Visit the Cluny and be sure to read Lady and the Unicorn by Tracy Chevalier on the plane.

Re: what coat to wear. Like Denisea said you never really know for sure until a few days before what the temperature/wind/rain will be like - so I'm bringing two.

I'm packing a rain resistant trench as well as a longer wool peacoat for if it cools off at night. I feel like that covers the range of weather contingencies without taking up too much space.

A pastry every day, and never a repeat.

http://www.davidlebovitz.com/2011/11...app/#more-7272

Lilia- Thanks for the chocolat shop tip. Very important.

I hope we can get in at J. Chez Dumonet...have heard about the GM souffle and it is my favorite flavor of souffle...sorry our paths will not cross!

LNWC...am watching the weather and hoping to get by with one coat...will have to see.

It gets harder every trip to do everything we want to do and still go at a relaxed pace! It's a good problem to have, huh?

cjogo- I have my flight reading already, but will read your recommendation asap...(I read a collection of Truman Capote short stories at Thanksgiving every year. And, my back up book is the last in The Hunger Games trilogy...have to know what happens)!

Having lots of fun with this thread...

OK...what? Paris Pastry app? OOOOHHH! I have to download that. Merci.

And you should all check the link from framboise et rose...can't get there fast enough! Beautiful, artistic and so tasty looking! Thanks again!

Denise,

I visited L'Orangerie on my last trip to Paris and I've got the Marmottan on my list for my December trip. Seems like I'll be following in your museum and restaurant footsteps! :-)

Have a great time!

Ah, LCI, great minds think alike!

Weather is still looking good (forecast looks dry, so far). Looks like we will have some sun for a good day at Ste Chapelle!

Picked up a John Baxter book I hadn't seen before...A Pedestrian in Paris; The Most Beautiful Walk in the World (my current book is going faster than anticipated...need one more before we leave). One chapter refers to Les Editeurs and the first sentence mentions Cafe Danton...so reminiscent of last years trip and we loved our little neighborhood! I had to have it and guarantee I will finish it before we leave on Sunday!

I can't work...just so ready to go. The bank called with our initial stash of Euros today! Really getting close...how will I sleep???

You bought euros at home? Mon dieu..:)

<i>denisea on Nov 15, 11 at 5:40pm
The bank called with our initial stash of Euros today! </i>

How much did the bank charge per euro?

Only a few euros to go with our left overs from last trip. We have an super special account (that I have had since God was a boy)and they charge us $10 for their trouble at the going exchange rate, otherwise, I wouldn't do it. I like to land with enough to get into central Paris and pay for a meal, just in case. Relax, everyone!

Denise, Have a wonderful time! We loved the Orangerie, hope you do too.
I really enjoyed your last trip report and will look forward to this next one! (there will be one won't there?? for those of us not having a Paris trip just yet?)

We haven't been to Paris at Christmas but I think you've got me thinking that needs to go near the top of the "trip wish list"!

Since you'll be in an apt I'm assuming you'll be picking up a few groceries. If you are a yogurt lover try the yogurt made by "Bonne Maman", comes in a cute glass jar. It is OMG good.

Interesting raincitygirl, a suggestion that no one else has offered...Bonne Maman as in the same who make the fab strawberry preserves? Will definitely be on the look out for the yogurt (a snack before my pain au chocolat as I am on the gluttony plan in Paris).

I can't recommend Paris at Christmas enough! A lifelong dream realized and it lived up to my expectations. And, yes, there will be a T/R, but not until I return. I have decided to save luggage space and not take the laptop!

denisea.....have a fabulous trip!

Guess who twisted my arm into spending Christmas in Paris?

Have a great time in Paris Denise, I can't wait to read your trip report.

Thirty five days till Paris and le Cinq!

Hi Buffalo Girl! Great to hear from you. I still miss your thread...it was just plain fun.

Cafegoddess...I would say I can't wait to write my report, but then my trip will be over. I did have fun writing my T/R last year and re-read it a few days ago. You should consider doing whatever it is that those professional hot dog contestants do to make room in their stomachs! ;-)Le Cinq was so special but we both have never been more full in our lives! Enjoy.

I will look forward to YOUR trip report. I will need a Paris fix after I get back. I know I will just want to get back on a plane and go back. I am glad to see that others count down the days, as well!

Hi WOF!
I am just finishing up my planning and hit on YOUR thread. Looks like we're circling the same places soon.

Laughed about "Relax, everyone". We do EXACTLY the same. We usually have Euro "leftovers", but if we don't, we exchange ahead of time just enough for the taxi ride in and one small meal. I hate starting out a trip with a frantic need at the ATM.

Anyway, since you had asked about various sites for this trip, I actually do recommend Musee Cluny, St. Denis, and Jacquemart Andre. We are revisiting the Marmottan this trip but will also visit the l'Orangerie for the first time. It was closed for so long that we missed it the first dozen trips, and by then, we had gotten away from visiting every possible Paris museum.

The unique aspect to the Jacquemart Andre is that it is a HOUSE, and the building itself is worth seeing. The art collection inside is the private collection of Édouard André and Nélie Jacquemart (a well-known society portrait artist) during the last third of the 19th century as they traveled throughout Europe, and their knowledge and appreciation of Renaissance Art must have been phenomenal. After Édouard died, Nélie then started traveling to and collecting from the Orient. They were always ahead of any appreciation "trend"--would love to have met these folks.

For the Musee de Moyen Age(Cluny), I actually went back on a second trip. I'd just make a beeline for the tapestries and skip the rest. I have a love/hate relationship with Rick Steves, but my sister brought a copy with her on our first visit to the Cluny, and I had to admit his narrative on the tapestries really made it fun.

We took a walking tour of St. Denis with Paris Walks during MLK weekend. It was very worthwhile. The downside? We had warm but not insulated footwear. Stone floors + frigid weather = frozen tootsies. Thanksgiving weekend should not be that cold, but...

Happy eating.

AZ

Ooh! Forgot to add that you can tell Chaz my daughter uses "your" Starbucks in the 7th as her library for studying, and she makes sure to drop by there before she hits the Metro to get to school. As other people who visit London and Paris will attest, the coffee still isn't the same as the US Starbucks, but it's close enough.

Back at you WOF.

I want to do as little as possible when I first get to Paris and I don't want to worry about finding an ATM and risking a problem. Have always been lucky, but I feel better arriving with some cash and ready to go.

Thanks for your info on the museums. We have gotten away from a lot of museum visiting but are wanting to see some of the gems that aren't the tourist favs. The info I have gotten here has been so valuable.

I had frozen tootsies last year at Musee de l'Armee.

Chaz has accepted that his coffee is not the same at Starbucks in Paris but he has to have it. Maybe we will see your daughter!

I'm reading a 2011 book called "The Most Beautiful Walk in the World", a pedestrian in Paris, by John Baxter. He's an Australian who has lived in Paris for 20 yrs. and gives literary walking tours.

In the first, very short, chapter he talks about finding your perfect park, the loveliest view, and the most beautiful walk. He talks about finding your "perfect walk"---and I must now quote----"the one with memories that can never be erased, the moments one recounts all one's life, prefaced by the words, I remember...once...in Paris..."

May you find your "perfect walk" on your upcoming trip. I know I have mine.

TPAYT...started the same book yesterday! Loved the refernce to Cafe Danton as we hung out there alot last trip!! This is the third book of his I have read...enjoy him! Am hoping to find my perfect Paris wall