Paris trip report May 2008
May 13th, 2008, 09:27 AM
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Paris trip report May 2008
Hi. This forum has been a big help to me for our last 2 Paris trips but I have never posted a trip report. My husband called me a "lurker" so I promised him I would share our experiences with you.
This is our 4th trip to Paris in 8 years. We are in our mid to early 40s and have demanding jobs. We also have 2 small children with no family nearby so our together time is minimal at best. We are originally from NYC and are city people at heart-we love to walk in cities, to visit museums, to eat and drink well and take it all in.
We booked this vacation a year ago with AA miles. We rented the same apt we rented 2 years ago http://www.vrbo.com/94017. We engaged our sitter and waited a year to leave. Of course, me being me, I started my restaurant searching and made a few reservations well in advance, like Spring and Le Comptoir. We found out that our close friends would also be there when we were, and were also staying in the 7th. He is like me and we were sharing restaurant ideas early on. Then the waiting started but before we knew it, May had arrived.
We departed May 2. We had to connect in Chicago where we had a 3 hour layover. There were storms and our flight was delayed 2 1/2 hours so I started to worry. The AA employees made it worse-saying how we'd most likely circle over the airport and reminded me that we were on our own w/ weather related delays. We finally boarded and then sat on the runway for over an hour waiting for clearance. We called my daughter and she asked if we were in Paris yet and we told her that we were still on the runway. I asked her to say a Hail Mary for us. To my dismay, she said it while on the phone and I thanked her. We were in the air within 5 minutes. I knew at that moment that all would go well and promised to visit Mary's altar at the Madelaine (sp?). We connected at Chicago after a 2 hour wait. Flight was long and uneventful, and even though we each took an Ambien, were only able to sleep 3 hours. We arrived in Paris 3 hours late. We used the blue van to pick us up, as we have for all prior trips. He was there when we were. Round trip for 2 was about $96. There were 2 other clients, but we were the fist ones dropped off.
We really liked this apt last trip, and were equally happy this trip. The owners are from Ca. and are very responsive. We even met the dad and son last trip as their son was attending high school in Paris. It is right between Fables de la Fontaine and Violin de Ingres at 133 Rue St Dominique. It is on the 2nd floor w/ elevator. It is very bright and airy with a comfy bed, good linens, big bathroom with full tub/shower, great water pressure etc. We love the street view and found falling asleep to to the street sounds much more soothing than the crickets we have now!
DH took a 1 hour nap ( I was too antsy!) and then we showered and walked to La Dernierre Goute for a winetasting. I was told they had numerous tastings and spoke English and wanted to start the trip off right with some good wines. We were a bit disappointed that there was only 1 wine for tasting but we bought 2 others on their recommendation. We then walked around the 6th (very warm and crowded due to the long weekend) and back to our apt for a sampling our our wine choice. I was happy to be in Paris but the 6th was not a good first walk-we were tired and it was so congested around the cafes. I was very happy to return to the 7th.
We took the metro to Paul Bert for our 8:30 reservations. I have wanted to eat here on prior trips but it never made the cut. DH likes his meat well done so it took a bit of persuading but we were happy we chose it. We sat next to 3 British women who were taking advantage of the long weekend and they helped us with the menu translation. The menu is 34 E. DH order the charcuterie for a 7E supplement and me the terrine of fois gras and leeks. It was very good. For dinner I had the filet de beouf au poiver w/ the best french fries I've ever eaten (was told they were fried in duck fat!) and a green salad. This came with a 12 E supplement. DH ordered a pork chop (or cote de chachon)in mustard sauce , which is an insult to pork chops. It was pink and fresh and nothing like the pork chops we have eaten before. We ordered the burgundy that was suggested. We each ordered the Paris Brest for dessert, which was highly recommended by our waitress and guidebooks. It was a donut sliced and filled with hazelnut cream. I am not a big dessert fan and this was a weak one in my opinion but DH was happy.
I don't think we have ever toured the 11th before and since the metro stop was closed, we got off the one before and walked a bit. It was a funky (in a good way) area w/ alot of young people and bars. We got home around 11:30 and quickly fell asleep...Tomorrow was free museum day so we had a good day ahead...
