My First Trip to Provence and Paris...Loved!!!
 

Thanks to all who helped in the planning! I won't know how many pieces I'll do this in until I get going, so here goes...

The beginning had bumps and I don't mean turbulence. I of course came down with a bad cold the day before we left. Did some anticipatory panicking about ear pain on flight, and quickly researched how to prevent...the tip that worked best was very simple, Afrin nasal spray! Then our plane Sat. evening was delayed a full 3 hours so even tho' we'd left a 3 hr. window to get our high speed train from CDG to Provence on Sun., we missed it. Thank goodness I'd taken advice from people here to pay the extra to get the kind of tix that would allow us to switch to a later train. Unfortunately all they had left on the next train was first class (none of us had ever traveled first class in our lives!), so we did end up paying a lot extra, but it was well worth it. Train ride was very relaxing for us exhausted folks, and when we arrived in Avignon, we had no trouble finding our rental car place, Hertz, it was right across from the station. They had us in something much larger than we wanted, and they were perfectly accommodating in switching us to something smaller but big enough to fit all four of our luggage, with some in the backseat (we were only driving to St. Remy so this was fine).
No relatives or friends work for Hertz :-)

It started to rain on that short drive and we had quite a bit of trouble finding our b and b, Le Mas Des Tourterelles. But once we arrived, the place was lovely, and while Carrie seemed a little put out by our late arrival, Richard was very kind and welcoming, and both were helpful with suggestions of simple places to go into town, just a 5 minute walk, for dinner once we rested. We went to Le Bar Tabac des Alpilles, and with the help of my French "menu master," managed to figure out what was what and communicate with our waiter who didn't speak much English. I was very glad I'd learned how to ask for tap water in French as we had no need for bottled water along with our wine. We all enjoyed our meals, nothing super special, but very fresh and enjoyable. It was our introduction to delicious Provencal salad dressings!

Next day we were still tired and I still had my cold, so we decided to just stay in St. Remy for most of the day, and at Richard's suggestion, head over to Les Baux around sunset when it would be less crowded. We walked up to the Glanum ruins, very interesting, along with the two larger sites by the parking area, we enjoyed the larger archeological site and the views of it and the Provencal valley, from the top. From there we spent some time wandering St. Paul d Mausolee, with its lovely cloister and gardens as well as seeing Van Gogh's room, of course. We then did that "Van Gogh walk" where you walk on a path that has pictures of his paintings at different intervals...that part didn't seem so worth it to us, in hindsight. By then, since we'd not gotten a real early start, we had what was probably our only early dinner the whole trip - we had crepes at a place I'm afraid I don't have the name of tho' my friend might if anyone wants it...and I had a delicious crepe of goat cheese, eggplant and fig jam, oh my! Others enjoyed their dishes as well.

We then took off for Les Baus, and what a wonderful tip Richard had given us when he said either go early or at sunset. There were very few other people there when we arrived, and it was just magical, walking all around that incredibly picturesque town at sunset time. One of my most memorable times of our trip.

Oh my goodness, am I only at the end of Monday?! Let me at least get Tues. in before I break, lol.

Tuesday was our day to explore the Luberon hilltowns. I fortunately was already feeling much better, healing happens more quickly on vacation, sometimes! We began by stopping at the Village des Bories on our way to Gordes, and saw the dry stone, no-mortar huts. They were interesting to see but I wouldn't necessarily recommend this stop unless that's a particular interest. We then went on to Gordes, where it turned out to be market day! We hadn't planned for that as we were planning to spend time at the St. Remy market on Wed., and it of course changed the ambience with all the people, and made parking more difficult. But I loved seeing Gordes, such a beautiful old village built into the base of the cliffs, with amazing views. I spent more time walking around the outer part and looking up in awe, while friends spent more time at the marked; so we were all content.

I think it was after that, that we stopped at Abbaye de Senanque. While enjoyable to see, I think with the lavender out it must be really incredible, we were too early for that. Then Rousillon...another favorite for me. Oh those colors!!! All shades of red, orange, yellow imaginable. We paid the very small fee to walk on the path that leads through the ochre canyon/park, and it was more than worth it. When done with that we picked up something delicious that we still don't know what it was, from a patisserie, and perched ourselves outside the place while eating and watching people go by. Lovely.

We decided at that point we only wanted to visit one more town, not two, so we skipped Bonnieux and instead went to Menerbes. Loved that too, as well as the scenery on the way there. Enjoyed our café at a café, and just wandering around. Then went back to our place to rest up a bit, and off to a restaurant once again recommended by Richard at our B and B, Sous Les Miococouliers in Eygalieres. We literally dined outside under the micocoulier trees and the twinkling lights, it was again magical! For the first and only time in Provence, we dined next to other English speakers, and I must say, the raciness of their conversation alongside the ambience and good food, made for a memorable evening! We're still laughing and making reference to some of the things we heard that evening. Oo la la!

