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PARIS IS PARIS - Beatchick's Paris April 2003 Trip Report

PARIS IS PARIS - Beatchick's Paris April 2003 Trip Report

Old May 27th, 2003, 03:14 AM
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Thanks, knoble!! Glad that my little adventures might inspire someone to take a solo trip! Have you read about CrazyMina's trip? She did months of traveling by herself and had a great time. I never minded doing things by myself - dinner, movies, bookstores, etc. My first time to Chicago I did as a daytrip from Cincy all by myself. Of course, I went directly to the Art Institute and back home but that was a big deal for me and that me think I could take a trip overseas by myself.

Thanks, travelmom! I hope you have a perfectly fantastic time in June!!
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Old May 27th, 2003, 08:13 AM
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Mary, pick up a copy of this month's "Saveur'magazine. There's an article on the wines of Sancerre, one of our favorites also.
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Old May 27th, 2003, 09:18 AM
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Beatchick, loved your report. And it was so good to hear of the Trumilou again. My husband and I used to head there often, usually for the plat du jour, but once for some fab steaks and yummy charlotte. Once went at noon when the customers all seemed to be proper French businessmen. I wonder if the cat still sits in the window; he may have gone to cat heaven.
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Old May 27th, 2003, 09:27 AM
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Merci, beatchick, merci!

We left Paris eight days ago, and reading your wonderful report was like getting a booster shot to help me make it through to the next visit.

You're my kind of traveler!
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Old May 27th, 2003, 09:31 AM
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Mary, great report! You've got me dreaming of Paris now, too bad I'm not going to be going anytime soon Thanks for helping me relive some great memories.
Tammy
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Old May 27th, 2003, 09:41 AM
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more, please! My own solo trip to Paris just isn't soon enough...<sigh>
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Old May 27th, 2003, 06:28 PM
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Thanks, Cigalechanta, I will do that!! Mmmmm, Sancerre!!!!!!!!!

Hi LVSue! Does that LV stand for Las Vegas?? I did really enjoy Trumilou - too bad I didn't get to see the cat. How'd you hear about the place? Did you read about it? Or just happen past it?

Coooool, Elle. Trust me, I'm feelin' ya! I've been in a kind of funk since I've been back. Ahhh, me. How long did you get to stay in Paris?

Bonjour, Craisin! I will TRY to post Friday/Saturday/Sunday tomorrow. Then I can finally get those trip reports out to those who've asked for them (some of you have been sooo patient). How soon will you get to Paris?
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Old May 28th, 2003, 05:22 AM
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We were in Paris for two days at the beginning of our trip and two days at the end. We had seven days in Languedoc in between.

Someday I may even get around to pulling together my own trip report. (Although at the rate I'm moving, it'll probably be August by that time!)
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Old May 28th, 2003, 06:19 AM
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Ooh, Elle, Paris with Languedoc sandwiched in between!!

I know what you mean - this is my 3rd trip to Paris and my 1st trip report although I've promised reports on the last 2 (each were 3- or 4- day trips). Trust me to wait until a 9-day trip to decide to tackle my very 1st trip report - cheez.

But I would love to see a trip report from you and I'm sure so many others would, too. I doubt that we have much good first-hand info on the Languedoc on this forum. You'd be doing us ALL a favor!!! Please, please.
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Old May 28th, 2003, 06:46 AM
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Yes, indeed, LV is Las Vegas. We originally read about Trumilou in Frommer, I think, back in the Europe on $XX/day days. I remember the cheap plat being poulet basquaise.
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Old May 28th, 2003, 12:44 PM
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Hey there, LVSue! I've seen the European-country-on-$75-a-day books but I don't I've ever seen any from Frommer's. That would've been cool. I do love their "Irreverent Guide to Paris".

