We�ve just returned from another wonderful week in this glorious city! We never tire of it, although the crowds were greater than usual, since the weather was glorious and it was French school holidays. The trees are flowering, daffodils and tulips are open and the temperatures around 60 degrees, with lots of bright blue skies.

Delta is our preferred airline, but this winter they didn�t drop fares to much for winter travel from Cincinnati to Paris, so I booked tickets on United when they had a very good sale just after Christmas, tickets for $425. We flew from Cincinnati to Washington Dulles, then onto CDG with no problems. We sat in Economy Plus seating on the United flight which had lots and lots of leg room. This was much nicer than the Delta seating on this route. This was possible because my husband got Premier status with United even though we hadn�t flown a mile on them yet. His place of employment has negotiated a Premier Match program, where if you�re medallion on Delta, you can get equal status on United to encourage employees to try United over Delta! The other advantage was the early arrival in Paris, 7 a.m.

Saturday, February 17

We usually take the RER into Paris from the airport, and did so again, although United uses Terminal 1 and we didn�t know the system here. It is more difficult than landing at Terminal 2 since you must take a bus to the RER area. Terminal 1 is not as nice at Terminal 2, and just as crowded. We bought tickets for the train and a Carte Orange zone 1-5 which was 31.50€ which would begin on Monday and be good through the following Sunday, when we would return for our flight home. We chose a zone 1-5 because we were taking trips to zone 4 during the week and the airport is in zone 5.

Staying at Hotel de L�Esperance for 79€ for a double room, near rue Mouffetard was a fine choice for us. The trip advisor reviews were pretty good, although some were very unhappy with the owner�s attitude. Good news, she�s retired and her son is the new owner, and is a great guy! Everyone working the desk here spoke English, although the 2 women who clean the rooms and make breakfast don�t, but are so, so kind and friendly. We took RER line B to Port Royal and walked to our hotel, so we didn�t have to make any changes in the Metro with our luggage. There was a street market along Port Royal on Saturday mornings, so we were able to enjoy our first market right away!

The room isn�t large, but none are in Paris, and the bathroom was very clean and new looking. It is a bit to small though. The water was always very hot immediately, but the lighting wasn�t great.

The bed was a double bed, not 2 twins pushed together, so wasn�t as large as I would have liked. We did ask for extra pillows, so had 4 which was great. There is a TV with international channels, but no in room safe, air-conditioning or small refrigerator. There are two long cabinets on each side of the bed for closest space and bed lights on either side of the bed. We kept the large window open most of the time, because it was about 60 degrees outside and I was warm in the room. There is noise at night, even though this was on a small street. It isn�t the most convenient location, but for the price, the cleanness and the wonderful attitude of everyone who works there it was great. Our room was ready even though we arrived around 9 a.m.


Hôtel de L'Esperance
15 rue Pascal
75005 Paris
Tel: + 33.1.47.07.10.99
Fax: +33.1.43.37.56.19
e-mail: [email protected]
Web site: www.hoteldelesperance.fr

We have a lot planned for this week, many new things for us including:

Seeing a movie in Paris
Doisneau 280 photos of Paris as seen by Doisneau at Hotel de Ville through March 3
Musee des Arts Decoratifs
Chateau de Vincennes
Basilique de Saint-Denis
L'Orangerie (although this didn�t happen)
Les Goblins tapestry factory
Musee Jacquemart-Andre
St-Germain-en-Laye
The Ile des Impressionistes in Chatou
Maison Européenne de la Photographie
Day trip to Lyon
Fashion walk of Paris with Paris walks
Afternoon trip to Ecouen
Musee Quai Branly
Spectacle du nouvel an chinois at Porte Maillot
Musical Play at Theatre Marigny salle Popesco � Piaf une vie en rose et noir
Some great new bistros, wine bars and some we�ve dined at before
A surprise meeting with Patricia Wells!!

If you can't be there, nothing is better than a Paris trip report in February. I love the detail. Hope there is more to come soon.

Looking forward to the tale.

Once we were settled and used the free internet in the hotel lobby, we wandered over to rue Mouffetard, took a look inside St.Medard Church, then bought a few market items and more at Le Boulanger de Monge 123, rue Monge (excellent) then started just walking down to the Seine. The weather was glorious, so we walked all day, not wanting to go into the metro system at all. A river rescue team was practicing in the river in red wet suits so this was great entertainment for a bit. Kids were ice-skating on the ice rink at Hotel de Ville which we passed by on our way to BHV. This was the last day of the winter sales so I wanted to do a bit of shopping. I love buying the extremely high quality French lace curtains they sell here, but, oh my, they had virtually no selection of it any longer. I�ve been buying some here for several years, so this was very disappointing.

The photo exhibit with 280 photos of Paris as seen by Doisneau was at Hotel de Ville, a free exhibit, but the lines were so long that we bypassed it for today, but returned later in the week, since they extended the exhibition, which was to end today. It turned out to be a fun, and excellent exhibit.

