo, Winged Victory, portraits of Napoleon's coronation, Mona Lisa, and Delacroix's lady liberty and more.
-Dinner was in Les Halles at Le Poulet Pot (which is where both Mick Jagger and Prince have been seen eating their hot goat cheese salad and specials). Our waiter, Charles was a cross between Dr. McDreamy and Ed Norton. We all got the goat cheese salad and the Chicken Specials w/ morels and it was outstanding! We were too full for dessert. This area was way cool and we decided that we had to return later in the week. Lots of lively bars and restaurants w/ excellent menus.
-We tried the Arch de Triomphe but it had closed at 10 pm (it was now 11:15)
Tomorrow - Versailles......

Day #3 - Versailles
We had a 2 day museum pass and decided to use our 2nd day at Versailles because we thought that it would get us to the front of the line....no such luck! We were on the first train there and still had a 2 hour wait to get into Versailles. WE kept showing our museum pass to officials thinking that it would get us closer to the front, but no such luck. It was Saturday, great weather, and we were looking forward to seeing the fountains on for the weekend. We should have gone in to the gardens frist, b/c apparently the fountains are not on all day. They are on for a short time in the morning and then again for a short time in the afternoon. (I had not seen that written anywhere). Versailles is all about Louis XIV - his face and image is everywhere. We had the Rick Steves audio guide and it was somewhat helpful but.....
If I were to recommend anything I learned about this trip it would be to go here w/ a tour group. All of the tour groups seemed to go right to the front of the line and they also would have interpreters for the info inside.
We took the tram to the Grand Trianon (closed) and the Hamlet (very lovely) and ate at the restaurant in the garden - food was okay but service was extremely slow b/c it was so crowded (weekend).
-Dinner again at Royal Madeline w/ dover sole, foie gras, escargots, filet w/ bernaise sauce and lots of white burgundy.

Day #4
Packed up our bags and moved to the Renaissance Parc in the Trocadero region. Again, we used our points. Our room was not as nice as the Marriott nor as big but it overlooked a quiet courtyard. The concierge was not as skilled, but the area was very quiet and residential-like. We were within walking distance from the Trocadero Park which overlooks the Eiffel tower - lots of action and restaurants nearby that area. A delightful little bakery down the street where we had pastries each morning w/ our free cafe crema from the Renaissance.
-This morning we headed out to Rue Cler - what a delightful little street w/ bakeries, cafes, markets and a store that sells lovely linens. We had breakfast at the Cafe Marche and coffee - many locals were here w/ their children and dogs.
We headed off for another Paris walks tour of the Marais district - this was more interesting that the first Paris Walks tour. We ate falfalell at L'as Du Fallafel - it was excellent. We walked down to the Place de Voges which is a beautiful park full of young students and young lovers sitting on the grass and near the fountains. We saw Victor Hugo's house nearby
-We walked from there to the Bastille area where we found "men in tents" selling crafts - we made reservations for later in the week at Bofingers b/c we heard it was "so good&quot
Back to the hotel to clean up and rest and then walked to the Trocadero Park to take pictures of the Eiffel tower and it lights up - on the hour it actually does more than just light up - it goes off like a huge sparkler!
Dinner was at an Italian restaurant a block from the hotel - vegetarian pizza and beer hit the spot. It was frequented by many people w/ yamacas (sic?) so we figured it must be kosher.

Day #5
Montmartre! What a delightful area - picturesque and quaint. Artists are in the square (yes, I had to buy a piece of original artwork) and the history of those such as Van Gogh, Picasso, and Toulouse La Trec was everywhere.
Sacre Coeur was a beautiful church built for the people of Paris by the people of Paris - you can see all of Paris from its steps. Inside is a large mosaic of Jesus w/ his arms outstretched to the people of Paris who raised the money to build the temple.
The shops were fun to look through - we bought some souveneirs and ate from the local bakeries. We walked all through the streets to see the statue of ST. Denis (he's the one who picked up his head after being beheaded and kept walking up this hill) and the remains of the windmills. Pigalle (called Pig Alley by the G.I.'s of WWII) is full of sex shops leading down from the MOUlin Rouge.
-Back to hotel and walked to the boat dock next to the Eiffel tower for a Vendette night cruise down the Seine - Excellent!

