Paris trip report (the nonfood part)
Jul 4th, 2005, 08:22 PM
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Paris trip report (the nonfood part)
Ok, here's the non-food side of things! (See my restaurant report for details of the meals.)
Day 1 -- Landing in CDG was far easier than expected and the AIRPORT CONNECTION company was easy to deal with. After we called, the can arrived in less than 10 minutes. A cold and rainy day. (Thankfully, the only one!) Dropped off our luggage at the B&B on Ile St. Louis; our hosts were as delightful as they'd sounded on the phone. I knew we were in for a wonderful stay. We walked around, walked every street of that little island. I hate being cold and in the rain so I was trying to have fun while hating it. Walked to Notre Dame and went in...wow. Words do not describe. Walked around the area a bit, had lunch, then went to our room for a nap. A 45-minute catnap did wonders. Unpacked our things, had an early dinner, and went to bed early.
Day 2 -- Our 20th anniversary! A fresh red rose was laid across each of our plates at breakfast.
And a film crew from Channel 3 came to interview us. Apparently B&Bs are a relatively new thing in Paris and they wanted to interview our hosts as well as us. We spoke in French and in English and had a blast! Anyway, our plans were loose for the day. Went on a boat ride on the Seine, choose the Vedettes de Pont Neuf and it was such a gorgeous day. We sat outside, on the bow of the boat and tried to soak it all in. When we came close to the Eiffel Tower, I really knew I was in Paris. Had our picnic lunch on the Pont des Arts. Then walked along the Seine for awhile. Went to the top of La Samaritaine department store and took in the breathtaking view of the entire city from the 11th floor. Wow. Went to the Eiffel Tower for dinner and enjoyed the sunset there, and walked around the first level after dinner but it was freezing up there, so we went home and returned on a warmer day. Took a cab back to the B&B and the driver was kind, the car was brand new and was totally nonsmoking (had a sticker on the window). Great!
Day 3 -- Went to the Louvre, but did not go in. Too gorgeous of a day to spend hours inside. We took lots of photos and video of the outside -- amazing architecture. Then walked through the Tuilerie gardens and up the Champs Elysee. Went to the Arc de Triomph and climbed all the stairs to the top. Amazing view of the whole city, though there was scaffolding on one side that blocked us from having a true 360-degree panorama. Walked down all those stairs again, my knees were killing me at that point, so we went back to the B&B for a nap. Took a short stroll to ease back into things, then got ready for our blow-out dinner at La Tour d'Argent. Amazing night we will never forget. If you go, be sure to ask to see the wine cellar. It's free and a wonderful way to end the evening!
Day 4 -- Our daytrip to London. Back to Paris around 9 and had fun walking around the St. Germain de Pres area and having a late-night dinner outside at a cafe. Paris stays hopping late!
Day 5 -- Went to the Musee d'Orsay and went in as that was our #1 priority for art we wanted to see -- the Impressionists. There happened to be a special exhibit of the post-Impressionists and Seurat's famous "Sunday in the Park" painting was there. Amazing experience to see some of our favorite paintings from Monet, Manet, Renoir and Van Gogh so up close we could have touched the paint. Highly recommend if you're a fan of impressionist art. Walked around and window shopped and found a fabulous store called La Vie en Rose. They have a website and we want to order something from their as our "official" memento of the trip. Most things were breakable so we didn't want to risk it. Gorgeous things in glass and porcelain in bright colors. A feast for the eyes. Went to the Trocadero and took zillions of shots of the Eiffel Tower...truly the best view of the monument is from there. Went back to the Tower at night after dinner, to try to go up, but they'd closed the top level. It started to twinkle its hourly light show while we were in line. We decided not to wait in the cold air for another hour to see it from a distance, so instead, hopped on the Metro and went to the Tour Montparnasse and paid to go up to the 56th floor lookout and arrived with 5 minutes to spare. At 11 p.m. the Eiffel Tower did its thing and it was magical to see it from our vantage point. Definitely worth the effort to scurry over there!!
