My First Trip Report Ever: Paris!!

Old Jun 4th, 2006, 07:26 PM
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great report ... so far. Do please finish the rest of the report!

I will also be flying Zoom as well, but from Vancouver. A mental note to ask for an aisle seat so I can get up and walk around a bit while inflight.
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Old Jun 4th, 2006, 07:29 PM
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Croque...ROFL!!
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Old Jun 4th, 2006, 09:55 PM
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Leyla, this is sooo good!

I/m waiting with the rest for the next installment!
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Old Jun 5th, 2006, 09:06 AM
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lmlweb, we actually have already booked our aisle seats for Toronto > Paris. It was a few $ more - maybe $30 / assignment, but I thought it was worth it. (I'm only 5'1", but I always like aisle seats. After a couple of really long flights to Australia from Toronto, I learned - ask for aisle as soon as possible!)
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Old Jun 5th, 2006, 09:07 AM
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excellent point CroqueMadame... mmmm...
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Old Jun 6th, 2006, 02:52 PM
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Might be interesting to take a poll, huh, SuzieC?

Hairs or Office? Office or Hairs?

Find out who the real hard core Paris devotees are! Or at least the most blithe in spirit.

Or, as in my case, the most desperate...
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Old Jun 6th, 2006, 03:20 PM
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I would take hairs any day if I could be in Paris. And as Croque said then I would check out and find a better place.

Great report, aucho53. Waiting for more.
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Old Jun 7th, 2006, 09:52 AM
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OK - I vote for hairs in Paris! (or anywhere in France or Italy)

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Old Jun 7th, 2006, 02:45 PM
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Hi everyone! Thank you so much for all your nice responses! I am sorry it has taken so long for me to add on to my report but I have had some internet troubles so I had to wait until they were solved before I could finish! Thanks again for all your nice words!

Day 3) Ok, so....we had set our alarm to wake us up at 8:45 so that we could be out and about by around 9:30...well, the alarm went off, and we kept sleeping!! We woke up an hour late, and once again got off to a late start. No biggie, but looking back on it I would give anything for that lost hour in Paris.
Once we were out of the hotel we headed towards Rue Monge, where we wanted to have breakfast at Eric Kayser's "Maison Kayser". We had scoped it the night before, and we were so excited to try it.
Cristina and I both ordered the same thing, an almond croissant and a creme brulee. Now, I know that Eric Kayser has a fantastic reputation, but in Montreal (where I live) we have FANTASTIC bakeries and the like so I wanted to see how he would compare to what we have at home. I was not disappointed at all with the creme brulee, it was fantastic! But I must say that the almond croissant was not as good as the ones I get at Premier Moisson in montreal. But that's ok, it was still delicious!
After our very sweet breakfast (hehe)we headed over to Franprix on Rue Des Anglais and did a little grocery shopping. Since we had a few bags, we went back to the hotel (only 2 minutes away), climbed the 86 stairs up to our room and dropped them off so we didnt have to lug anything around with us.
We then continued walking around the latin quarter, checking out the Sorbonne and finding a really cute jewlery store called Le Parthenon, I forget it's exact location, but it's right in front of the Sorbonne, near Rue Des Ecoles. We bought a few souvenirs and I bought myself a pair of soft pearl earrings, a nice keepsake to remind me of my time there.
We then made our way back to Notre Dame, this time it was daytime so it was open. We went it, it is really something to see! The stained glass is incredible, so detailed, and when the light hits it its really amazing. We lit a few candles for some loved ones and then we left.
We went back to Rivoli because we really enjoyed it there and didn't have the chance to finish the street, so we wanted to go back. We did a little more shopping and then we were hungry and wanted to sit for a bit so we went to Cafe Benjamin on Rivoli and had a baguette.
After we had eaten and rested for a bit we hopped on the metro and took it to Abesses so that we could walk around Montmartre and see Sacre Coeur. Montmartre ended up being one of my favourite areas. I loved it there. It's cute and quaint, and Sacre Coeur was so beautiful. The view from there was dazzling! I loved the atmosphere. We just sat on the steps in front of the church (we were exhausted since we decided to climb the stairs instead of taking the funiculaire) and just took in the atmosphere. It was really really windy, but was still very enjoyable. What a nice part of Paris.
We had not made any dinner plans yet, so we started walking around in Montmartre looking for a place to eat. We came across Il Duca on Rue Yvon Le Tac. It was a really small, quaint place, and we liked the look of the daily special so we decided to try it. We both had Tortelloni con Ricotta e Spinaci. It was delicious, and the service was very friendly.
After dinner we took the Metro to Pigalle and decided to take a look at the red light district and we took some pics of the Moulin Rouge, and decided we didn't feel comfortable hanging around there in the dark so we called it a night and headed back to the hotel.
Well.....this must have been a bit boring for u guys...no big adventures on this day, it was pretty smooth sailing!
Thanks for reading!
I'll post day 4 soon!!

