I have been following both the sagas in this thread ... trip report and pictures. The outcomes of both are eagerly awaited.

That's exactly what I did Luv2cthings - not working, SO.....
On Monday 9 am Dr.ComputerExpert is calling at my home to spend some time teaching me the finer points of putting my album on 'visible mode'!


I will go on with my little story in the meantime.

Thanks for the kind words PaulR - I have lots more to tell.

PLACE FELIX EBOUE

What a lovely setting with it's residential leafy round-about and Davioud's elegant Lion Fountain in the centre ( his most notable fountains being the very well known one at Place Saint-Michelle & the fountains of The Trocadero).
We notice a long row of metal framework on the sidewalk, which I should imagine is to support an awning on market days.

The Daumesnil metro stop is right outside several nice little cafe`s.
We sat down at Cafe`Au Metro for a very welcome drink.
Unfortunately the Lion Fountain is not working this time ( saw it in action 2 years ago) which was a pity. To me a fountain that is not spurting water looses a lot of it's appeal! The fountain was moved here from Place de la Republique in 1874.
Nevertheless, we enjoy the tranquil country atmosphere before moving on down into the metro and our next Sunday venue.
Our plan was to go the Salon de The` in the Mosquee` de Paris but the very attractive courtyard was packed with people and not a table in sight.
I ventured inside to have a look. We could have sat there but the sun was out and we decided to look for something to eat in the Botanic Gardens.
This in retrospect was a big mistake.


A short way into the gardens we came across a crepe stand but all I wanted was to find a loo! We got directions to what I think is the one of 2 toilets in the gardens apart from the 'temporary' ones in a secluded courtyard off the Natural History Museum - the queue was at least 10 people deep waiting patiently. There is a little cafe nearby only serving sandwiches, cakes & crepes.
We settled on the crepes - one with cheese, one with chicken. Dreadful.

After walking around and finding the first Cedar of Lebanon to be planted in France (and originating from Kew Gardens!) we leave the by the same entrance and stop to admire the very last large 'wall model' Wallace Fountain left in Paris. On the opposite side of the street on the corner is a fabulous corner fountain - also no water flowing but I wish I knew more about it.

The weather is not too bad so we make our way to Quai Saint-Bernard and down onto the banks of the Seine.
I love wandering along here as there is so much to see.
Families having a picnic, people with their dogs, musicians strumming guitars and I've even seen a large crowd dancing to loud music - but not this Sunday.

We come up onto Quai de Montebello and stop to watch the antics of the rollerbladers.

MSINFORMATION9
This is where I start walking backwards looking for that painting scene of Notre Dame! Sorry msinformation, I don't have any new ideas where the artist sat painting it and stick with my original guess of somewhere below Blvd Saint-Michelle.

I show DH the narrowest street in Paris - rue du Chat qui Peche. I read somewhere it's not very much more than 1.2 metres wide.
Going down this little lane we turn into busy rue de la Huchette and find ourselves in front of the lovely fountain on Place Saint-Michelle.

MISSION ALMOST IMPOSSIBLE - SUNDAY NIGHT SUPPER.

The dinner gong has sounded our tummies and we decide to head for a reccommendation from a fellow Fodorite on Rue de Rennes, namely Cafe du Metro, but alas, it was shut.
Very weary and footsore we make for the next cafe we see which happens to be a very nice one - Cafe` Cassette, 73 Rue de Rennes.
Not too busy so service is quick.
We both order the same, grilled lamb chops @ 16.90, a Heineken & Rose` wine for me. Bill 47.80. Not a terrific dinner but juicy and tender lamb ( could have been a bit more of it) and just a nice way to round off the day.

Back to La Defense to pack for our move to the 18e and a very different hotel.

Here is a link to my photos:

http://tinyurl.com/4vjumq

Spelling correction - Saint-Michel, not Michelle!

I found information on the;
CUVIER FOUNTAIN

The very beautiful fountain on the corner of Rue Cuvier & Rue Linne`, opposite the entrance gate to the Jardin de Plantes, is a memorial to naturalist Georges Cuvier. The naked figure of a woman & a lion is the focal point. Erected in 1840 the carving was done by Jean-Jacques Feuchere.

ON THE MOVE

With the conclusion of the weekend rate we had enjoyed at the Ibis Hotel, it was time to move to a new arrondissement and The Hotel Torcy,
58 Rue Torcy, 75018. Phone:0146072729.

Monday morning, it's dead quiet. We could have gone on sleeping for at least another hour had the chambermaid not made a noise outside in the corridor.
I opened the curtains to check the weather - my word, what a different scene awaited! Thousands of people walking, riding bikes, scooters & cars were just crawling everywhere!
The metro trains rolled in spilling out their contents and going back empty.
You'd think with all that action out there we would have heard s o m e t h i n g?! What fantastic glazing on those Ibis Hotel windows.

