Myownheroine's week in Paris
Apr 18th, 2009 | 08:16 AM
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Joined: Nov 2007
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Myownheroine's week in Paris
A week in Paris.
My best friend was miserable about turning 30, so I decided to spend ff miles for us to take a trip somewhere. After many months of deliberating, and one failed attempt at trying to go to Rome, I found a way to use hotel points to stay cheaply in Paris. A city that was really not our favorite during our last European trip: a 9-day whirlwind tour of Europe. We warmed to it this time.
Who we are: Both 30-something females. I’m into art and culture, and she-well, she isn’t. Fortunately for her, many of Paris art museums focus on Impressionism, which I’m not interested in.
The flight: Uneventful, both ways. We were on AA and I was somewhat disappointed that they did not have personal TVs built into the seat backs like my last coach trip to Europe on United did.
The hotel: Express by Holiday Inn Porte D’Italie (not Place D’ Italie, which is apparently located by a more convenient metro stop.) It was about a 10-minute walk to the metro. It’s a nice hotel, serving many tour groups. Like many European hotels, the shower curtain is not adequate to keep water from seeping out. And the rooms could have more sound-proofing. But I’m a light sleeper and I was able to sleep well here. The pillows were thin and the bed was kind of hard. But breakfast was free and the room was cheap. Internet, however, cost 4E for 15 minutes, 6 for 30, and 8 for 60. We ended up going to an Internet café in town instead. It’s not very centrally located, being in south Paris, and getting places took about 30 minutes total. I would stay here again if I couldn’t find a decent price on anything closer. If you do stay here and chose not to get a taxi or shuttle from the airport, be sure you bring directions from a very helpful Tripadvisor review about how to get from the metro to the hotel.
Favorite thing we did: For me, it was a toss-up between the Cluny, Saint Chapelle, and the catacombs. For her, it was a toss-up between the walk we took through Paris greeters or the tour we took of Gerard Mulot’s chocolatier through meetingthefrench.com.
Best tip: Getting the Museum Pass (60E each for the 6 day one) saved us quite a bit of money in the end and got us to go places we wouldn’t have otherwise gone.
Guidebooks used: I brought Rick Steve’s Paris 2009 and Rough Guide. Rick Steves became known as “The Bible.” Rough Guide was barely opened. I left Frommer’s Paris 2009 at home. I didn’t do as much studying as normal for this trip, which is probably why RS got so much use.
Day 1: While we could have taken the metro to the hotel, it was a long flight and my friend has a bad leg, so I decided to splurge for a taxi, which cost us 48E (42E fare, 6E tip). Once we discovered the metro station, I was glad I did. Many metro stations, including the one our hotel was closest to, did not have escalators or elevators, just stairs.
We went back out and each got a carnet for the metro. We tried to use the machines to get one of these, but couldn’t figure out the French. So we bought them from the ticket booth in the metro station. Not all metro stations have ticket booths, so you might want to be sure that you have enough tickets to get around for at least a couple stops if you don’t know French. This was not the last time that week we bought a carnet; I believe we bought 5 in all. A disadvantage to staying on the outskirts of Paris and being with someone who uses a cane.
We headed out to see the catacombs first. They were great and interesting, though it got a little wet and muddy at first. Steves recommend you bring a flashlight along, and this is probably a good tip if you want good photos; flashes are banned.
We got lunch at a café. My friend ordered an entrée but didn’t realize that entrees in Paris are appetizers. We also couldn’t read the menu, it being all French. This made me decide to get a traveler’s guide to French.
Next stop was the Pantheon, which didn’t impress me much. The pendulum was the main attraction, but I’m not a science person. It’s a pretty building, though.
After this we stopped by Shakespeare and Company, an English-language bookstore by Notre Dame to get my French book and found an Internet café.
On our way to Shakespeare and Company, my friend sees a sporting goods store by the name of “Au Vieux Campeur.” Her workplace has a competition where teams use pedometers to see how far they’ve walked. Hers is not counting all her steps. We stop in the store. They do not have pedometers. We keep walking. A couple blocks later, we see another Au Vieux Campeur. We stop in. They do not have pedometers either. We carry on and see yet another Au Vieux Campeur. We ask if they have pedometers. We are sent to an “Au Vieux Campeur” store that specializes in running, but they do not have cheapo pedometers. We are sent to yet another Au Vieux Campeur store. All of these stores are within a few blocks of each other. I start to feel like I’m in the twilight zone. We do not find an Au Vieux Campeur store that sells cheap pedometers before I put my foot down on the pedometer/freaky store issue. I have seen the future of monopolization, and it is not pretty.
We went back to our hotel, exhausted, and went in for an early night.