I thought with the Museum pass at the Versailles you could get in via a different gate than the general public. Which gates did you try? It would be horrible to know that the museum pass doesn't let one jump the line anymore!

Hi - I'm going to Versailles next week and also puzzled that the pass was not allowing you access quicker. I went to the Versailles website, and here is what it reads:
"Important
➢ Due to the ongoing construction work, priority accesses are temporarily suspended. All ticket-holding visitors are requested to go to entrance A, located on the right in the Palace courtyard."

I guess we'll have to get there pretty early and hopefully the line will be shorter.

Do you know the times that fountains will be on? I can't find that on their website. Thanks!

Thank you so much for posting your report, you did many of the things I have on my list so it was fun to read about your experiences!

Just in case anyone else is interested, here is what I found out about the fountain schedule:
Dates:
Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays except May 1st
from April 7th 2007 to September 30th

Schedules:
Grand Perspective fountains, Apollo grove and baths, Ballroom grove
From 11.00 am to noon

Grand Perspective and all the groves from 3.30 pm to 5.00 pm

Neptune Basin from 5.20 pm to 5.30 pm


So I guess you need to be in the gardens from 11-12, or 3:30-5:30 to see the fountains and hear the music that is piped in.

Hope this helps someone else!

Yes, we (and everyone else not w/ a tour group) had to enter at gate "A". If that is still the case and you go on the weekend, I would recommend that you either go w/ a tour group or go through the gardens first. Save your museum pass for another day - it was worthless here for fast access.

Day #6
Up early to get in line for the tower of Notre Dame - we were there at 8:45 and they didn't open until 10:00 (the line was pretty long by then). They let a school group go up in front of us. The nice thing about being one of the first in line is that there is a wall you can sit on while waiting and the souveneir shops across the street are open if you're husband will save your place in line while you shop (hehe). Four Hundred steps up - be prepared! About 3/4 of the way you get to a ledge where most of the gargoyles are at eye level - my favorite was the one eating the head of another "thing" - also the one who overlooks the tourists and sticks out his tongue. They sell some replicas of the creatures in the shops nearby as towelbars or small statues.
Walked to Isle St. Louis to have lunch at a corner cafe - just across from Berthillions and facing the bridge - I forget the name. I wanted to try their sauerkraut, thinking it might be different from home, but no, it was the same w/ 4 sausages. We also tried their onion tart which was good. Service was a bit slow, but friendly. We strolled down the streets of the small island and looked in the upscale shops.
Walked along the Seine to the bridge des Artes ( a pedestrian bridge) and had a drink at the nearby cafe Cafe des ARtes. Strolled down the Rue de Seine toward Luxembourg gardens window shopping at all of the art shops.
Luxembourg Gardens is behind the Luxembourg Palace and has not only beautiful gardens but lots of statues and artwork nestled among them. We noticed many young artists w/ their sketchpads around the original statue of liberty.
Home to clean up and check email at Le Parc Trocadero and then off to dinner at Bofingers. I've got to say that this was a bit of a disappointment after hearing rave reviews from friends who had been here. They did serve the largest raw oysters I've ever seen. The foie gras was not as good as the Royal Madeline's and neither was the veal stew as good. The creme brulee was average. The bill was not cheap, and I didn't feel that the quality of the food was quite up to snuff w/ the price

Day #7
Paris Opera tour was well worth the price and the guide was fantastic!
We then picked up baguettes and headed to the Tuelleres garden for lunch. The gardens were serence - they are my favorite so far. There is a pony cart for the children in the woods furthest from the Louvre.
Next was the Orsay - also my favorite museum - small enough to really spend some time and know you saw everything. Again, we used the Rick Steves audio on our ipods for guidance.
Walked up the Seine to the Pont Alexander and then to Napoleons's Tomb (Les Envalides)
Walked back to the Place de Concorde to catch the metro to Pere Chaise cemetery but it closes at 6 pm on the dot and we were too late.
Another Seine Cruise (b/c we loved the first one so much) and walked home thru Trocadero Park viewing the Eiffel tower again.

