My Paris trip report (in sections) !!!!!
 

I want to thank the many contributors to my varied requests for information to help prepare for the great vacation my wife and I just completed. Without the input provided over the recent months and from the many things I was able to learn in the various forums, the trip would not have been as successful or enjoyable as it was. I do hope that readers will both enjoy and benefit from the following review of my fabulous week in the great city of Paris. <BR> <BR>INTRODUCTION <BR>I am Bob Stomber. My wife, Carol, and I completed a week’s vacation to Paris covering October 7-14, 2000. The following is a recap of some of the many things that we were able to see, do, and feel while we toured this great city. We believe that you will find some enjoyment in reading this. You may even laugh a little at some of the things that happened to us during the week. We hope that you will also feel some of the excitement that we experienced during this amazing week. <BR> <BR>Before we begin our story, we would just like to share some observations which we feel will be of interest to you. Again, these are our thoughts and opinions. <BR> <BR>First, we would like to share our thoughts on Paris and the Parisian people. The city is one of the most dynamic cities one can visit. It was my second visit, my first being 11 years ago which was only for 3 days. This was Carol’s first visit to Europe. My first visit gave me time to visit some of the major highlights of the city. But this visit enabled me to get a much better feeling of what makes Paris really tick. <BR> <BR>THE PEOPLE <BR>The people were absolutely fabulous. We did not encounter any rudeness from the French people that we came in contact with no matter where we met them. Whether it be in restaurants, metro stations, museums, or on the street, we did not have a negative experience. My French was limited to some basic responses, greetings, and general things. My wife’s French was even less than this. Maybe it was because Carol and I just wanted to have a good time that the French people we came in contact with sensed this and were very cordial in helping us when we needed help. I found myself wishing that I had studied the language a lot more so that I would have been able to communicate on my end more effectively. <BR> <BR>HOW WE ATE <BR>Carol and I are not big restaurant goers but we do enjoy good food. Discussion forums prior to our leaving for Paris basically said that we could eat very well without spending an arm and a leg doing it. This is basically what we did throughout the week. Discussion forums on the web are excellent sources for information on restaurants. Bear in mind that there is definitely not a shortage of eating establishments in the great city of Paris. They are everywhere and they are like a menu in themselves. You can pick and choose whatever you want based upon type, price or neighborhood. I myself had compiled a huge list of places to eat. We probably did not eat at any of them. As you are traveling through the arrondisements, you will surely see many great places to eat. We really don't think you can go wrong in most any place you stop at to eat. <BR> <BR>WHERE WE STAYED <BR>We were provided with a studio apartment in the 11th off of rue Jean Pierre Timbaud. Although the studio was somewhat small it was very functional for our purposes. It was close to many eating establishments of every type and the Parmentier metro station. The area of the city that we considered home for the week was not necessarily our favorite arrondisement but we did enjoy it. <BR>

OUR VACATION TO PARIS <BR> <BR>DAY 1 – SATURDAY. <BR> <BR>We landed at CDG at 11 A.M., October 7th. Before picking up our baggage, Carol and I had to call our host to notify him of our arrival. Our host was to review our studio apartment with us. This apartment was part of a weekly package that we paid for several years ago through a travel group that we joined in which we paid for seven weeks of vacations. We also had to call “Airport Shuttle” to notify them that we had landed. They were very prompt in picking us up. Upon arrival at our apartment, we waited for our host who was a little bit late meeting us. When he arrived, we were shown the apartment, etc. and then were left to explore the wonders of Paris! Our host was very French, very charming, with a great sense of humor. <BR> <BR>Carol was suffering a bit from jet lag and decided to take a nap for a couple of hours. I decided to explore part of the city for awhile. I recalled my promise to my cousin who is a big fan of Jim Morrison. I told him that I would visit Morrison’s grave at Cimetiere du Pere LaChaise and get a picture of Morrison’s grave for him. So, I strolled to the cemetery and it began to rain which made my venture even more enjoyable. I felt as if I was in an American or Parisian movie as I began my walk into the cemetery. Unfortunately, I failed to pick up a good map of the old cemetery and I found myself wandering aimlessly down paths leading to who knows where. All I knew was that Morrison’s grave was in a certain section of the cemetery. I did not realize just how big the cemetery was! I heard American dialects and discovered that the two Americans from California I encountered were also looking for Morrison’s grave. They felt it was one way, I felt otherwise. So we wished each other luck and moved on our separate ways. I then met a Polish man who was from Normandy and was visiting his two sons who live in Paris. His English was great and I discovered that he was also looking for Morrison’s grave. Fortunately, he had a map and seemed to know where he was going so I tagged along as a foursome. What a nice experience this turned out to be. My Polish colleagues were just nice people and we bonded together in our search for the grave. Within 10 minutes, we found it. I was then able to take the picture I wanted for my cousin back in New Jersey. <BR> <BR>My Polish colleagues then suggested we find Chopin’s grave. I was then able to photograph the grave of the great Chopin! <BR> <BR>After this, I felt it was best to start heading back home to my new castle and I wandered thru part of the 3rd and worked my way back to my new home. <BR> <BR>I got home to find Carol getting up from her nap and we soon got ready to go out to see some of our new neighborhood. We decided that although it was raining a little we would take a walk over to Canal St. Martin which was about a half mile away or so. Through the raindrops we were able to see some of the pretty canal that winds its way through this section of Paris. Being about 7 or 8 at night, the lights that gleamed off of the canal in the rain were quite a sight. <BR> <BR>Heading back home via Place de Republique I discovered just how good a crepe could taste. I had a crepe of jarbon and fromage and thoroughly enjoyed it. Carol had a few bites. Hmmmmmmmmm …… This really hit the spot for us. As you will notice, Carol and I love to eat good food but we are not into eating out at extravagant places. We simply just like to put our money elsewhere. <BR> <BR>Upon reaching our apartment we decided to get a good night’s sleep in preparation for our first full day in Paris on Sunday.