Day 2:
We had a free tour through Paris Greeters. Our guide was very nice and knew a lot about what we saw. He took us through a typical neighborhood that most tourists probably miss. We went to see an interesting park whose name I failed to get and later our guide tried to stop by the Jacquemart-Andre museum to get coffee at the end. We were turned away from the café because it was full or closed, I’m not sure which. We went to another place to get coffee and he asked gave us a choice of two places for us to go next. We agreed on a church (Russian, I believe). But the church was just closing when we got there (it was Sunday.) There were two other Americans on the tour so it was very personalized. I didn’t hesitate to ask to be able to cross the street go get closer to an Alexandre Dumas statute, for example. This was one of my friend’s favorite parts of the trip.
We also went to the Orsay museum today. I didn’t expect to spend so much time here, because it is largely known for its Impressionist works. It had enough classical works to keep me interested for some time and the building-an old train station- is beautiful.
Today was our first experience with musicians on the metro. I tipped the ones who played in our car today. I was surprised at how often I heard music on the trains by the end of the trip; I suspect this would annoy me if I were a local, especially when the cars get full.
At night, we went to the Arc D’ Triomphe. This had great views and was fun to look at, but its tomb of the unknown soldier isn’t as moving as the one at Arlington, IMO. We got great pictures of the Eiffel Tower from here. Champs Elysees was lit up prettily, though we had to ask people to find the walkway to get to the Arc. (There was no way we could’ve crossed that traffic circle! No wonder it’s the only place in Paris where all traffic accidents are considered to be equal fault between the drivers no matter what.)
Day 3: The Cluny, Notre Dame, Deportation Memorial
The Cluny was amazing; I loved the unicorn tapestries. They had lots of medieval artifacts, and the historic building (complete with Roman baths) was a major plus.
Notre Dame. Can you go to Paris and not see Notre Dame? Because my friend has a bad leg, we didn’t go up to the top. Outside were lots of beggars. It was packed with tourists.
Deportation Memorial: I was excited to see this, but really was actually somewhat disappointed. It was kind of a plain memorial, and I expected to be able to walk down the rows of crystals, but they were walled off by a piece of plastic. Still, the words “Forgive, but do not forget” are moving in every language at WWII memorials.
We also went to St. Severin today. It’s an absolutely gorgeous church with some stained glassed windows that almost look like modern art. With its lack of tourists, I preferred it to Notre Dame (full disclosure: I saw Notre Dame on our first trip to Paris, so some of the novelty wore off.) We ate lunch at the nearby Demi Lune, which cost about 10E on their fixed menu. This restaurant is not recommended.
We then sought out Bon Marche, a department store because my friend was looking for Christmas stuff for her daughter’s report on French Christmas. RS makes this seem like a cheaper store, comparing it to Costco. With Armani and other designer names, this was certainly not a cheap store! When we first walked in I checked the price tag on a pair of socks. 36E. Definitely not a store for the likes of us!
Where we did eat, tonight, though was fantastic. We went to La Varange, a RS recommendation. It’s run by a friendly chef who lives in the building. It was a small place. I had the entrée and plat special, 17E, and got the warm goat cheese salad (oh yum! This was fantastic) and some sort of steak, which was also good, but somewhat forgettable. The goat cheese salad, however, was amazing. While we were there, a girl who was on a RS tour (we ran into them at a couple of places) got her picture taken. The chef asked, “Is that your camera?” She said yes and then he brought her to the counter where he leaves the food for the waitress and had her friend take a picture of the both of them together while she used the flame machine on the crème brulee she had ordered.
In getting to and from the restaurant we walked down Creperie Ulysee en Gaule and grabbed a crepe on the go. My 3E chocolate crepe was good, but messy to eat.
My best friend was miserable about turning 30, so I decided to spend ff miles for us to take a trip somewhere. After many months of deliberating, and one failed attempt at trying to go to Rome, I found a way to use hotel points to stay cheaply in Paris. A city that was really not our favorite during our last European trip: a 9-day whirlwind tour of Europe. We warmed to it this time.
Who we are: Both 30-something females. I’m into art and culture, and she-well, she isn’t. Fortunately for her, many of Paris art museums focus on Impressionism, which I’m not interested in.
The flight: Uneventful, both ways. We were on AA and I was somewhat disappointed that they did not have personal TVs built into the seat backs like my last coach trip to Europe on United did.
The hotel: Express by Holiday Inn Porte D’Italie (not Place D’ Italie, which is apparently located by a more convenient metro stop.) It was about a 10-minute walk to the metro. It’s a nice hotel, serving many tour groups. Like many European hotels, the shower curtain is not adequate to keep water from seeping out. And the rooms could have more sound-proofing. But I’m a light sleeper and I was able to sleep well here. The pillows were thin and the bed was kind of hard. But breakfast was free and the room was cheap. Internet, however, cost 4E for 15 minutes, 6 for 30, and 8 for 60. We ended up going to an Internet café in town instead. It’s not very centrally located, being in south Paris, and getting places took about 30 minutes total. I would stay here again if I couldn’t find a decent price on anything closer. If you do stay here and chose not to get a taxi or shuttle from the airport, be sure you bring directions from a very helpful Tripadvisor review about how to get from the metro to the hotel.
