<b> Paris, Day 6: November 1st, 2008 </b>

So this morning is La Toussaint, All Saints' Day in France. And it's pouring rain outside. It doesn't tempt me to go out in it since the streets are so narrow and packed it's hard to not hit others with my big umbrella or get hit in the head by theirs! We take our jolly ol' time, have breakfast at the apartment (yogurt, fruit, cookies) and around 11 am or so we venture out to Pompidou. This is the rainy day we'd been waiting for!

We pass through security (just a couple guys checking our handbags) and get in the queue... we wait for probably 25 minutes or so. The fee is 12&euro;. The most popular exhibition is Le futurisme &agrave; Paris, in galerie 1. They only let a certain number of people go in at a time so we get a time printed on our ticket that lets us enter within 30 minutes of that time. We go up the escalators and directly there.

<i> Again, I'll say that we aren't art lovers. We do appreciate and recognize nice paintings, but you won't find us spending hours and hours in museums looking at it </i>

We go through the exhibition at a nice pace. Yes there are some nice paintings, but what we appreciate most is the view. Wow. Even in the rain, it is awesome! We got as far up as we can, but stay inside because it is still pouring. My sister manages to take some awesome pictures with raindrops all over the windows, it is so neat.

My favorite part is the modern art in the permanent collection. I actually enjoy this a lot, as there are some incredibly unique and creative pieces.

After about 3 hours, we are ready to leave. A quick look outside and we see some rays of sunshine peeking through the clouds. Yay! It stopped raining. We both agree we deserve a treat from Amorino's, located right across from the museum exit. I choose a scoop of coconut and a scoop of raspberry, my sister chooses 2 very sweet and rich flavors (cr&egrave;me br&ucirc;l&eacute;e I think and something else). Again, it's 3&euro; and the small is more than enough.

Now that it's nice out, we walk around the area for about an hour, an hour and a half. We pick up a late lunch at LeGay Choc, one of their great formule lunches: baguette sandwich, tart and drink (Coke Zero for me!) for 7&euro;. These sandwiches are very filling... and d&eacute;licieux!

We've been on the go for almost a week and it's starting to get pretty tiring. We just veg out at the apartment for a couple hours before heading on out for an excursion on the Seine! We barely do any research, just a quick Google search and decide to go with Les Vedettes du Pont-Neuf.

It's now dark and a bit drizzly but we have the trusty umbrellas, scarves, gloves and warm clothing. We definitely want to sit on the top level and see everything! The rate is 11&euro; but if we'd been able to print our tickets it would have saved us up to 4&euro;... <i> traveling with a laptop was easy enough but adding a bulky printer? No way. The aggravation would have been more than the 4&euro; savings! </i>

<b> Paris, Day 6: Nov 1, 2008, continued </b>

We take off on the Seine on time... it's dark and dreary (tr&egrave;s froid, drizzly, windy) but who cares??? We are cruising La Seine! We sit at the back but there are really no bad seats. The guide points out all of the main buildings, bridges, the history and many other interesting facts. We cruise along at a nice speed too. Because of the cold, many passengers go down to the lower level, but we stick it out up here!!

Probably what impresses me most is the Eiffel Tower, all lit up in blue. We get some great photo opportunities too. We aren't too far when it starts twinkling at 7 pm on the dot. Such a great show!! Really time just flies by... I wish we could get right back on for the next cruise! This is definitely worth the money and I'm very glad we waited to do it after dark.

It's now just cold, no longer drizzling, so we walk along the Seine and take pictures. It's Saturday night, we should go out to la discoth&egrave;que!! Seriously though, we aren't into the club scene at home so we aren't interested in going here either. But we do deserve a cr&ecirc;pe!! We find a vendor who makes them fresh in front of us (instead of just reheating some from a stack) and I get mine with Nutella and coconut, while my sister gets Nutella and hazelnuts. I think this is around 3&euro;50, but it's huge! We keep on walking as we eat this, yummmmmmy!

Finally around 10 we make our way back to the apartment. Waiting for us are the same types of emails: &quot;You are in Paris but haven't gone up the Eiffel Tower yet???&quot; Maybe demain, we reply!

Dinner is just cheese and fruit... I'm still full from that cr&ecirc;pe and this afternoon's baguette sandwich!

<i> La Toussaint isn't what it used to be, I guess. All stores and shops are open, and you really can't tell it's a holiday in the city. Just like Halloween!! </i>

Demain: L'Open tour around the city, Montmartre, l'Arc de Triomphe and macarons from McDonald's!!

I'm still following your footsteps in Paris! A few years ago we were in Paris in Feb and we went on a Seine cruise. All I remember from that one was my whole body was frozen solid! I'm impressed how you were able to enjoy it despite the cold.

For future reference, Vedettes du Pont-Neuf has a 3rd ticket option: a &euro;2-off coupon which you can print out at home in advance, and present it when you buy your ticket at the ticket window. The &euro;2 saved could buy you another ice cream.

yk, true, that would be an option for the future. Saving 2&euro; would have been worth it!