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Old Jun 7th, 2006, 03:57 PM
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You deserved a "smooth sailing" day!

Thanks!
Linda
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Old Jun 7th, 2006, 04:27 PM
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Ok I'm back again....I hope nobody is fed up with me yet! Haha!

Day 4) May 25

We started this day by leaving our hotel and stopping at the market that opened up on the corner of our street (Rue De La Montagne Ste. Genevieve) and Blvd. St. Germain. They had all sorts of different things at this market, food, jewlery, linens, antiques, clothing etc etc. We each bought a tablecloth, Cristina bought one for her aunt, very nice coton, for 10 euro and I bought one for my boyfriend's parents, I am actually not sure of the spelling but the vendor pronounced it "jacarl".....or something like that LOL! Whatever it is its beautiful, it cost 39 euro.
Also at that market we decided to start our day with a prosciutto baguette sandwhich (I know that's luch food but whatever....it looked good). Well the sandwhich was delicious but something aggrivated both our stomachs for a large portion of the day.
Anyways, we survived!
After the market, we took the RER B one stop from St.Michel/Notre Dame to Chatelet les Halles and we walked around Forum des Halles for bit. I told u we liked shopping!! Haha! I purchased a pair of shoes from San Marina, a shop in the forum.
Once we had finished at les Halles, we took the RER B again to Denfert-Rochereau because we had wanted to see the Catacombs. When we got there, we saw a small crowd of people outside the door, and then we saw a sign on the door saying that they were closed for the day, I think it was Journee de L'Assumption or something like that. We were a little disappointed because we had been anxious to see what they were like, but I guess we'll have to go next time!!
So, we headed to Champs Elysees. This is really an amazing street! It is so beautiful, and all of the attractions and sites around it are wonderful. On one end you have the Arc Du Triomphe, and all the way at the other end there's Place de La Concorde which has the Obelisk, and if you continue that way you go through Tuileries and then onto the Louvre. It's amazing.
We started by taking some pics around Etoile of the Arc Du Triomphe, then we headed dowm Champs Elysees to take it in.
Well......as we were walking along we came across Laduree. Not only is this the most beautiful place from the outside, but it's pastries and treats are AMAZING!!! We stopped in since I had heard that they are famous for their Macarons. I had a chocolate Macaron and a Vanilla Eclair, and Cristina had a Quiche Lorraine. Everything was great, absolutely amazing! We knew we would be stopping by again to enjoy!
After our stop at Laduree, we continued down the street. We purchased a pair of shoes for my boyfriend and for myself at a store called Courir.
We also stopped in at the Nike Paris store and Cristina bought a shirt and some shoes. I know they are brands that we have at home, but the models are totally different from what we have.
We walked around some more, and we were getting a little hungry so we headed to the Monoprix and we bought 2 baguettes, some goat cheese and juice boxes. We grabbed a bench and we made some sandwhiches, and just enjoyed watching the people and soaking in the atmosphere. Before we left I stopped in Planet Hollywood and bought a T-shirt for my sister.
We headed back towards the hotel, got ready and a little rested. We wanted to go to Deux Magots for coffee tonight. It was only a short walk from our hotel, and I know it's very touristy but we still wanted to go. It was a nice night. We sat outside and I had a Cafe Creme and Cristina had an Earl Grey Tea. It was a little overpriced (4.80 euro for the coffee and 5.90 euro for the tea) but it was a nice atmosphere and a nice night so it was worth it.
After coffee we walked back to the hotel and called it a night. Deux Magots was a nice way to end a nice day, the trip was really progressing nicely, we couldn't have been more pleased with things.
Talk to you soon!
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Old Jun 8th, 2006, 02:14 AM
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I think the tablecloth might be "jacquard" (named for the man who first used punched cards to "program" looms to weave patterns, 200 years ago, no less).
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Old Jun 8th, 2006, 05:12 AM
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Thank you aucho53 for posting your report. I'm bookmarking so that I can read it later.
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Old Jun 8th, 2006, 08:13 AM
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Still enjoying your report and waiting for more.
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Old Jun 8th, 2006, 08:29 AM
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Sounds like you are having a grand time. I love the shopping. I never "apologize" for doing touristy things or going to touristy places...I'm and tourist and that's what I'm there for. If I were ever so lucky to be able to go to Paris several times a year or for a lengthy stay like some other posters here, then my focus would probably be a little different after many visits. I'm heading back to Paris in November...it will be my third trip..and I can't wait to hit those stores!!!!!!!! LOL
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Old Jun 8th, 2006, 01:26 PM
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Great report aucho53. Totally enjoying it.
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Old Jun 8th, 2006, 02:14 PM
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Hello to everyone!! Thanks again for all the positive feedback!

patricklondon: Thanks for the tip on the "jacquard" tablecloth....I think you are right.