Favorite thing we did: For me, it was a toss-up between the Cluny, Saint Chapelle, and the catacombs. For her, it was a toss-up between the walk we took through Paris greeters or the tour we took of Gerard Mulot’s chocolatier through meetingthefrench.com.
Best tip: Getting the Museum Pass (60E each for the 6 day one) saved us quite a bit of money in the end and got us to go places we wouldn’t have otherwise gone.
Guidebooks used: I brought Rick Steve’s Paris 2009 and Rough Guide. Rick Steves became known as “The Bible.” Rough Guide was barely opened. I left Frommer’s Paris 2009 at home. I didn’t do as much studying as normal for this trip, which is probably why RS got so much use.
Day 1: While we could have taken the metro to the hotel, it was a long flight and my friend has a bad leg, so I decided to splurge for a taxi, which cost us 48E (42E fare, 6E tip). Once we discovered the metro station, I was glad I did. Many metro stations, including the one our hotel was closest to, did not have escalators or elevators, just stairs.
We went back out and each got a carnet for the metro. We tried to use the machines to get one of these, but couldn’t figure out the French. So we bought them from the ticket booth in the metro station. Not all metro stations have ticket booths, so you might want to be sure that you have enough tickets to get around for at least a couple stops if you don’t know French. This was not the last time that week we bought a carnet; I believe we bought 5 in all. A disadvantage to staying on the outskirts of Paris and being with someone who uses a cane.
We headed out to see the catacombs first. They were great and interesting, though it got a little wet and muddy at first. Steves recommend you bring a flashlight along, and this is probably a good tip if you want good photos; flashes are banned.
We got lunch at a café. My friend ordered an entrée but didn’t realize that entrees in Paris are appetizers. We also couldn’t read the menu, it being all French. This made me decide to get a traveler’s guide to French.
Next stop was the Pantheon, which didn’t impress me much. The pendulum was the main attraction, but I’m not a science person. It’s a pretty building, though.
After this we stopped by Shakespeare and Company, an English-language bookstore by Notre Dame to get my French book and found an Internet café.
On our way to Shakespeare and Company, my friend sees a sporting goods store by the name of “Au Vieux Campeur.” Her workplace has a competition where teams use pedometers to see how far they’ve walked. Hers is not counting all her steps. We stop in the store. They do not have pedometers. We keep walking. A couple blocks later, we see another Au Vieux Campeur. We stop in. They do not have pedometers either. We carry on and see yet another Au Vieux Campeur. We ask if they have pedometers. We are sent to an “Au Vieux Campeur” store that specializes in running, but they do not have cheapo pedometers. We are sent to yet another Au Vieux Campeur store. All of these stores are within a few blocks of each other. I start to feel like I’m in the twilight zone. We do not find an Au Vieux Campeur store that sells cheap pedometers before I put my foot down on the pedometer/freaky store issue. I have seen the future of monopolization, and it is not pretty.
We went back to our hotel, exhausted, and went in for an early night.
Day 2:
We had a free tour through Paris Greeters. Our guide was very nice and knew a lot about what we saw. He took us through a typical neighborhood that most tourists probably miss. We went to see an interesting park whose name I failed to get and later our guide tried to stop by the Jacquemart-Andre museum to get coffee at the end. We were turned away from the café because it was full or closed, I’m not sure which. We went to another place to get coffee and he asked gave us a choice of two places for us to go next. We agreed on a church (Russian, I believe). But the church was just closing when we got there (it was Sunday.) There were two other Americans on the tour so it was very personalized. I didn’t hesitate to ask to be able to cross the street go get closer to an Alexandre Dumas statute, for example. This was one of my friend’s favorite parts of the trip.
We also went to the Orsay museum today. I didn’t expect to spend so much time here, because it is largely known for its Impressionist works. It had enough classical works to keep me interested for some time and the building-an old train station- is beautiful.
Today was our first experience with musicians on the metro. I tipped the ones who played in our car today. I was surprised at how often I heard music on the trains by the end of the trip; I suspect this would annoy me if I were a local, especially when the cars get full.
At night, we went to the Arc D’ Triomphe. This had great views and was fun to look at, but its tomb of the unknown soldier isn’t as moving as the one at Arlington, IMO. We got great pictures of the Eiffel Tower from here. Champs Elysees was lit up prettily, though we had to ask people to find the walkway to get to the Arc. (There was no way we could’ve crossed that traffic circle! No wonder it’s the only place in Paris where all traffic accidents are considered to be equal fault between the drivers no matter what.)
Day 3: The Cluny, Notre Dame, Deportation Memorial
The Cluny was amazing; I loved the unicorn tapestries. They had lots of medieval artifacts, and the historic building (complete with Roman baths) was a major plus.