The streets were overflowing with people, it was a bit overwhelming for February. It always takes me a bit to get readjusted to this since we certainly don�t have that many people in our downtown area in Cincinnati! We were tired so walked to the Jardin des Tuileries just to sit and rest in the chairs, and enjoy watching the kids sail the sailboats in the fountain pond. We took turns napping here also!

The Musee des Arts Decoratifs had been closed for a very long time, but has reopened so we stopped in. The palace area it�s in is fabulous, but we didn�t really care for the exhibits. We did enjoy the musee of publicity which is also included in the ticket, and I was looking forward to the textile musee, but it is closed at this time.

I had a long list of CD�s I wanted to check out at the Virgin store and FNAC so we walked down the Champs Elysees to these stores, passing a great display of Formula 1 cars. My husband loves Formula 1 so he was thrilled to spend some time here and was fascinated by the small steering wheels in these cars.

Here�s a list of CD�s I bought this time, most on sale. I adore French music so it�s great fun selecting CD�s in France! Helene Segara Quand l�Eternite, Florent Pagny, 2, excellent CD although from 2001. Patrick Fiori , 2 of his older CD�s Chrysalide and Patrick Fiori, Julie Zenatti Comme Vous, and Roch Voisine Jet e serai fidele, and an old double Edith Piaf CD, regular 30€ for 10€. These artists have newer cd�s but they weren�t on sale, so I decided to wait until next trip to buy those. The prices are discounted very quickly in Paris usually. Other artists I love are Natashia St.Pier, Isabelle Boulay, Chimene Badi, Lara Fabian, and Enzo Enzo, but since I already own several of their CD�s I chose some new ones on this trip. Florent Pagny has many, many CD�s and we own a lot of his, and they�re almost always excellent. If you like Lynda Lemay, she�s touring France this year with concerts.

LA DERNIERE GOUTTE 6, rue de Bourbon le Chateau, 75006 has wine tastings every Saturday, and we were very interested in Juan�s selection of wine, so we stopped by his shop. Since it�s winter he doesn�t have individuals in from the vineyards he buys from, but still had some wine to taste. It was very good, and we decided to buy some wine to bring home. We�re returning to France in May to Pays Basque and in September to the Languedoc, so Juan helped us select 7 bottles from these regions. They�ll box 6 bottles to a box, pre-made to hold wine from La Poste, the French post office. He delivers it to your hotel and it was tied in twine with a handle for easy carrying. It arrived home safely, thank goodness. His wines are very reasonably priced and we bought 7 bottles to get to the tax free amount. As Juan was helping us select our wine, another customer walked in and he greeted her warmly. �Hello Patricia, how are your cooking classes going?� She said they were all filled for 2007 and 2008, as well as the wine classes she holds, with the help of Juan, at her home in Provence! I turned my head, and there was Patricia Wells! I wasn�t going to pass up this opportunity to speak with her! She was kind enough to spend a few minutes talking with me, and it was a thrill! Juan finished up with us, and let his assistant complete our business, including filling out the tax refund paperwork we would need at the airport on our return, while he helped Patricia Wells select her wine! I knew we were in the right shop (which she confirmed to me!)

Dinner was reserved at 7:30 tonight at Les Papilles Bisto/Wine Bar, so we hurried back to our hotel in the warm evening air.

Les Papilles 30, rue Gay-Lussac 75005 Tel :01 43 25 20 79 28.50€ menu for 4 courses, including the cheese course

We weren�t aware that you couldn�t select your dinner choices at this bistro, so we were a bit surprised when our server told us what dinner would be this evening. Everyone eats the same selections, which on this evening were: Lentil soup, Joues de boeuf (beef cheeks) which is actually a beef roast stew, Faume d�aumbert cheese and a lemony dessert topped with pistachio nuts. It was all excellent!

The shelves are lined with a great variety of wine, in all prices and from all regions. You wander the small bistro looking for the right bottle for you and then 6€ is added to the cost and you have your wine for the evening. There are also many, many jars of delights from southwest France you can purchase. It really was delightful and most of the diners were French. Our bill, including wine was 80€.

Looks like the message board is working again!!

Sunday, February 18

Tonight my husband will really make a big mistake in ordering his meal, but we had a great day ahead before he�d make this mistake!

We awoke, well, I really didn�t sleep all that well, since it was so warm in our room, and our window needed to stay open all night to get some air. I was still adjusting to the sounds of Paris at night.

Place Monge's market takes place on Sunday�s so we wandered through, and noticed the provincial items on sale here. Table covers, soaps, pottery, etc, but our real goal was the market on bvd. Raspail, (metro Sevres Babylone). The Galette d�oignon and pomme de terre were calling to me, and they�re sold at the top of the market close to where Cherche Midi crosses boulevard Raspail. Oh my, are these delicious!! This is really a great market.