DAY 2 - SUNDAY <BR> <BR>Oh, no! RAIN!! We maintained our cool and decided that we would begin to use our 3 day museum pass for just that, museums. We focused on the Louvre and D’Orsay. I had been to the Louvre 11 years ago and was overwhelmed by its contents. I know that one can spend weeks in the Louvre and not get enough of it. It was difficult leaving it when we did to move on to D’Orsay but we did want to get a taste of this museum as well during our week. <BR> <BR>THE LOUVRE! Words cannot describe the beauty within its walls. And this is said by someone who is not really into art. I had spent about a half day within these walls 11 years ago and just knew I would love being in it again. And I was just as excited that Carol was going to see it for the first time. <BR> <BR>Using our museum pass, we bypassed the many long lines of people waiting to make their entrance into the Louvre. The “Carte Musees” whether it be for 1, 3 or 5 days is a must if for no other reason than to avoid the long lines waiting to get into the Louvre! We had decided to purchase the 3 day passes and had these in hand before we left the states. <BR> <BR>We rushed to first see the Mona Lisa. And then moved on to other DaVinci’s, Michaelangelo’s, and Raphael’s. This museum is just unbelievable. For one who is not into art, my mind is always overwhelmed by the beauty and scope of this museum. Carol was also truly amazed at what she was seeing as we walked the halls of this structure. Venu de Milo, Victory of Samothrace, Michaelangelo’s Slaves, Crown Jewels, etc. We wish we had stayed here longer but we had to move on. <BR> <BR>Before leaving the Louvre, we decided to stop at Carrousel du Louvre for a bite to eat. I had read differing opinions about eating in this area. But Carol and I both thought that all of the food establishments here looked very good. We decided that we would eat at Crepes Folies. Carol received assistance in ordering from a kindly French gentleman. She decided to have a tomato and cheese crepe. I focused on a chicken & mushroom crepe. <BR> <BR>We crossed the Pont Royal over to the Left Bank and strolled through the raindrops to the D’Orsay. We were impressed with the architecture of the building. It was fun to imagine the building we were standing in as a train station which it used to be. After spending time looking at the Monet’s, Whistler’s Mother, and other exhibits we decided to move on. We were quite frankly disappointed that we did not spend more time at the Louvre. We feel that we would have gotten much more out of the Louvre as far as museums go. <BR> <BR>The weather finally cleared but it was difficult to determine for how long. We then decided that we would try to get to the Eiffel Tower and the surrounding grounds including the Champs des Mars and Palais de Chaillot. The weather still being unpredictable, we decided against going to the top. <BR> <BR>I visited and went to the top 11 years ago. I simply find this edifice to be the one thing that I love most about Paris. I read somewhere recently that visitors to Paris who continue to return year after year often check the Eiffel Tower just to make sure that “it is still there!” I found that feeling to be true in my case. The same excitement that I felt 11 years ago when I first laid eyes on Tour Eiffel came back as I gazed at its splendor once again. What was especially gratifying was to see the look on Carol’s face when she herself experienced her first glimpse of it. We strolled in this area for awhile and if not for the growls from our stomachs we would have stayed there even longer. <BR>