Notre Dame. Can you go to Paris and not see Notre Dame? Because my friend has a bad leg, we didn’t go up to the top. Outside were lots of beggars. It was packed with tourists.
Deportation Memorial: I was excited to see this, but really was actually somewhat disappointed. It was kind of a plain memorial, and I expected to be able to walk down the rows of crystals, but they were walled off by a piece of plastic. Still, the words “Forgive, but do not forget” are moving in every language at WWII memorials.
We also went to St. Severin today. It’s an absolutely gorgeous church with some stained glassed windows that almost look like modern art. With its lack of tourists, I preferred it to Notre Dame (full disclosure: I saw Notre Dame on our first trip to Paris, so some of the novelty wore off.) We ate lunch at the nearby Demi Lune, which cost about 10E on their fixed menu. This restaurant is not recommended.
We then sought out Bon Marche, a department store because my friend was looking for Christmas stuff for her daughter’s report on French Christmas. RS makes this seem like a cheaper store, comparing it to Costco. With Armani and other designer names, this was certainly not a cheap store! When we first walked in I checked the price tag on a pair of socks. 36E. Definitely not a store for the likes of us!
Where we did eat, tonight, though was fantastic. We went to La Varange, a RS recommendation. It’s run by a friendly chef who lives in the building. It was a small place. I had the entrée and plat special, 17E, and got the warm goat cheese salad (oh yum! This was fantastic) and some sort of steak, which was also good, but somewhat forgettable. The goat cheese salad, however, was amazing. While we were there, a girl who was on a RS tour (we ran into them at a couple of places) got her picture taken. The chef asked, “Is that your camera?” She said yes and then he brought her to the counter where he leaves the food for the waitress and had her friend take a picture of the both of them together while she used the flame machine on the crème brulee she had ordered.
In getting to and from the restaurant we walked down Creperie Ulysee en Gaule and grabbed a crepe on the go. My 3E chocolate crepe was good, but messy to eat.
Apr 18th, 2009 | 08:18 AM
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Joined: Nov 2007
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Day 4: Pont Neuf, St. Chappelle, Army Museum, Napeleon’s Tomb, Rodin Museum.
The first stop was Saint Chapelle. As I was walking up the spiral staircase and saw the chapel for the first time, I said “Oh!” My limping friend, ever the pessimist, grumbled, “What, more stairs?” I told her it was a good “oh.” And it was. It was fantastically beautiful. My friend made sure to get a picture of the scene with Moses with golden horns (a mistranslation of the Hebrew word for “halo,” something we found hilarious). Even the downstairs chapel for the non-nobles was good (even if it housed the gift shop.)
We started out at the Conciergerie, the old prison. The conditions under which they lived were eye-opening, especially the poor prisoners stuffed into crowded cells. I remember a huge, now empty hall (for guards), a room with names of guillotine victims in it, examples of cells with waxed figures in it, a room dedicated to Marie Antoniette, and a recreation of her cell. If I want to see waxed figurines, I will go to Madame Tussand’s. Generally, I think it takes away from the atmosphere of the place. In this instance, I think it was helpful to show the conditions of the prison. However, I think tourists can safely miss this site in general without regret.
Walked to Place Dauphine and, per RS’s instructions, tried to get a “light meal” at the Caveau du Palais restaurant. The waiter tried to send us to the bar next door for just ordering an entrée each, but in the end decided to serve us (after consulting with someone else.) How embarrassing. How annoying.
Saw the Pont Neuf. Nice bridge. (Really. It’s a bridge. What else can one say about it?)
We took the metro to the stop for Napoleon’s tomb. While we were looking at the map, a Parisian talking to his friend smiled and pointed us in the right direction. Napoleon’s tomb is absolutely huge. And I was bored. We went to the nearby Army museum and separated. Then I decided I wanted to meet up with my friend, so I went all over that place looking for her. Through the boring room with plaster models of landscapes. Through the room with old maps. Through the rooms with medieval armor (twice, because her son loves knights) and Asian armor and weapons. Through the WWI wing and through the WWII wing. I didn’t go through the Napoleon/French army wing because it was mercifully closed. I peeked into the Soldier’s chapel but quickly exited when I realized there was a service going on. Finally, I found her. She had been in what I believe was the one place I didn’t cover, an exhibition on the holocaust, IIRC. This place is blank on RS’s map of the museum. Of what I saw, I liked the medieval armor best, but this museum will be able to entertain anyone who is interested in just about any era of military history. This does not really include moi.
Later we saw the Rodin museum, which I sort-of liked. The problem with this museum was that I recently went to Philly’s Rodin museum, which also has a lot of his masterpieces like the magnificent “Gates of Hell” and “The Thinker”. I do love the “Burghers of Calais,” a group of seven town leaders who agreed to give their lives to save their town. Rodin did such an amazing job capturing their faces which all show different emotions-resignation, fear, sadness. My favorite one is talking to the others, giving comfort? Courage? Encouragement? to them. I also liked “The Kiss” which I don’t remember seeing in Philly, and some works by Camille Caudel (Rodin’s mistress and pupil) that were shown, including the moving “maturity” which shows a young woman on her knees, begging a man who is being led away an older woman (Rodin’s wife?).