Ok here we go! Lol!

Day 5) May 26

Once again we got a late start to our day....only 1 hr, but like I said in my last post, if I could only have that hour back!!!
We decided to go back to Eric Kayser for breakfast again, this became our routine, and everyday it got better and better! This time Cristina had a quiche lorraine and I had a small viennoise baguette. We took our goodies to a little stone ledge facing a church across the street from Kayser on Rue Monge, and we had a picnic. The quiche was delicious!! The lady working there heated it up for us and it was fantastic!
After breakfast we decided to back to the Eiffel Tower since the line up was too long last time, and we wanted to go up. Once again the line up was crazy, even worse than the last time, so we held out. We took a few more pictures and then we headed to Invalides. I liked the area around Invalides, I found it so nice how from one direction you see the gold dome of Invalides, in another direction you see the Eiffel Tower, and in another direction you see Pont Alexandre III, it made for some very nice photos. If the weather were a bit better it would have been nice to sit on the grasss and people watch but it was looking like it might rain so we headed back to Champs Elysees.
Once we arrived we knew right away that we wanted to make another stop at Laduree!!! LOL! So, this time we decided to get a few things and make it our lunch! Cristina ordered a Quiche Provencale, and a cinnamon brioche, i ordered a quiche lorraine, a small jambon campagne baguette sandwhich, and a Bostock (brioche dipped in honey topped with almond cream and almond slivers coated in confectioner's sugar). Needless to say everything looked amazing! We noticed that the outdoor terrace was empty, so we asked the hostess if it would be possible for us to just take our goodies there to eat. She told us that it is closed, but that it wouldn't be a problem for us to sit down and quickly eat our stuff. Literally 2 minutes after we had unpacked our lunch and taken a few pictures, one of the waiters came out and told us that we would have to leave. Oh well!! At least we had the chance to enjoy a few minutes on the terrace by ourselves! So off to the curb we went! LOL! We sat on the curb and finished our lunch, which tasted even better than it looked, and just enjoyed ourselves.
Once we finished our lunch we started the walk down Champs Elysees to place de la concorde. We continued from there into Jardin Des Tuileries and then right on into the Louvre.
We didn't spend all that much time in the Louvre, neither of us are HUGE art fans so we saw all the "big" things and left.
We were feeling totally exhausted after the Louvre so we decided to head back to our hotel, clean up and get ready for dinner. The night before we had passed by this really unique looking restaurant in the 6th on Rue De La Huchette called Les Argonautes, so we wanted to go back and have a nice dinner.We had no idea what we were in for!!! It turned out to be one of the highlights of the whole trip!
As we were approaching the restaurant we saw the host standing outside smashing plates on the floor in the street!! We were so curious! So we went in and we were seated literally RIGHT next to a Swiss couple. The restaurant was full so they were putting people wherever there was room.
Once we were seated they brought us a complimentary glass of Rose and some olives to snack on. We odered the grilled gambas brochette for 22 euro. It was absolutely delicious! The shrimps were practically as big as a bread plate and were grilled to perfection!
As we were waiting for our food to arrive the waiters began clearing the center of the restaurant (right where we were seated) and started a "performance"! First one of the waiters threw gasoline on the floor and started dancing in the flames, then the same waiter lifted a table with his teeth!! If this wasn't crazy enough he proceeded by lifting a table topped by a young girl WITH HIS TEETH, and then a table topped by a grown woman!! We couldn't believe it! It was such a fun place, people were smashing plates, spraying silly string all over, there was live greek music....we didn't think it could get any more interesting!! Until I became part of the show!!! They grabbed me from my seat, plunked me onto a table, lied me down on my back (where they proceeded to tickle me lol) and then they raised the table in the air and flung me towards the ceiling!! I screamed so loud!! It was absolutely hilarious!
They sat me back down and I thought that would be it for us......NOPE!! lol, a few minutes later they came back! This time the tallest, skiniest waiter stood me on my chair, threw me over his shoulders, slapped my butt and carried me over to a table and stood me up! He wanted me to start dancing on the table!! I am not really the table dancing type so I stayed there for about 30 seconds and then jumped off! After I sat down and stopped giggling our food came. We really enjoyed every bite! It was great!
After we ate we were just sitting around having a good time when the waiter came back and took Cristina to go dance with him! She is pretty shy so this was hilarious! We have it on video and we have some funny pics of the whole night as well!
It was a really really fun night!!!
After dinner some of the souvenir shops and stands were still open around the restaurant so we walked around for a bit and then headed back to the hotel!
Les Argonautes was really the highlight of our trip!
At the end of my report I am going to post a few pics for you guys to see!!
Talk to you soon!
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Old Jun 8th, 2006, 02:22 PM
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LOL, I am sooo going to that restaurant. That sounded like a blast. Keep it coming.
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Old Jun 8th, 2006, 02:28 PM
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Hi Laartista!! It was a total blast I would 100% recommend it to anyone of any age!! You are guaranteed to have a good time, i think they have a website if you wanna look them up but I am not sure of the web address!! I'll post Day 6 in a bit....