I'll be back to write about our Wed. and Thurs. in Provence, and then if it seems anyone's still reading, I'll do a part 3 and 4 for Paris (and yes, I now understand why so many people love Paris so much, with much gratitude and joy I add myself to the list!)

Oops, didn't catch my typo with Les Baux, probably auto correct did that! Some typos I can leave be but not of a place I loved so much.

Great report so far. Glad you had a good time. Who could not??
We are hopefully off to Provence next year, so looking forward to reading more.

Thanks, rhon.

Wed. was market day in St. Remy, so we walked into town to enjoy that, and despite the crowds, enjoy we did! It was also there that I realized my not-fluent but not-bad Spanish was more helpful than my twenty or so words of French, with many people. I just loved the various musicians, the colors, the voices, the soaps and scarves, etc... I did have someone in the crowd try to distract me, in attempt to pickpocket I'm sure, but having read more warnings than were even necessary I was plenty wise to it and it wasn't a problem. We picked up baguettes, cheese, olives, and apricots (and I'm sure things I'm forgetting) for picnic lunch back at our b and b, as our rooms opened up to nice terrace areas with little tables and chairs, and enjoyed that very much.

For the afternoon we drove out to see Pont du Gard and Uzes. Not much to add to what anyone would read in any tourist guide. Back in St. Remy, had unpleasant experience at Bistro Marie, and left and went to Pizzeria Aldo instead. I know, I know...pizza in Provence?! But it was late and we were tired and hungry...and actually, the pizza was quite different than what we have in the States, a whole different kind of cheese, AND the place was packed with locals, and we enjoyed watching the interactions between the wait staff and patrons. One fun moment was as we were watching the good-byes from what we thought was a table with a party of about a dozen people breaking up, only to realize all the standing up and hugs and kisses and extra conversation and laughter were just for one person who had to leave early, everyone else was staying :-) We developed a kidding relationship with the owner in our halting French too, and later when we ran into him, he remembered us and invited to us to have breakfast with him somewhere the next morning, but unfortunately we were to be on our way by then.

Thursday we went to Avignon, and it turned out the Palais des Papes was having some sort of event of roses going on (unless this happens frequently?) and the roses were absolutely beautiful, all colors and arrangements filling the courtyard and a couple of the other areas as well. We toured the Palais and then just walked around Avignon taking it all in, and spent a fair amount of time café sitting and people watching as well. I ordered some alcoholic blue drink that the menu said was a common drink in Provence, it was strong and I'm not a big drinker but it was just fun to order something without knowing what it would be. I had some sips and that was that! Dinner that night was back in St. Remy at Le Café de la Place right in the center of town, it was surprisingly good. Got a kick out of the blackboard menus in many places such as this one, felt assured that fresh ingredients were being used when the items could be erased and added so easily and nothing was in English.

Friday we were to say goodbye to Provence and head to Paris...took some pictures of the poppies right across the road, as we left. I hope to go back someday. But now, Paris! I'm back to work tomorrow but will do my best to get to the Paris part, within the next few days.

Sounds fantastic Laura- will try ang get to those places you mentioned. We will be there 13th June!

Good report. Waiting for Paris. So glad it lived up to your expectations!

It looks like we covered some of the same ground. When did you go - we were in St Remy mid April. Was there still a lot of street construction in St Remy?

Caroline, that's soon, have a wonderful time! Basingstoke2, we just returned, our trip was May 5-18. Some street construction but not too bad. When we were in St. Remy we were always walking, so truthfully just walked around it and barely noticed.

So, Paris! We took the high speed train again, and after dealing with a crazy taxi driver who knew absolutely nothing about where anything was (we came to appreciate how little she knew even more as the week went on) we arrived at our Hotel, Le Clement in the 6th arrondissement. I loved it there! I was completely charmed by the small elevator and how it worked, everyone at the desk was friendly and helpful (one or two people especially so, but all were fine), we were walking distance to so much, and to three metro stations to boot. There were some down sides to the hotel too, but for the price, I'd stay there again in a heartbeat.

After resting a bit, we ambled down for a simple dinner, and stumbled onto City Crepe Café on rue de Seine. French feel to the atmosphere of this bar/restaurant, everyone there speaking French, yet New York themed names for the crepes, pretty funny. We all enjoyed our food. I should say right now that as one of the people we were with is not very adventurous with food, unlike on the Rome trip dh and I took about 10 yrs. ago, this trip report will not be filled with culinary adventures (with one major and very special exception...stay tuned!).