For our dinner tonight, we were on the Left Bank, kind of by the Notre Dame/Shakespeare and Co. area. Lots of restaurants tried to get us to come in. I’ve never been hustled by a restaurant before! We chose, at the insistence of a pretty girl, a Moroccan place whose name I forget. My friend liked the food and the house wine. I found it just okay and got a 10E entrée/plat/dessert deal. I got a goat cheese salad which was very disappointing from La Varangue’s (this one was a cold piece of goat cheese on a big crouton. The other one was a piece of toast with a spread of goat cheese on it). For dessert I got a piece of Camembert (which I now know I don’t like). I know I swiped a napkin with the name on it, but for the life of me I can’t find it. I wasn’t thrilled with this place, but for 10E, can I complain? Oh, they also gave us a glass of house wine with the deal. My friend shelled out a lot more money for a traditional Moroccan meal and liked hers better. I know this isn’t terribly helpful without the name of the place. But, to be fair, it was also kind of a hit-or-miss place. One of us liked it and one didn’t.
Day 5: Lourve and Versailles.
We took the RER train to Versailles, getting off at the last stop. RS’s instructions about how to get there were invaluable (turn right after you leave the station, left at the first boulevard, and walk for 10 minutes.) Jeff Koontz’s art was all over Versailles, which freaked out and upset my friend (especially the Michael Jackson statute). Usually modern art in a historic place upsets me-at least, it did in Prague-but I was amused by my friend’s reaction and actually liked a couple of his pieces. Since my friend was having issues walking, we didn’t explore the gardens much, which didn’t seem like that great of a loss because it’s late fall. We did see a crew team coming off of practicing at the Grand Canal. We took the guided tour and found it well worth the extra money, seeing things that most others don’t get to see, including actually entering the Royal Chapel.
My favorite part of Versailles was actually the Petit Trianon, maybe because after so much grandeur it all seemed too much. Touring Paris, you’re constantly reminded of the French Revolution, and the starving peasants storming the excessively lavish Versailles seemed, well, almost justified. I really liked this part of the Domaine De Marie Antoinette. We took the tram back.
We ate lunch at Versailles. There was a cafeteria but we were exhausted and chose the expensive sit-down restaurant upstairs on the Versailles grounds. When we got there no one was there. I tried to order tap water and I was told that there was no cold water. I said that was fine. I ordered a fancy chicken dish (chicken breast stuffed with goat cheese, I believe). While we were waiting for the food, the waiter came to me with a bottled water in his hand and gave me some other lame excuse (there were no carafes) about why he couldn’t serve me tap water! I told him to forget it. Later he magically “found” a carafe for me. I would’ve been a lot more bitter about this tactic if the restaurant hadn’t been so empty. For dessert, I had a wonderful white chocolate and raspberry tart and my friend loved her dessert as well. I spent 25E for lunch here, and there are worse splurges in the world. Of course, in Paris, you can get incredible and cheap street food. I liked Parisian food much better than Tuscan food.
After Versailles, we went to the Lourve and looked at Greek sculptures and I tried looked for Vermeers. One of the two I found was on loan, however, much to my disappointment. We also saw Winged Victory and “Psyche and Cupid” and both decided to skip the Mona Lisa, having seen it on our first trip to Paris.
Day 6A: Champ-Elysees, Gerard Mulot tour, Eiffel Tower.
This morning, I turn on CNN while my friend is at breakfast and I learn that certain Mumbai hotels that cater to Westerner tourists and other popular tourist spots have been taken over by bad guys. I choose not to tell this to my friend until after we’ve finished our last day in Paris.
We walked up Champs Elysees in the morning. I try to find my camera. I cannot. I decide I must’ve left it in my hotel room. I’m not happy. All the rich places on the street were closed because it was so early. Then we hurried to find our bakery. We had booked a tour through meetingthefrench.com for the Gerard Mulot tour. We learned how they made macaroons and chocolate. It cost 10E each, and we probably got that back in chocolate samples. Well worth the money for the approximately 2 hour tour. However, there was a French woman on this tour (it was a tour for French and English) and she kept talking to the macaroon guy about how to make them. Our guide was obviously giving us just the very minimum about what the chef was saying to this woman. It didn’t really both me, but it did bother my friend.
On this tour we saw a machine that actually had a sprout that poured chocolate all the time. It was very Willa Wonka-ish. We are told about how they try to use somewhat exotic fillings for some of their chocolate, and I am told about someone else in France who tried his hand at chocolate-covered Camembert. Thanks to my previous restaurant experience with Camembert on this trip, I know that this combination is probably disgusting. Now chocolate-covered goat cheese…kidding!