This is our 4th trip to Paris in 8 years. We are in our mid to early 40s and have demanding jobs. We also have 2 small children with no family nearby so our together time is minimal at best. We are originally from NYC and are city people at heart-we love to walk in cities, to visit museums, to eat and drink well and take it all in.
We booked this vacation a year ago with AA miles. We rented the same apt we rented 2 years ago http://www.vrbo.com/94017. We engaged our sitter and waited a year to leave. Of course, me being me, I started my restaurant searching and made a few reservations well in advance, like Spring and Le Comptoir. We found out that our close friends would also be there when we were, and were also staying in the 7th. He is like me and we were sharing restaurant ideas early on. Then the waiting started but before we knew it, May had arrived.
We departed May 2. We had to connect in Chicago where we had a 3 hour layover. There were storms and our flight was delayed 2 1/2 hours so I started to worry. The AA employees made it worse-saying how we'd most likely circle over the airport and reminded me that we were on our own w/ weather related delays. We finally boarded and then sat on the runway for over an hour waiting for clearance. We called my daughter and she asked if we were in Paris yet and we told her that we were still on the runway. I asked her to say a Hail Mary for us. To my dismay, she said it while on the phone and I thanked her. We were in the air within 5 minutes. I knew at that moment that all would go well and promised to visit Mary's altar at the Madelaine (sp?). We connected at Chicago after a 2 hour wait. Flight was long and uneventful, and even though we each took an Ambien, were only able to sleep 3 hours. We arrived in Paris 3 hours late. We used the blue van to pick us up, as we have for all prior trips. He was there when we were. Round trip for 2 was about $96. There were 2 other clients, but we were the fist ones dropped off.
We really liked this apt last trip, and were equally happy this trip. The owners are from Ca. and are very responsive. We even met the dad and son last trip as their son was attending high school in Paris. It is right between Fables de la Fontaine and Violin de Ingres at 133 Rue St Dominique. It is on the 2nd floor w/ elevator. It is very bright and airy with a comfy bed, good linens, big bathroom with full tub/shower, great water pressure etc. We love the street view and found falling asleep to to the street sounds much more soothing than the crickets we have now!
DH took a 1 hour nap ( I was too antsy!) and then we showered and walked to La Dernierre Goute for a winetasting. I was told they had numerous tastings and spoke English and wanted to start the trip off right with some good wines. We were a bit disappointed that there was only 1 wine for tasting but we bought 2 others on their recommendation. We then walked around the 6th (very warm and crowded due to the long weekend) and back to our apt for a sampling our our wine choice. I was happy to be in Paris but the 6th was not a good first walk-we were tired and it was so congested around the cafes. I was very happy to return to the 7th.
We took the metro to Paul Bert for our 8:30 reservations. I have wanted to eat here on prior trips but it never made the cut. DH likes his meat well done so it took a bit of persuading but we were happy we chose it. We sat next to 3 British women who were taking advantage of the long weekend and they helped us with the menu translation. The menu is 34 E. DH order the charcuterie for a 7E supplement and me the terrine of fois gras and leeks. It was very good. For dinner I had the filet de beouf au poiver w/ the best french fries I've ever eaten (was told they were fried in duck fat!) and a green salad. This came with a 12 E supplement. DH ordered a pork chop (or cote de chachon)in mustard sauce , which is an insult to pork chops. It was pink and fresh and nothing like the pork chops we have eaten before. We ordered the burgundy that was suggested. We each ordered the Paris Brest for dessert, which was highly recommended by our waitress and guidebooks. It was a donut sliced and filled with hazelnut cream. I am not a big dessert fan and this was a weak one in my opinion but DH was happy.
I don't think we have ever toured the 11th before and since the metro stop was closed, we got off the one before and walked a bit. It was a funky (in a good way) area w/ alot of young people and bars. We got home around 11:30 and quickly fell asleep...Tomorrow was free museum day so we had a good day ahead...