Mmmm - that poulet Basquaise sounds divine. Isn't Basque regional food a lot like Provence with peppers, olives & tomatoes?
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Old May 28th, 2003, 02:04 PM
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beatchick, I won't be going till October! For now, I'll have to get my fix from your trip report (and others). Sometimes I worry that if I research too much and read too much before going, it'll take away from my experience--my first trip to Paris. But, somehow, I highly doubt it coz people like you and mina and many others keep coming back and hungry for more!
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Old May 28th, 2003, 03:02 PM
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Oh Merry Mary!

Another Irreverent Paris fan!!

But I do have to tell you that D and I got food poisoning at Trimilou!! Do not order scallops on sunday!!
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Old May 29th, 2003, 02:27 PM
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Ohh, Craisin, you'll be going in the Fall! It'll be so lovely then! Nice & cool weather, the students will be starting afresh at the Sorbonne - I certainly envy you. I ALWAYS overplan, and throw 1/2 the itinerary out the window once I get there but at least you'll know all your options, no, cherie??

Tammy, how could I have MISSED YOU?? Don't worry, chica, soon enough you'll be traveling again and you'll have all that summertime to travel! That'll be reeeeeally nice. And you've inspired me so much on my trips and in my planning - thank you, Tammylouky!!

Hi JOjo!! Yes, I LOVE that book - and never, ever will I order the scallops from Trumilou on Sunday (thanks for the tip)!!
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Old Jun 2nd, 2003, 06:06 PM
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FRIDAY - APRIL 18TH
As I write this, I'm hanging out at the Bonbonerie in Cincinnati, a cutesy quaint tea salon that started off as a pastry shop (famous for its wedding cakes) & then eventually added a tea salon with a wonderfully long list of specialty teas. I came here to ease my heartache over not being in Paris. They are so kind as to allow me to sit here until they close at 5pm - just like in Paris!! But, alas, they have no macaroons like Ladurée.