There were 5 people all told on this tour, not including the guide. It was a bit of a tight fit in places, and it was hard not to be in the way of the workers. Again, this was one of my friend’s favorite things on this trip.
We also try to go the Arab museum, which is on our Museum pass. My friend and I have seen many advertisements in metro stations for an exhibit they have on Napoleon. We go there. The exhibition costs 10E or so. My friend chooses not to spend the money. We leave after she takes pictures of some windows that are down in Arab style that apparently are computerized and move (when the computer is working.) I did not see them move, but I’m also not sure how quickly they move, either.
On our way back to the metro, we stop at a creperie. I get, at the recommendation of a Fodorite, a ham and cheese crepe. Excellent cheap lunch.
We go back to the Louvre and look at some Egyptian stuff.
At night, we visit the Eiffel tower, all done up in blue with EU stars on it. The view from the second level was good; we could make out the sights and a soccer game that was going on below. On the way back to the metro, we stop at a crepe stand and, at another Fodorite’s recommendation, I try the lemon crepe. Wow. Amazing. Why did I wait so long?
We go back to the hotel room. I do not see my camera. I recheck my day bag. I find it in a part I never use. I’d walked around all day with it!
The first stop was Saint Chapelle. As I was walking up the spiral staircase and saw the chapel for the first time, I said “Oh!” My limping friend, ever the pessimist, grumbled, “What, more stairs?” I told her it was a good “oh.” And it was. It was fantastically beautiful. My friend made sure to get a picture of the scene with Moses with golden horns (a mistranslation of the Hebrew word for “halo,” something we found hilarious). Even the downstairs chapel for the non-nobles was good (even if it housed the gift shop.)
We started out at the Conciergerie, the old prison. The conditions under which they lived were eye-opening, especially the poor prisoners stuffed into crowded cells. I remember a huge, now empty hall (for guards), a room with names of guillotine victims in it, examples of cells with waxed figures in it, a room dedicated to Marie Antoniette, and a recreation of her cell. If I want to see waxed figurines, I will go to Madame Tussand’s. Generally, I think it takes away from the atmosphere of the place. In this instance, I think it was helpful to show the conditions of the prison. However, I think tourists can safely miss this site in general without regret.
Walked to Place Dauphine and, per RS’s instructions, tried to get a “light meal” at the Caveau du Palais restaurant. The waiter tried to send us to the bar next door for just ordering an entrée each, but in the end decided to serve us (after consulting with someone else.) How embarrassing. How annoying.
Saw the Pont Neuf. Nice bridge. (Really. It’s a bridge. What else can one say about it?)
We took the metro to the stop for Napoleon’s tomb. While we were looking at the map, a Parisian talking to his friend smiled and pointed us in the right direction. Napoleon’s tomb is absolutely huge. And I was bored. We went to the nearby Army museum and separated. Then I decided I wanted to meet up with my friend, so I went all over that place looking for her. Through the boring room with plaster models of landscapes. Through the room with old maps. Through the rooms with medieval armor (twice, because her son loves knights) and Asian armor and weapons. Through the WWI wing and through the WWII wing. I didn’t go through the Napoleon/French army wing because it was mercifully closed. I peeked into the Soldier’s chapel but quickly exited when I realized there was a service going on. Finally, I found her. She had been in what I believe was the one place I didn’t cover, an exhibition on the holocaust, IIRC. This place is blank on RS’s map of the museum. Of what I saw, I liked the medieval armor best, but this museum will be able to entertain anyone who is interested in just about any era of military history. This does not really include moi.
Later we saw the Rodin museum, which I sort-of liked. The problem with this museum was that I recently went to Philly’s Rodin museum, which also has a lot of his masterpieces like the magnificent “Gates of Hell” and “The Thinker”. I do love the “Burghers of Calais,” a group of seven town leaders who agreed to give their lives to save their town. Rodin did such an amazing job capturing their faces which all show different emotions-resignation, fear, sadness. My favorite one is talking to the others, giving comfort? Courage? Encouragement? to them. I also liked “The Kiss” which I don’t remember seeing in Philly, and some works by Camille Caudel (Rodin’s mistress and pupil) that were shown, including the moving “maturity” which shows a young woman on her knees, begging a man who is being led away an older woman (Rodin’s wife?).
For our dinner tonight, we were on the Left Bank, kind of by the Notre Dame/Shakespeare and Co. area. Lots of restaurants tried to get us to come in. I’ve never been hustled by a restaurant before! We chose, at the insistence of a pretty girl, a Moroccan place whose name I forget. My friend liked the food and the house wine. I found it just okay and got a 10E entrée/plat/dessert deal. I got a goat cheese salad which was very disappointing from La Varangue’s (this one was a cold piece of goat cheese on a big crouton. The other one was a piece of toast with a spread of goat cheese on it). For dessert I got a piece of Camembert (which I now know I don’t like). I know I swiped a napkin with the name on it, but for the life of me I can’t find it. I wasn’t thrilled with this place, but for 10E, can I complain? Oh, they also gave us a glass of house wine with the deal. My friend shelled out a lot more money for a traditional Moroccan meal and liked hers better. I know this isn’t terribly helpful without the name of the place. But, to be fair, it was also kind of a hit-or-miss place. One of us liked it and one didn’t.