Decision time. Do we take a chance and drag our luggage through the metro or do we get a taxi.
Metro won. The easy route to our metro with our cases was a breeze.
The rest wasn't so easy but we took our time on the metro steps and soon exited at Marx Dormoy.

Around the corner and we were there.
The front of the hotel was entirely covered with scaffolding which Kerouac had mentioned some months ago when I first read the "Ethnic Walking Tour".

Behind the front desk an elderly man was reading the paper and welcomed us. We said we had a reservation, but no record of it was found. Luckily a young woman in Eastern attire appeared and asked us if we wanted a room.
"No, we have a room reserved etc, etc."
"Come, come with me". She took us up the stairs to room 36 and showed us a large room with a double bed and a single bed. The bathroom was equally big and although not at all what I consider 'decorated' it looked clean and neat. We agreed to stay. Rate 52 euros a night.

After unpacking we went downstairs to find a younger man at the reception desk.
During the conversation of whether they had an all night porter or should we have a key the younger bloke tells us "You are in number 35" - reply, "No, we are in 36"
"No, 35!" he keeps saying. "In 36 are the Russians! - 3 beds, 3 people!" I am worried now and tell him by a lot of head, arm and leg movement, that I have unpacked all our clothes into the cupboard space.
"OK, OK," he says. While this was all being sorted out the old bloke was in the background sitting talking to another guy but every now & then would interject with "Dawn't warrrrry!" "You take your room, you take your room!"
Then we were asked to pay. My DH presented every credit card know to man, but all the youngster repeated was "No good - only blue card!"
So, we paid cash.
On requesting a receipt another slight problem arose. No receipt book existed. So he scribbled all the relevant details on a blank slip of paper, signed it, and we were on our way to explore more of Paris.

Yippee! Photos at last! :)

More photos;
http://tinyurl.com/59spp8

That bas relief over the doorway is the biblical burning bush.

Thank you so much. I love the detail in your report. The picturea are wonderful. It whets the appetite for another visit!

I am already cringing in anticipation of the horrors of the Hôtel de Torcy, where I have never stayed since I live only a block away, but which I mentioned as a possible budget place to stay in a certain report of my neighborhood. And I am therefore probably guilty of enticing tod to stay there.

Not at all! The experience was different to the norm but, I live in Africa and nothing phases me!!
It was ALL GOOD!

Kerouac -

I must put your mind at rest about Hotel Torcy so will start the next bit of our day with the happy ending!

On arriving back at the hotel we were greeted by another gentleman who handed us the key to room............................35!
We started giggling in anticipation of what was to come.
Well blow me down! We enter a lovely large room with a queen size bed. The walls have been wall-papered in a very soft green and the bathroom in really beautiful pink/beige tiles.
We have two large windows in the bedroom looking onto the street and one large one in the bathroom.
The curtains let the room down a bit being a bright blue but everything was cool and spotless.

Where are our clothes?
All neatly packed back in the shelves and hung up!
Some may take affront to being shifted without being there, but - only in the very best hotels do you NOT unpack your own case!

I was much happier with this gigantic room and from then onwards we referred to it as 'The American' room knowing this is more likely where they would be guests.

We found out on our first night that the steel shutters and windows must be closed. We thought rue Torcy was a side street but soon found out it was very busy indeed.

In the morning before we set off for the day we encountered the little lady who first showed us our room. I gave her the 'thumbs-up' and told her the room was lovely and that we were very happy.
When we got in that evening we had double the amount of towels we started off with!

I really loved the area. It was so convenient to a Monoprix, MacDonald's, where we ate breakfast everyday, and an open-air market.
The best thing was having the metro stop so close and more inportant - so many Chinese restaurants to choose from!

More later when I've sorted through some photographs.

Robjame - thanks for the encouragement & kind words.

EXPLORING CHINATOWN AND BEYOND
Monday 19th May.
After checking in to Hotel Torcy we leave middle morning to start an exploration of the 18th.

First we take a walk around the block to check out all the restaurants etc. What a wide choice right on our doorstep!
Next we walk down rue de la Chapelle a little way to see the two churches side-by-side, Saint Denys de la Chapelle and Basilique Sainte Jeanne d'Arc, where she prayed before entering the city of Paris in 1429.
A most gracious lady in the church vestry called the handyman/church cleaner over to translate as she spoke no English at all.
He very kindly gathered up his broom & bucket & took us through the two churches - unlocked the door so we could photograph the statue of Jeanne d'Arc. His English was pretty good.

We need to get our metro passes for the rest of the week and decide to go to Gare du Nord as I want to replace a very nice ladies purse/wallet I gor from a luggage dealer inside the station.
I find a similar one and because we've had no breakfast decide on an early lunch at the very large Terminus Nord opposite.

We are seated and go for the formula of the day.
DH starts with Salade Magret followed by rumsteack (rump steak)and I go for the Tagliatelle Concomber which is dressed with a very nice prawn sauce, then grilled salmon for mains @ 24euros each.
Wine by the glass 4,20 and Coke 4,50 finishing with an espressos 7,00euros. Total 63.70 which was a darn expensive lunch.

