This is sooo enjoyable.Thank you Sue for sharing your trip with us.Waiting to hear more!Kate

Sue, what a great trip report. Thanks!<BR><BR>Please post information about using your teacher ID card to get into the D'Orsay. What kind of ID card do you have? Did you use it to get into other sites? Tell all!

Sue, thanks for your great trip report!<BR>I'm leaving Monday for Paris, and your report made me even more excited. I'm staying for 10 days, so will probably take a couple of day trips, and am still trying to decide which. I've never been to Giverny, and thought it would be pretty in May. I also have never been to Chartres, or Fontainebleau. Guess I'll decide after I get there. I get really caught up just wandering around Paris, so I know I won't do more than 2 trips away. Your report made me which I were staying in the 7th, I love rue Cler. I'm staying in a hotel in the 6th, but near Montparnasse, which I don't know much about - the Aviatic. It sounds nice - hope it is! Thanks again for your great report!

I have a photo ID from my high school and on the back I put a sticker: Enseignante, Lyc&eacute;e Bonanza. (lycee = high school) I always got into the Louvre and Orsay free; at Pompidou, they wanted me to be an art teacher? But that was one time. Other times I have gotten in free. I'm not sure where else you can get in free, but I always try. (Sometimes you get a discount.)<BR><BR>Also, there are many City of Paris museums that are free as of Dec., 2001: The museums are: Mus&eacute;e d’art moderne de la ville de Paris, Carnavalet (Museum of the History of Paris), Cognacq-Jay, Vie Romantique/H&ocirc;tel Scheffer-Renan, Bourdelle, Zadkine, Maison de Balzac, M&eacute;morial Mar&eacute;chal Leclerc, Jean Moulin.

Amboise was totally charming. The Belle Vue is right around the corner from the chateau and the pedestrian shopping area, so that afternoon I just walked all over, trying to get my bearings and to check out some of the recommended hotels and restos. Le Blason is fine for people in cars (big public parking on square), but I’m glad I chose BV for its proximity to the action despite its having no safe. My TravelSmith jeans with secret zippered pocket came in handy for toting passport, CCs and extra money. After doing all that walking, I asked a shop lady where the PO was, and she pointed down the long street by the chateau and said it was clear at the end; I just looked at her and said, Demain (tomorrow). She laughed.<BR><BR>However, I had been afraid that it would be lots of way ups and way downs--no problem. Auvers was much hillier.<BR><BR>Went to L’Epicerie in a square by the chateau (about a block up) for dinner--good choice. Fixed price menu at 23 euro, but I ordered a la carte. Absolutely the best goat cheese salad I have ever had, a Charolais steak in some sauce, and a cr&egrave;me caramel that wasn’t: it was made with pears and had a wonderful moussy chocolate sauce. Just the right touch for the heavy meal. Guess I was ready for something substantial after the picnic the night before.<BR>

Breakfast at the BV was only 6 euro so I went for it, and I’m glad I did. Plain yogurt (my fave), hardboiled eggs, ham, cheese, p&acirc;t&eacute; and even pickles (!). I was glad to have the protein.<BR><BR>I was up and out early to see Clos Luc&eacute;, Leonardo da Vinci's museum--went there first to beat any troops of school kids who might be heading there. It was fascinating. I found myself (and one other guy) writing down Leonardo’s sayings ("If the body of man seems a marvelous work to you, consider that it is nothing compared to the soul.") IBM has fashioned a lot of mockups of his inventions based on his drawings and I loved that. Everything from monkey wrenches and ball bearings to cars and tanks.<BR><BR>Then I went to the chateau, which was also interesting, especially the St. Hubert chapel. On the way back down from the chateau to the main drag, I stopped in the Galerie de la Martinerie, which has beautiful tapestries created by a small group of artists; I just bought a couple of cards with pictures of the tapestries.<BR><BR>In honor of St. Cirq, I had tea and a pastry at Mme Bigot’s. Sitting outside, listening to new age music and gazing at the chateau on this beautiful in-and-out sunny day, it was the kind of minute I wished would last forever.