After dinner we headed down to the Seine, and saw a HUGE building across the river! What WAS that, we wondered as we quickly pulled out our maps. And then started laughing as we realized we were looking at the Louvre. Somehow all the pictures we'd ever seen had not done it justice, and we just didn't recognize it when we saw it. We were slightly ashamed of ourselves for this! But I have to say, I don't think I'll ever forget that first glimpse.

From there one of our foursome really wanted to see the Eiffel Tower on our first night, and we decided to walk. It was a little farther than we'd thought, but how fun to walk and just look at everything around us, including passing by the Musee D'Orsay, which was a high priority for all of us, to get back to. We enjoyed the partial glimpses of the ET before it came into full view, and then there it was in all its glory. Yes, we'd made it to Paris!

Three out of four of us had decided ahead we didn't need to go to the top, we'd go other places for the views, during the week. And the fourth who was more interested in it, and might have persuaded us, was dissuaded by the long line. So after hanging out for a bit, we headed to our first metro ride of what would be many, during our week's stay. What an easy system to use! And in case anyone's reading this who's been scared off by all the pickpocket warnings here or elsewhere, we did not have one problem all week. I'm not saying it doesn't happen, but there are a lot of alarmists out there, which I always think is a shame, especially for people not used to large urban areas who might get scared off more easily.

I feel like I must be forgetting something because we went to bed very late each night, including that one, and this doesn't seem like it would have taken us all evening, but maybe all the stopping to ooh and aahh slowed us down!

Enjoying your report. Don't worry--I misspelled Les Baux in my trip report, too. And, I also had some good pizza in St. Remy--perhaps at the same place.

Continuing...our first full day in Paris, Sat., the sun was out! We decided to head for the Marais neighborhood, by way of winding our way up and over to Isle St. Louis, stopping on the bridge across to listen to some darn good jazz musicians. Walked around the charming Isle for a bit, and then back over to the Marais, by which time we were ready for something to eat. As the men tried to determine from the maps which way we should head for a falafel, I ducked into an almost empty optical store, and used the very little French I know, saying "s'il vous plait, falafel?" The salesman looked a little puzzled, and I repeated, "falafel?" with a big question mark in my voice, and he said "Ah!" and pointed me to where we needed to go. For the rest of our trip, that was my favored method of figuring anything out, and it always worked just fine! We enjoyed falafel from Mi Va Mi, at a table indoors which we were ready for by then, needing to rest our feet. After lunch, our friends went to a small museum in the area (sorry, forget which one), while we took advantage of the weather and wandered over to Place de Vosges. After sitting on a bench for a while and just enjoying, we noticed a tour group coming out of the far corner, so walked over to investigate, and enjoyed the courtyards of Hotel Sully. Our friends then joined back up with us, and after hanging out a bit more, we all decided to walk over to the Center Pompidou. They walked straight down, we like to always take a path we haven't taken before, so we wound our way again, and passed by a little park/playground that had a ping pong table set up in it, with kids playing, fun to watch for a couple moments. I'm not a huge modern art person and my feet were getting tired, so can't say CP was a highlight for me. We took the metro back to our hotel to rest for a bit. Ended up eating Italian again, at Alfredo Positano in our neighborhood, seemed all there were locals, which was fun, and I have to say, the food was delicious!

Nevertheless, I woke up VERY sick in the middle of the night, and let's just say any concerns about weight gain went away. I was worried that I'd be sick for the rest of our vacation week in Paris, because I haven't been that sick in years. But after sleeping in, I felt ready to do some easy-going activity and see how it went. So we went to the Luxembourg Gardens just down the road from our hotel, the perfect choice at that point. I wasn't feeling my very best, but I was ok enough to do some wandering thru the Latin Quarter, and over to look for Shakespeare and Company. On the way, we happened upon the Eglise St. Severin and saw an open door, so went in. How beautiful!! I hadn't thought I was one to love looking at old churches so much, but I enjoyed that stop so much that we ended up going into quite a few other churches during the week as well, which I'll be mentioning later. Did go to Shakespeare and Co. afterward, and although I'm a total book addict, my stomach still wasn't so great so I started feeling a need to go back and rest...but not before picking out a book and getting it stamped. Some touristy things are just fine with me, I admit it with no shame! :-) After our rest, we headed for a concert at St. Chappelle, which we'd seen an advertisement for on a poster, and I'd told everyone I wanted to do. Unfortunately one side of the church's renowned stained glass windows were under cover for repair, but of course it was beautiful anyway. Dinner afterward felt a little challenging, since I wasn't sure what I could eat yet, but we just went to a local creperie on the way "home," and I got a plain crepe with just an egg in it, and it settled fine, which built my confidence that I was going to be ok after all! And sure enough, I was...by next day, as you will hear, I was eating plenty fine.