Having exhibited in art shows for years, I�m always interested in an art show, so we went to the one along Edgar Quinet, close to cimetiere du Montparnasse. The area around Montparnasse isn�t to attractive, actually it�s pretty bad, but we kept on and the art show which takes place every Sunday, was just setting up. We had the opportunity to see some of the art, some better than others, but couldn�t linger.

This was the big morning of seeing our first movie in a Paris movie theater! I asked others on this board about doing this, and what theater would be best. I learned a lot from you, and I thank you so much! We decided to see La Môme at MK2 Bibliotheque. The theater was just wonderful, with very comfortable red covered twin seats, or �love seats� in a large theater with a large screen. When you exit the metro at Bibliotheque at the end of line 14 (the modern, fast line) it�s easy to spot the theater. The movies prices are almost half price in the mornings before noon, so it was between 5€ and 6€ to see a film. Our legs were already pretty tired from all the walking we did on Saturday, so this was a perfect time to sit and relax! Concessions were sold, at the same high prices as in the U.S., but I didn�t see anyone eating any popcorn or candy in the theater. Maybe it was just to early. There is a book store and DVD store in this theater also, but they were closed. We took the escalators upstairs to our theater and sat down. The commercials before the film were to begin at 10:55, and the film 15 minutes after that. There were a fair number of people here, but it wasn�t crowded. When others filed into our row to take their seats, we would stand, and they passed us facing us, not with their backs to us, as we do here. There was plenty of talking before the film began, but not much during.

The �commercials� began, and they were pretty good. They were actually little story clips. We actually enjoyed them.

La Môme was just fantastic. It was the best film we�ve seen in several years. It begins when Edith Piaf was a child and those children who played her childhood were outstanding. The music, the acting, everything about it was fantastic. The film moved back and forth between the past and present in her life, but it was done with style, and wasn�t disjointed at all. When it was over the woman a few seats down from me was in tears. It�s all in French, and I only understood half, but that was fine. You could follow it fine regardless. It is coming to the U.S. this summer, and I highly recommend seeing it!! The film is 2 � hours in length. At the end of the film people left the theater row by row, from the front, to the back just as you do at weddings. That was interesting, and you exited the theater to the front, not from the back where you entered. We had a discussion about tipping at theaters before we left and learned that no tipping goes on in movie theaters any longer. This was true, but you DO tip at other venues as we discovered later in the week. We saw a large show at Palais des Congrès de Paris at Porte Maillot where some tipped the ushers, and a small show at Theater Marigny where everyone was expected to tip the ushers who helped you find your seat. They wouldn�t leave you until they had their tip there!

Being a bit hungry we tried to lunch at one of the pubs along the street close to the Bibliotheque theater area, but the brunch prices were really not worth it, so we left. Walking along towards the La Cinémathèque française which is a museum designed by Frank Gehry we passed several unique �statues� along the grass, with the large libraries across the river behind them. It was somewhat interesting.

Château d�Vincennes was our next stop, which is at the end of metro line 1. The temperatures were over 60 degrees, so several French families were wandering the property here, but there wasn�t much to see. A large area is closed for renovation now. Across the vast parking lot is the forest and there must have been many families there, because the parking lot was full. The gates from the chateau grounds though to this area were locked though so we didn�t venture over to the forest. We were to hungry by now, so decided to head back to Paris proper for some lunch.

In the past I�ve tried unsuccessfully to get reservations for dinner at Le Comptoir de Relais. It�s impossible unless you stay at the attached hotel. I learned that a creperie jointly owned has opened next door at 9, car. De l�Odeon Metro : Odeon. We arrived and found that the creperie is just for take away, and that didn�t appeal to us, but fortunately a table became free outdoors at Le Comptoir. We quickly sat down, and were able to order lunch! The lunch menu looked a lot like a dinner menu, and it was 4:00. Since we had dinner reservations at 8 p.m. we ordered lightly, I thought! My husband ordered assiete de sausicons and I ordered the cheese plate. It arrived and looked like it could serve 4 people! We shared, ordered the house wine for 10€ for � liter and along with the bread basket, had a wonderful �light� lunch. The outdoor heating lamps came on, which weren�t needed at all, and thankfully were turned off after a bit. They were so busy here, the service was with a very brisk attitude. That wasn�t appealing, but all the food which we saw served looked very tasty!
Luxembourg gardens were close by so we strolled over and it was as crowded as could be. After a hunt we found 2 chairs together and just sat, soaking in the atmosphere of this most wonderful place for the rest of the afternoon. Flowers were blooming, and children were playing, it was a joyful place! Last winter when we sat in the gardens, they were cold and lifeless. It was a very, very cold winter and the few flowers were dead of frost. This year it�s a much more welcoming site.