Day 6 -- Our 3-hour lunch at L'Atelier de Joel Robuchon and walking all over collecting edible goodies from different shops. Had lovely tea with our hosts. Took a long walk through the Latin Quarter...saw a building where Hemingway lived...bought 3 scarves for myself. Fabulous dinner at La Truffiere.
Day 7 -- Our last full day. Spent time at the Eiffel Tower again, this time in line for about 45-minutes and made it to the top! Then the 2nd level, then the 1st, then the ground where we sat and stared at it from the Champs de Mars for a long time. Bought some fun "tacky" souvenirs and finally found THE matching t-shirt for us to bring home. We had the most amazing weather all week, and this day was the best. Warm, sunny, a few fluffy clouds. We soaked all of it up. Went to the Luxembourg Gardens and were amazed at how quickly it felt like another world. Just gorgeous and it seemed like 1/2 of Paris was there picknicking...lots of kids playing, free orchestral concert, statues...much like Central Park but French. So glad we went there. Came back to Ile St. Louis and the other half of Paris was packed on the island. Lots of people come there on Sundays, our hosts told us. Saw a one-man-band performing on the foot bridge. Fun! Finally went to Berthillon for their famous ice cream. We'd been staying just across the road from there, but hadn't taken the time to go. By the time we got there, they were out of a lot of flavors, but the wild strawberry sorbet is pretty darn good. Had dinner then took another boat ride on the Seine, this time in the dark, to cap off our trip. Lovely to see everything lit up.
Day 8 -- Hated to leave in the morning. Fell in love with Paris and each other all over again. We are now dreaming of our return trip!!!
Day 1 -- Landing in CDG was far easier than expected and the AIRPORT CONNECTION company was easy to deal with. After we called, the can arrived in less than 10 minutes. A cold and rainy day. (Thankfully, the only one!) Dropped off our luggage at the B&B on Ile St. Louis; our hosts were as delightful as they'd sounded on the phone. I knew we were in for a wonderful stay. We walked around, walked every street of that little island. I hate being cold and in the rain so I was trying to have fun while hating it. Walked to Notre Dame and went in...wow. Words do not describe. Walked around the area a bit, had lunch, then went to our room for a nap. A 45-minute catnap did wonders. Unpacked our things, had an early dinner, and went to bed early.
Day 2 -- Our 20th anniversary! A fresh red rose was laid across each of our plates at breakfast.
And a film crew from Channel 3 came to interview us. Apparently B&Bs are a relatively new thing in Paris and they wanted to interview our hosts as well as us. We spoke in French and in English and had a blast! Anyway, our plans were loose for the day. Went on a boat ride on the Seine, choose the Vedettes de Pont Neuf and it was such a gorgeous day. We sat outside, on the bow of the boat and tried to soak it all in. When we came close to the Eiffel Tower, I really knew I was in Paris. Had our picnic lunch on the Pont des Arts. Then walked along the Seine for awhile. Went to the top of La Samaritaine department store and took in the breathtaking view of the entire city from the 11th floor. Wow. Went to the Eiffel Tower for dinner and enjoyed the sunset there, and walked around the first level after dinner but it was freezing up there, so we went home and returned on a warmer day. Took a cab back to the B&B and the driver was kind, the car was brand new and was totally nonsmoking (had a sticker on the window). Great!Day 3 -- Went to the Louvre, but did not go in. Too gorgeous of a day to spend hours inside. We took lots of photos and video of the outside -- amazing architecture. Then walked through the Tuilerie gardens and up the Champs Elysee. Went to the Arc de Triomph and climbed all the stairs to the top. Amazing view of the whole city, though there was scaffolding on one side that blocked us from having a true 360-degree panorama. Walked down all those stairs again, my knees were killing me at that point, so we went back to the B&B for a nap. Took a short stroll to ease back into things, then got ready for our blow-out dinner at La Tour d'Argent. Amazing night we will never forget. If you go, be sure to ask to see the wine cellar. It's free and a wonderful way to end the evening!
