Grandma

In the movie Sabrina there's a lovely scene where Audrey Hepburn tells Linus (Humphrey Bogart) what to do on his first day in Paris.

... Whoops... I forget how old I am... they were traveling by ship so wouldn't have jet lag.

sandypaws3

We usually try to run around picking up transportation passes, museum passes, and telecartes, as well as taking a walk in Jardin du Luxembourg. The walk is most important, as it gets us out in the sunlight. I can tell you one thing NOT to do on the first day -- go to a marrionette show in Jardin du Luxembourg. We did last trip, and the minute the lights went out, we conked out, waking every now and then, but we didn't get the full value of the marrionette show. Will have to go again next trip -- this time, in the middle of the week!

Sandy

dolciani

Thank you, Thank you for all the advice. WE HAVE DECIDED! There are two Paris walks tours that day - one at 10:30 for St. Germaine and another at 2:30 for the Marais area. We're not counting on getting into our room before 3 o'clock - so we'll dump the luggage and do the Paris walks tours to get our bearings. The concierge has already obtained our museum passes for us at the hotel. Only 4 more days before we leave.........I'm so excited!

kerouac

Okay, if you're going to walk St. Germain, learn that it is not spelled or pronounced 'Germaine' -- fewer than 50% of the travelers to Paris here seem to have realized that.

kkukura

You might want to do a Fat Tire Bike Tour. They last about 4 hours and really are fun, not strenuous at all, and you get a lay of the sights in Paris. They start by the Eiffel Tower.

hopingtotravel

kerouac, how do you pronounce it?

kerouac

Well, if you know how to pronounce a few French words like <i>main, demain, pain, gratin...</i> Germain ends with the same sound.

Vttraveler

dolciani--I think you have made a wise choice to hit the ground walking in Paris. You will be exploring two wonderful areas of the city on your first day.

I hope you have a great trip.

isailtheseas

Dolciani...

perhaps we will see you strolling through the Marais...

that' what we've decided to do with our forced layover in Paris on
May 1st..

Just a fyi we heard from a source in Paris IF there are demonstrations they will be near Champ du Mars and Rue Rivoli close to St. Germain.

kerouac

There are trade union marches each and every year.

They generally go from R&eacute;publique to Bastille. They are a great place to get grilled sausage sandwiches and cheap beer from the stands that are set up along the way.

There are no 'demonstrations' on May 1st.

kerouac

<b>they will be near Champ du Mars and Rue Rivoli close to St. Germain.</b>

Should I even bother to mention that neither the Champ de Mars or rue de Rivoli are near Saint Germain-des-Pr&eacute;s?

janisj

&gt;&gt;neither the Champ de Mars or rue de Rivoli are near Saint Germain-des-Pr&eacute;s?&lt;&lt; nor near each other . . . .

isailtheseas

you know...

I received an email from Jona who lives in Paris that i quoted.
she's been on the board for quite a long time.

she used the word demonstrations,

she's the one who gave me the street names..

I knew champ du mars wasn't but just in case you decided to wander near there...

but thank you for making me feel so welcome on the boards...

isailtheseas

I should say she particpates on the Rick Steves boards, not here...

i thought that might be something the poster would be interested in..

didn't think I would get the attitude that would make me feel stupid...

Since we only found out a couple of days ago I haven't even studied a Paris map since we weren't planning on originally going there.

hopingtotravel

Kerouac, thanks. Had always followed the old Kingston Trio song &quot;La Seine&quot;


when will I again, meet her there, meet her there, on the moonlit banks of the Seine...........

kerouac

And now for the pronunciation of Seine.

It is not <i>sain</i>.

It is <b>sen</b>.

kerouac

isailtheseas, I don't know how long your friend Jona has been living in Paris, but I have been living here for 35 years.

The official announcement for the trade union march this years says:

R&eacute;publique to Nation (via boulevard Voltaire) - 14h30.

The banner in front will read &quot;All together for social progress and peace&quot; (Tous ensemble pour le progr&egrave;s social et la paix).

Feeder marches of other groups will join the main march:

Place des F&ecirc;tes - autonomous trade unions, 11h.
Montreuil - high school students, 13h.
R&eacute;publique - Latin American liberation fronts, 14h.

Workers who find this civilized and highly policed Parisian march too wimpy have set their own march in Strasbourg this year to support anarchy and revolution. However, since this is France, the march is followed by a group meal at which participants may pay whatever they like.

analogue

The mention of rue de Rivoli is probably the pathetic little National Front demonstration at the Jeanne d'Arc statue. That's at 11 a.m. I think and lasts about half an hour because they're embarrassed by the low turnout in favor of racism and xenophobia, withdrawal from the EU and a return to the franc. Those are the real French values according to them.

isailtheseas

Kerouc..

After your comment to me, I checked out your past postings, so I have no doubt about your knowledge.

I have printed out your information so we can review it if we decide to go into Paris from the airport.

We will have been flying 11 hours and must turn back around the next morning early for our Zagreb flight then another flight to Dubrovnik.

We have about a 5 hour window that we could leave our airport hotel and head into Paris..and then return back to the Airport hotel, before we fall over exhausted.

The poster I got my information from is not my friend, but someone who offered up the information. She claims to live in Paris and said this might help with our decision on what we should do, if anything on our May 1st arrival.

Perhaps because she lived there I figured she would know.

I've only participated in the Fodors boards in a limited capacity as I'm usually on Rick Steves and Cruise Boards.

I was checking Fodors out because it seemed to cater to more travelers than tourists.

My schedule the past couple of days has been packed and I havent had a chance to switch gears and really analyze the map of Paris, I knew op was leaving soon..so I thought I would offer up the info...

I suppose if I actually had more time earlier I could have read your past posts and confirmed it with you Obviously your knowledge is sound and well respected by other regulars on this board.

I'm not a stupid traveler, as your snippet seemed to make me out to be. Just someone who is incredibly overwhelmed with numerous things right now and leaving in 3 days
I thought I was being helpful to someone else based on the info that was provided me.
I stand corrected and feeling quite foolish..as I'm usually someone who checks and double checks facts.
That feeling comes from within, but your comment really drove home the point.

I had hoped that Fodors might be a nice message board to participate in ...

isailtheseas

analogue..

thank you for providing that information.

We don't arrive until 11:30am so we will miss that entirely