The Marais
Finally, it was my day to explore THE MARAIS! If you're a museum buff, then this surely is the area for you; if you're not a museum buff, then there is surely one museum that will suit your taste: Picasso, modern art, Victor Hugo, several pre-French-Revolutionary War royalist stuff, locks, hunting, dolls, & Jewish artifacts (including works by Chagall). If museums just aren't your thing period, then surely there is enough shopping (antiques, jewelry, textiles, boutiques, papeteries) to suit your tastes. Or just hanging out in the Place des Vosges enjoying the park, or people watching from one of the cafés surrounding the Place? Not satisfied yet, then perhaps just meandering thru the winding maze of cobblestone streets? It definitely had great appeal for me.
That day, I headed west from my hotel on rue Jarente, then north on rue des Sevigné, west again on rue des Francs Bourgeois past the Musée Carnavalet, then south on rue Pavée to hook up with rue des Rosiers, the most Jewish of streets in this wonderfully Jewish district.
I was hungry, having not yet eaten breakfast yet, so I looked for the falafel place I'd read about, but the falafel shops were closed until noon & mine, Café des Psaumes, appeared to be permanently closed. So I stopped off at a little fruit stand & picked up some strawberries (why are the strawberries so luscious in Paris?). I passed down rue du Bourg-Tibourg to see if maybe Mariage Frères was open - it opened at noon. Wended my way thru the Marais to the opulent Hôtel de Ville & picked up some fresh, hot roasted chestnuts from the vendor in front of the BHV across the street. Yay! I'd always wanted to try these & thought they could only be found from autumn thru the Christmas holiday.
Not a lot to do at the Hôtel de Ville, Paris' City Hall, as one can't go inside, so I circled around the Hôtel eating strawberries & chestnuts together (good stuff). Nearly got hit crossing the street behind the building (guess that's why they have that underground passageway for a reason) and finally caught a glimpse of the FRONT of St-Gervais-St-Protais church, & circled back to Mariage Frères for noontime tea!
Mariage Frères
Decided on the floral Marco Polo tea accompanied by a Patisserie Chariot Colonial (I'm reading this from a receipt & I vaguely recall what this is, like a slice from a large strawberry-ish tart).
So I'm drinking my tea at a corner table and along comes in this wonderfully fey, modern-day dandy - very Byronesque, yet Wilde-ish, with shoulder-length dark hair, black tweed wool trousers, crisp white shirt, fawn-colored waistcoat complete with a cravat, all covered in a long black Edwardian frock coat. He was very much goth and I wouldn't have been surprised if he'd bared his fangs at me. Fabulous! But what really caught my eye was the enormous, fluffy, curved ostrich-feather fan! Quite the finishing touch, I assure you. He glanced up at me noticing him & smiled a wan, pleased grin. When his gaze had dropped, I very discreetly pulled out my camera to take a photo of the gent & I swear he stretched out like a languorous cat and POSED for me!!
Besides the dude, the coolest thing here was the pot warmer surrounding the teapots. Perhaps I'm a total rube & the last person to take notice of this but each surrounded the teapot entirely to catch all the drips - INGENIOUS! Hopped upstairs to check out the Musée Thé and then proceeded on my Merry Mary way. http://www.mariagefreres.com/
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Old Jun 2nd, 2003, 06:14 PM
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Musée Picasso
Made my way north on rue Vieille du Temple to the Musée Picasso. I'm not a huge Picasso fan but it's worth a visit. I think I enjoyed the artwork of his friends more than his stuff. Did like the painting of Dora, of La Céléstine, statue of a woman with a large nose and the bronze of the bull's head. Took some pics (most of which didn't turn out), including of the crown moldings on the ceiling. The maison itself is beautiful. http://www.museums-of-paris.com/musee_en.php?code=290
Musée Carnavalet
Ahh! This place is stunning with its beautiful period rooms you walk thru. The musée is actually 2 mansions connected & it is very easy to get lost in. I spent a couple of hours here & could easily have spent a few hours more. I know I didn't see even HALF the place. http://www.museums-of-paris.com/musee_en.php?code=321
Musée Victor Hugo
Whiled away an easy hour here. This is a very maneuverable museum with a lovely old, creaky, sideways slanted wooden staircase. If you're a fan of old manses or of Hugo's work then this would be a cool spot for you. One thing I learned here was that Hugo's son, Charles, was an artist, his works showing in the Musée d'Orsay. http://www.museums-of-paris.com/muse...go/english.htm
Place des Vosges