Dinner tonight is at Louis Vins, 9 rue Montagne Ste Genevieve 75005 tele: 01.43.29.12.12 27€ for 3 courses 24€ for 2 courses No credit cards accepted
For some unknown reason my husband decided to order very, very, old traditional French food tonight. Desosse de Pied de Cochon and Gras Double aux cumin + vapeor pomme which is Pigs feet and tripe. Maybe he was just preparing for our trip to Lyon later in the week Thankfully dessert was Carpaccio d�ananas (pineapple) which was excellent. He was asked if he was sure he knew what he was ordering, replying yes, he really couldn�t leave a bite on his plate! It was really horrible, but thankfully he didn�t get sick that night!

My selections were, Middle saumon with mushrooms, beautiful and tasty salmon, cooked very pink with mushrooms and confit de canard and for dessert chocolate profiterole.

Louis Vins is a very pretty, well located bistro. They have fresh flowers on the tables and service is very friendly. We�ve dined here in the past so it was nice to return. A great advantage is that it�s open on Sunday evenings. Our bill was 80€ including wine.

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Loving your report. I am so happy for you and your husband, it sounds like you all are having so much fun.

That dish your husband ordered makes me want to puke. If you say it was horrible I believe you.

Theresa in Detroit!

I leave in 3 weeks--I'm glad to hear the parks are starting to look like spring, I was afraid when I booked that everything would still be mid-winter.

I'm loving your food tales--more, please!

Some day I hope you will learn to appreciate pig's foot and tripe! Mmmmmm...

If Bessie Smith was right, surely it should be "Gimme a Pig's Foot and a Bottle of Beer"..?!

Thanks for the comments, and have a wonderful time Barb! I hope this great weather in Paris holds out. The weeping willows were already turning green, and the forsythia were blooming! We even had a spring storm one night, during the overnight, but in the morning it was bright and sunny again!

Monday, February 19
Beginning our morning with a walk up rue Monge to Boulangerie Kayser, 8, Rue Monge Metro Maubert-Mutualite, and sampling lemon pastries and brioche. Of course they�re wonderful!

We�re off to the Basilique Saint-Denis this morning, using our Carte Orange passes. We took RER line D for a quicker ride, and once we arrived at Saint-Denis we transferred to a tram, which was just out front along the street. This is the end of the tram line so you don�t need to worry which direction you�ll go, as there is only one possibility. We exited the tram at Basilique de St-Denis stop and walked toward the center. You�ll pass the metro on your way, and can return by metro if you wish, it has more stops than the RER so takes longer. We learned we could have taken a regional train there also which would be very fast, but is more complicated to find the right train. The area is a bit rough, but nothing to worry about. The area in front of the cathedral is torn up now, they�re doing a lot of construction in the area.

A visit here is really worth the time and effort. This is the burial place for the old French kings and many others including Marie Antoinette and Catherine de Medicis. We spent about 1 � hours here, then took the metro to Anvers so we could take the funiculaire up the hill to Montmartre to take photos. Unfortunatly the funiculaire wasn�t working at the time and we had to climb the many stairs.

For lunch we stopped at La Crêperie des Canettes, 10, rue des Canettes 75006 tele: 01.43.26.27.65 We loved the area this was in, ( just north of St. Sulpice) as there were other creperies and pizza places along the cute alley. We�re planning on bringing our 10 year old grandson to Paris next March, and have been looking for places he�ll eat! We also need to find a reasonably priced hotel with triple rooms, any suggestions that would be central? Anyhow, the crepes were huge, and oh so good! It was very crowded and we were lucky to get a table. It deserves the crowds it attracts.

I was looking very forward to seeing the newly reopened L'Orangerie, but just couldn�t bring myself to prebook tickets, since it�s so hard to stay on any kind of schedule. We didn�t have museum passes since we didn�t go to enough museums each day to warrant that. If you do have a pass you can bypass the long line, and just go to the short line! We arrived to find a very long line, so bypassed the museum. I wish it was open mornings, but as of now, it opens to individuals at 12:30 p.m.

Since we weren�t far away, and I always need a new kitchen tool, we took the metro to Dehillerin kitchen supply store. I love this place! I bought a copper bowl and wooden handled wisk and new crepe pan. Prices are so reasonable here compared to Sur la Table etc. in the U.S.

Since it�s Chinese New Years, there was to be a Dance of the Lions at St.Sulpice Square at 6 p.m. Many families with young children waited in the square and the kids had fun running around, enjoying the warm evening. Finally the dance begun, but it wasn�t to exciting. We took a few photos and left, exploring the cute streets of Cour du Commerce and St Andre before heading back to our hotel for a bit of rest before dinner.

