Posting from Paris
 

Thought I would start a new thread as some of you may not be checking my old "which apartment would you choose thread". I have been making short postings from Paris daily. We arrived here on Sat. 14th. We had had nothing but sunshine and 60's since we have been here. It's cooling to the 50's the next couple of days- but still sunshine. We are so grateful for that. We are getting ready to depart for St. Denis this morning. Just ate fresh strawberries, an apple tart of some sort, banana and hot tea. DH brought in some daffodils when he got breakfast. He is sweet. We have been amazed with Paris. Everybody has been so kind and we have been able to find our way around everyplace that we have wanted to go and we have gone a lot! The worst part of the whole thing is my legs! There are steps everyplace in Paris and Chartres as well. My poor shin muscles are not happy. We are really enjoying our apartment and Thierry from parisbestlodge has been very helpful and kind. This apartment, although small, is perfect for the two of us and is stocked with everything we need. Plus the bed is comfortable and it is quiet. OK, off to St. Denis, Napoleans tomb and the Orangerie. Will post a full trip report when we return. Patti

Hi Patti,

Sounds like you're having a great time. I'm jealous of your breakfast. Don't tell me you're seeing St-Denis, Napoleon's tomb, and the Orangerie all today? No wonder your legs hurt!!

Need to stretch your leg muscles before you start walking or get better walking shoes with orthodic support.

When my parents would come to Paris, their legs always suffered terribly, but they always felt like they were in tiptop condition by the time they flew back to Florida, especially since I live in a 4th floor walkup.

Patti - Sounds like you have 'shin-splints' - I used to get that pain from overdoing it in the gymn. Did you bring any anti-inflamatory with you like voltaren? Maybe get the cream or gel or similar to rub in often. I think only rest will improve it but that is not possible is it??!! Take a strong pain killer babe!

I have plans for St.Denis also and can't wait to read your next instalment.

hi patti,

can you soak your feet in cold water? i found that helped after the crazy walking we did in paris last fall!! i have plantar fasciitis as well ... it sucks. lots of stretching required!

also - please do tell us about your apartment/neighbourhood. i'm staying in the same studio this coming october!

have a fantastic time!

First - the legs. I have plantar fasciitis and had an injection before coming and also have good orthotics! I did stop at a pharmacy and get some linament to rub on. Also taking ibuprofen daily! I'm surviving - Today doesn't seem to be quite as bad. It is beautiful here this morning! The sky is SO blue. We went to St. Denis this morning, to find because of the strike, the crypt was closed!! But the church was beautiful. We may go back tomorrow to go down into the crypt. It said it would open at 10:00 tomorrow. We went to the Dome church and let me tell you we got some fantastic photos with the gold dome against the blue sky. It is 2:30 now and we are back at the apartment for some lunch. Haven't decided what to do this afternoon yet. Our apartment is a small studio. Perfectly adeuqate for out needs. It is on the 4th floor (American) up a little winding staircase. The neighborhood on rue jaque callot is next to the rue mazarin and rue de seine. Our area is artsy, but walk to either of the other side streets and there are all kinds of shops. DH has lunch ready - will chat later. I tell you, if we don't come in with our brains oozing out from doing too much, then our day has not been successful!!!

Hi Patti,

Tell me about the Dome church. I love churches but am not familiar with this one. Where is it located?

I love the term "brains oozing!!" I call it sensory overload but love the oozing imagery! I agree - that's what vacations are for - to experience every minute.

My brother has PF and uses something that he straps on his foot/leg at night. Says this helps him. I've not seen this gadget so can't give more of an explanation.

The Dome church is Napoleon's Tomb (Eglise du Dôme).

Thanks Travelnut. I thought it was someplace near St-Denis.