We walked back through the 7th and wandered on to avenue de Tourville. We discovered an excellent boulangerie named Les Caprices Du Moulin Dore where we had enough to satisfy us as a dinner. I had a pizza with jarbon & pepperoni. Carol had quiche lorraine. Then we shared a big chocolate cookie (chocolat noir ?) <BR> <BR>French boulangeries and patisseries have incredibly edible delicacies as we most certainly noticed during the week. We honestly would like to have sampled much more! <BR> <BR>Our stomachs satisfied we decided we needed more of the Eiffel Tower and headed back down through the Champ de Mars. The dark clouds that had disappeared began to slowly drift back overhead. Carol and I suddenly realized that we were now down to one umbrella! Our second umbrella apparently decided to head off to another arrondisement on its own! <BR> <BR>Keeping a watchful eye on the skies I videotaped and Carol used our Canon Elan 2E to capture some of the beauty of the Tower. As we began to cross Pont D’Iena, the dark clouds above opened and released the stored up rain in buckets. Carol and I ran to Place de Varsovie, made a quick right turn and huddled together under a huge, thickly branched tree. From this vantage point we not only had a spectacular view of the Tower but also the buckets of rain that were pouring down from the skies! Fortunately, an entrepreneurial Parisian who was hawking umbrellas passed by and we succumbed to his sales pitch. We actually made a wise decision as Carol got a brand new black umbrella for only about 35 F!! With two umbrellas in hand and the sky finally clearing we were again ready to march onward. <BR> <BR>Growing increasingly tired we decided to call it a day and decided to take the metro back to our castle in the 11th. The one thing about the Paris metro system is that it is so easy to use. It without a doubt puts the NYC subway system to shame. However, one still must plan your route to get from Point A to Point B. <BR> <BR>I decided that it would be in our best interest to get off at Oberkampf and walk from there to our awaiting castle. Unfortunately, once we got off the metro, the direction I thought we should be heading in turned out to be the opposite direction! On top of this, Carol’s feet were hurting big time! If my scream awoke or annoyed anyone living on rue St. Claude, I apologize! I did not even mean to be on your street! After some time, I was able to right the ship and get us going back in the right direction. Needless to say, there was not much to be discussed between me and Carol at this point. Lucky for me. <BR> <BR>A good night’s sleep was welcomed by both of us.

DAY 3 - MONDAY <BR> <BR>The weather for today began brighter than the previous two days and this was welcomed by both of us. A word about the weather. To be honest, it didn’t matter that the weather was somewhat inclement during our first few days. We acclimated ourselves very quickly to this. It really didn’t matter what the weather was. We were totally enjoying ourselves. <BR> <BR>We slept till mid morning and then took the metro to Ile de la Cite to enjoy the specter of the Cathedral of Notre Dame. It is always fun to watch someone’s first glimpse of a magnificent structure. I really enjoyed seeing Carol’s first look at Notre Dame. <BR> <BR>We guided ourselves down the right aisle of the cathedral. As Carol began taking some of what we hoped would be wondrous pictures I commented that I was going to video from the center aisle. After about 5 minutes, I went back to where I had left Carol and she was no longer there. Well, I said, no problem. I’m sure she’s up towards the front of the cathedral. My half hour + search did not turn up my wife! And the cathedral was getting more and more crowded. What is a man supposed to do at this point? Answer. Take a chance and walk outside. Where there are even bigger crowds getting ready to head into the cathedral! Coming outside of one of the most well known cathedrals in the world, I thought it might be time to say a prayer!! And then it happened … my wife’s beautiful countenance shown on the opposite side of the front of the cathedral!! It was nice to just hold her hand at this point. <BR> <BR>One of my dreams for this trip was to ascend the 385 steps to the top of one of the towers to get the spectacular view of the city that I had read so much about. Unfortunately, the lines were so long. I calculated a two hour wait minimum. We decided to move on. The “Carte Musees” passes could be used here but unlike the Louvre where one could avoid the long lines, we were unable to do that here. I heard others say that they thought they could also avoid the lines with the Carte but for some reason we could not do this. <BR> <BR>We decided to head over to the Crypt Memorial de la Deportation as we had seen a story about this on TV shortly before we left the U.S. for Paris. Unfortunately, this was closed.