Dinner tonight was at La Cerisaie 70, BV. Edgar-Quinet 75014 Tel: 011 (33) 1.43.20.98.98
Around 30€ for 3 courses

This is a very simple restaurant, no décor, but the food, well, go see and I�m sure you�ll return. The neighborhood isn�t attractive, but the reviews are fantastic. We had a Danish man seated next to us for dinner, and he�s dined here over 100 times. Don�t come for any atmosphere, do come for the food! The husband used to be the chef at Au Bascou, and he cooks and his wife works the front. She�s very friendly as it the woman helping her. You MUST reserve or you won�t get a table. Our bill was 87€ for dinner, wine and coffee. For starters we had terraine de foie gras and oeuf cotte aux mushrooms, yum, main dish magret d�oise (goose breast) with pear and agneau au lait avec pimento farci, lamb with stuffed pimentos with potatoes I think?? For dessert tarte fondante de chocolat and coffee to finish the meal.

Tuesday, February 20

The market at Place Maubert was our first stop this morning. This is an excellent market, more items from Provence also. We walked back to Boulangerie Kayser again but found it closed today, so we returned to the market and found a patisserie with some excellent goods in the square.

We were hoping to go inside St. Severin church his morning, but when we arrived we discovered it didn�t open until 10 a.m. so we moved on, but returned later in the week.

I was a bit tired of the metro rush, so we took a bus to Musee Jacquemart-Andre, one museum we�ve been trying to get to for a couple of years, but just haven�t found time. It�s as nice as everyone describes. We spent 1 � hours enjoying the audio tour then walked around this neighborhood walking by the Chinese pagoda, The Russian Orthodox Cathedral, shopping at Mariage Freres, and then to rue Poncelet�s market street and the Alleosse cheese shop at 13 rue, Rue Poncelet. We decided to buy picnic supplies and with the help of bread at Paul�s here, we collected a wonderful lunch and found a bench not far from the side of the Arc de Triomphe and had a fun lunch watching the traffic go around the Arc, including a small wooden looking car, with a big flag banner attached to the back, trying to make it�s way with the traffic, going through the roundabout. I�m sure he was a fool on a dare!

We wanted to take the 2:00 tour of Les Goblins tapestry factory (in French) http://www.museums-of-paris.com/musee_en.php?code=349 Metro Gobelins but first we rushed over to Deyrolle 46, rue du bac to buy a poster I wanted to buy last year but didn�t. Only 1 man was working and he was helping a woman pick out butterflies and wouldn�t even acknowledge our presence. It was so strange. I wanted him to prepare it and we�d return later in the day to collect it, but he wouldn�t even make eye contact. I�m sure he was making a huge sale and didn�t want to disturb the process. We asked the woman at the register downstairs about the situation, and she said if we�d pay now, they�d have it ready when we returned. Fine, we paid for the poster and tube for it and left.

The Manufacture des Gobelins began as a dye works in the 15th century by Jean Gobelin, and was later purchased by Louis XIV and Colbert brought together all the royal artisans, then it became a royal tapestry factory and furniture maker. After 1697 it only specialized in tapestry.

The tours are limited to 30 people, first come first served. I couldn�t make reservations. The whole tour was in French, but you will see the three individual factories, actually men and women hand making these intricate tapestries and carpets. It was a very interesting 2 hr 15 min. tour. There is a second tour at 2:45 for another 30 people, which ended shortly after ours, so that tour went more quickly than ours. If you�re at all interested in this process I highly recommend this tour. We climbed a lot of stairs though for the 2nd and 3rd areas we toured, so if you have trouble with stairs, don�t go.

After buying our tickets, we all sat in the chapel while others bought tickets. At some point they announced that they�d take the first 30 people who collected outside with the guide for the first tour, so there was a mad dash for the door. It�s wise to sit toward the back of the chapel in case this happens again, and if you see people rushing for the door after an announcement, rush outside quick!

The book area of Bon Marche is excellent and we always enjoy shopping here. We returned and bought some more books and Michelin maps of France for upcoming trips. They�re so much cheaper in France! Returning to Deyrolle, we wanted to pick up our poster. Was it waiting by the register, no. Back up the stairs, hoping to find it ready. Thankfully it was, because the store was packed and I�m sure it would have been difficult to get help at this time also. The gentleman gave us our poster, in a huge �tube�, which is actually a 3 sided brown box, along with his slight smile. This is going to be fun getting home�.

After dropping our purchases off in our room we rested then left for another great dinner.