Day 5: Lourve and Versailles.
We took the RER train to Versailles, getting off at the last stop. RS’s instructions about how to get there were invaluable (turn right after you leave the station, left at the first boulevard, and walk for 10 minutes.) Jeff Koontz’s art was all over Versailles, which freaked out and upset my friend (especially the Michael Jackson statute). Usually modern art in a historic place upsets me-at least, it did in Prague-but I was amused by my friend’s reaction and actually liked a couple of his pieces. Since my friend was having issues walking, we didn’t explore the gardens much, which didn’t seem like that great of a loss because it’s late fall. We did see a crew team coming off of practicing at the Grand Canal. We took the guided tour and found it well worth the extra money, seeing things that most others don’t get to see, including actually entering the Royal Chapel.
My favorite part of Versailles was actually the Petit Trianon, maybe because after so much grandeur it all seemed too much. Touring Paris, you’re constantly reminded of the French Revolution, and the starving peasants storming the excessively lavish Versailles seemed, well, almost justified. I really liked this part of the Domaine De Marie Antoinette. We took the tram back.
We ate lunch at Versailles. There was a cafeteria but we were exhausted and chose the expensive sit-down restaurant upstairs on the Versailles grounds. When we got there no one was there. I tried to order tap water and I was told that there was no cold water. I said that was fine. I ordered a fancy chicken dish (chicken breast stuffed with goat cheese, I believe). While we were waiting for the food, the waiter came to me with a bottled water in his hand and gave me some other lame excuse (there were no carafes) about why he couldn’t serve me tap water! I told him to forget it. Later he magically “found” a carafe for me. I would’ve been a lot more bitter about this tactic if the restaurant hadn’t been so empty. For dessert, I had a wonderful white chocolate and raspberry tart and my friend loved her dessert as well. I spent 25E for lunch here, and there are worse splurges in the world. Of course, in Paris, you can get incredible and cheap street food. I liked Parisian food much better than Tuscan food.
After Versailles, we went to the Lourve and looked at Greek sculptures and I tried looked for Vermeers. One of the two I found was on loan, however, much to my disappointment. We also saw Winged Victory and “Psyche and Cupid” and both decided to skip the Mona Lisa, having seen it on our first trip to Paris.
Day 6A: Champ-Elysees, Gerard Mulot tour, Eiffel Tower.
This morning, I turn on CNN while my friend is at breakfast and I learn that certain Mumbai hotels that cater to Westerner tourists and other popular tourist spots have been taken over by bad guys. I choose not to tell this to my friend until after we’ve finished our last day in Paris.
We walked up Champs Elysees in the morning. I try to find my camera. I cannot. I decide I must’ve left it in my hotel room. I’m not happy. All the rich places on the street were closed because it was so early. Then we hurried to find our bakery. We had booked a tour through meetingthefrench.com for the Gerard Mulot tour. We learned how they made macaroons and chocolate. It cost 10E each, and we probably got that back in chocolate samples. Well worth the money for the approximately 2 hour tour. However, there was a French woman on this tour (it was a tour for French and English) and she kept talking to the macaroon guy about how to make them. Our guide was obviously giving us just the very minimum about what the chef was saying to this woman. It didn’t really both me, but it did bother my friend.
On this tour we saw a machine that actually had a sprout that poured chocolate all the time. It was very Willa Wonka-ish. We are told about how they try to use somewhat exotic fillings for some of their chocolate, and I am told about someone else in France who tried his hand at chocolate-covered Camembert. Thanks to my previous restaurant experience with Camembert on this trip, I know that this combination is probably disgusting. Now chocolate-covered goat cheese…kidding!
There were 5 people all told on this tour, not including the guide. It was a bit of a tight fit in places, and it was hard not to be in the way of the workers. Again, this was one of my friend’s favorite things on this trip.
We also try to go the Arab museum, which is on our Museum pass. My friend and I have seen many advertisements in metro stations for an exhibit they have on Napoleon. We go there. The exhibition costs 10E or so. My friend chooses not to spend the money. We leave after she takes pictures of some windows that are down in Arab style that apparently are computerized and move (when the computer is working.) I did not see them move, but I’m also not sure how quickly they move, either.
On our way back to the metro, we stop at a creperie. I get, at the recommendation of a Fodorite, a ham and cheese crepe. Excellent cheap lunch.
We go back to the Louvre and look at some Egyptian stuff.
At night, we visit the Eiffel tower, all done up in blue with EU stars on it. The view from the second level was good; we could make out the sights and a soccer game that was going on below. On the way back to the metro, we stop at a crepe stand and, at another Fodorite’s recommendation, I try the lemon crepe. Wow. Amazing. Why did I wait so long?