We headed over to the Pont de L’Archeveche to take some more great pictures and videos of Notre Dame. There are many great views of Notre Dame and the view from here certainly ranks among the best. <BR> <BR>We found ourselves now walking down the Left Bank on quai de Montebello. At this point I suggested to Carol that with the skies not threatening it might be a good time to take a nice cruise down the Seine. We walked along the Left Bank to Pont Neuf and took a Pont de Vedettes cruise. I know that there are other cruises along the Seine but this one is definitely less expensive than the others. The others may include a meal or something additional but we just wanted a nice cruise down the Seine, nothing more. We thoroughly enjoyed the vistas on both sides of the river as we cruised one of the most famous rivers in the world. Personally, I feel that a cruise on the river is a must when visiting Paris. The views are just spectacular! Very relaxing, very meaningful. <BR> <BR>After returning to Pont Neuf, Carol and I saw La Samarataine gazing down at us from the Right Bank. We had read many comments in the discussion forum about the views from the rooftop of this department store. We headed over and quickly took the elevator to the top. All of the positive feedback about the views from the rooftop were proven to be totally accurate. This is a must for picture taking and for just simply taking in the beauty of the city from up above the streets. We met a nice couple from Chicago and we exchanged photo taking sessions with each other. <BR> <BR>After wandering through the store on our way back down, our stomachs started to remind us that we needed to again sample some great French food. We decided to head back to the Left Bank and found rue de la Huchette with its many eating establishments. We settled in at Le Jardin du Roy at #28. What a nice place this was for us to share time together. It was just right for us. Not expensive and the food was simply marvelous. Among the things we had were: french onion soup, salad frisee aux lardens, faux filet, sauce , Marchand de vin, and crepe au chocolat! We most certainly enjoyed our dinner. The wine was simply outstanding. Carol did not want to have too much to drink so I had to finish what she didn’t. (Well, someone had to do it!) I started to get a little nutty and of course Carol thought that would be a good time to videotape her husband. I told her that I should have videotaped her sniffing the wine when our waiter brought the wine to the table for her to approve or disapprove! (This is somewhat of a private joke between Carol and me!) I just had to mention this anyway. Right, Carol?? <BR> <BR>Carol wanted desperately to take a night photo of the Pei Pyramid at the Louvre. So after dinner we took the metro over to the Louvre and sat ourselves in front of the Café Marly right in the courtyard of the Louvre. Carol then started to plan how she was going to go about photographing. Unfortunately, it began to rain! Heavily! Carol was able to take some shots from Passage Richielieu but we could not get into the middle of the courtyard of the Louvre without getting drenched. We then decided to head back home and called it a day. A great day!

DAY 4 - TUESDAY <BR> <BR>The weather – very windy, pretty chilly – probably in the low to mid 50’s. <BR> <BR>Time for us to see the Arc du Triumph up close and personal. As we came up to the top of the steps of the metro station at Charles de Gaulle Etoile this beautiful monument stared us right in our faces. Just an amazing monument to look at. Carol being very daring at this time decided she could take great pictures from the middle island in the Champs Elysees! This is pretty exciting to say the least. I decided to video from this vantage point and looking in the opposite direction toward place de la Concorde I began to tape away. It’s exciting to see cars rapidly approaching you a couple of feet from where you are standing and others passing you on your other side from the opposite direction, also a couple of feet away! <BR> <BR>Waiting anxiously to see the little green figure on the street crossing sign, we grew anxious to get back to the sidewalk. Successfully doing this, we then found the underground walkway which led us to the monument. After telling Carol all morning that it’s a short ride up the elevator to the top we were told by a guard that we were not allowed to ride the elevator unless we were Senior Citizens or had health problems. The thought came to me that if I walked up to the top, it might not only age me enough to qualify for Senior Citizenship (I’ll be there soon enough) but it might give me health problems I don’t need! I might keel over!! So we walked the steps to the top anyway. <BR> <BR>There before us was just another great panoramic view of the great city of Paris. There below us was the Champs Elysees where American biker Lance Armstrong just a couple of months ago rode once again to glory in the Tour de France!! Where DeGaulle and other world leaders marched! There to our right was the Eiffel Tower! There was Sacre Coeur! There was La Defense! WOW! The star shaped street patterns were laid out below us – just like the tour books describe! <BR> <BR>We could have stayed up there longer but we wanted to head to Versailles. So off we went to the beautiful grounds of Versailles. <BR> <BR>The crowds that greeted us were much what we expected. It was late morning and the throngs were already there. We really were amazed at the beautiful paintings and rooms at this beautiful palace. But the Hall of Mirrors was just incredible! This was by far my favorite part of the Palace! It was definitely worth the visit to Versailles. Carol and I strolled outside on the spacious grounds for awhile but did not go to see Grand Trianon and Petit Trianon. We were just getting a little tired. <BR> <BR>Carol and I decided to get something to eat near Notre Dame. We were fortunate to find a great little place right across the street from the Cathedral. On rue du Cloitre Notre-Dame sat A l’Ombre de Notre Dame. Carol had her favorite French onion soup and an omelette fromage. I settled for croque monsieur and frites! My stomach said a big MERCI! And, of course, we shared a great bottle of wine. It was mind boggling to sit there in this restaurant, look outside, and about 15 yards away sat Notre Dame! Simply amazing. <BR> <BR>We began to head back to our own palace in the 11th when Carol said it might be good for us to stop at BHV on the way. I forgot to mention earlier that on our first night in Paris I blew out Carol’s hair dryer! So, we needed a hair dryer. And what better place to find one than at BHV. This store is pretty amazing. I read on the discussion forum that this was a store that had everything. Well, we didn’t exactly need everything, we just needed a hair dryer. Sure enough. We got one! <BR> <BR>Our feet were happy to arrive at our palace.