Sometimes these stomach upsets are just due to a change of diet and water, but there is never any way to know ahead of time if you will be subject to such a problem (unless you <b>always</b> are). Good news: the more you travel, the less this happens!

No reason to be embarrassed about eating a pizza anywhere in France. The United States is the #1 pizza country in the world and France is #2. The French eat 4 times more pizza than the Italians, so I can't even begin to imagine how much more the Americans eat. In any case, the pizzas are different in each country, which makes them local dishes. The most popular pizzas in France are 'goat cheese' and 'smoked salmon' which you probably did not order since you aren't French. :-)

"Some touristy things are just fine with me, I admit it with no shame! ----I'm with you all the way, go_laura!

Loving this TR.

I'm enjoying your report, go_laura. Thanks for posting it.

kerouac, I'm guessing in Lazio and Campania the per capita amount of pizza consumed in Italy is much, much higher than the rest of the country? It sure seemed like one of their staple foods to me in Rome when I was there, but not as much in Tuscany. I'm curious, what is your source for that information?

Great report. Looking forward to more!

Blaise, pizza is indeed very regional in Italy. One interesting factoid that I found was that the first pizzeria in Paris opened in 1950, but the first pizzeria in Milan did not open until 1960.

Meanwhile, the first "pizza towns" outside of Italy were Marseille, followed by New York.

bookmarking...and loving the report!

wow, thanks for all the responses, it's very encouraging and motivating me to continue!

Day 3 in Paris: Feeling fine, hurray. Breakfast was at a Paul's down the block from hotel, as our friends seemed to prefer going there each day we were together. I must say that while I typically try to avoid chains no matter the country, this one was quite charming, so I didn't mind at all. We were doing so much new all day and night, that there was something nice about establishing a bit of a routine for some mornings. Oh, I love being a little older and not feeling the pressure I used to to do things the way others think I should!

We then took the metro to the Arc de Triomphe, where we all walked up the 280+ winding stairs to get to the top. It was well worth it, plus on the way up I dumped any guilt about the amount of bread I was eating. Have I said how much I loved the bread everywhere, absolutely everywhere, in Paris? No butter needed, tho' I had some a couple times anyway. While the others were preferring the croissants and pastries, having had a croissant each day in Provence had sated me, and I was finding I preferred a plain (if you could call something that delicious, plain) tartine.

But I digress. The Arc de Triomphe...terrific views, and there'd been no line at all. Whoever advised that, thank you! I think we stayed up top about an hour just looking at the city from all directions, figuring out what we were looking at. Such a feeling of being right in the center of everything. And the floor had some kind of camera/video built in where we could watch the people milling around the bottom, so if you plan to stand around at the bottom, don't pick your nose ;-) Don't mean to be too irreverent tho', I think we all truly felt the solemnity, sorrow and joy of thinking of the historical events that had taken place where we were standing.

We then left to walk up the Champs Elysees, wanting to just see/do that, heading to visit the Musee Orangerie. We did stop at Laduree for the requisite macarons, little ones for me, big ones for dh. They were indeed delicious, but since it was only fair to compare, I had to have some more at a couple other places as the week went on, and dare I say those were equally delicious (and the ones from Gerard Mulot, maybe even preferred). I surprised myself with my favorite flavors being coffee and plum.

We didn't go in to the Grand Palais or anywhere else, just gawked at the outer buildings. But, myself having been raised a Philadelphian and dh having really adopted the city for his own these last seven years we've lived here again, we got VERY excited when we got to the Place de la Concorde and saw the buildings that our Philly Free Library and court buildings had been designed after, by French architects. With the fountains too...and then even turning to look back down the ave. at the Arc de Triomphe, we could so clearly see how they brought the Paris vision to the design of the whole Benjamin Franklin Parkway with the Art Museum at the crown. Now believe me, I'm in no way claiming that Philly comes anywhere close to Paris as it absolutely does not, but still it was great fun to see the Parisian influence on our city, up front and personal.

Ok, so now are feet were tired and we were hungry, and when we realized there was no café at the Orangerie we thought we'd really screwed up by not stopping somewhere earlier,as were too tired to imagine enjoying the museum without a feet-break first. But thankfully someone overheard us saying that out loud, and told us that just a few steps past the Orangerie we'd find a café. So we had a late lite lunch there, and then very much enjoyed the Monet water lilies and all else with feet that were restored.

Back to hotel to rest, something else I forgot to write down apparently, and then dinner that night was at Deux Olivieres, which we all thought was good but not great (great comes on Thurs. and this was only Monday, I can not believe how long I'm taking with this trip report but I'm having fun!)

Enjoying the read! Thank you

Great report. I am sorry you got sick but glad to read it didn't last long.