It was around 6-ish so I dropped in at one of the cafés surrounding the Place des Vosges, Nectarine. Tried another new thing, a savory crêpe - jambon et gruyère -accompanied by a small salad. Sat at the street-side café table while I mused & wrote in my journal, the waiter pausing every now & again just to see if I needed anything but never interrupting. Café waiters in Paris seem to respect the art of writing even if one is just writing in a journal. Since I was there until sunset I was able to watch the buildings of the Place come afire in that famed apricot (or nectarine!) glow. Piece of advice: if you need to make a pit stop while in the Marais, Nectarine is a good place to come to. Theirs are pay toilettes yet free for the patrons. I would also note that anytime you have an opportunity to use a free restroom in Paris use it as you never know when that opportunity will present itself again.
As I was paying the bill, the nice guy who waited on me handed me a card with "Vous êtes la Bienvenue" written on it. Then he said in English, "You are always welcome at Nectarine." Awwww - how sweet! I guess ordering (or attempting to order) in French pays off!!
Eiffel Tower
I hadn't done the Eiffel Tower thing yet & I had never made it to the top at night in order to see the lights laid out before me, so I dropped my stuff off at my hotel & headed to La Tour Eiffel.
I want to thank Adrienne AGAIN for giving me those 2 tickets to the E.T. It really added to this trip of Paris. Thanks!!
With my ticket in hand, I was able to skip the long line to go straight up to the 2nd floor. Then waited an hour to get thru that line to reach the top. I asked a gentleman in front of me if I was in the right line & he stated there were no more trips to the top that night as it was full capacity, that I was now in the line to the elevators going down (easy to think as the signs there aren't too clear). Resigned to my fate & very upset, I stewed while in line. HAH! But the guy must've been messing with me (what a sucker I am) as we all indeed get to go to the top from that line!
To be honest, there's not much of a view from the top - just a myriad of pinpoints of light. But I was able to make out the Arc de Triomphe - cool.
http://www.tour-eiffel.fr/teiffel/uk/
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Old Jun 2nd, 2003, 06:48 PM
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SATURDAY - APRIL 19TH
Eiffel Tower during the Day
Saturday was the day I blew off my entire day's itinerary. I'm a complete & utter, perfect example of one who overplans throughout the year, extremely detailed itinerary & then throws part of it out at a moment's whim. For example, I've still never BEEN to the Arc de Triomphe, not inside, not the top, not the museum, not even the base. I plan to go every year but just seeing it is sufficient for me. I was going to check out Montparnasse this day, then the Marché d'Aligre, lunch at Le Square Trousseau nearby, walk the Viaduc des Arts, and finish up with Passage Jouffroy, but that was all tossed out the window. Instead, I used today to do things I hadn't done yet.
But I DID ascend the Eiffel Tower that morning. I arrived there bright & early, my ticket firmly grasped in my fist - first person in line. Cold, cold morning but I braved it to be among the 1st to go up. Straight up to the top & the 1st to get out at the top. Perfectly bright, hazy day. Took beaucoup photos & especially love the ones with the Eiffel Tower shadow draped across the cityscape.
That done, I set off for breakfast at Ladurée on the Champs Elysees. But, alas, it was past 11am & they weren't serving for a while. I crossed the street for breakfast at Boulangerie Paul - poulet on baguette sandwich & café. Out of curiosity, I ducked into McDonald's (I know, HORRORS!) next door for a petite frites (frites sauce - cool) & an Orangina (a mere 2.60E). Took a pic of the menu for the kidsies & picked up ketchup & frites sauce for them, took a pic of the chick at the counter & promised I'd send her a copy.
St-Chapelle
Took the RER to the Châtelet-Les Halles stop. Bought the Josephine Baker poster that I knew was perfect for my friend, Angie, at the nearby bookinistes, crossed the Pont au Change, took a pic of the famous clock on the corner of the building that houses the Conciergerie and for which the Quai de l'Horloge is named (Ian said all he wanted from Paris was a picture of a clock, any clock - crazy kid!), stood in line to go thru security to get into Ste-Chapelle. Long wait to get thru security but it was a breeze to ease my way past the long line for entry with my museum pass. It was then straight upstairs to see the fabulous windows. I'd never been in this fabulous cathedral during a sunny day so I camped out in one of the chairs & waited for the light to slowly glide past the stained-glass windows & create the dazzling color light show along the ancient, painted floor. I stayed for several hours, reading the English description of the windows & studied the figures in each panel. As the sun would light up the colors in different windows, I'd take pictures. At one point, the crowd dispersed and I was able to take photos of the colored dots on the floor!
Then I strolled my way thru the triangular Place Dauphine (cute, cute - didn't exactly live up to my expectations - but cute), stopped to check out the statue of the Vert Galant, King Henri IV, then down the steps to the Square du Vert Galant, walked to the westernmost tip of the Ile de la Cité, came around the southern side to the Quai des Orfèvres, passing sunbathers & picnickers, up the stairs of the Petit Pont, & thru the Place du Parvis-Notre Dame. Looked AGAIN for the Kilomètre Zero spot but couldn't locate it. I strongly suspect it lay under the large cart of the t-shirt vendor on the Parvis - hmmmmm!