We go back to the hotel room. I do not see my camera. I recheck my day bag. I find it in a part I never use. I’d walked around all day with it!
Apr 18th, 2009 | 08:18 AM
#3
Original Poster
Joined: Nov 2007
Posts: 101
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Day 7: Home.
We had requested Golden Air shuttle the day before (recommend by RS as “reliable”). They gave us a time after we told them what time our flight was. The driver was late. We called him twice, and he called our hotel once, but after 45 minutes of waiting, we asked the hotel clerk to call us a taxi. Their promises to be there in 5 minutes and then 1 minute were lies. I told them the last time, after a 30-second promise, that they had five minutes before we called a taxi. 8 minutes came and went. I asked to have a taxi called. The clerk told us that if we called a taxi we couldn’t us the shuttle because he would have pay the taxi. We agreed. He called the taxi. The shuttle shows up less than 2 minutes later. He was sent away and didn’t bother to apologize for the 50-minute delay. The shuttle would’ve cost us 34E. A taxi cost us about 42E.
I think you know which one I would recommend. (Actually, I’d recommend the metro for 10E, but my friend had a cane and luggage might be a problem considering the stairs on the metro.)
We had requested Golden Air shuttle the day before (recommend by RS as “reliable”). They gave us a time after we told them what time our flight was. The driver was late. We called him twice, and he called our hotel once, but after 45 minutes of waiting, we asked the hotel clerk to call us a taxi. Their promises to be there in 5 minutes and then 1 minute were lies. I told them the last time, after a 30-second promise, that they had five minutes before we called a taxi. 8 minutes came and went. I asked to have a taxi called. The clerk told us that if we called a taxi we couldn’t us the shuttle because he would have pay the taxi. We agreed. He called the taxi. The shuttle shows up less than 2 minutes later. He was sent away and didn’t bother to apologize for the 50-minute delay. The shuttle would’ve cost us 34E. A taxi cost us about 42E.
I think you know which one I would recommend. (Actually, I’d recommend the metro for 10E, but my friend had a cane and luggage might be a problem considering the stairs on the metro.)
Apr 18th, 2009 | 09:52 AM
#5
Joined: Jun 2003
Posts: 24,040
Likes: 6
Very interesting report.
Nothing will make me walk out of a restaurant faster than being refused a carafe of water. Good for you for not accepting the bottled water, but I am upset that so many tourists get bamboozled into buying it.
Nothing will make me walk out of a restaurant faster than being refused a carafe of water. Good for you for not accepting the bottled water, but I am upset that so many tourists get bamboozled into buying it.
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Deborah
Apr 18th, 2009 | 01:59 PM
#9
Joined: Jun 2003
Posts: 24,040
Likes: 6
Actually, Au Vieux Campeur is a very small operation but it has 26 small boutiques in the Latin Quarter because it has never wanted to consolidate into one big store. However, it does have stores in 7 other French cities, 3 of them in the Alps, since its main specialty is considered to be mountaineering.
Everybody knows that it is expensive (compared to the omnipresent Go Sport and Decathlon chains), but it also has the reputation of having the highest quality and -- even more important -- the best advice on using the equipment.
Everybody knows that it is expensive (compared to the omnipresent Go Sport and Decathlon chains), but it also has the reputation of having the highest quality and -- even more important -- the best advice on using the equipment.
Apr 19th, 2009 | 03:26 PM
#12
Joined: Oct 2004
Posts: 11,756
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I really enjoyed this report! We recently stayed a block away from Gerard Mulot and went there many times for the bread, croissants and treats. I had no idea they gave tours. It's amazing what you discover once you are back!
Apr 20th, 2009 | 05:45 AM
#15
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Joined: Nov 2007
Posts: 101
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Thanks to those who said they enjoyed my report.
I was there over Thanksgiving and I think RS said something about how Bon Marche invented the whole save-money-buy-buying-in-bulk concept that Costco employs. At any rate, he mentioned Costco in the same paragraph as Bon Marche. I don't know what he said about Leader Price; we're not big shoppers.
I gave the website for the Gerard Mulot tour, meetingthefrench.com. It's under cultural tours and then under Parisians at Work. There are a variety of tours available; this was one of the only ones that fit our schedule. Somewhere online there is a good article about this particular tour.
I was there over Thanksgiving and I think RS said something about how Bon Marche invented the whole save-money-buy-buying-in-bulk concept that Costco employs. At any rate, he mentioned Costco in the same paragraph as Bon Marche. I don't know what he said about Leader Price; we're not big shoppers.
I gave the website for the Gerard Mulot tour, meetingthefrench.com. It's under cultural tours and then under Parisians at Work. There are a variety of tours available; this was one of the only ones that fit our schedule. Somewhere online there is a good article about this particular tour.
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