We never had anything set in stone before we left, that's why we didn't research the cruises...

<b> Paris, Day 7: Nov 2, 2008 </b>

This is the first Sunday of the month, so museums are free throughout the city.

We wake up to a nice, sunny day. It is somewhat chilly, but we're from Canada so it's not <b> that </b> bad! We are at the Open Tour bus stop before the first bus arrives. The plan is to buy the 2 day pass for 32&euro;. We get on the bus and ask for our 2 day passes and the driver asks if we are in Paris on Tuesday. Turns out they are exceptionally closed on Monday so they will honor the 2 day passes on Tuesday only. Bummer! We are in Bruges on Tuesday, so we go ahead with the 1 day pass.

We get on the Grand Tour first, which goes to the main monuments: Notre-Dame, Arc de Triomphe, Tour Eiffel. Of course there is commentary along the way, so we really enjoy this.

For some reason at Place de la Concorde, my sister decides to get off. I step down with her but don't agree, so we get into our first (and only) fight here. We pay 29&euro; to tour via the top of a bus and she makes us get off and walk??? Yes the place is beautiful and we haven't been here yet, but I start regretting my money. Because we are in November, we are in the reduced hours schedule, so the last bus we can get on is at 5 pm... so I want to get my money's worth!

<i> I'm not sure I've mentioned yet that we are French Canadian. We speak a different French so I'm not sure when we speak fast and between ourselves that many others understand us </i>

So we walk and argue... making our way through the Jardins des Tuileries (which is really beautiful!!) and finally end up at the Louvre. The line-up is soooo long, as it is free to enter.

We make up <i> (we always make up fast!!) </i> and stand at the bus stop to get back on, different line this time, we get on the one that goes to the Bastille and Bercy.

This is very enjoyable and we get to see an area of Paris we wouldn't have otherwise seen.

It's now after noon and we get hungry, so we get off at l'Eglise de la Madeleine stop. (I can't remember if we switched buses). We walk around the area... the church itself is stunning, I love it!!

Unfortunately, many shops are closed as it is Sunday. I would have loved to go into Maille, the mustard shop, but no luck. We settle on a busy restaurant really close by, which the name escapes me now, but it was really good. I got moules-frites and my sister got spaghetti bolognese. I am craving soda so I splurge and get a 4&euro;50 glass of Coke! It was all delicious. The mussels were about 12&euro;, so not bad. We're too full for dessert and we still want to take advantage of the tour while we can.

To be honest, the rest of the afternoon is a bit of a blur... we switch buses a few times, ride through the 9th arrondissement, and we finally end up in Montmartre, which we want to visit. It is close to 5 pm by now, so by the time we walk up (the bus drops us off at near the metro stop, at the bottom of the hill), we know we'll have to find another mode of transportation to get back.

<b> Paris, Day 7, November 2nd, 2008.. continued </b>

So we arrive at le Sacr&eacute; Coeur a bit before it gets dark, so we can get some really nice pictures. I find this is the place we got bugged most by young guys trying to sell us some bracelets?? I don't know exactly what they were selling, just know they were very annoying. And they stick together in small groups, so it is intimidating. We manage to make it all the way to the top and go into the church... there's a service going on so we have to be very quiet. We go back out to enjoy the view... spectacular, as always!!! We then make our way behind the church towards la Place du Tertre. A bit late as many are packing up, but we still get a feel for the place.

We do a bit of shopping in the many shops that are still open. There are large crowds, which surprises me, for this time of day. I would have loved to grab dinner here as the atmosphere is pleasant, but we were still full from our late lunch. We did get a couple &eacute;clairs at a nice bakery... coffee for me, chocolate for my sis. Delicious!!

By the time we get back down to Sacr&eacute; Coeur it is dark, so it makes for some very nice pictures too!

We walk down to the metro stop and we realize that we can go directly to Charles de Gaulle &Eacute;toile (l'Arc de Triomphe) without switching! It sounds like the perfect night to go up.

We get there and don't find too many crowds, considering it is free. We appreciate the 9&euro; we saved! I honestly didn't remember how many steps there were to go up... I was younger and weighed less during my last 2 visits, but the climb here almost killed me!!! (it didn't help that we climbed lots of stairs at Sacr&eacute; Coeur just before!!). I take a few breaks in the staircase but I finally make it all the way up. Wow. It is beautiful here, the view is great!! For some reason there is not a lot of traffic though, which is a bit disappointing as watching the cars in the traffic circle below is a lot of fun!!

It is cold but we probably stay about an hour... You have to go to all the sides to look at the views...

We go down and walk on Les Champs &Eacute;lys&eacute;es for a while... most of the shops are open so we do a bit of shopping. I am still amazed at how busy Sephora is!! By now it is close to 8 pm and we're hungry again so we stop in McDonald's to check out the burgers! I know, I know, we have thousands of bistros and restaurants and pick McDonald's??? There's just something about a burger that is so appealing tonight... We take one burger each to go and 1 macaron in the 5 flavors they offer (citron, framboise, chocolat, caf&eacute; and pistache). They sell them for 0.90&euro; each...