May 13th, 2008, 09:38 AM
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Plambers, great to get your report. Keep it up. Paul Bert's been on my list forever and I never seem to get there. I'll keep trying based on your report. Selecting out of the way restaurants (like taking in markets) is one really good way to see more of the city. The 11th is one of the arrondissements that few folks get to--except those seeking out cute little bistros with recommended dining. Glad your search was rewarded.
May 13th, 2008, 09:49 AM
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JulieV, we were happy we ate there. It is labeled as traditional French and I will admit that most things on the appetizers menu, like head cheese, were not to our liking. I am usually torn with all the choices, but our choices for appetizers were more a process of finding what we liked, and that was limited. The dinner menu was much broader, like beef cheeks, which I almost chose, and scallops that looked divine. It was 10 days ago but seems like a year ago...
May 13th, 2008, 09:58 AM
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Alot of our friends asked us why we keep returning to Paris. In Europe, DH and I have been to London, the Cotswolds, the Yorkshire Dales, Edinborough, Rome, Florence, Venice and Milan and Provence. I lived in Spain for 7 months and traveled around Spain and Portugal. I have appreciated all these areas, but we are smitten with Paris. We also need a vacation and knowing that we are in an apt for 8 days, without a car, and eating all our meals out, is a vacation. Paris is a destination in itself. It is in its own way a relaxing trip. I am unsure if I would want to spend 8 days in another city without making the day trips. We keep saying Spain for our next trip but we are limited to 8-10 days with the kiddie situation but I am afraid it will become 2 days here, 2 days there, etc.
May 13th, 2008, 11:30 AM
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It took me until Sunday am to realize we were in Paris! We were well rested and ready to go. Since it was the first Sunday in May, we took advantage of free museum day. We made coffee in the apt. (the only thing we made!) and walked over to the Rue Cler where we bought cheeses, a delicious peach tarte, and the necessary baguette for later. We felt more comfortable in the cheese shops with our limited French but still ordered a goat, blue and brie. There are so many different variations and even though we found a blue we loved, we weren't able to find it again our next time. After breakfast, we walked to the Rodin. Every day of our trip provided bright blue cloudless skies in the 70's-it was lovely, with flowers blooming everhwhere and the chestnut trees in all their glory. The mantra of this trap was "Glad to be here" and we were. We went to the Rodin and arrived a bit after the opening hour and were surprised to see quite a long long line. We thought it was for Camille Claudel exhibit but found out not. We waited and happily found out the line moved quickly and we were in w/in 15 minutes. The Rodin is my favorite Paris museum. I never fully appreciated sculpture until this museum. The outdoor gardens and sculptures were lovely too. We then walked to the Cluny, another favorite. As I said before, we WALK and only used 2 1/2 carnets b/t the 2 of us for our 8 days, and many of these were for far away dinners. I never tire of the beauty of Paris and I feel we appreciate it more every trip b/c the pressure is off. We can enjoy the walk to the destination as much as the destination itself.
That evening we met our friends at Fables de la Fontaine, which was literally right next to our apt. I was smart enough to drop in the night before and request a table outside. I packed 6 pair of shoes and wore one this night (they look great but are not too comfy!)
When we saw our friends, we asked if they understood why we love Paris so and keep on returning. The husband has been before and was taking his wife for their 10th. She responded in the negative-too crowded, too noisy etc. I was shocked and this sort of hung over us for our first glass of wine.
We were very happy to sit outside in the lovely courtyard as the restaurant is quite small. We had heard alot of favorable reviews and our neighbor chose this.
Appetizers are 18E and main are 28E. We each had a glass of wine and then ordered. I had a tartare w/ shrimp accompanied by foam which was very good. Dinner was disappointing and was the entree recommended by our waiter-a small piece of john dore w/ a teriyaki ginger glaze which I could have prepared better at home accompanied by a good side (forgot what) with more foam. I would prefer better food and less foam. Presentation was on slate - which we saw again later at Afaria. We chose not to have dessert and to go our apt for wine and cheese. Dinner w/ a glass of wine and a bottle of wine (that was split b/t the 4 of us) was 140 E. This was our only disappointing meal. We had a great time upstairs and they ate all our cheese and drank our wine and the Rue Cler and alot of local shops are closed tomorrow...What to do???