Can't wait for the next chapter!

go_laura -- Wonderful report! I've been most of the places you saw in Provence, and will be visiting Les Baux for the first time, in Sept. I'm wondering what the "down sides" of the Clement were, as I'm considering booking a room there.

Lovely report. Ugh, so sorry you were sick - twice! Can't wait for Thurs dinner report!

Love your report. We are coming the middle of September but we will go to Paris first. I've gotten some great ideas. Keep reporting!

=D> What a fun report!

We have been to Provence several times and your charming stories make me want to return again.

I am also revisiting so many lovely places in Paris with you. Your "walk" to the Eiffel brought back memories of our first trip when we thought it was so close--you could see it after all--and decided to walk there. It was way too far and we definitely took the Metro back to our hotel.

My favorite line of yours:
<<Oh, I love being a little older and not feeling the pressure I used to to do things the way others think I should!>>

We're very happy to add you to our love of France posts here at Fodors. Definitely looking forward to more.

Again, thanks all! Back to trip report in a moment, but first I want to reply to the q I was asked.

susan001, while I'd go back to Hotel Le Clement in the blink of an eye for its many positives, the biggest negative for some (including one of the couple we were traveling with)was the noise factor. Even with the windows fully closed, if you face the street side, there's a lot of noise from the nearby restaurants late at night, but even worse apparently was the noise from the garbage trucks and street cleaners starting at 5AM. I'm a *very* light sleeper and travel with earplugs, and I only awoke once from this noise. Our friend has trouble sleeping with earplugs so this was a real downside for him. This time I was with dh but in past years I've done some traveling alone, and when doing so I also don't like to wear earplugs, so had I gone to this hotel alone, it wouldn't have worked for me either. Apparently even on the other side of the hotel, due to the thin walls of an old hotel, noise from other rooms is a problem. For the price and all the positives, tho', I don't see how you'd do better in that regard. As always, depends on your needs and what you can afford.

The other thing to know about the hotel is that while it's in a terrific area filled with many wonderful cafes, restaurants, and shops, there are also many homeless people resting and sleeping under the overhang of the shopping plaza across the street. Not right on Rue Clement, but the adjacent streets. And right next to the hotel, is a soup kitchen - only once did we see people lining up for a meal there. And not once did anyone come up to us with any aggression, as happens more in the U.S. cities (or maybe we were just lucky, I don't know). And when I think would I have been comfortable there alone, the answer is yes, as you could easily avoid walking on the streets where the homeless people were, if you chose to. And the hotel itself is VERY secure.

So it depends on how one feels about these things. I actually found myself reminded to be filled with gratitude for my good fortune in life, and well-reminded that if we could afford this trip, we can darn well afford to make a way when we got home, on top of our regular charitable contributions, to make an extra nice sized donation to an organization in our area that we know does well by people who need help.

One last down side for some, would be that in the rooms a little larger, which we paid for, the shower-head is hand held, not attached. I found this to be just another way of experiencing being in a different country, and got used to it quickly (it felt like a victory when on our third day I didn't get water all over the place :-) but again, I realize that for some who like all creature comforts when away, it could be an issue.

All that being said, I must end by saying again that the people at the desk were friendly and helpful, the lobby was charming and wonderful and had plenty of room for us to meet up with our friends, I loved the little elevator, the room (double superior) was darn right spacious for a big city hotel, and the location absolutely could not be beat for being walking distance to so much and to three metro stations.

My goodness, that was like a trip report installment unto itself! Hope it helps and that you're happy with whatever you decide.

And now back to trip report (with appreciation again for all the replies!):

Mon. night dh and I decided that as this was vacation, we were only willing to use an alarm clock every other morning. So Tues. we divided up from our friends who prefer to get an early start each day (they're retired, we still have about 15 years of full time work ahead of us!). With a much later start, we headed to the Rodin museum, again rather than taking metro, wandering through streets we hadn't yet been on, and stopping at a café. As we got very close to the museum, we ran into a large protest with shirts that said "yes, weekend" and I wish them very well since I'd hate to see other countries become as work obsessed and unable to relax and enjoy life as is the norm in a fair amount of parts of the U.S.

We thoroughly enjoyed the Rodin museum, especially the outside gardens, and we were very lucky as it started to rain just as were heading into the indoor part. It stopped by the time we were done, and after a snack in the wonderfully located café overlooking the gardens (hmm, there sure does seem to be a café theme to this trip, eh?), we headed on to the Musee d'Orsay, where we had what I imagine will be one of the travel stories of our lives.

