Second Honeymoon Trip Report: Paris & Provence
 

Dear wife and I just returned from our "best vacation ever" in France, split equally between Paris and Provence. We are both currently languishing in a jetlagged, post-vacation state of mind wondering if the past two wonderful weeks abroad, sans children, really did in fact occur. I suspect other Fodorites have experienced this syndrome as well.

After dropping off the boys at the domestic terminal for their flight to summer camp, we entered the international terminal for our non-stop, business-class flight on Air France. The service was excellent, the food plentiful, and the limited upstairs seating on the 747 gave us an even greater sense of privacy. The end result was arriving in Paris feeling very refreshed, considering the 10+ hour flight. Apparently DW wouldn't travel any other way on future international flights. DH thinks we need to have further discussion on the matter.

Cabbed to the Hotel Pont Royal in the 7th (47 euro) and checked into our junior suite. Is there only one place to catch a taxi at CDG? The line was very long, but moved rather quickly. We chose the Pont Royal for its great location and more importantly in a city like Paris - the street noise in our room was virtually nil. Breakfast was included in the room rate and it was more than adequate; the highlight being the delicious made-to-order pancakes we enjoyed every morning. There is a Joel Robuchon restaurant at the hotel, however, we actually preferred the more bohemian fare in the 6th at places like Allard (chicken is their specialty) and for lighter meals at Creperie Saint Andre des Arts (don’t forget to try the cider). We saved our haute cuisine, over-the-top meals for Provence. Thanks to this forum, we did venture to Angelina on rue de Revoli one rainy afternoon for a great salad and their world famous "chocolat chaud". It was an unforgettable experience - soooo French. We bought a pound of the ground chocolate and of course, when we got home, we couldn’t quite make it taste the same as in Paris.

I didn't know I signed up for a shopping trip to Paris until we took our first steps onto Boulevard Saint Germain and saw our first "soldes" sign. To my DW's amazement virtually every store in Paris displayed those magic words. I'm talking legitimate storewide sales, not the end of season discount rack at Macy's. We had to buy an extra suitcase to take home the loot. We/she particularly liked shopping the boutiques in the Marais, although rue de Grenelle also proved to be a fertile hunting ground. Once we purchased Tour de France and Paris St. Germain jerseys for the kids, we were able to focus on our own needs. By the way, if you are into Mephisto shoes, they are at least half price in Paris.

Lest you think we worship only the material world, we did find the time to celebrate the arts. Our favorite museums were the d'Orsay, Louvre, Rodin and the unique Musee de l'Histoire de Paris - Carnavalet in the Marais. Consider going to the d'Orsay and Louvre during their evening hours to avoid the crowds and do rent the audio tour. Is it only me or did you also think the security was less than rigorous compared to museums in Florence or Rome? I was particularly annoyed at the continuous picture taking at the Louvre.

Do venture into the Metro system. After one ride you will be hooked. Sure there are a few funky stations (Abbesses for one) and the air is stuffy and at times dank, but the Metro is by far the best way to get around Paris. There is even a station inside the Galleries Lafayette on Boulevard Haussmann. You can take the elevator to the seventh floor for a quick snack and a great view of the ornate rooftop of the Opera and the Tour Eiffel in the distance. We quickly abandoned the taxis and became Metro experts within a day.

Hopefully some helpful hints:

Maps: I originally bought a Streetwise Paris map, which is not bad, however, I borrowed a GeoCenter city map from a friend which proved to be much better. It is a very small, pop-up type map which easily fits into a back pocket. The graphics are very easy to read.

Phrase book: I hesitate to evoke the name of Rick Steves in this forum, but his phrase books are truly superior. I own the Italian edition, and the French is equally as good. Used it on a daily basis. I sure wish I paid closer attention in my high school French classes.

Electronics: I brought my notebook computer on the trip for the first time, which proved to be well worth it. We were able to communicate via fax to the kid’s summer camp using efax.com and during downtime I was able to transfer my pictures and do some photo editing using an excellent free program called Picasa2 (see Google).

The French: I can't say enough good things about our experience with the locals we met along the way. I always tried to speak at least some French, which generally was well received. Please do the same and you will be well rewarded. Sure the occasional waiter can be a pill, but remember, they are well trained, food service professionals!