I wanted to see an apartment in rue de Tolbiac where friends of ours had been staying, so we headed off to the left bank and Place D'Italie.
From there we walked down Avenue de Choisy stopping at Parc de Choisy for a quick wander through.
Around number 9 we spot another restaurant reccommendation from Kerouac, namely Tricotin. Unfortunately I didn't even get to go into the complex but that is a definite for next time!

Getting to the corner of Blvd Massena we walked along until turning back up Avenue d'Ivry.
This is the main Chinatown area and dubbed 'le Triangle Jaune'.
We stopped in at Les Freres Tang the largest Asian supermarket - a jumble of products everywhere & packed with shoppers.
We were delighted to see not only here but at other shops, my favourite mangsteens! Also displayed were durians ( smell can overpowering) & rhumbatans which I love - never tasted durian and was warned in Singapore not to eat it before getting on a plane as it can do strange things to your intestines!
Most places were closed as if it were a Sunday back home.

We are fascinated by the 'trams' ( I don't know if that's what they are called) In my youth we called them trolley buses.
Modern in every respect but hooked up to powerlines overhead.

The apartment was at number 15 Rue de Tolbiac. Modern building close to Metro Bibliotheque F.Mitterrand.
We couldn't go inside but she has since reported it was very nice.
We walk down to Pont de Tolbiac to get a different aspect of the Seine.

What to do with the rest of the afternoon? Decide DH must see Sainte Chapelle and I want to go up and see the view from Kong but we lucked out both ways. Kong was closed for the evening clean-up - it is about 5.30pm so we go off to Ste.Chapelle where there is a concert starting at 7pm and no more people being admitted.

We go down to Square Vert Galant to check on my willow tree instead.
It's grown so big in two years and looking very healthy indeed.
After an hour or so we are feeling tired so head home, but not before a stroll through Place Dauphine on our way to the metro at Cite`.

It was around 8pm now so a quick look around the Chinese restaurants near the hotel but find La Locomotive closed ( looked shut maybe we were wrong) so went for Tin Tin.
Seated in a corner in the window we had a lovely view of what was going on in the street.
We order 2 menus @8.90 plus a Porc Laque @6.90( which I thought was Swett 'n Sour pork) but whatever this was it was delicious! A small bottle of Cote Du Rhone for me, Tsing Tsao beer for DH. Total Bill 40,80 euros.

Now to see which room we will rest our weary heads Room 35 of course!

Tomorrow we begin Kerouac's Ethnic Walking Tour in reverse.

Photos;
http://tinyurl.com/69go8l

tod - very interesting trip report. And I look forward to your England report eventually!

You took a picture of my apartment, tod. It's the photo titled "Looking from MacDonald's down Rue Marx Dormoy" -- the two windows on the top floor are part of my apartment, as is the little window in the roof.

I'm glad you liked the neighborhood. I certainly like it. And I am very happy that you are able to inform people that good hotels rooms are available in Paris for 52€. Nobody ever wants to believe me.

Sorry about the spelling errors - I did edit but it looks like that function is playing up.

Kerouac - Well, I did half suspect that one of those windows would be yours, so I'm glad I was right!
Do you know how honoured we would be if you could make a GTG in the future?!
I love the village feel to that area. When I look at my new Michelin 54 Paris Plan, I can see how the whole area is wedged into the space between the railway lines east and west and ending primarily at Rue Riquet. It's a very small little cluster of shops, hotels, restaurants, and businesses.

yk - Thanks so much. My trip report on Britain is going to be awhile. We were there 2 weeks and travelled extensively in our motorhome. When I tell you we went right around the entire country - up oneside and down the other, we covered a lot of ground.
I will get something together soon as I can.

The Marx Dormoy area is often referred to as a "micro district" due to being wedged in by the train tracks. It is definitely one of the factors that creates cohesion among the many different ethnic residents. People who live "beyond the tracks" are just from another part of Paris and too bad for them!

However, there is a new gigantic development project currently underway that is going to be covering some of the train tracks from Gare de l'Est and restructuring some of the SNCF warehouses over there, and the neighborhood will definitely change to the new "bobo" mode for Paris. A new university campus is coming in and also a giant new youth hostel, since it will be on the same street of the headquarters of the world youth hostel association. One example of this is on rue Marx Dormoy where the little boutique devoted to making felt "piano hammers" recently closed to be replaced by an organic food shop.

I read that the planned 'RER express' from CDG would arrive at Gare de l'Est, rather than Gare du Nord (2012).. do that might be a part of those structural changes, too.

The CDG Express will indeed arrive at Gare de l'Est, which will have airline check-in counters (like in Hong Kong) and relieve you of your luggage immediately. Not before 2012, though.

2012 may not be the actual date, because the whole deal was geared for the 2012 Olympics, which, as everybody knows, Paris did not obtain.