By this time, it was late in the day, and we knew we'd just do an initial look at this museum, and likely want to go back, as the French impressionists are among my very favorite form of art. We started by going up to the 5th floor, and while it was crowded, we were enjoying it very much. Then there was an announcement about the museum closing time, and there was a mad rush to the down escalator. We looked at our watch, and saw that the official close time was still about 40 minutes away. So we didn't know why everyone seemed to be leaving, and thought what the heck, we're going to stay and keep looking, when they need to shoo us out, they will (later we realized others probably were wanting to make sure they saw downstairs, while we knew we'd come back). Only a handful of other people made this same decision, so we had the luxury of the 5th floor of the Musee D'Orsay with hardly anyone around...and by about 15 minutes later, it was only one other oouple and us!!! And it was funny, I'd noticed the woman of the other couple before, because she and I returned to the same painting a couple of times, and it turned out she'd learned about it when it had been on loan to the Met in NY, and then her husband joined in the conversation, and he was quite knowledgable about other pieces as well. I still can't believe we had almost a half hr. in that amazing place, with just one other couple. When we finally did really have to leave, and were downstairs about to walk out, I was so in awe that I was looking at the bottom floor with absolutely no-one there, that I forgot a moment about no pictures, and took one. The guard immediately came over to me, and I apologized with my "pardon, pardon, I forgot" and he smiled, seemed to get it (we had seen other people taking pictures earlier, who hadn't forgotten, were just snapping away despite all the signs, but there was less guarding upstairs. Even some with flashes, which I thought awful. I think this guy despite my limited French, realized that I truly had been overtaken by the moment!)

Dinner was with our friends at Pizza Positano (btw the night at Alfredo Positano, we didn't have pizza), and I highly recommend it. It was a small place with a wood fired oven, the owner seemed to know absolutely everyone who walked in other than us, and everything was absolutely delicious.

After dinner, they headed back to the room, and we walked over to Chez Papa Jazz Club, where the pianist was terrific, the saxophone player pretty good, and the crème brulee delicious. We heard more English spoken there than most places we went, so I guess its as much a tourist attraction as a place for locals, unless it was just that night. Whatever, we had a great time, and as we'd missed the first set, it was hard to leave at 11:30 after the second, as I know how jazz heats up as the night goes on, and I was really enjoying the pianist. And dh had gotten into a long conversation with an ex-pat who invited us to another jazz place in Montparnasse for the next night, which we didn't end up doing but have down for next visit. But I also knew if we stayed I would NOT enjoy getting up the next morning, so that ended our Tues. in Paris.

Hi go_laura -- thank you so much for taking the time to give your assessment of this hotel. I had original narrowed my choice to this and one other hotel in St. Germain. I ended up going with the more expensive one due to a report of theft at Clement (on TA). Now, there are two new posts regarding the hotel I booked that money had been stolen out of suitcases. I may just keep my reservation and plan to wear my money belt every day, hoping that my camera will be safe when I go downstairs for breakfast.

I have tinnitus, so sleeping with earplugs is not an option for me -- I need ambient white noise (but not so much noise that I will be awakened) so perhaps I should stay in a quieter hotel.

I really appreciate the time and care you gave to your summary of the hotel. Again, I'm really enjoying your report!

Wed. we went to the Louvre for a couple hours. I actually would have saved this for another trip but this was on dh's list as well as our friends', so I figured to keep an open mind and perhaps as many other times in my life, I'd find myself surprised to love something I didn't expect to.

Not what happened, but that's ok too :-) Did enjoy just seeing the building itself, and spent close to a couple hours there. But when when the sun came out (it had been cloudy and a bit chilly at this point, since Sat.), we unanimously agreed, let's get out in that sun! I'm guessing that on a return trip someday there are parts of the Louvre that I might really enjoy, especially with a knowledgeable guide. But for that moment in time...ah, the sun!

We had not gotten ice cream at the Berthillon window the first time we'd found ourselves at Isle St. Louis, so we decided to aim for that. We walked there, along the right bank of the Seine, where we hadn't yet been. Stopped to gawk when we saw the enormous building of Hotel de Ville, and walked over to find out what it was and have a closer look. And I learned my preferred if uncommon way of enjoying learning history...look first, learn later!

I know for many people, they like to read ahead and know what they'll be seeing. I never found myself all that motivated to do a lot of that research (my research mostly focused on neighborhoods, outdoor markets, hotels and restaurants, lol). But, once I'm there and see something before my eyes, I find myself very motivated to go back later and read up on what I saw. A little backward, I suppose, but when I later looked up Hotel de Ville and among other things read about Charles de Gaulle's famous window speech, that then led me to reading more about Charles de Gaulle himself...and all of what I read, I read with great interest.

That being said, I wonder if all my "after the fact" reading might lead me to wanting to do more "before the fact" reading for future travels...we'll see!