Finally a Fabulous Crêpe
Along the rue du Cloître Notre Dame, I finally found a GOOD crêpe vendor. He made up a fresh citron sucré crêpe, spreading it with butter, sprinkling it with sugar & dowsing it with fresh lemon juice. Divine!! A brand-new favorite, it is.
Crossed the Pont de l'Archeveche passing the painters on the bridge, circled back to Maison de Paris, "la boutique de vos souvenirs pour vous offrir le meilleur de Paris" of Pierrick Brunel, located at 5, Quai de Montebello, ph# 01 46 33 20 53. Chatted with Monsieur Brunel (a lovely soul, he is), bought some souvenirs & promised I'd be back the next year. Meandered back to my hotel via the Ile-St-Louis having paused to inquire about the prices of paintings (from one of the painters on the bridge) - très cher for this poor little churchmouse, and once I arrived at my hotel room, took a blessed nap.
La Boulangerie
After freshening up that evening, I dashed out to the 20th to La Boulangerie at 15, rue des Panoyaux for my last evening meal in Paris. This would be a nice spot to hit after an afternoon at Père Lachaise being only 5-10 minutes walk north of it. Dinner did not disappoint: house cocktail, gaspacho tomates (somehow I'm just very leery of gazpacho in Paris, but honey, it was good!), selle agneau, 1/4 carafe of house wine, un carafe d'eau in a lovely blue wine bottle, moelleux chocolat for dessert followed by café (I miss the caf&eacute totaling to 38E. Good deal!! For the curious, the website is www.restauboulangerie.com. For reservations, dial 01 43 58 45 45. Cute little place & I was the only non-French person there (always a good sign). For you night owls out there, a very hip bar is nearby, Café Charbon at 109 r. Oberkampf. But I required more peaceful surrounds that night.
Went back to the hotel, grabbed my CD player, sat on a bench in the Place-St-Catherine, smoked my cigs, listened to Coldplay & people-watched!!
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Old Jun 2nd, 2003, 07:22 PM
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SUNDAY - April 20th
'Twas my final day in Paris and I'd saved one of the best things for last: Easter Mass at Notre Dame (Pâques 2003) "Le Christ est vraiment ressuscité, Alléluia!" Ate breakfast again at Miss Manon and because I was afraid I'd be late, grabbed a taxi by the metro St-Paul entrance. For 5 euro I received the unique experience of speeding via taxi thru Paris - WOW!!
Actually, I was early, way early. I was the 1st in line. Other tourists passed by but soon enough we had a small line. I struck up a conversation with a couple from Atlanta, and when I turned around a French man had ducked in front of me! I tried to explain to him that he had skipped line but apparently he didn't understand the concept. For the 1st time of this entire trip I didn't have the ability to convey my meaning, not even thru hand gestures (no, not THOSE kind of hand gestures). But presently, he moved off to the side to carry on a conversation with another person so I moved on up to claim my spot RIGHT NEXT TO THE GATE (sucker). The Atlanta couple & I shared a moment of bemused eye rolling.
I was the 1st inside and I sat in the front row! The service was just beautiful and spoken in Latin, French & English (how very accommodating)! I am not Catholic so I followed what everyone else did and I did not partake of the Communion (although I am Christian, but I thought that might be rude as I'm sure they'd want me to have had my confession done by a priest - and it wasn't).
My friends from outside sat next to me, and to their right sat a Parisian woman. My friends whispered that she was very odd having glared at us three as she sat and she talked (uh, no, not prayed) to herself throughout the ceremony. When we left after the ceremony she promptly took my spot, which was apparently her usual spot. I wondered if she had this same problem every Easter.
No more money for taxis so I walked back - with no umbrella. And then it started to sprinkle. And then it began to rain. I glanced at my surroundings & suddenly realized I WAS IN A CAILLEBOTTE PAINTING (y'know, the one that hangs in the Chicago Art Institut - "Rainy Day in Paris")!!!
Scuttled back to the hotel, passing the gorgeous blue façade of Hotel Caron de Beaumarchais (someday may I stay there, God willing), grabbed my bags, said my good-byes to the staff, signed my name in the guest register and left my LOVELY, BEAUTIFUL, even FABOO, Paris!
My love to all - may your trip be as wonderful as mine!! ~MaryC
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Old Jun 2nd, 2003, 07:25 PM
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Lastly, I just want to thank, my good friend, StCirq for taking the time out & the trouble to edit my trip report. You have diligently worked hard on this with no complaints in your wonderful, gracious manner as always. My many thanks to you, M, complete with undying gratitude!!
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Old Jun 2nd, 2003, 07:51 PM
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Bravo, Mare Bear!
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