DAY 5 - WEDNESDAY <BR> <BR>Well, today is THE day. The day Carol and I go to the top of the Eiffel Tower. For many, many days I had been telling my beautiful wife about what an unbelievable experience it was going to be for her to go to the top of the Tower. I had experienced this 11 years earlier and I just couldn’t wait to share the experience with her this time. <BR> <BR>Luckily, our timing was right. We only had about a 10 minute wait in line and all of a sudden there we were going up, up, up, up …………. My goodness, we were going up! Just like I did 11 years ago! Then, we stopped. The elevator door opened. My wife’s eyes lit up and she walked quickly over to the side of the tower to take all those great pictures that she envisioned taking. I stood there all excited just watching her do her thing. And then I just stood there. <BR> <BR>Carol turned around and saw her husband bracing himself against the wall of the top of the Tower. At first she couldn’t understand why I had this weird look on my face. She came over, looked at me, and asked, “Are you sick?” I answered, “Who, me?” I said I was just enjoying the view from a different perspective than she was. <BR> <BR>I couldn’t believe it was happening again, just like 11 years ago. I love flying – I don’t care if it’s 50,000 feet up. But something happens to me when I go up to the top of a tall building. I think it’s called World Trade Center-itis. I simply have a problem getting too close to the edge of the top of a tall building. My loyal companion was hysterical laughing. She said all I talked about was going to the top of the Eiffel Tower!! I said I was at the top of the Eiffel Tower! I released my hands from the wall that I had found comfort in and tried to walk a little bit closer where Carol was standing but I just couldn’t do it. To make matters worse, my loyal companion thought it would be a great idea to record this for posterity! So she kindly took my camcorder and videotaped this whole scene! I couldn’t believe it. <BR> <BR>After about 10 minutes, I got up enough courage to move a little closer for a better view of what was down below. And it was just amazing. I really could have stayed up there for the whole day and take in the true beauty of beautiful Paris. (Of course, I would be holding onto the wall all day long too) This was the highlight of my trip to Paris, even though we still had 2 ½ days left in our vacation. <BR> <BR>Finally, after getting myself to circle the entire top of the Tower, we began our descent. Carol took many pictures of the Tower from all angles. And I videotaped from all angles. <BR>

We then decided to head over to the Rodin Museum so we strolled through the Champs des Mars, every so often looking back over our shoulders at the Tower we had just climbed. We just kept taking pictures and videos of it even as we headed toward Ecole Militaire. <BR> <BR>We paced to Avenue de Tourville and came upon Invalides. We did not venture inside to visit Napoleon but were amazed at the beauty of the gold dome of this building. One can see this from many points throughout Paris. Simply beautiful! <BR> <BR>We arrived at Rodin but we really only wanted to see “The Thinker” and stroll through the gardens. We relaxed on a bench enjoying the sculpture that lay before our eyes. It was both impressive and pensive in many ways. As we were heading out the exit, for some unexplained reason I turned to my left and I was shown a vista that is difficult to describe. There before me was the gold Dome of the Invalides, The Thinker, and the Eiffel Tower. All in front of me. I grabbed the Canon from Carol and took a picture of this. I was given many ideas for taking great pictures in Paris – and now I had discovered one on my own – one that I can share with others. This is really a great spot to get an amazing picture. Simply walk into the entrance way of the gardens of Rodin, walk maybe about 10-15 yards up the entrance path, and turn to your right. There you will see what I just described!! An amazing view! I hope you enjoy it as we did. <BR> <BR>Gurgle, gurgle … our stomachs began talking again. We found a great restaurant, Café du Musee, right at the corner of blvd des Invalides and rue de Varenne. Carol had French onion soup, a plate of tomatoes, basil, & mozzarella cheese with a bagguette. I devoured my French onion soup and a croque madame. We topped this off with tasty Muscardet wine. <BR> <BR>A little bit tired, we headed home to relax for a bit. Several hours later, as night approached, Carol who was as determined as ever to get more great pictures of the Louvre and Pei Pyramid at night, suggested we go back there. We picked up our Canon, tripod, and camcorder and headed to the Louvre! <BR> <BR>Once there we were presented with a beautiful gift. A clear, beautiful night and to top it off – a full glowing moon over the Louvre!! Carol set up the tripod and began clicking away. I started taping to my heart’s desire through various sections of the courtyard. What a great area to just hang out and enjoy the history of the place and to just simply enjoy life. What a night! <BR> <BR>We strolled over to Pont Royal and saw the Eiffel Tower light display from the bridge. We could also see the Arc du Carrousel, Tuileries Gardens and the Ferris Wheel in the distance. What an amazing area to stroll around. At any time. <BR> <BR> <BR>DAY 6 - THURSDAY <BR> <BR>The weather apparently has a split personality today. It’s sunny, then overcast, then showers, then sunny. We love it! <BR> <BR>We headed out to Montmartre, Sacre Coeur, place du Tertre. We ascended from the metro at Anvers, walked up de Steinkerque past the shops (Carol will get to them later), to the funicular. No way were we going to walk up those steps to Sacre Coeur! We got to the base of the Basilica, turned, and there was another spectacular view of the city. We decided to go into the Basilica and we found that there was much renovation going on. We did not stay too long. Coming out, I heard music from the steps below and found a musician playing beautiful music on his harp. What a beautiful sound. I could have sat there all day listening to his music.