L�Ami Jean 27, rue Malar 75007 Menu at 29 € Phone +33 (0) 1 47 05 86 89

This is another restaurant where you MUST reserve in advance. It was already crowded at 8 p.m. We were seated next to a couple from New York and had a delightful evening talking with them. Our server was a delight, full of fun. I think he was from Romania, but has been working here for 3 years. L�Ami Jean reminded me so much of Regalade, but it served even better food. We dined on quail, St.Pierre (John Dory) fish onion soup, but not the tradional onion soup, rabbit which was rolled in the shape of a log, and so, so tasty, with a basque goat cheese with berries for dessert, which I didn�t like at all. It�s not like any goat cheese I�ve ever had, was it to �fresh� in style? I asked, but didn�t understand the explanation, but I asked for a different dessert and they kindly gave me the lemon, foamy mousse instead which was much better. They really pushed the rice pudding here, saying it was the best in town. The woman next to me ordered it, and gave me a taste. I really didn�t care for it at all, and the orange that was served with it, was quite bitter.

It was a fun evening with excellent food, and it seemed everyone was enjoying themselves here.

Our bill came to 87€ including wine for the evening.

Thanks for a great report. I am looking forward to more! We love the galettes at the market on the Blvd Raspail and will be there on the 11th!! I also appreciate the weather update. It is so strange that the weather reports for France never seem to be accurate. According to weather.com it has been raining in Paris for the last two months and for the forseeable future.

It did rain a couple of nights, but then the sun would be out in the a.m.

We had a couple of showers during the day, but they were very spotty. The clouds would roll through very quickly!

Have an extra galette for me!

Great report - thank you for doing this. I found your observations interesting. I can't wait to go back to Paris.

Wednesday, February 21

It�s field trip day! We�re going to St-Germain-en-Laye and then stopping at Chatou on the way back to Paris. Also we�ll be dining at a restaurant which officially received it�s first * today!

As much as we love Paris, the huge population and pace of the city can wear on us. We�re in our early 50�s now and need to escape the hectic pace we get caught up in here.

Our morning walk brought us to Place Monge and the Market here to start our day. It was funny how I�d seek out a market each morning to check out, even though we were staying just a street away from the market on rue Mouffetard. I think that market is better later in the day than it is in the morning.

La Tuile a Loup 35, rue Daubenton is a wonderful pottery shop close by, and I stopped in one evening, having shopped here in the past. I was surprised that they only had about half the inventory that I�d see before. I hope this means the shop is selling well!

Hopping on the metro and exiting at George V, we walked down this attractive street, window shopping and stopping in the American cathedral here. There is a large building along this street under construction, but they have covered it with a barrier which looks like a Gaudi building. We were on our way to the market at President Wilson, close to Place de l�Alma. This is a great market! Really nice, and after a couple little morning showers, the sun was shining bright again! There were a few homeless people living along the Seine in pop up tents in this area.

Taking RER line A from Charles de Gaulle Etole (on metro line 1) we arrived in St-Germain-en-Laye, in zone 4 after about 45 minutes. It was so peaceful as we walked the grounds of the Chateau, to the overlook area, where Paris stood in the distance. We could pick out La Defense and the Eiffel Tower, but most of the city was a haze. We didn�t linger long in the gardens, but it would be a wonderful place to just sit and relax in the summer. The interior of the Chateau grounds were nice and we spent some time here, and in the chapel which had many displays inside. There were good bathrooms here also!

I wanted to go the to market here and wandered around the town looking for it, but never did find it. Now looking through my notes, they say the market is in place du Marche-Neuf and place Christiane-Frahier, adjacent to the train station. I�m not sure how I missed it. The market is every day except Monday and Tuesday. Oh well.

The town here is really very nice. The streets are attractive with so many shops. There really weren�t any shops we couldn�t find anywhere else, but the atmosphere was very pleasant. We walked back close to the Chateau and ate a picnic lunch here, then back to the small streets were there is an Amorino Gelato shop! Great dessert!

Take RER Line A, and get off at Rueil Malmaison. It's about a 15 minute's ride. Walk in the direction of Chatou from the station, and you will find the staircase which leads to the riverside(about 500m).

On our return to Paris, back on the RER we exited at Rueil Malmaison. The Ile des Impressionistes, where Renoir painted the �Luncheon of the boating Party� is here. The restaurant La Fournaise balcony is where Renoir painted this picture, and you can still have lunch or dinner there. The painting is a favorite of mine so I had to go see where it was located. It�s a disappointing area now, but still a thrill to see!

When you leave the station make sure you exit in the right direction. We walked toward the town of Chatou. There will be a very busy road to walk down, not a nice looking area, but we kept walking and saw a sign, close to the overpass over another busy road with the sign to Ile des Impressionistes. It�s not a far walk, maybe 10-15 minutes to the area we wanted.

Returning to Paris, we stopped at La Defense to take more pictures, then to the Latin Quarter, where St. Severin church was open, and was just wonderful inside.

More shopping in this area at Librairie Gourmande at 4, rue Dante in the 5th. This is a bookshop dedicated to cooking books. The shop people are delightful and the stock is incredible, but the shop is small. www.librairie-gourmande.fr

Gibert Jeune book stores around St. Michel are also favorites of ours, so we shopped for more French textbooks for our continuous study of the language. Some were labeled �occasion� meaning used, but I really couldn�t tell how they were used, maybe a bent corner, and those were marked down. They were a great buy! We also bought a few more French novels. I buy mine in the kids department!