I really don't know what took us so long to get back to France. The last three summers in Italy were great, but I'm afraid this trip surpassed all of our expectations. It truly felt like we were on our second honeymoon, especially in picturesque Provence, land of the perfect meal. I hope to report on this leg of our journey in the near future.

As usual, I would like to use this trip report to thank all of the Fordorites out there for the wealth of information that has been passed along to me and countless others in this forum!

What perfect timing for me! DH and I are in the process of planning our second honeymoon to Paris and Provence. (We're celebrating 20 years of marriage).

Did you like the Pont Royal? And please give us details about hotels in Provence.

Merci!

Sounds like a great trip. I also just returned from France and am in the same jetlagged post-vacation state. Hoping to get my pictures soon to prove to myself it was real.

Hopefully the Provence report is on its way?! I'm doing the same trip next June/July -- Provence for 8 nights and Paris for 8 nights.

Great report! DW must have made a haul! Give us some details on what was purchased!

Merci!

Joy

Thanks for your responses. I am inspired to go on...

To answer your questions first:

aggiemom: I thought the Pont Royal was first class, however, I wouldn't recommend anything smaller than their junior suite (you know how small rooms are in Paris). The rooms are equipped as you would expect in a better hotel; nicely furnished in a sort of masculine way i.e. lots of dark rosewood trim, literary portrait photographs, with hints of art deco. Bright breakfast room faces an interior garden and as I said, an above average breakfast. If you want to eat trendy, the concierge usually can get you into the uber trendy L'Atelier de Joel Rubuchon; think of eating French tapas in a sushi bar. I loved the location; very short walk to the Louvre and d'Orsay; half block to the rue du Bac Metro. Easy walk to Cafe de Flore/Deux Margots, Latin Quarter, Musee Rodin and plenty of the smaller neighborhood shops on rue du Bac and Grenelle are nearby. We had a "dollar package" which included daily breakfast and a museum pass. In summary; good location, quiet, immaculate. You also may wish to check out the Montalembert which is right next door to the Pont Royal. I have friends who have stayed there many times and think it is just as good.

luvparee: The shopping is endless. The real deals I think are found in the nicer stores and especially boutiques, the kind of places that rarely are on sale back home. Ironically most of the clothing we bought was Italian, but hey they make the best. I bought Todd shoes, Zegna shirts, Armani jeans and a leather jacket and I know DW at a minimum landed a Max Mara suit and multiple pairs of shoes, all at a legitimate half-off. We also really liked the bedding shops near our hotel. I can't believe DW bought French towels and linens, but she claims they're better than at home, also 50 percent off. I'm no shopping expert, but you can't go wrong in Paris. It makes SF, LA, NY? look barren. As you might guess, from now on DW will only go to Paris in early July.

I'll get back to you ASAP on the Provence hotels. They would be perfect for your 20th aggiemom (we just completed year 17):)

Our "best vacaton ever" continued...

Simply put, Provence has it all. Great weather, beautiful medieval villages, breathtaking scenery, outstanding hotels, good roads, and wonderfully fresh produce, which translates into first class dining. Our family adores Tuscany and kid-friendly Italy in general, but this was parents only trip and we very quickly fell in love with Provence.

We TGV'd to Avignon, sitting in the upper deck of the train. On the way back, we were down below...is there a way to reserve only the upper level? This was my first TGV trip and I was duly impressed with the smooth, 180 mph ride. The one hitch in the entire trip came at the Europcar rental desk in Avignon. We waited for an hour and a half in a very chaotic rental office for our car to appear. Everyone else seemed to have no problem, only OUR car wasn't yet ready. They did offer us a SUV instead of our reserved car, but can you imagine driving a SUV into Bonnieux, sacre bleu! Honestly, next time I may pay a few dollars more and go with Avis, or any of the other American firms next door that seemed to have no problems with their system. Anyway, one little bump in the road is no big deal during your "best vacation ever".