We then moved on to place du Tertre. BEWARE!! When walking up rue St. Eleuthere which I believe is the street that brings you into this area, you will be smothered by many artists just willing to do your caricature. In fact, do not be surprised if they start doing it while you are standing there. Carol had this experience and before you knew it, the artist was asking for 300F! And the caricature did not really bear much of a resemblance to my wife. This is not to say that this is a total ripoff. But we definitely feel that we were taken advantage of. If you can fight your way beyond these vultures, you will get to place du Tertre which although somewhat touristy is kind of a neat area to hover around and look at some of the finished works of the artists here. There are other neighboring streets worth exploring if your feet are not tired. We found this to be a quiet neighborhood. <BR> <BR>We started to head back and Carol decided to treat me to glace at the Haagen Dazs on rue Taradieu. Yummy! <BR> <BR>As we headed back down to the streets below, Carol discovered some neat shops on Steinkerque and rue d’Orsel. She was able to purchase two very nice scarves at one of the shops on Steinkerque. This, of course, was captured on tape! <BR> <BR>Deciding to relax a little, we took the metro back to our palace. <BR> <BR>Evening approached and we stopped at a creperie on rue du Faubourg du Temple. Carol had crepe fromage and I had a pannini of jarbon & fromage. After eating, we decided to head off to the Eiffel Tower again to see the light show up close and personal. So we brought the Canon, tripod, and camcorder with us and are we ever glad we did. <BR> <BR>At 9PM we were eyewitness to the spectacular light show from the Eiffel Tower. Carol took lots of pictures and, of course, I videoed. We got shots from many angles but especially from Palais de Challot and from the fountains and trees down below. Carol also was able to share our tripod with a nice couple from Ireland who desperately wanted to capture a great photo of the light show. <BR> <BR>What an inspiring vista!! <BR> <BR>We then headed to the Trocadero metro and headed home. Of course, we had to stop at a McDonald’s to pick up some frites before we got there! <BR> <BR> <BR>DAY 7 - FRIDAY <BR> <BR>I’m getting nervous. This day begins our last full day in this beautiful city. Already I don’t want to leave. <BR> <BR>The weather was overcast but mild, good walking weather.

We hopped on a metro and headed to St. Germain. One of the most fun things for us during the week were the many street and metro musicians we would come across during our visits to various sections of the city. We heard all types of music during the week. But nothing topped what we encountered on our metro to St. Germain. At one stop, a woman got on with what looked like a small carrying bag. From where Carol and I were sitting, the woman stood no more than two steps away. She bent down, opened her bag, and pulled out a big white sheet. She then opened up the sheet and hung it from supports suspended from the roof of the metro car. At this point, we couldn’t even see her! Crazy thoughts ran through my mind. What could she be doing? No, I thought, there’s no way she’s taking her clothes off. <BR> <BR>Suddenly, music began. Suddenly everyone’s favorite song began blaring. Yes, Louis Armstrong singing “Down by the River Side”!! I looked at Carol and as our eyes looked at each other the only message they conveyed was – can this really be happening??? And it got even better. <BR> <BR>Carol looked up and with her hand motioned for me to do the same. I glanced upward and there they were – 2 puppets, dancing away to Satchmo Armstrong doing his rendition of “Down by the River Side”! I turned around to look at the reaction of the Parisians that we were riding with in the metro car and none of them were even looking up from their seats! Carol and I were going hysterical laughing! The unfortunate thing is that about a minute later, we had to get off to switch to another metro line. With all of the taping that I was doing this week, I just couldn’t react fast enough and videotape this “show of shows”!! This had to be one of the funniest spontaneous things I have ever seen in my life! We both feel that this one will be very difficult to top. <BR> <BR>All Carol and I have now are the crazy memories of this metro act. Only we can share this with each other. But do you know what? I think that’s just great! <BR> <BR> <BR>After we stopped our hysterical laughter, we headed to St. Germain, strolled along the boulevard, window shopped, to rue de Buci, to St. Andre des Arts. We then walked up to the Latin Quarter along blvd St. Michel enjoying the many stores. <BR> <BR>One of the messages in this discussion group suggested taking a picture of Notre Dame from a small park near St. Julien so we headed off in that direction and sure enough we found the park and got some great pictures and videos. <BR> <BR>We found ourselves crossing over the Pont de L’Archeveche and again enjoyed the views of the beautiful Cathedral of Notre Dame. At this point I was dying for ice cream and so Carol and I headed over to Ile St. Louis to Berthillion’s. Yes, this is a tourist thing to do. But I must admit the ice cream was excellent, especially Grand Marnier. I had been bugging Carol most of the week about stopping there and I finally got to eat ice cream at this establishment. It was worth the wait! This area of Paris is just great to stroll around. We walked the length of rue St. Louis en I’lle. The many quaint shops offering their wares certainly got our attention. Also attracting my attention was an organ grinder parading down the middle of the street with his partner, a cute monkey. Not having seen an organ grinder in the last week or so (!) I decided that I would video the little critter as he danced to the music. I was maybe 30 feet away or so and his master spotted me and simply held up an object in front of the monkey thereby blocking my view of him! I guess he just didn’t want someone taking a picture or video of his colleague without paying for it. And I just didn’t want to pay him for taking a video. So I just followed Carol around a few stores, came back out on the street and parked myself further up from the organ grinder and his colleague. <BR>