Maison Européenne de la Photographie, 5/7 rue de Fourcy � 75004, is a museum I�ve been trying to see for a couple of years and it�s free on Wednesday evenings from 5-8p.m. On the walk to the Marais to find it, we passed Izrael, the shop with an incredible selection of food, including Tarbais beans which I wanted to buy. I didn�t, since I thought I could find them at Monoprix, but never did. It was crowed this evening and I�m sorry I didn�t buy anything here.

The museum of photography, was actually having a special exhibition on the French Photo magazine Vu, of the 1920�s and 30�s, which was similar to Life magazine. When the French go to a museum they take it seriously and stand in front of each exhibit, studying it at length. It was crowded, so we just made a quick tour through the many rooms.

Needing a break, and a glass of wine, we found a Mexican bar in the Marais! I was skeptical, but we wandered inside, and it was ok! Decorated with a Mexican theme, but nicely, we enjoyed a pitcher of wine, while others ordered tortilla chips with dip! That didn�t sound so bad to me, but we were soon to dine at Les Fables de la Fontaine, which had officially received it�s * status just today, so we skipped the chips!

Les Fables de la Fontaine 131 St. Dominique, 7th Tel : 01 44 18 37 55 1*
Metro La Tour Maubourg

Christian Constant opened this fish restaurant a few years ago. He�s not the chef here now, but is the owner. We enjoyed Fables in the past and decided to return, even before the news leaked that it would be receiving a *! Their new status became official on this day which we had reservations.

The décor has totally changed since last time we dined here. At that time it had blue and white tiles throughout, but now it�s much more attractive, in golden tones and stone walls. It�s still small, maybe 20-25 covers?

We began with a starter of crab, but served very creatively, layered with other ingredients and a foamy, mousse top. I really can�t describe it but it was excellent. We ended up having 3 main courses between the 2 of us, because, despite their excellent position of receiving a star, they made a mistake and brought out one wrong dish. Instead of replacing it, they wanted us to keep it, and brought the right one also! We had dorade, lieu jaune (cod) and St. Jacques (scallops), with wonderful side dishes, the polenta being the best. It was unlike any I�ve ever tasted! Potato gratin was served with the lieu jaune. All the fish was deliciously prepared.

We had no room for dessert tonight, but did order tea at the end of our meal. Prices here are 12€ for the entrée, 22€ for the main and 8€ for dessert with the tea costing 4.50€. Our meal with a bottle of very nice Sancerre wine and tea was 109€. They had many bottles of very reasonably priced wines, which I thought was a bit surprising. No English was spoken here.

Tomorrow we�re going to Lyon for the day on the TGV!

Hi, Images2, glad you enjoyed MK2 Bibliothèque! What did you think of the passerelle Simone de Beauvoir? And I had never thought of the face/back difference on either side of the Atlantic when filing for one's row... Well, I must admit I tend not to go to the movies in the States, because of the movement and the crunching noises in the theater! Thankfully, in France pop corn is still reserved to... pop corn movies.

Oh my gosh Art, we didn't cross at the passerelle Simone de Beauvoir but at a different bridge. I remember looking down it, when standing right in front of that bridge, thinking what a nice wooden bridge they have here! I had no idea what a wonder it is

I guess I'll just have to return!

We loved the theater. I don't think people here care at all about Edith Piaf and just don't get it when we tell them what an excellent film it is. Have you seen it yet?

By the time we arrived in Paris the Jacquou le Croquant Film was only playing at Aquaboulevard and we ran out of time to see it.

www.allocine.fr was an excellent site to get information on what's playing and where in Paris before you arrive.

ttt

Thursday, February 22

Having driven by Lyon in the past but not having time to stop, I was so excited about having the chance to spend a day here. I actually would have loved spending at least two, but my DH wanted to stay in Paris, so I settled on a day trip. I bought Prem tickets on the SNCF website in January for the trip, which came to $104 USD for 2 round trip tickets.

Leaving at 8 a.m. from Gare de Lyon and arriving in Lyon at the Perrache station at 10:06 a.m., that�s a quick ride! We bought a Lyon transportation card for 4€ a day at the train station, which gave us unlimited access to the metro, funicular and buses. They had people at ticket windows so we didn�t need to buy it from a machine.

Taking metro line A we rode to Bellecour (follow sortie rue Republique signs) where the TI is located. They mailed me a wonderful map of Lyon before we arrived, and really didn�t have anything to add to that. I had marked the traboules and painted walls we wanted to see ahead of time on the map. The huge ferris wheel isn�t in Paris any longer, but I think they�ve moved to the plaza here! The plaza is large enough, so it doesn�t overwhelm it tough. Along the side of this plaza is a statue of Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, who was the French writer and aviator who wrote The Little Prince. The statue is of him and the Little Prince!