Talk to u soon!

Layla
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Old Jun 8th, 2006, 03:43 PM
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Ok, I have given my fingers a break from typing and I'm back to post Day 6.


Day 6)May 27

We actually managed to start our day on time today!! LOL We did the usual and went to Eric Kayser for breakfast. Today we decided to try one of his famous "Baguette Kayser" (he doesn't use yeast or something like that). We also tried a brownie and a pain au chocolat. They were all delicious!! I miss our breakfasts from there, they were so good!!

We took the Metro to Madeleine and went to Fauchon located in Place De La Madeleine. Ok...this place (there are 2 different shops right next to each other one is where u can buy fresh pastries and other goodies and the other is like an upscale grocery store). We could have spent days in there!!! Everything was so amazing! Cristina bought some coffee, some anchovy spread, some pate and some jam, and i bought some fruit nectar, some almond stuffed olives and some jam. It is very pricey but the things are so unique and they are all soooo tasty that they are worth every penny!
After Fauchon we took some time walking around the 9th. I actually really liked this area...I had heard some lousy things about it but I quite enjoyed it. We stopped in Printemps, and stopped at some of the little stands set up along the street just outside Printemps. Cristina was a little hungry, but I was still full from breakfast so we stopped off at a Monoprix and she bought a slice of quiche. We had a little picnic and then we took the metro to Republique. I know this isn't really a "nice and touristy" area but we wanted to check it out. By the time we got there I was getting hungry so we stopped off again at a Monoprix and I bought a baguette, some goat cheese and an apple turnover. Then we took our stuff to the little park in Place de la Republique and had another picnic.
After that we took the metro back to our hotel and dropped off our bags. We headed back to the Eiffel Tower cuz we hadn't gone up yet.
As you are on the subway going towards the tower you pass over a bridge and you have a wonderful view of the tower from the metro car window...well we were so busy trying to film it and look at it that we missed our stop (Bir-Hakeim). So we got off at the next one, Trocadero. This ended up being fine with me since the view of the Tower at night from Trocadero is amazing! We had just missed the 10pm light show so we just sat around and enjoyed the view until the 11pm show. When that tower is twinkling it is really breathtaking! It was such a nice thing to have seen!
After the light show, we walked down the stairs from trocadero and there was some type of rollerblading show going on. We hung around and watched and then walked to the tower, we decided we were going to go up at night. There was barely any line and we would be going up at just about midnight so we would be on the tower when it lights up.
The top was closed so we bought our ticket to the 2nd floor. As we were in the elevator the tower started to twinkle! It was beautiful! Then when we stepped out onto the viewing deck and looked up we couldn't believe how amazing it was to see it from up close! I felt so lucky to have the chance to be there, I know I worked hard to get myself there but at that moment I really felt so lucky.
After we came down from the tower, we headed towards the metro station. Since it was after midnight we figured we would be catching one of the last trains. Well, as we entered the station we heard them announce that we had just missed the last train towards our direction, so we crossed the track and took the next one in the opposite direction and got off at Miromesnil with intentions to go to Duroc and then to Maubert Mutualite. Well as we were on the metro it stopped at Invalides and security guards with german shepards came to kick everyone off.....metro service was finished!! LOL! So, at 1:15am we were at Invalides!! We exited the metro station and asked a couple of people if they could point us in the direction of the latin quarter. Luckily it wasn't complicated. We walked to Blvd. St Germain and then took St Germain all the way to our hotel. It took us about an hour. We considered cabbing it, but hey, we're young and why waste euros on a taxi when we walked without any trouble??
We got to our hotel at about 2:20am and needless to say we were exhausted!!
We hit the sack and slept very well!! LOL!!
Thats all for this day!
Talk to u soon! Thanks for reading!
Layla
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