Our first destination was St-Remy. I originally wanted to start off in Avignon at La Mirande, but we couldn't get in. In hindsight, I'm glad we went directly to St-Remy; a much quieter, more relaxed town. We stayed at Les Ateliers de L'Image, which is located on the ring road of St-Remy, just across the street from the central village part of town. This hotel may not be for everyone. I would say it has a very young, hip, artsy vibe to it. In fact it is a "photography hotel" where you can take classes and watch art films on the property. I thought it would be a nice change of pace, since our other hotels would be seriously Provencal. The rooms are very sleek; think Scandinavian design comes to Provence, complete with Bang & Olufsen entertainment equipment. The hotel grounds are huge and again very cool with designer pool, art gardens, and gorgeous views of the Alpilles Mountains. Our room 33 was a two-level, suite with a nice mountain view. We switched from room 30, as it was located above a busy outdoor dining area. You can even rent a room complete with a tree house for the kids! I thought the hotel was fine.

When in St-Remy be sure to dine in town at La Maison Jaune. Impeccable service, delicious food, and a private terrace made for a great dining experience. One of the top three meals we had in France. Our site-seeing itinerary included Les Baux (purchased the local olive oil), Pont du Gard (awe inspiring), and Uzes (must be nice on a market day, I was not impressed on our visit). Somewhere off the highway near Uzes we stopped to watch a French baseball game in progress. I’m a huge BB fan and these guys were good. Probably equivalent to a Division I college team in the US. No English was spoken, so I never really figured out who they were.

Next stop Crillon le Brave. Situated at the foot of Mount Ventoux, Hotellerie de Crillon le Brave is the picture of tranquility. This Canadian owned hotel is actually a collection of stone buildings that make up the majority of the village of Crillon le Brave. We could have stayed here for weeks. Our "honeymoon" suite was called the Petrarque (#27) and was the epitome of casual elegance. The wrap around terrace enabled us soak in the spectacular mountain top views of the vineyards and villages below in complete privacy. The grounds are richly landscaped and offer many secluded areas to lounge about reading a book, or partake of the omnipresent fresh fruit and drinks. We had our breakfast each morning in the neighboring village of Bedoin. We found their Monday market to be the best of our trip, probably due to the lack of a heavy touristic influence. There are several good restaurants in town to chose from, but the fine dining takes place at Crillon le Brave's beautiful restaurant. Don’t think that this part of Provence is too isolated. There are a number of villages in the area that are wonderful yet don't get the publicity of the well-known Luberon towns. A nice drive takes you through the Nesque Gorge via a very windy road to the lavender region surrounding Sault. There is a more direct route via Villes-sur-Auzon for those prone to carsickness. Don't eat in Sault - have lunch at Restaurant Les Lavandes in the cute, nearby village of Monieux. We had our best Provencal salad at this restaurant overlooking the lavender fields.

I've got a couple of errands to do before getting to La Baside de Marie and my listing of not-to-miss Luberon towns that we saw during our "best vacation ever".

Our quintessential Provencal experience came at the sublime Baside de Marie. The dramatic panoramic views at the Hotel Crillon le Brave were replaced by the warmth and country elegance of La Baside de Marie. This is an intimate, 12-room hotel situated in the middle of a vineyard near Menerbes. Their on-site winery supplies its guests with a non-stop selection of "vin de pays" to be consumed at one's leisure. Food and wine are on stage at the Baside de Marie. Guests are welcome to tour the kitchen and ask questions of the chef. About a half-hour before dinner one of the wait staff sits down with each guest to discuss the menu options for the evening. The setting, service, food quality and presentation were equally outstanding. The deserts were works of art! The room price is inclusive of everything except lunch, so it’s much like staying at a private home, albeit a home of a true gourmand. We stayed in their “Ocre Room” which was furnished in the same country chic style as the rest of the hotel (I think you can guess the dominant color scheme). I could go on and on about this special place, but let me just say that eating dinner outside in the vineyard at sunset is truly a priceless experience. I could just tear up thinking about how beautiful was our time spent at Bastide de Marie.