Back to L’Epicerie for dinner, the "menu" this time. Fois gras, veal, cheese (yum!) and 3 balls of sorbet--cassis, green apple and lime--with "red fruit" sauce in a basket made of the thinnest crepe you have ever seen. What a delicious contrast in flavors.<BR><BR>The next morning, I walked up the street to buy a sandwich and water for the train. Everyone at BV was so nice; Monsieur opened the door for me and Madame came out to say good-bye. And I had a nice chatty woman cab driver. Plus the nice conductor helped me on the train with my baggage. By now do you know something is going to go wrong?<BR><BR>I caught the 11:20 train and the conductor helped me on with my bags, but when he came to punch my ticket, he said, "But where are you going, Madame?" I replied, "Paris." To which he replied: "But this train goes to Tours." Yes, indeed, I somehow managed to get on the train going the wrong way; instead of checking train number (or even destination!), I just looked at departure time. Duh. Not only that, I had forgotten to "compost" my ticket. But he very kindly said just get off at Tours and get on a train going the right way. So at Tours, I waited an hour and caught the train going to Paris. Yikes!<BR><BR>I think I am reverting to the dumb blonde act of my college day... but this is no act!<BR>

Checked into Le Cl&eacute;ment, just off St. Germain, a block from Mabillon metro stop. Booked a superior double on the street, got a triple for the same price (123 euro)--love that extra bed for stacking things on! No minibar or shower curtain, but newly redone in provincial print wallpaper and tiles, safe in room. The street rooms are said to be noisy, but it wasn’t too bad. There is a soup kitchen next door, but only for lunch. The halls were being painted, but no smell in room and frankly I only ran into workers once. This is a great location, smack dab in the middle of things, and the hotel does have A/C, though I didn’t need it. Breakfast 10 euro, but I discovered you could order a caf&eacute; au lait simple and get a pot of coffee for 3. There are lots of patisseries in the area.<BR><BR>Immediately set off for the Opera area to get Fragonard cologne for a friend’s husband (requested--not an attempt to woo him; my blonde act hasn’t gone that far!). Then to Cave des Cigares near the Madeleine for cigars and pipe for my son--very nice personnel. Then the first of two fruitless trips to Sephora in the boutiques du Carroussel mall (entrance 99 rue de Rivoli across from Benelux); then a bus to Monoprix on rue de Rennes for water, munchies, chocolate and wine. Then another bus 2 stops to the hotel--love that Carte Orange. That water was heavy!<BR>

Since there was a little bar in the breakfast room, I had the presence of mind to ask the guy if he had any ice, so he gave me a bucketful. I made a few phone calls and headed for the Italian place next door. Every once in a while, I need something plain for dinner.<BR><BR>Le Golfe de Naples is hopping every night. I sat outside and had a half bottle of wine and a wonderful vegetarian pizza (eggplant, zucchini, mushrooms, onions, red peppers 9.50). There were loads of people waiting outside for a table inside and this poor little girl was crying her eyes out (probably starving). I offered her a piece of my pizza and she immediately stopped crying (probably astonished that this American woman was speaking to her). She refused, pointing out that she didn’t like the grilled part on the bottom, so I cut that off (this was a piece without veggies BTW), and she finally took it (I got a kiss in return, prompted by mom). I think I saved the day not only for mom and dad, but also for the other customers eating outside!<BR><BR>I went looking for the Baskins & Robbins I remembered, but I think I made a wrong turn (hard to imagine!) (I saw it later somewhere around there) and ended up having a Mexican coffee (Kahlua, etc.) for dessert at Indiana on St. Germain--it was great, and a perfect ending to a long day.<BR>

I hope this continues for a long while, I am enjoying this so much<BR>today reading about the little crying girl and the pizza was perfect!

I love Paris on Sundays—it is so quiet in the mornings, fun to walk around with no noise and traffic congestion. Went to the Egyptian Artisans of the Pharaohs exhibit at the Louvre (5.50, exhibit only) and it was packed. It primarily showed objects from everyday life of these artisans, much of it lovely. If you go early, run to the end of the exhibit to view the full-sized mockup of whatever it was and return to see the rest, because by the time I got to the end, the line to enter the mockup was humongous, and I needed lunch! (Thousands will post to say I missed the best part!)<BR><BR>Across town to Nissam da Camondo and Parc Monceau. Nissam was interesting to see, and what a sad story: I felt so bad--this guy had been really active in Paris benevolent things, his son was killed in WWI, he left his house and goodies (mostly furniture and decorative items) to Paris in 1936, and then his daughter and two lovely grandchildren were deported to Auschwitz in 1943. That said, if I had to choose between the two, I’d pick Jacquemart-Andre. Parc Monceau was packed—there’s nothing like a park on a beautiful Sunday in Paris.<BR><BR>There was also a great florist/flower market on Courcelles between Villiers and Monceau metro stops. Bunches of flowers for 2 euro. If I hadn’t already bought lilacs from the street seller on Buci….<BR>

