Quick Spring Break Paris trip report
 

My daughter (age 18) and I just returned from Paris with my friend and her daughter (also 18). Here’s a quick summary of what we enjoyed.

Lunch at Jules Verne. A relaxing way to visit the Eiffel Tower, both girls couldn’t get enough of the Eiffel tower. I was not inspired by the food, however the service was excellent, and the wine pairings were very good.

Belle et la Bette: Both girls were in school productions, so wanted to see it in France. http://www.timeout.com/paris/en/arts...lle-et-la-bete

Savoie creamerie. I’m sorry I can’t remember the exact name, but its located near Saint Sulpice. We sampled cheeses, learned the difference between summer and winter cheese. Brought back Savoie cheese and wine, made fondue, and accompanied it with a rotisserie chicken and ate a delicious meal in the apartment.

Butter tasting, I always remember the French butter tasting so much better than ours. We picked up different butters as we were out walking and a few from the Bon Marche. One night we sampled them on different breads. Yum, who would have thought bread and butter could be one of the highlights of our trip.

Dessert class with http://www.cooknwithclass.com/cookin...esserts-class/. This was really fun, it was just the four of us with one other person. I had never even eaten a soufflé before, let alone made one, so I was quite surprised when the passion fruit/ banana soufflé we made turned out perfect and tasted divine. A bonus of this class is that its very near Sacre Coeur, so when you are finished you can stroll over, albeit uphill the entire way, but very close to the school.

Hint Hunt: I had read about this on trip advisor http://hinthunt.fr .
My friend seemed wary when I told her where we were going, but I knew she enjoyed puzzles and thought she might enjoy it, she did. It like a personalized murder mystery puzzle game. It’s one hour and the clues are such that there is something for differing skills, example finding the clues, solving the logical problems, completing the tasks, even a little math and trivia. Up to 5 people can play at a time, but they recommend that the groups have 4 or less.

Transportation: We normally used http://www.ratp.fr/itineraires/en/ra...herche-avancee and took the bus to wherever we were going and then took a taxi on the way home, as it was usually late and we were tired. Average fare was 10 euros. Never had a problem getting a taxi as there are stands nearly everywhere or ones with the green light were easy to flag.


City Pharma: I had told my friend about this prior to the trip so she could look up items. She was very interested in many items, and made almost daily visits spending time talking to the sales clerks, doing research before purchasing. She loved it.

L’as du fallafel : You never really know someone until you travel. We have eaten with our friends many, many times and never once has she mentioned falafel, one day we walked by L’as du falafel, and she was hooked. She made several trips.


What we didn’t see: You may notice the lack of popular sites on our list. Friend was not interested in a single museum. Other than free churches, we saw no significant sights whatsoever. She enjoyed shopping and eating. Girls enjoyed everything.

The French: I had given a given my friend a quick lesson of Bonjour, Merci, and other things to say when you enter a store. That’s all it took, she was saying Bonjour to everyone. She couldn’t get over the friendliness of the French. I think that about sums it up, it doesn’t matter what you see or what you do, it’s the connection with others that make travel so enjoyable.

This sounds like a fun trip and is a useful thread for people who have been to Paris several times and are looking for some new things to do.

Is this the City Pharma you reference?

http://www.pharmacie-paris-citypharma.fr/

Yes thats the City Pharma, only picture many more people inside the store. Heres one of the many blogs on the subject http://eleanorbusing.com/city-pharma...dise-in-paris/

Sounds like you had a great trip. Museums and monuments are not at all obligatory. If you get around to a few of them on return trips, so much the better.

Sounds like you had a great trip. There is absolutely no obligation to visit the monuments or museums. However, if you manage to see a couple of them on a return trip, they might be a highlight as well.

What fun, especially the cooking class. I would think it was a trip the girls will never forget and that they will want to return to Paris again and again.

What a great trip for teens. Glad you enjoyed Paris.

I am book marking the cooking class. I love French butter. We have several high end stores here in Fl that carry it and I buy and freeze.

Sounds like you did some really fun things. Thanks for sharing your trip with us.

Sounds just like a trip I would enjoy with maybe a detour to L'Orangerie.

Great trip! Real travel, lots of fun!

I hope you don't take it wrong when I tell yo that I laughed out loud when I read about you ladies eating bread and butter in the evening! I have done the same thing with pâtés and everybody does it with cheese, but you are original! I'm gonna do that!

Thanks everyone, yes it was a very laid back trip. Sharon G. you must be my twin, thats the one museum I wanted to squeeze in, but somehow with all of the leisure time, it didn't fit.

I forgot to add the link to the apartment in case anyone is interested. http://www.parisperfect.com/apartmen...s/marsanne.php . It was exactly as described, great location, spotlessly clean. I don't know if I would rent it again, I think I prefer the connection of working directly with owners, but that just my personal preference, the apartment itself was great.

Thank you for sharing awesome and wonderful trip for teens! i hope you enjoyed Paris.

Happytotravel: I'll meet you there next time and then we can recreate the butter tasting.