Then, when he wasn’t looking – yes, I did it. I videoed the monkey using my long range lens! And the monkey was smiling too!! And he didn’t even ask for any francs!!! <BR> <BR>Feeling a little chilly, Carol and I stopped at Brasserie Esmeralda, a corner restaurant at the end of Pont St. Louis on the Cathedral of Notre Dame side. We weren’t terribly hungry at the time so we just slurpped away on some great French onion soup. Hmmm … <BR> <BR>Then, getting into the shopping mood again, Carol wanted to head over again to BHV just to see what was going on there. After this, we decided to get a close up look of the Pompidou Center which was only a couple of blocks from where we were. We decided to walk over and check it out. <BR> <BR>We did not want to go inside. We were kind of tired. In fact, we didn’t even want to go up to the rooftop for picture taking. Instead we just decided to walk around the outside of the building and take it all in. As we got to the open courtyard side where there is room to stroll around, we stopped and gazed at the building. We then blurted out: UGLY! We both concluded that it had to be one of the ugliest structures we have ever seen. The pictures one sees do not do it justice. It’s even uglier in person! <BR> <BR>I did want to munch a bit. So I ordered a Grand Marnier crepe at a stand off of Place Igor Stravinsky. <BR> <BR>Tired, we headed home to relax for awhile. <BR> <BR>At night, we decided to take one last evening stroll in the neighborhood. On rue des Trois Bornes, we found a small Greek restaurant with a couple of tables, settled down, and shared some beef and frites. The owner was very pleasant and very serving. It was obvious he took pride in his business. We enjoyed this. <BR> <BR>Coming back to our palace, we stopped at a nearby indoor market and picked up some cheese, crackers, and a great bottle of VIN ROUGE! We shared this and began to share some of our thoughts about the great week that was soon coming to a close. <BR> <BR> <BR>DAY 8 - SATURDAY <BR> <BR>It was overcast and a little chilly. I was getting sadder by the minute. I did not want to leave Paris. And I think Carol felt the same way. We left our apartment for a morning stroll and we stopped at our corner patisserie for a big chocolate cookie. Carol had her coffee. Carol was just finally getting used to the small cups of coffee served by the French. Even the “grande” cups were smaller than her usual morning cup back in the U.S. Nevertheless, she enjoyed her coffee!

We went for a walk up Parmentier and Carol was in search of a woman’s clothing store she thought she had passed earlier in the week. I had seemed to remember an area near us that had a number of businesses and after walking several blocks Carol found it. The owner of this business was a Swedish woman who was very pleasant with her customers. She also spoke very good English! <BR> <BR>Carol tried on several sweater tops and settled on a very attractive purple one. I was happy she picked the one she did. Of course, I videotaped her modeling her selections! <BR> <BR>We reluctantly started back to our room and once there, we finished our cheese and crackers from the night before. The packing was done (by Carol who is the best suitcase packer in the world) the night before and we waited for our host to come by so we could say our last goodbyes. <BR> <BR>Our airport shuttle was about 25 minutes late but we still had plenty of time to get to the airport. We bid au revoir to our host and began the journey that would lead us back to the U.S. <BR> <BR>Our thoughts and emotions of the week we shared together in the beautiful city of Paris will remain with us forever. I know that there will come a time in the future as I am driving in my car that I will think of myself standing on the top of the Eiffel Tower, holding on for my dear life, Carol standing there laughing and videotaping me. <BR> <BR>Or Carol will be heading over to the mall and she will clearly recall the metro woman doing her Louis Armstrong “show of shows” act. <BR> <BR>And we will pull down the windows in our cars and yell at the nearest person or people we see and scream to them: “ I would love to do that again! I love Paris!” <BR> <BR>They will have no idea what we are talking about. I guess they will just have to spend a week in Paris to find out!! <BR> <BR>TO PARIS: MERCI, AU REVOIR! Bob & Carol