We went to a couple of other churches close around here - St Julian de Paupre - it is REALLY old, something like 1,000 years old. There is a tree that was planted there in 1602! This church is very close to Notre Dame. We went into St Severes in the Latin Quarter - walked by that one on our way back from walking to the Sorbonne. I love churches too. So far I loved the stained glass best in Stt. Chapelle and St. Denis was gorgeous as well. The Dome Church is just Napolean's tomb like TravelNut mentioned, but it was pretty. My DH loved going there because there is a lot of war stuff in a museum. I put up with it because he lets me go into souvenir shops! So I did not complain once. Now we are off to the Orangerie. The Water Lilies!

Anything noticable with the transportation strike?

Pjk

Glad to hear you are on top of your problemo!

You guys are staying in such an incredibly ancient and interesting part of Paris.
Have you been to Place Furstemberg yet? It was once the stables of the Abbey of St-Germain-des-Pres. Musee Delacroix is on the corner of the square. His most celebrated painting "Liberty Leading the People" is in the Louvre.

If you find yourselves near Cour du Commerce Ste-Andre` with Le Procope to the right (Thomas Jefferson came here all the time) theres a little courtyard nearby that was used for the filming of the musical 'Gigi' starring Lesley Carron & Maurice Chevalier. In the window of the boutique at the courtyard entrance you can see the remains of a huge stone tower, which was part of the original city wall and dates from 1180.

You are so nearby a lovely little restaurant where I have met two lots of Fodorites for dinner! It's called L'Insulaire in rue Gregoire de Tours (near rue de Buci). Very reasonable set menus. Try and snag a seat in the open window to the street if you go.

I'm enjoying this. I will be in Paris next week and am hoping for the same weather! The forecast doesn't look good.

We have begun a little tradition of having dinner at L'Insulaire on the first night of a vacation in Paris. We both do a prix fixe with two items. One of us chooses an appitizer which we share. Then we both order a main dish. And finally the other orders the cheese assortment for desert. This with a carafe of their house red wine usually costs 35 euros. The problem is saving a little wine to go with the cheese.

Pjk

I hope you already have plenty of Euros. The Euro/dollar rate is climbing every day! You might want to watch it!

Thanks for the good information. We were wondering where to go to dinner tonight. It's off to L'Insulaire. Tomorrow we will look for the stone pillar. The transportation strike doesn't seem to have affected the metro - what we did notice was going to St Denis and not being able to go to the crypt. Then we went to the Oraganerie to fine it closed! So we walked around and looked up some other churches. We walked a lot! again!! The weather doesn't look that good for next week but I hope it will change for you gomiki!

Oh I am so sorry the Orangie was closed! How frustrating!!!
L'Insulaire is TINY so I hope you got a table - Madame is charming. We will see her at the end of May. They have excellent moules marinier(?sp?) and escargot.

Yellowrose, sounds like you are having a great time (plantar fascitis notwithstanding...)

I thought you would find this interesting (based on Tod's note). These are not my photos, but if you come across any of the below, they looked pretty cool.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/4454898...7600076275556/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/44548980@N00/522313764/

Patti, if your walks take you near the Pantheon, nearby is Eglise St. Etienne du Mont--it is a small church with a beautiful rood screen, according to the michelin guide the only rood screen in Paris

tod, L'Insulaire must be near the apartment we rented the end of May. We'll be seeing you at the GTG on the 23rd and who knows maybe at L'Insulaire. Ron and I both love moules

Patti, I'm enjoying your reports from Paris. thanks for posting, Deborah

yellowrose, i hope your plantar fasciitis isn't too debilitating! i found all the walking to be just brutal on my PF ... and i have custom orthotics too.

however, i found plunging my feet into bowls of the coldest water possible definitely helped! our apt. had big mixing bowls and thankfully, i have small feet. and i used the sani-cycle on the dishwasher after the fact!

i learned a really good stretch in yoga ... get onto your hands and knees, tuck your toes underneath you, and slowly sit up ... so you end up sitting on your knees (sort of). this really stretches out the plantar fascia.

a second pair of shoes definitely helps too.

and deep calf stretches.

good luck!!

lilaki - I'm trying to visualize your explanation. Is there a picture of this on the internet you can reference? Is there a name for this position, besides contorted. LOL

DeborahAnn, I googled rood screen and saw the church. That is one of my favorites and I never knew the name! It reminded me of eyelet. I can't go past a church w/o going in.

flygirl, I've been to several of those pictured. I sat on the balcony at procope, the oldest resto in Paris. Go for the history, not the food.