Day 4 -- Our daytrip to London. Back to Paris around 9 and had fun walking around the St. Germain de Pres area and having a late-night dinner outside at a cafe. Paris stays hopping late!
Day 5 -- Went to the Musee d'Orsay and went in as that was our #1 priority for art we wanted to see -- the Impressionists. There happened to be a special exhibit of the post-Impressionists and Seurat's famous "Sunday in the Park" painting was there. Amazing experience to see some of our favorite paintings from Monet, Manet, Renoir and Van Gogh so up close we could have touched the paint. Highly recommend if you're a fan of impressionist art. Walked around and window shopped and found a fabulous store called La Vie en Rose. They have a website and we want to order something from their as our "official" memento of the trip. Most things were breakable so we didn't want to risk it. Gorgeous things in glass and porcelain in bright colors. A feast for the eyes. Went to the Trocadero and took zillions of shots of the Eiffel Tower...truly the best view of the monument is from there. Went back to the Tower at night after dinner, to try to go up, but they'd closed the top level. It started to twinkle its hourly light show while we were in line. We decided not to wait in the cold air for another hour to see it from a distance, so instead, hopped on the Metro and went to the Tour Montparnasse and paid to go up to the 56th floor lookout and arrived with 5 minutes to spare. At 11 p.m. the Eiffel Tower did its thing and it was magical to see it from our vantage point. Definitely worth the effort to scurry over there!!
Day 6 -- Our 3-hour lunch at L'Atelier de Joel Robuchon and walking all over collecting edible goodies from different shops. Had lovely tea with our hosts. Took a long walk through the Latin Quarter...saw a building where Hemingway lived...bought 3 scarves for myself.
Fabulous dinner at La Truffiere.Day 7 -- Our last full day. Spent time at the Eiffel Tower again, this time in line for about 45-minutes and made it to the top! Then the 2nd level, then the 1st, then the ground where we sat and stared at it from the Champs de Mars for a long time. Bought some fun "tacky" souvenirs and finally found THE matching t-shirt for us to bring home. We had the most amazing weather all week, and this day was the best. Warm, sunny, a few fluffy clouds. We soaked all of it up. Went to the Luxembourg Gardens and were amazed at how quickly it felt like another world. Just gorgeous and it seemed like 1/2 of Paris was there picknicking...lots of kids playing, free orchestral concert, statues...much like Central Park but French.
So glad we went there. Came back to Ile St. Louis and the other half of Paris was packed on the island. Lots of people come there on Sundays, our hosts told us. Saw a one-man-band performing on the foot bridge. Fun! Finally went to Berthillon for their famous ice cream. We'd been staying just across the road from there, but hadn't taken the time to go. By the time we got there, they were out of a lot of flavors, but the wild strawberry sorbet is pretty darn good. Had dinner then took another boat ride on the Seine, this time in the dark, to cap off our trip. Lovely to see everything lit up.Day 8 -- Hated to leave in the morning. Fell in love with Paris and each other all over again. We are now dreaming of our return trip!!!
Jul 4th, 2005, 08:47 PM
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The B&B itself doesn't have a name as it's someone's home. But I found it through www.bed-and-breakfast-in-paris.com. If you contact Francoise Foret who runs the organization, you can ask for info for Carol & Michel's place on the Ile St. Louis. Francoise has about 100 homes all over Paris in different price ranges and she matches up travelers with the best place for them...she seems to do her job well as our place was exactly what we were looking for and we couldn't have been happier. (Read more on the B&B thread...)
Jul 5th, 2005, 10:51 AM
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Thanks for posting your report! It sounds like you had a lovely time and a wonderful anniversary. We are going to Paris for the first time in November and reading these trip reports always excites me!
Thanks again and happy belated anniversary!
Tracy
Thanks again and happy belated anniversary!
Tracy