That evening we met our friends at Fables de la Fontaine, which was literally right next to our apt. I was smart enough to drop in the night before and request a table outside. I packed 6 pair of shoes and wore one this night (they look great but are not too comfy!)
When we saw our friends, we asked if they understood why we love Paris so and keep on returning. The husband has been before and was taking his wife for their 10th. She responded in the negative-too crowded, too noisy etc. I was shocked and this sort of hung over us for our first glass of wine.
We were very happy to sit outside in the lovely courtyard as the restaurant is quite small. We had heard alot of favorable reviews and our neighbor chose this.
Appetizers are 18E and main are 28E. We each had a glass of wine and then ordered. I had a tartare w/ shrimp accompanied by foam which was very good. Dinner was disappointing and was the entree recommended by our waiter-a small piece of john dore w/ a teriyaki ginger glaze which I could have prepared better at home accompanied by a good side (forgot what) with more foam. I would prefer better food and less foam. Presentation was on slate - which we saw again later at Afaria. We chose not to have dessert and to go our apt for wine and cheese. Dinner w/ a glass of wine and a bottle of wine (that was split b/t the 4 of us) was 140 E. This was our only disappointing meal. We had a great time upstairs and they ate all our cheese and drank our wine and the Rue Cler and alot of local shops are closed tomorrow...What to do???
May 13th, 2008, 02:13 PM
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So sorry you didn't have a great meal at Fables de la Fontaine. We were there about 3 days after you and I had my favorite dish of the entire trip--the langostines in crispy egg roll skin with basil and lime dipping sauce. Oooohh!. So good. Also had daurade which came with crispy skin and in three generous pieces and only very minimal foam. We didn't have the foresight to check ahead for outdoor dining but actually found the inside quite pleasant though certainly tiny. Interesting to have such different experiences. Sort of makes you recognize that you have to take all recommendations/and all non-recommendations with a grain of salt. Every restaurant can have nights when they're really off and some when they're really on--as can diners.
May 14th, 2008, 09:46 AM
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On Monday we awoke to another lovely sunny day. We walked everywhere this day-to the Latin Quarter where we had a great lunch at a good friend's recommendation, L'Ecurie. The outside tables looked so inviting and my friend always enjoys eating here so we tried it. I would not recommend eating inside-very dark and dingy- but outside was great. We sat next to a law student at the Sorbonne who, upon realizing we were American, asked if we could help him with some English vocabulary in a legal treatise he was reading. DH and I are both attorneys and we had a great discussion on his legal studies, his intended path of studies etc. I asked him if he always had a drink of wine at lunch and he said "Of course, I am a patriot!" a phrase my husband has been quoting since!! He was lovely and adorable-my takeaway from the lunch is that he could have been dessert! For 31 E DH has a great salad w/ auvergne blue cheese, entrecote w/ fries and a delectable chocolate mousse. I had pate, a generous lamb chop from the saddle w/ frited and creme caramel, along with a pinchet of wine. After lunch, I needed to walk off the wine so we walked to the Ille de la Cite, Ile des St. Louis, to Notre Dame which is always amazing and humbling,along the Seine and back to the apt. We left at 10 am and returned at 6, accompanied by 4 bottles of wine that we bought at Bacchus across the st.
For dinner we met our friends and went to Le Comptoir, a reservation I had made over 8 months ago. We had high expections for it, especially for the AYCE cheese course...
For dinner we met our friends and went to Le Comptoir, a reservation I had made over 8 months ago. We had high expections for it, especially for the AYCE cheese course...
May 14th, 2008, 10:26 AM
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Can't wait to hear about your experience at Le Comptoir. We had lunch there a year or so ago and it was wonderful. Not so sure, however, about dinner, especially with the need to promise your firstborn to get a reservation. We walked by the folks dining there as we left for dinner each evening and as we returned thereafter on a recent trip and somehow with folks hovering under heat lamps in 55 degree temps outside on those tiny tables facing the street and sitting shoulder to shoulder with the folks at the next table as their prize for endurance in the reservation sweepstakes, I was a bit leery. We have friends contemplating an attempt, so I'll be most anxious to get your take on the big "worth it" question.
