cristindanielle

@matnikstym you will be missed at the wedding. I'll have my Mom send you lots of photos and overnight you a puff pastry from the croquembouche

LOVE the idea of a night bike ride in Paris. Great suggestions all around! I feel like you're all saving me DAYS of research. Thank you so, so, so much. I'm so relieved right now.

@tuscanlifeedit I love the idea of Castello and Biennale- I've been reading about it with my coffee this morning. I think you're right about the cognitive dissonance...I just like a dark bar with cheap drinks and a good jukebox, and then to return to my luxury amenities and high thread count sheets

@gracie04 All about the Guggenheim. Also, my fiance is SUPER excited about St. Marks, but we had no idea about the live music at night- BONUS!

tuscanlifeedit

cristindanielle: do do do visit the Biennale. We are going back next month, because we enjoyed it so much in '09. It is truly a lot of fun. But only if you enjoy contemporary art.

wekewoody

Josephine Vannier makes the most exquisite chocolates. Her shop is in the Marais and is worth a splurge.

http://www.chocolats-vannier.com/

rialtogrl

Here are some bars where the locals hang out in Venice (and some tourists, of course.)

Ruga Rialto, San Polo 692 (on the Ruga Rialto/Vecchia San Giovanni). Inexpensive drinks, fun and totally cool bartenders who have been there forever, open late... I NEVER go to Venice and not make at least one stop at Ruga Rialto.

Muro, San Polo 222 in Campo Bella Vienna (by the fish market). Always packed late at night (well, late for Venice, like 11 PM.) Everyone drinks in the campo.

Al Marca (#213) is also right there and they are fantastic day and night. The best time to go there is at around 11:30 AM though, to have an after-market spritz.

There are a lot of hip, borderline "dive" bars heading from Rialto up into Santa Croce. If you go at around 10 PM you will not have a problem finding them as there will be a gazillion people drinking out in front.

IN Santa Croce there are two great bars in Campo San Giacomo dell Orio - Al Prosecco and Bagolo.

In Cannaregio (Campo San Felice 3689) you must go to La Cantina - fab wine bar with killer (but not cheap) food and a great wine list. It is my favorite place to eat in Venice these days - no pasta, no pizza, but the best charcuterie and roasted meats and veggies, plus fish raw and cooked. You will pay 30-50 euros (including wine) to eat there, to have a glass of wine or spritz is 3 euros or so.

Also in Cannaregio - Vecia Carbonera (on Rio Terra della Maddelena) is a cool, somewhat divey wine and cichetti place with a large back room overlooking a canal.

In Castello on the Via Garibaldi is the wine bar "Refolo" which is an absolute must if you make your way down to that area (which you should.)

Hope this helps. Have a blast.

DebitNM

We have found tabacs in Paris and in several small and medium sized towns in Provence that do indeed serve coffee, not all serve croissant but if they don't - they haven't minded us bringing some in.

Christina

Oh, sure, lots of tabacs are combined with a cheap cafe or diner/snack bar, that is very common. It isn't the most pleasant ambience, of course, tend to be young guys in there playing video games or something, just depends. I think they are often called tabac-cafe or something, I think. I prefer a regular cafe usually, although a few of them are pretty nice. There is one over in the 16th I ran into that is pretty good (Tabac de la Muette). YOu can't see it too well in this photo, only one I could find but the review talks about the food http://www.yelp.fr/biz/tabac-de-la-m..._source=google

DebitNM

We had a corner one near the apartment we have stayed in and loved going there. No young men, just working folks stopping in for a coffee in the morning. They also served lunch that they made in a small corner of the tabac. Here is a map, if you click street view, and scroll a bit, you can see it. It is a tabac/cafe.

https://maps.google.com/maps?q=59+ru...ed=0CAoQ_AUoAg

This is a photo of our favorite boulangerie, just down from the apt:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/meteorr...n/photostream/

lauren_s_kahn

My only reaction to your itinerary is my usual one: Too many cities in too little time. Remember packing and moving is stressful and exhausting. I'd just do Venice & Rome and save Paris for another time (heresy to some, I know). Venice and Rome are closer than Paris is and you have friends in Rome.

Of course, it is your trip, but I bet that, if you keep things as they are, you will come home saying never again so many places in so little time.

ajpies

Don't miss the Bateaux Mouches at sunset in Paris. A boat ride along the Seine is just a wonderful experience. But do not stay in your seat! Get up and head down to the front of the boat. My husband and I did that and felt that we were alone on the boat. It was a wonderful and romantic experience.
Go for an expensive but memorable cocktail at the George Cinq at the Four Seasons....short walk from the boats. Then stroll around and get a fabulous crepe at a corner shop! Expensive drink but cheap dinner!
Enjoy.

Huggy

Hr