Had dinner at Au Temps Perdu on rue de Seine. The food was very good (salmon, aspargus, profiteroles), but the personnel were cold. There was a very unpleasant American couple sitting next to me doing that polite arguing ("I’m just sorry you deprive yourself of that experience.."); fortunately, they were almost through with their meal. There was also a lovely American mom and teenage daughter (I thought they might be Andi) seated at another table.<BR><BR>And then there were these odd exchanges (in French). The woman part of couple asked the waitress (in very good French except that she used inclu instead of compris) if the service was included, to which the waitress replied (rather snottily, I thought), "It always is, madame." Later the mom asked if the tip was included, using pourboire instead of service, and the waitress responded Non. So the mom tipped an additional 15-20%.<BR><BR>That was enough for me to give a negative review to this place. If the situation had been reversed (arguing woman instead of nice mom), I might have understood. I may be wrong, but I always assume the tip is included, and leave a little extra for good service.<BR><BR>Today was the first round of elections in France: what a brouhaha about Le Pen’s making the final cut. It was quite a shock! I know C&eacute;cile and her cousin both assumed (like everyone else) that the final round would be Chirac vs. Jospin. It was interesting watching the results ( and the demonstrations) on TV.<BR>

Monday morning I did a little shopping: got several bars of Roget et Gallet’s oatmilk soap at a pharmacy, found Oliviers on rue de Buci and bought olive oil soap and hand cream recommended by Beth, plus a little jar of artichoke spread. I got their chickpea one last time and it was yummy. Then back to Sephora for something else recommended, but they didn’t have it. Lunch at the Caf&eacute; Carroussel on Rivoli—an omelet, which I had been craving since day 1.<BR><BR>Then to Place des Pyramides for the Cityrama 1/2 day tour to Vaux le Vicomte. However, I only had one credit card with me, which didn’t work at Cityrama (which is very odd considering that it was brand new and had functioned perfectly well twice before). I didn’t have time to find an ATM and so had to cash a travelers check at perfectly outrageous rates (virtually even-steven) there at their office. I honestly think that "oh, your credit card doesn’t work" bit is just a ploy. Why can’t they just manually enter the number?<BR><BR>Nonetheless, I was happy to pay a little more and let someone drive me there, especially since I seemed to be making a career of getting lost. The tour was 53 euro lasting from 1:30 – 6:00 including driving time, and there were only 8 people on the bus!<BR><BR>The chateau itself was great—I loved seeing Fouquet’s emblem, squirrels (?) everywhere.<BR>

Fortunately, we were able to go at our own speed, touring the chateau with the listening device, and then on our own to the grounds, so the tour was literally not much more than a bus ride (I went round-trip to Amboise for less than that!). I could probably have used more time in the gardens, but I had about an hour there. I eyed the golf carts, but knowing me, I’d probably have ended up in one of the canals.<BR><BR>I found the story of Fouquet so interesting that I couldn’t help buy a biography in the bookshop. He sounds like an ill-fated genius (also a little na&iuml;ve). Did everything he could to keep the regime financially afloat after the economic collapse of 1648, became minister of finance, built a magnificent chateau, the precursor of Versailles, only to have the rug jerked out from under him by Colbert and Louis XIV, both of whom were jealous of his intelligence, good looks and wealth (not to mention Vaux-le-Vicomte). So he was brought to trial under trumped-up charges, and was banished by the Paris Parliament, which was rigged, but that verdict wasn’t strong enough for Louis, so he banished him to prison in the Italian Alps.<BR><BR>For dinner I went to Bistro de la Grille (corner Mabillon and Guisarde). Friendly personnel. I had asparagus (8), lamb shanks (12) and fondant au chocolat (5-6) Thought the shanks a bit tasteless; the boeuf en daube I had here last year was much better. But the rest was good, as was the ambiance.<BR>

Sue, these are just wonderful! Thank you! I can almost follow your entire itinerary in my mind's eye. And I'm so glad you got to Madame Bigot's in Amboise. I just read a little blurb about it in some fancy travel mag (Cond&eacute; Nast or something like that); like all such articles the writer made it seem like it was some hot place that had just come on the scene, and he'd just discovered it. Little does he know how many decades it's been there and how many thousands of happy customers have passed through its doors.