In any case, we continued our walk to Isle St. Louis, where we found a lovely place for a longer and bigger lunch than we'd expected (another one I'll have to get name of from my friend, if anyone's interested), but still managed to get our Berthillon ice cream afterward. Three of us got two flavors, one got one, and all four of us agreed after tasting each others' all the way around, that the unexpected favorite by far, was our friend's plum flavor. Really, if you're reading this and will be going there, please try it even if it doesn't sound like what you'd ordinarily get!

We then walked over to Isle de la Cite, as we hadn't yet gone to Notre Dame. First we went to the Deportation Memorial, simple and solemn. I appreciated the care that's taken to ensure people will respect the visit with silence. Then, Notre Dame. Enough is said about elsewhere, I have nothing new to add.

We went back to the hotel for a long r and r, did more walking around "our neighborhood" and ended the day with a late dinner in our neighborhood. Btw, all the "walking around" was how we'd discovered the Chez Papa Jazz Club that we'd enjoyed so much on Tues. night; it was on a small street and we hadn't read about it beforehand. When we came upon it, no-one was inside and we poked our heads in just to see if it was a place we might want to go back to. We loved the intimate atmosphere of it, and while we were looking, the owner who must have stepped out for a quick moment, came back in and we chatted with him in our halting French and English. I mention this as a way of emphasizing to any brand new travelers who might be reading this, how the "wandering" in addition to being fun in and of itself, can lead to discoveries for later as well.

I look forward to more of your fun TR, go_laura. Hope you travel a lot in the future and write many more. Brava!

ps-Italy made me want to read more history afterwards.

Thanks for sharing your holiday stories in Paris and Provence, go_laura! The first time is always special and memorable! Your experiences prompted my own memories of our early trips to France.

Oh Laura, your trip report is great. I hate I did not see it till today (just home after my wonderful trip to Provence). I will try to post my trip report soon for the person going in early June. It was a wonderful place, wasn't it?

Yes, Laura, I am still following along too.

cmc, do your report! Wondering what you thought of Provence.

go_laura -- I'm interested in getting the name of the place where you had lunch on Ille St. Louis. Thanks.

Great report, go_laura - I loved hearing your first-timer impressions, especially your description of that big building in the 1st. ;-)

We just got back from Paris last night, and I have the post-trip blues, big time. Thanks for brightening my afternoon with your thoughtful writing.

Loved reading about Provence and the Luberon hilltowns. You just reminded me of my trip all over again...merci! I just got back from there too (well, a few weeks ago) and went to Gordes, Abbaye de Sananques, St. Remy's market, Isle sur la Sorgue, Pernes les Fontaines. We stayed in Menerbes for the week! Our house was at the uppermost point of Menerbes and so beautiful. We had to put the side mirrors in to have about 1/2 inch clearance on either side of the car to get to the house.

Oh, and we loved the poppies too and had pizza in Oppède and loved it. Nothing wrong with pizza in Provence. Much better than pizza in Harrisburg (isn't everything better in Provence??)! They even had escargot pizza (!), but we only heard about that as we were waiting for the one we ordered.

Laura,You covered all my favorite places.
Kerouac, the fist pizza place in my home town was in the 40's.
Mary , waiting for your trip report

thanks, everyone! Only two more days to go, I feel a little like I'm re-living coming to the end of something I don't want to end.

Thursday was a non-alarm clock drizzly morning, and first on the agenda was to get a Parisian hot chocolate. Had meant to get to Angelina's but that hadn't worked out. So did some research on where "close to home" I could get one that would be predictably delicious, and decided on Café Flore. There was also something about sitting where some of those famous writers and philosophers hung out...I think some guidebook or other said they have a mix of locals with tourists nostalgic for a past they never had. Guilty as charged :-) And ok, the main point, the hot chocolate, with its separate cup of Chantilly, mmmmm!! (I'm now on a mission to find where in the Phila. area I can find such a thing).

Café Flore was where I also finally figured out where this reputation the French have for being somewhat unfriendly or haughty must come from - until then, I couldn't figure it out, as everyone was so darn friendly. Sitting at a table near us (it was raining out so we were inside but at the window, which was fun), was an American couple who lived up to many of the stereotypes one hears about traveling Americans (certainly must not be Fodorites). I don't recall even hearing them say Bonjour, certainly not trying one word of French to say what they wanted (in addition, their conversation was about planning their day and they sounded bored or annoyed by almost everything). So, the waiter who looked to be an institution unto himself, was rather snarly to them. He'd actually started out a little snarly to us, too, but very much warmed up to us and even gave us smiles toward the end of our time. I just know that couple probably went home and told everyone how all you hear about the French are true...so voila, I now understand how the stupid stereotype is all because of stupid people who earned it. Which allows me to sit here and get way too smug and superior, just for not being stupid, lol.