Just got back from L'Insulaire, Madame was on the street drumming up customers when we walked by. Excellent food. We went early enough that we did not have a problem getting a table. This afternoon we went into several churches - St. Roche which was near the Louvre - it was more Romanesque style - it had a gorgeous painted dome. More walking and went in Germain aux erbois just east of the Louvre. My gosh each church is different enough to make it glorious, DH wants to see St Gervais tomorrow which is where Catherine deMedici ordered the slaughter of the hugonauts. flygirl thank you SO much for the list of historic cafes. We have been walking around these streets and not knowing exactly what we were passing or what we were looking at. Being first timers here, we are so ignorant. So tomorrow we will walk around the neighborhood again looking at things with new eyes. We knew everything was very old, but not the significance of some. It seems like we have walked past Les dux Magots every day! Does anybody know where it was that Hemingway hung around in this area? lilaki, today was the first day my PF acted up. I had an injection in the heel before we left and I wonder if it is wearing off! Darn it. My other problems feel better - the shin splints feel way better today. The calves still hurt, but this afternoon was the heel. The seems ricidulous, but those with PF will understand - I brought 4 different pair of shoes with me and of course the orthotics. I did not wear them the past few days because I got blisters on my toes - the blisters are better so wll go back to the orthotics tomorrow. Oh, I had a girl try and pull off the ring trick - bent over like she found a gold wedding band and asked me if it was gold. Then tried to sell it to me! So glad I was wise to her little trick!We leave here on Sunday morning, so 2 day left. Why do vacations go by so quickly? Tomorrow I think we are going to Montparnasse - want to see Sacre Cour, Moulin Rouge (drive by, or in my case probably walk by). We need to see the opera house yet and we may go back to the crypt at St Denis. Tomorrow night the oraganerie stays open till 9:00 so we may try that again, or wait till Saturday. All that even seems like a bit to me for one day! Another wonderful day forcasted!

i just googled "yoga toe stretch" ... i can't find a picture of the stretch but i found a few sites that explained it WAY better than me ... :)

i should have explained the stretch by using the word KNEELING instead of SITTING (wow, my mind is just not working today!) ...

check out this description from http://www.sunandmoonstudio.com/Articles/feet.html:

--------------------------
Squat with Toe Stretch (knees on floor)

Kneeling with the toes tucked under is a great way to stretch the bottom of the feet. This can be a very intense stretch for beginners as it breaks up tension in the sole of the foot.

--------------------------

as an aside, i also use a golf ball as a 'foot massager' at home. i forgot to pack my golf ball in my bag to paris last year. i DEFINITELY will be bringing it with me this year!!

I'm soaking in cold water in a bowl as I type!

i found a picture of a yoga pose that seems more advanced ... but the foot position is very similar to the one i mentioned. you get a very deep stretch along the sole of the foot -- which is a big deal for us PF people ... if you've got high arches, don't bother!!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/richardspics/846821079/

"I'm soaking in cold water in a bowl as I type!"

yay!!! that should hopefully help!! :)

just remember to use the sani-cycle in the dishwasher! i'll be using those same bowls myself when i'm at the apt in october!!! :)

btw - how are you finding the size of the apt for you and DH?? okay?

Patti - I love St-Gervais/St-Protais. The stained glasses are great and notice the little stools for sitting.