Thanx for your patience in my postings. I appreciate that. Meanwhile, I'll still try to email the complete story to as many of you as I can. <BR> <BR>Lastly, here are some specific things that we did that were helpful to us. Also, recommended websites: <BR> <BR>Two super sources of information: <BR> <BR>www.fodors.com (just great) <BR>www.eurotrip.com (great too) <BR> <BR>The above are great websites with super discussion groups and sources of excellent information on airlines, hotels, and information about where you want to go. Very specific, very good. <BR> <BR>There are countless websites offering tips about Paris. Just surf the Net. Several we found useful were: <BR> <BR> www.subwaynavigator.com <BR> www.pagezoom.com <BR> www.bparis.com <BR> www.abcparislive.com <BR> www.paris.org <BR> www.smartweb.fr/louvre/globale.htm <BR> www.parishotels.com/index.html <BR> www.francelover.com <BR> www.conciergerie.com/main.htm <BR> www.discoverfrance.com <BR> www.hotelboulevard.com <BR> www.paris-anglo.com <BR> http://weather.yahoo.com <BR> <BR> <BR>Air Arrangements <BR>Our air arrangements were thru the following agency which was obtained thru a search engine where you can submit your request and get bids from agencies: <BR> <BR>Mars Travel & Tours, Houston, TX 1-888-702-4242 <BR> <BR>Metro Passes <BR>Recommend either carnets (packs of 10) or weekly pass – choice will depend on how often you intend to use the metro <BR> <BR>ATM Machines <BR>Highly recommend using ATM’s for your access to French francs; they are all over the city & the rates are very good <BR> <BR>Phone Card <BR>You may or may not need a phone card. These can be purchased at tabacs at the airport or around the city. We received one for free from the French Tourist Office in the U.S., a First Telecom card, that entitled us to 5 minutes of free calls. We used this immediately upon landing as we had to call our host. That is the only time we needed to use it. <BR> <BR>Museum Passes <BR>New Frontiers: www.newfrontiers.com 1-800-366-6317 (Can be obtained prior to leaving U.S.) <BR> <BR>Airport Shuttle <BR>The Airport Shuttle Paris 1-888-426-2705 (6AM-8PM – Paris time) <BR> http://paris-anglo.com/clients/ashuttle/index.html 89FF per person (2 or more people) 120FF (single person) (Can be booked prior to leaving U.S.) <BR> <BR>Fodors – Paris – excellent guide – our favorite <BR> <BR>Map <BR>The Paris Mapguide – the Essential Guide to La Vie Parisienne – by Michael Middleditch <BR>(There are many but this one was very helpful to us)

What great pictures you create! Your report is much more than times and places. Thanks!

We stayed off rue Varenne down the street from the Rodin Musee. I thought it was so nice each night to walk past the Rodin because they put glass areas within the wall to reveal (for free) the Burgers of Calais. You can see it just for walking by rue Varenne. It will make you want to go inside when the museum is open to see the rest. How wonderful.

Bob <BR>Thank you for the great trip report. Your writing is very good and you nicely describe all the things you saw. My wife and I will be in Paris in a few weeks and we both can't hardly wait. It is not our first time (she has been there twice before and I have been there 6 times) so it is not new but it is always wonderful. You are making my "itch" even worse, but it will be scratched in oh about 25 days. Thanks for the report.

Bob: <BR>Thank you to your and your wife for sharing this. I felt like I was walking with you, eating and drinking, and shopping. I also enjoyed lunch at the Esmeralda. I loved their location. I am glad you enjoyed Paris. I really want to go back soon!

Bob, <BR>Really enjoyed your report, and we are not even going to France any time in our future (italy, spain, U.K , more italy, those are our dream places) <BR>I appreciate all the time you put in to post this too. <BR>I think this is what makes this site so great. <BR>Nancy

Bob, <BR> <BR>I enjoyed reading your Paris trip report IMMENSELY! Haven't logged onto Fodors for several weeks now, been caught up in Cardinals baseball for one thing (it was a fun ride while it lasted) and various other things. So tonight I decided to sit down and cruise the fodor's forums just to see what stories I've missed. You and your wife seem perfectly matched for traveling. I loved your go-go-go approach, and especially the many photo opportunities you searched out. I believe photos and videos of a vacation are very important, especially in such a historical and architecture-lovers city like Paris. I got to visit Paris several months ago, for a very short 2 1/2 days. I really wanted to get to the Louve for the pyramid photo opportunity at night, but my friends didn't share my enthusiasm for this and I'm really sorry now that I didn't just go out on my own to do it. Do you post any of your photos on the Internet? Would love to see them if you do. Thanks again, Bob! <BR> <BR>Sandi <BR>