And as we sat, the drizzle turned to real rain, so we decided to go back to the hotel, not far, and get our umbrellas, as our plan for the day was to go to Sacre Coeur and Montmartre, then down to Opera Garnier, and then the Pantheon. It occurred to us to change this plan due to the weather, but we only had one more day in Paris after this, so we decided what the heck. And so we set off, and got to one of three, not bad :-)

By the time we got to Sacre Coeur it was only drizzling again, and there was something quite nice about walking up the hill, watching the shop owners bringing out their umbrellas and ponchos. I'd heard enough about how hard the climb up the hill and steps were, for it to not feel too bad -expectations rule everything, this life. Had someone told me it was nothing, it would have felt hard. So there's the soapbox philosophy for this day of the trip, in case the prior paragraphs weren't enough, lol. And tho' I guess we didn't get the super-expansive view of a clear day, it did stop drizzling and some of the clouds cleared, as we got to the top, so we did get to enjoy the expansive views of the city, and were even able to figure out some of what we were looking at, by that point in our trip. Also, I guess because people play the weather and maybe save Sacre Coeur for a sunnier day, it wasn't nearly as crowded as I expected. Down side of that, we also didn't get to see artists or many musicians all around.

Next we were walking to the Opera Garnier, so we consulted our map to figure out which direction to head in, and started out, only to fairly immediately come upon La Maison Rose, which just looked so cute, that it demanded a café stop. I'd not read about it in advance so had no idea that it would turn out to be a place Picasso stayed when he first moved from Spain to France, before he did well enough to move to the big city. We only had café there, so no food review.

Lovely winding streets there, so pretty! We walked down to Rue Lepic, at which point it started raining again, we ducked in a natural foods place where we ended up buying some fig jam reminiscent of the Provence part of the trip, and then kept going...raining harder, so by the time we realized we were passing Moulin Rouge, we had to get under an awning to be able to take our pic, because really, how could we walk all that way and not take a pic?

And now it was pouring, but on we went...until I saw a chocolatier, and we hadn't done the fancy chocolate thing yet, so I said, this is what the moment demands! And we proceeded to spend a ridiculous amount of money for a very small amount of chocolate. Was it worth it? Yes and no. The chocolate with the orange was heavenly, the rum one not so much.

When we came out of there, we saw a church across the street, and decided to go in there as well, even tho' the rain was finally letting up. It was St. Trinite Church, and someone was playing the organ, and no-one else was in there...we sat there for some time, just listening...again, magical. Actually, it brought tears to my eyes. For a Jewish gal with Buddhist tendencies, I sure had a lot of spiritual moments in churches this trip.

We then walked on to Opera Garnier, which of course, was closed by the time we got there. One does pay a price for all this spontaneity. No matter, we still had another day left! But by this time we were tired, so we went for the metro back to the hotel. Only to learn, once on it, that it was skipping the stop we needed for connecting to the line that would take us back (construction or something, I don't recall). So we did some roundabout stuff that took too long and yes, it was Paris, but yes, I got grumpy :-)

Little did I know that I was about to have what was literally one of the best meals of my life. Le Cuisine de Phillipe... go! But you'll likely need a reservation. We'd actually tried the night before to go, and couldn't get in, it's a tiny place. I've no idea how much in advance you'd need for a weekend, we were able to get in with just a day ahead, for a Thurs. night. They specialize in soufflés, and I had the mushroom soufflé for an appetizer, and something with scallops and risotto and I don't know what else, for my main, and a Grand Marnier soufflé for dessert. DH had an appetizer that wasn't a soufflé and that was traditional French and delicious, a wonderful duck dish for his main, and a pistachio soufflé with dark chocolate at the bottom, that was absolutely heavenly. It was ALL heavenly, service was warm and friendly even tho' we speak little French and the woman spoke very little English. She even drew me a picture of a scallop; because I knew the words for veal and scallop were close sounding in French, I wanted to make sure I didn't accidentally order veal. The chef came out at the end to say hello and ask how everything was, and I was glad I'd learned the words "magnifique" and "superb!" (from the couple next to us - as it turned out, those on one side of us were ex-pats and we had a long conversation with them). I really can't say enough good things about this place. Ambience, warmth, food..all sublime.

And that ended our Thursday in Paris.
Susan, am working on getting the name of the place on Isle St. Louis.

Only just discovering your great report, well done. What a great time you had and love your attitude. I shall be in Paris in just over a week and am making note of the restaurants you went to. I have eaten a couple of times at Le Caveau d'isle on I'lle st Louis, was there where you went?

Schnauzer

Great report, thanks for sharing.

I don't want this to end either!

This report is so, so good. You have a marvelous positive, humorous attitude. I'm happy to have you be an example of a good American traveler in Paris!!

Please tell us more about the trip and your impressions, it brings me back, as it does others on this forum.