Have you been to the Mosque on Place du Puits-de-l'Ermite behind the Jardin des Plantes. It's great but don't go on Fridays as it's the sabbeth. I took a tour of the mosque through Paris Walks but had been there before on my own.

BTW - Sacre Coeur is in Montmartre, not Montparnasse. Two different places.

When you go to Sacre Coeur don't miss the small church to the left of it - St-Pierre.

And not far from your apartment are 2 churches - St-Germain-des-Pres with painted columns like all Gothic churches had and St-Sulpice. Will you still be in Paris on Sunday? There's an organ concert at St-Sulpice at 4:00. These concerts are free.

lilaki - there is no dishwasher in this apartment! But I'm not actually using a kitchen bowl - there is a kind of flower pot type thingy I'm using - so rest easy!! It is a small apartment - but it is plenty large enough for the two of us. The only down thing that DH has mentioned. There isn't actually an easy type chair - just two kitchen chairs at the table. But he lays on the bed and watches the television anyway. There is a two burner stove, microwave, fridge, pots and pans and dishes. There are towels and toilet paper and paper towels. There is laundry soap and dish soap. There are no washclothes for your shower so I would bring one along. We also bought some bar soap. There was black tea and cubes of sugar, oil, coffee filters, coffee maker, pot to heat water for tea. Thierry supplied us with a bottle of wine, juice, bread, marmalade. The computer is great! I use the washing machine every day. When we go out I throw in the towels and when we come back they are done. There are many different cycles that Thierry explains - so I can just partially dry my jeans and then hang them to completely dry them. You can't put very much in at a time. There is an iron here and a mat to iron on. There is a curling iron and hair dryer. Thierry answers emails in a flash and tells us to call if there are any problems at all. He's great. The street is quiet, but a short walk away you are right in the thick of things. DH goes out every morning to the bakery and brings in goodies. It's in a really great location. I'm so grateful that I listened to guenmai when she recommended this area! Patti

adrienne - We already went to St Sulpice last Sunday!! We heard the organ play for a while before mass started! That was just the day after we arrived and I felt so blessed! Thanks for correcting me on Montparnasse - I knew that - just a brain malfunction. Thanks also for letting me know about St Pierre - will make sure and go there as well. Have not been to the Mosque, yet.

Thanks lilaki. I was asking for a friend who suffers from this. I was lucky and my PF went away in 3 months and hasn't returned. It was painful and I got it 9 days before a Paris trip. I usually put the balls of my feet on a step and drop my heels and then lift up with my toes (30 reps) and that keeps me limber. It also helps my tight hamstrings. I do have high arches.

adrienne - I have totally flat feet! I do the step thing as well for a good stretch.

hi patti,

oh you're right about the dishwasher. i totally forgot! oh well!

thanks for telling me all about the apartment. we stayed at another one of thierry's properties last fall and were impressed at how little we needed to supply ourselves (nothing!!) ...

i'm glad you found a flower pot thingy. no doubt that i'll be using it too when i'm there to soak my feet! :)

Patti - did you notice the Delacroix frescoes in St-Sulpice on the right when you walk in. There's a button to turn on the light if you need to.

Yes we did! I studied "Jacob wrestling with the angel" when I was in an art class. I was stupified at first not knowing that it really was the real thing! That was while I was listening to the organ. Talk about being in a wonderful place. Like I said that was our first morning out - still today when DH and I were walking along the Seine with the Louve on one side and the river on the other we just looked at each other and said "can you believe we are really here?"
Now it is becoming normal to see the Eiffel tower in the distance and I don't have to take a picture every time I see it now. I forgot to tell you that we leave Sunday morning.

can't wait for tomorrow's installment! :)

Glad you're having a great time! Happy Travels!

Don't forget to have your photos taken up at the Trocodero with The Iron Lady in the background! Or have you done this already?
Glad to hear L'Insulaire worked out fine.
Looking forward to more news later..........................

Yellowrose:

Did you notice the effects of the transportation workers' strike? Is is over?