May 14th, 2008, 11:02 AM
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I'm enjoying your report! We've stayed in an apartment in the 11th twice and loved it both times, with the exception of the long metro trek (we were very close to Nation) to get to sites around the Seine.
AND the Rodin is also one of our favorites. I can only imagine how lovely the gardens are in May.
More, please...
AND the Rodin is also one of our favorites. I can only imagine how lovely the gardens are in May.
More, please...
May 14th, 2008, 11:24 AM
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I am glad you are enjoying it. I know it is not one of the most amusing ones I have read but I wanted to give back this time, especially for restaurants, which are near and dear to my heart!!
Well, the big question...was Le Comptoir worth the wait? Mostly yes, but it was not our favorite meal(s) of the trip- you need to keep reading for those. Our friends are big foodies and when I told the husband I had snagged a reservation at Le Comptoir he promised me his thirdborn (knowing I didnt' want any more kids!!) if we could get them added to our reservation, which I did. When we were dining at Spring later in the week, I was talking to Daniel Rose and he asked where we had eaten. I told him my proudest moment was getting a coveted reservation at Le Comptoir 8 months earlier and he laughed and said no restaurant was worth that!!
Again, I called the day before and requested a table outside. We were given one, and were we happy. It is a very small restaurant with a mishmash of tables here and there, many floating around in the center of the room, which I hate. It was tight inside but quite nice outside (bar the graffitti on the walls!). Alot of work was being done at the hotel, so there was scaffolding etc which,if gone, would have made for a more appealing venue.
Here was the menu of the evening for 48E, which is a good bang for the buck, given the amount and quality of food:
Legume de printemps en gelee de betterav Mousseline de raifort-very fresh and light-perfect spring dish
Asperge blaches des Landes, roquette sauce mousseline (delicious!)
Quasi de veau de Correz, pane et roti Tranche de fenouil,grille, confite Jus pistou-very good but crust on veal came off when veal was cut. the meat was so good it didnt' need the crust, which I left on the side)
Fromage - amazing cheese course- about 7 or 8 selections, with quince, jams, honeys etc. Large tray left on table - we kept eating. mmmmmmm. waitress kept looking to see if she could remove but we kept eating...mmmmm. she came over 3 times and then we felt shame and let her take it.
abricot du roussillon roti creme d' amande (delicious!) I am one of those crazy people who prefer fruit desserts to chocolate!) and sorbet fraise gargiuette (great). Then they gave us these amazing mango caramel candies (1 for each of us) and we moaned over those so they gave us more. I was also pleasantly surprised to find some very nice wines on the menu so we ordered 2 very reasonably prices bottles for a total of 121E.
We then felt a walk was in order and we walked along the Seine back to our apt. There is nothing like Paris...
Tomorrow-our day with Michael Osman, who was as difficult to reserve as Le Comptoir...and a trip to a wine bar...and L Ami Jean and the best rice pudding I have ever eaten!
Well, the big question...was Le Comptoir worth the wait? Mostly yes, but it was not our favorite meal(s) of the trip- you need to keep reading for those. Our friends are big foodies and when I told the husband I had snagged a reservation at Le Comptoir he promised me his thirdborn (knowing I didnt' want any more kids!!) if we could get them added to our reservation, which I did. When we were dining at Spring later in the week, I was talking to Daniel Rose and he asked where we had eaten. I told him my proudest moment was getting a coveted reservation at Le Comptoir 8 months earlier and he laughed and said no restaurant was worth that!!
Again, I called the day before and requested a table outside. We were given one, and were we happy. It is a very small restaurant with a mishmash of tables here and there, many floating around in the center of the room, which I hate. It was tight inside but quite nice outside (bar the graffitti on the walls!). Alot of work was being done at the hotel, so there was scaffolding etc which,if gone, would have made for a more appealing venue.
Here was the menu of the evening for 48E, which is a good bang for the buck, given the amount and quality of food:
Legume de printemps en gelee de betterav Mousseline de raifort-very fresh and light-perfect spring dish
Asperge blaches des Landes, roquette sauce mousseline (delicious!)