Walking across the river to old Lyon, we wanted to take the funicular up to Fourviere Hill. This is located right next to the Cathedral St.Jean which has beautiful stained glass windows and an unusual astrological clock. The funicular we wanted wasn�t in operation this week, so we took the other and then had to connect to a bus to reach the Basilica. There are beautiful views from the overlook here, down onto Lyon. You�ll also notice the pathway you can take to walk back down. It�d be a nice walk if we�d had more time.
Inside the Basilica Notre Dame it�s very ornate, almost overdone, but we enjoyed it. We also went into the chapel below, which is easy to miss. A short walk down this road is the Gallo Roman Museum which is free on Thursday�s. This is a huge museum, filled with Roman artifacts. It�s very high quality but we could only rush through it on this visit. Next door to the museum is the Roman theater, which is still used today. After sitting in the theater for a bit, we walked back to the funicular for the ride down into Vieux Lyon.

Vieux Lyon isn�t a large area, but we loved it. Many of the shops had signs hanging out front made of stained glass. I�m a stained glass artist so it was fun finding all the signs and a few windows like the one of the Marionnettes Lyonnaises which I�ve loved since taking French in Action! Unfortunately the international puppet museum was closed, as they are working on the building.

There are traboules or passageways between rue St.-Jean and rue du Boeuf, although many you could enter, but not go all the way through. These are marked on the TI�s map of Lyon, as are the courtyards. I love the photos I took inside of the traboules.

Needing some lunch we checked several bouchons, but decided we didn�t want to spend to long sitting for lunch, even though Lyon is known for it�s excellent food. We decided on the Salon de Thé on rue St.Jean. They serve crepes, tea, wine, salads, and pastries. It�s also a bonbon shop!

As soon as we sat down, two young girls greeted us, giving us a menu, and almost at the same time, asking us if we�d chosen yet! Granted, we didn�t have a lot of time for lunch, but we did need a few minutes to read the menu! They were just so cute, and were helping out in the shop during the school holidays this week. One girl returned and asked for our order again, and when my husband ordered in his American accented French, she immediately frowned, she had a challenge now! Asking him to repeat it, she wrote the order on a pad of paper and retreated into the kitchen. Our wine and bread were served, then she returned, just to double check that we wanted two crepes, not one. We actually ended up with the 2 different crepes we had ordered! Success!! Her Mom came out of the kitchen later so we were able to compliment her daughters, and the very yummy crepes they served here. We wouldn�t have traded this experience for the best bouchon in Lyon!

After lunch we rode the metro Hotel de Ville and place des Terreaux to see the fountain made by the creator of the Statue of Liberty, and the ugly sculptors in the plaza close to the river. We had no time to go to the fabulous art museum, Musee des Beaux-Arts, but walked by.

The 7 story mural Fresque des Lyonnais, at the intersection of rue de la Martiniere and quai de la Pecherie was a wall mural of the famous people from Lyon. It�s excellent. Other murals we saw were La bibliotheque de la Cite at quai de la Pècherie/rue de la Platiere and Le mur des Canuts in Croix Rousse, Metro Henon, and the Cour des Loges mural at Place du Change. This is a web site which lists the wall murals in Lyon :
http://www.lyon.fr/vdl/sections/fr/t...re_murs_peints
Taking the metro to Croix Rousee we found the Museum of Canuts. The map the Lyon TI gave us wasn�t to helpful in finding this museum. It was missing all the street names so we got lost. If you go to this area try and find a better map. Arriving late, the tour was at 3:30 p.m. and at 11ish in the a.m. we had missed the first half of the tour of the silk factory. They suggested selling us tickets though for � price for � of the tour! I think we saw the best of it, since we was the punch card machines that do the wonderful work and watched a woman working one machine. It was a much simpler tour than Les Goblins in Paris, but we enjoy it. The guide spoke French, but also English, so that was helpful.

We were hoping to go to the museum of Decorative arts and fabric, or the Resistance museum, but they were closing soon, so we�ll have something to do next time we return!

Being a huge European Football/soccer fan, my husband wanted to go out to the Lyon football stadium. Back on the metro to the stadium we went, with few others, since there was no game this evening. The metro in Lyon is driverless, sleek and clean. It�s much, much nicer than that in Paris.
The stadium isn�t to far from the metro, but it was getting dark. We saw the location and the Statues of Lions out front, but not much more. Across the street there is the team store, so we had fun shopping for some Lyon football items to bring home!

Back in Vieux Lyon we returned to the Salon de Thé buying a heated sandwich for dinner, then returned to the train station for our 9 p.m. TGV back to Paris. We arrived at 11 p.m. having a wonderful day. We LOVED Lyon and I�m sure we�ll return.