Sue that was a great report , didn' t realise you had been so busy.<BR>I especially appreciate you referring to me as looking so "young" even though I certainly don't feel it.<BR><BR>See you again soon in Paris <BR><BR>best regards <BR><BR>Mark<BR>Parishuttle<BR>

Sue: Your trip sounds wonderful. Can you give more information about Clos Luce? How far is it out of Amboise? Do you think this could be done as a day trip from Paris? How long did you spend at Clos Luce? Thanks.

Sally, Clos Luc&eacute; is a Renaissance manor house lent by Fran&ccedil;ois I to Leonardo da Vinci, who spent the last four months of his life there. You wander through the house without a guide and then through the basement exhibits. It is in Amboise proper, about a 5 minute walk from the chateau. Entry fee is 6.50 euro. I probably spent a couple of hours there. There are gardens and a modest snack bar.<BR><BR>There is a direct train at approx 7:22 or 9:21 that arrives in Amboise 2 1/2 hours later. For a return, there is a direct at about 5:30, arriving around 8:00. There is also a TGV (involving a brief change about 10 mins out of Amboise) that gets in an hour earlier, but costs about $10 more. (I didn't see a TGV for departure.)<BR><BR>As you see, Amboise isn't as convenient as some other chateau towns, but I don't mind the train ride; I enjoy the down time and often pack a picnic lunch/dinner. And the town itself and sites are quite compact. The RR station is on the other side of the river, but easily walkable to the chateau.<BR><BR>And I think I'm finally ready to finish this puppy off!<BR><BR>

Tuesday was my day to make a pilgrimage to the tip of La Grande Jatte to throw flowers in the Seine in memory of my husband. I went to the florist I found near Nissim da Camondo after not finding any at the flower market on Ile de la Cit&eacute; (seemed to be all potted plants) and got some bright orange daisies. The morning was dark and overcast and when I got there, there were two young women taking rather arty photos (hair blowing in the wind, etc.), but one of them offered to help me up (I’d forgotten the two very steep steps to get up there). I’m glad they were there. I "planted" a sprig in the mud at the base and then tore blossoms off and tossed them in the Seine. When I finished, the sun came out and the day was beautiful.<BR><BR>From there to the Palais Royal to find the Banque de France to exchange my old francs. Entrance on rue Croix des Petits Champs. I visited the Palais Royal gardens on the way and they were absolutely beautiful. In addition to all the flowers, there were several quite modern sculptures. Stood in line to get a number (and a form) (short line) and waited for a window to call me. Even though there were 16 people in front of me, it only took 10-15 minutes. I only had 100 FF, but, as I told the lady, it’ll buy a cup of coffee.<BR>

Then to the Pantheon for moules at La Gueze in honor of Christina. I was so ravenous that I devoured the free little bread and sliced sausage that they brought me (I guess because I bought a beer). Frites didn’t come with the moules, but since it was my last day in Paris, I thought I needed some (11 euro for both). I thought the moules just OK, but it may have been an off-day (for them or me). The Belgian beer was great! At this point I made a management-level decision. I was tired, I had a Fodor meet at 5:00 and it was now 2:00, so I skipped the Pantheon (again) and went book shopping on St. Michel. Good decision. I got a used copy of the mystery I was looking for at Gibert Jeune. Mysteries are now called "polars" (trad: "roman policier"); I swear this word popped up overnight. Then I headed down St. Andr&eacute; des Arts toward St. Germain.<BR><BR>Off to Relais Odeon, where the Fodorites again all seemed to arrive at the same time: Joy and Carol (a friend from one of Joy’s other forums), Beth and Meg, Kip and Barbara, Steve and Diane (hot off the Eurostar). The RO has a little garden out back with bigger tables, so they put us there, which was neat. Next time I’m going back there to check out how that works; I think there is an entrance to the garden off a little alley. I had never noticed that. Again, a good lively group with lots of adventures to recount.