Much has been written on this forum on the must see villages in the Luberon. Here are my favorites:

L’Isle sur la Sorgue (market and water wheels)
Fountaine de Vucluse (go for the river, but check out the French resistance museum)
Gordes (nice market)
Bonnieux (beautiful homes and the Musee de la Boulangerie)
Roussillon (ocre, ocre, ocre)
Venasque (less touristed, real Provence)
Cabrieres d’Avignon (the most original medieval village)
Lourmarin (higher-end shops)
Abbaye de Senanque (lavender, lavender, lavender)

And last but certainly not least, you MUST venture out past Lourmarin, past Vaugines and get yourself to the little town of Cucuron. Here you will find perhaps the finest restaurant in all of Provence (do I sound a little too dramatic?). Eating outside on the terrace at the Michelin one-star, La Petite Maison, is an experience we will never forget. Reservations are required and don’t be tardy. We were no more than 16 minutes late for our 1:30 lunch and the host had to beg the chef to let us in (the ONE time DH got lost in the entire trip!). My words could not possibly begin to describe the food. Let me just say, that I can’t imagine a better place to spend two and a half hours in the Luberon indulging oneself.

Our “best vacation ever” had to eventually come to a close, so we took a late TGV from Avignon to CDG. We got into the station at 10:00 pm, took the elevator upstairs and by 10:15 pm we were in our room at the Sheraton. The hotel has the look and feel of an ultra-modern cruise ship that happens to be docked next to an airport (no, the soundproofing is so good you can’t hear a thing). The main feature of the Sheraton is convenience. The next morning after a nice buffet breakfast complete with made-to-order omlettes, we simply strolled around the corner to the Air France check-in (and then spent our last 20 euros on chocolate, you know the drill). Staying at the Sheraton took all of the stress out of getting to the airport on the last day of our trip.

Special thanks to Fodorites Cigalechanta, PBProvence, Elaine and Stu Dudley for your detailed trip planning help (I hope you find this post). This forum continues to be one of the premier vacation sites on the web!

Thank you for the excellent report, BelTib.
We're going back to Provence in October and are staying in a house in Saignon for a week. We've been trying to decide where to dine and your report is extremely helpful.
I've been e-mailing Bastide de Marie but will now contact La Petite Maison!
We have also stayed at Crillon le Brave...loved it!

thanks for your wonderful trip report. You stayed at several of our favorite places, The l'Image, Crillon and the Marie. The Petite cucuron was a wonderful meal but it was very expensive.
I still have the lovely card that lists all the products they sell.
We're going back to the hotel l'Image for one night before leaving Provence for Uzes. i'll be waiting for the Marie part :)

Bookmarking this thread- great info!

Is the price of the Pont Royal a typo? We stayed there several years ago and it was much more expensive and we didn't have a huge room! That price is a real bargain for that area in a nice room! We have just returned from Paris so I have really enjoyed reading your report!

arriba: I'm sure BelTib was referring to the cost of the cab from CDG to the hotel, not the cost of the room.

ttt

travgina--I re-read the OP and agree that I misread it! Certainly the 47E refers to the cab trip, not the room. Oops!

Beltib, thank you for sharing with us. What a please to read!!

Thank you!

I obviously didn't edit my response .. a pleasure to read. I also just noticed that the OP is from July. Regardless, a great trip report!

Wow...what a beautifully written report.

Glad you had a great time!

One little point. The view atop Galeries Lafayette is surpassed by the one at Au Printemps [Maison]. There is a cafe on the rooftop also.

Great trip report! Hubby and I are also going on our 2nd honeymoon in June. This is the 2nd post on shopping in Paris and I'm afraid I'm probably going to end up shopping more than sightseeing!

Which stores did you like the most? And please please tell me where you bought the Todd's and the Zegna and all those other brands on sale!

katzen, RonZ, zizz and others: Thanks for your kind words and for resurrecting last year's Paris trip report. What great memories! The closest we will get to Paris this year will be Montreal and Quebec City, but that's a subject for another board.

zizz: I found the shopping in Saint Germain on rue de Grenelle, and the boutiques near Place des Vosges in the Marais to be quite good. We bought our Tod's shoes at Galeries Lafayette, although they can be found everywhere. My favorite Zegna store is on rue Francois 1er near the George V. Last summer we met Ron Howard and his wife shopping there. We spent about an hour at the store shopping and talking about a movie he was making in London and in Paris. The title of the movie had something to do with da Vinci....

Happy travels and good luck with the sales.

Thanks for the exceptionally well written and comprehensive trip report--sound like you had a great time.