Quasi de veau de Correz, pane et roti Tranche de fenouil,grille, confite Jus pistou-very good but crust on veal came off when veal was cut. the meat was so good it didnt' need the crust, which I left on the side)
Fromage - amazing cheese course- about 7 or 8 selections, with quince, jams, honeys etc. Large tray left on table - we kept eating. mmmmmmm. waitress kept looking to see if she could remove but we kept eating...mmmmm. she came over 3 times and then we felt shame and let her take it.
abricot du roussillon roti creme d' amande (delicious!) I am one of those crazy people who prefer fruit desserts to chocolate!) and sorbet fraise gargiuette (great). Then they gave us these amazing mango caramel candies (1 for each of us) and we moaned over those so they gave us more. I was also pleasantly surprised to find some very nice wines on the menu so we ordered 2 very reasonably prices bottles for a total of 121E.
We then felt a walk was in order and we walked along the Seine back to our apt. There is nothing like Paris...
Tomorrow-our day with Michael Osman, who was as difficult to reserve as Le Comptoir...and a trip to a wine bar...and L Ami Jean and the best rice pudding I have ever eaten!
May 14th, 2008, 11:28 AM
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the 121 was per couple. sorry. we shared 2 bottles of wine.forgot to say that we met at our apt first for wine and cheese. when our friends who were joining us for dinner, who were staying at a very nice hotel, entered our apt, she said she was so jealous! i love apts for the space, the brightness, the ability to entertain, etc. would never do a hotel again.
May 14th, 2008, 04:45 PM
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plambers-sounds like you had a good meal at Le Comptoir. Did you feel that the hype was too much for the reality? We loved those mango caramels so much that we bought a kilo (for an astronomical amount) and brought them home. Some of my friends now know how much I value them because I have given them some of our precious stash.
May 15th, 2008, 06:00 AM
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AGM Cape Cod, I am laughing b/c we asked for the address and intended to buy some of the mango caramels but just never got arouond to it-the place was in the 15th, no? I did enjoy the meal alot, so don't want to confuse posters, but the hype and the need to reserve so far in advance somewhat dulled the experience. I think if we didn't jump thru all the hoops I would have been higher on it but I think w/ all that our expection levels were sky high.
I had also heard from a few folks that it was a very good restaurant but that we would not be blown away, so that helped a bit.
I had also heard from a few folks that it was a very good restaurant but that we would not be blown away, so that helped a bit.
May 15th, 2008, 06:59 AM
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Our day with Michael Osman, who was as difficult to reserve as Le Comptoir...and a trip to a wine bar...and L Ami Jean and the best rice pudding I have ever eaten!
Well, we awoke a bit tired to another perfect blue sky day in the 70's. We have never had such phenominal weather. We were excitd to meet Michael. I had tried on numerous occasions to reach him since last Nov, to no avail, so I posted my frustrations on this website and asked if anyone knew of a substitute. DawnNoelle was kind enough to respond, telling me Michael is definitely worth it, and gave me his phone #. I figured I could try one more time and he did get back to me, full of apologies as his mom was sick and had recently died. Michael met us at our apt at 9 and my first request was to go to a cheese shop for a short lesson on cheeses, which he happily gave. I also rememebered some of the cheeses we had the night before and got some of those. Then we hopped on a bus and toured the Opera house, which was amazing, went to the top of Printemps for the view, toured the covered arcades, the bordello streets, the tony 1st, the gardens of the Palais Royale and all the second hand haute courture shops there, and then went to lunch at Domaine de Lintillac. My husband loves cassoulet and this was our first trip where we did not dine at Chez Eux. I had read Pudlo reviews and they said the cassoulet was good and it was in the neighborhood we wanted to get to know better. It was a very nice lunch-we each has cassoulet-much lighter and smaller portions than Chez Eux-and we shared 2 bottles of wine. Michael was lovely and engaging and we clicked from moment one. I told him of the raves other Fodorites had given him and he said he had checked his forum only once and read the exchange about how he was a drunk and quickly logged off. I told him to read it again, how it was a mistake, and for him to see how many fodorited stood up for him. We were considering the Marais or Momartre for our afternoon, as these are both areas that I like somewhat but others seem to love. Then Michael suggested Pere Lechaise cememtery, and since my DH has always wanted to tour it but we never had, we argreed. We then took a bus there and were very happy we did. Michael knew every nook and cranny of the cememtary, and all the lore and stories, and we were greatly entertained for about 3 hours there. Again, I was happy to see an area we had not previously toured. I wanted to go to a wine bar, so we then went to the Red Baron in the 11th, which was a blast. We shared 3 pinchets of various reds (the narrative may get a bit fuzzy here!) and wonderful conversation. We both felt like we had known Michael for years, and talked alot about his adjustment (or lack thereof) to moving to Paris from the US. Again, I encountered a hole in the ground toilet (which didn't quite seem as offensive as the fist time-perhaps it was all the wine!) and we stayed until 8:30 and we bid goodbye to Michael. Our dinner reservations were at 9 were at L Ami Jean, near our apt.