Day #8 - Giverney
The train to Giverney took less than 45 minutes - we were charged $22 each for "second class tickets". They asked if we wanted 1st class tickets, but luckily we said "no" b/c there were no first class seats on the train! Also, no conductor ever asked us for our tickets so I'm wondering how they confirm whether or not you pay for the tickets??
Giverney was Money's home and studio during the years that he painted some of his most famous pieces of work. The gardens are vast and spectacular. If you go, go on the first train and take a taxi (or a bus) directly to Monet's home - scoot down to the waterlily pond asap so you can get photos of the famous artwork w/o the crowds infringing on your pictures. Go thru the house after viewing all the gardens. The restaurant in front of the house is reasonable and has good food but save dessert for the ice cream truck outside which serves homemade flavors of the day.
Returning to Paris we walked down the Champs de Elysee to the Place de Concorde, stopping at La Durees' to buy their famous (and delicious) macaroons. Walked up to St. Mdeline to the Hermes shop and others to pretend we could afford to buy something.
Evening was started at Willie's Wine Bar - fantastic - I would highly recommend a stop here before dinner for fantastic wines and a plate of 4 cheeses.
Diner was at Escargot Montorgueril and it was fantastic! We had kir, foie gras, escargot and duckling l'orange in the outside courtyard w/ fantastic service and great food. Too full for dessert there, we walked 2 blocks to the gelato place and pigged out there.
Took the metro to the Arc' D'Triomphe and climbed the 200 steps (b/c the elevator was not obvious) to say goodbye to Paris...for now!

One more thing - Be careful about the schedules for museums that are printed in travel books - it's better to check the museum sites on line for current hours.

Great report! Thanks!
Let me ask you about the gypsies. We will be there in June and I am very american looking. Was the area around the Notre Dame Cathedral the only area where you encountered the gypsies?
Thanks.

Girlonthego, The gypsies were also along the Champs de'Elysee and at Montmartre - they seem to frequent the heavy toursit areas and particularly are around the churches (hoping that people are in a "giving" mood). Their latest snag is to come up and ask you if you "speak English" just to start a conversation. Just walk away and ignore them is my best advice.

Deliteful report - nice to hear you had a grand time w/scads of tasty morsels.

We were in Paris much of the same time - May 2 -12. The weather was so incredible and we had the same experience of packing for weather in the mid 60's and being suprised by the upper 70's. Wish I had a pair of shorts and another sleeveless top but hardly a complaint. Who would have imagined that we would have 10 days without a drop of rain!

We went to Versailles on May 8 which turns out to be a somewhat major holiday. We bought Le Passport ticket at the RER station in Paris, per Rick Steves suggestion. We didn't have a major line to wait in when we got to Versailles, I'd say about 10-15 minutes and we probably got there about 11:30. We were initially annoyed that they wouldn't let us in to the gardens as they said the Passport didn't cover that on holidays. Later, however, we were able to get in and had a treat of having the fountains come on. Must have been a holiday thing as it was a Thursday.

We didn't buy a museum pass this trip and were perhaps just fortunate but we didn't have to wait in line at all at either the Orangerie (my favorite this trip) or the Orsay.

We stayed in an apartment in the 16th and perhaps our favorite thing about this trip was living Parisian. We had as much fun shopping at the markets for food as almost anything else. It was glorious and the beauty of the produce was extraordinary. The best strawberries I have ever had.

the gypsies are everywhere in Paris, especially tourist stops and parks. i've mostly encountered teenage girls. just wave them off. i don't quite get it, they sound like north americans.

watch out at the airports too.

Thanks for the gypsy advice. i have read many reports on the different cities in Europe and the scams.
So, we will be careful. Thanks.