Well, we awoke a bit tired to another perfect blue sky day in the 70's. We have never had such phenominal weather. We were excitd to meet Michael. I had tried on numerous occasions to reach him since last Nov, to no avail, so I posted my frustrations on this website and asked if anyone knew of a substitute. DawnNoelle was kind enough to respond, telling me Michael is definitely worth it, and gave me his phone #. I figured I could try one more time and he did get back to me, full of apologies as his mom was sick and had recently died. Michael met us at our apt at 9 and my first request was to go to a cheese shop for a short lesson on cheeses, which he happily gave. I also rememebered some of the cheeses we had the night before and got some of those. Then we hopped on a bus and toured the Opera house, which was amazing, went to the top of Printemps for the view, toured the covered arcades, the bordello streets, the tony 1st, the gardens of the Palais Royale and all the second hand haute courture shops there, and then went to lunch at Domaine de Lintillac. My husband loves cassoulet and this was our first trip where we did not dine at Chez Eux. I had read Pudlo reviews and they said the cassoulet was good and it was in the neighborhood we wanted to get to know better. It was a very nice lunch-we each has cassoulet-much lighter and smaller portions than Chez Eux-and we shared 2 bottles of wine. Michael was lovely and engaging and we clicked from moment one. I told him of the raves other Fodorites had given him and he said he had checked his forum only once and read the exchange about how he was a drunk and quickly logged off. I told him to read it again, how it was a mistake, and for him to see how many fodorited stood up for him. We were considering the Marais or Momartre for our afternoon, as these are both areas that I like somewhat but others seem to love. Then Michael suggested Pere Lechaise cememtery, and since my DH has always wanted to tour it but we never had, we argreed. We then took a bus there and were very happy we did. Michael knew every nook and cranny of the cememtary, and all the lore and stories, and we were greatly entertained for about 3 hours there. Again, I was happy to see an area we had not previously toured. I wanted to go to a wine bar, so we then went to the Red Baron in the 11th, which was a blast. We shared 3 pinchets of various reds (the narrative may get a bit fuzzy here!) and wonderful conversation. We both felt like we had known Michael for years, and talked alot about his adjustment (or lack thereof) to moving to Paris from the US. Again, I encountered a hole in the ground toilet (which didn't quite seem as offensive as the fist time-perhaps it was all the wine!) and we stayed until 8:30 and we bid goodbye to Michael. Our dinner reservations were at 9 were at L Ami Jean, near our apt.
May 15th, 2008, 07:58 AM
#19
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I loved Cimitière Père LaChaise and it was actually there that I encountered my only "hole in the ground" toilet in Paris. 
Sounds like a wonderful day with Michael - definitely something I will consider next visit.
Sounds like a wonderful day with Michael - definitely something I will consider next visit.
May 15th, 2008, 08:11 AM
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Michael is a gem! We've always had great days with him. And, yes, he is a fabulous Pere LeChase (sp) guide. I would also recommend asking him to do the Montparnesse cemetary, which is also full of fascinating and well-known "residents."
Really enjoying your report, Plambers!
Really enjoying your report, Plambers!