We get back to the apartment, add salad greens to our plates and enjoy dinner and a quiet rest of the evening in. Even though we rode around in a bus most of the day, it was one of the most tiring yet.

Our experience with l'Open Tour was really good... I just wish we could have had the 2 day pass... 29&euro; is a lot, but much cheaper than taxi fare... you can cover a lot of ground by subway but you miss out on all the sights!!! The 32&euro; for 2 days would have been a good deal, imo.

Tomorrow: Walking, shopping, la Gare du Nord and la Tour Eiffel, finally!

Ruby,

Yes, we did have a great time staying on the Ile Saint Louis. I was hesitant to stay there because I didn't know if it would be too touristy. We arrived at the apt. on a Sunday afternoon, and we really didn't see too many tourists until maybe midway through the week - it was really nice since it had a more neighborhood feel on Sunday &amp; Monday. We did get really spoiled by all the lovely places to get ice cream, gelato, crepes, chocolates, etc.

Is LeGay Choc a chain like the Paul boulangeries? That's a great deal for 7 euros, but the more I read stuff on Fodors, it seems like alot of patisseries have this meal option.

My sister and I seem like you and your sister when it comes to disagreements - unless it's over something huge and life-threatening, we usually get over a tift rather quickly. I remember taking the bus tour on our first trip, but we didn't use it for the whole day - after reading your report, I wish we did! Sounds like fun, and as you said, you can still see Paris as opposed to being in the metro all day.

Ruby99 - lovely hearing your adventures - About the &quot;Bracelet&quot; guys: They are trying to sell you a lucky charm bracelet by winding some wool/cotton thread around your wrists. Sort of French Voodoo -They then ask for the money. Don't know how much but could be as high as 2-5 euros depending on how gullible you look!
Most people like me just side-step them and keep walking.

Anna, I will definitely consider l'Ile St-Louis next time... and hopefully when Berthillon is open!!!

LeGay Choc only has 2 locations, both in the 4th arrondissement. Worth trying at least once... and yes to the formules-lunch, you can get a lot of those around lunchtime, for great prices!

Tod, thanks for letting me know what they were up to! It is intimidating though when a bunch of them go after you, if you are by yourself. I really didn't enjoy my time at Sacr&eacute;-Coeur as much as I thought I would, because of them...

<b> Paris, day 8... November 3rd </b>

This morning we sleep in until about 9:30 since we know tomorrow we have to be up extremely early to catch our train to Bruges. I take my time, getting ready, eating breakfast, doing a bit of research online and watching French tv. I think it is close to noon by the time we head on out, Google map directions to get to La Gare du Nord. By foot it says 35 minutes, but I know that can very well be as much as 45 minutes, so we get to the nearest metro stop that's on line 4, Etienne Marcel. We want to keep it very simple for 6 am in the morning!

We get to Gare du Nord, what a huge place! I had chosen to retrieve my tickets from the self-printing machines, but I knew that my Credit Card didn't have a chip, so we'd have a problem there. I get in line to ask for info, hoping they can help me. After a 10 minute wait, I get to the window and the lady tells me I'm in the wrong line... the train stuff is all upstairs.

Ok, we go upstairs and get in the right line... I have the computer print-outs and the Credit Card I used to make the reservation. The lady is extremely nice and helpful, prints all tickets and even asks if we need accomodation help in Bruges. She then reminds us to make absolutely sure we &quot;composte&quot; the tickets before we get on.

Composte?? Where I come from composte is the stuff you put in the garden... a quick google search though tells us this is what we'd call validating.

She also recommends getting there 20 minutes ahead of departure. Great, we leave at 6:58, so this means we'll have to leave the apartment around 6 am, to give us plenty of time in case we get lost or the metro doesn't run too often at that time of the morning.

We just roam around the 1st and 2nd arrondissements the rest of the afternoon. My sister tries some clothes on but I'm not in the mood, so just window shop. I can't even remember what we eat, but it must be something on-the-go, cuz I can't find pictures.

On the way back to the apartment, I go back to Pain de Sucre and the very nice guy points out a new type of p&acirc;tisserie, &agrave; l'&eacute;rable (maple), so I get one of those and a big white snowball-like pastry for my sister.

We then make plans to get to the Eiffel Tower right around dusk. Again, it'll make for good pictures. I can't imagine it'll be too busy on a Monday night, around 5 pm. Well by the time we get there, walk from the metro to the north tower, it is about 6 pm. The line is long... there is a sign that says it could be up to a 45 minute wait from the 2nd floor to the top too! We aren't going anywhere though, day 8 in Paris and we haven't been up the Tower yet... We stand in line with hundreds of others.

It actually doesn't feel this long, but we wait a good hour to go in. Of course we seem to always pick the lines at the wickets that are the slowest, so that doesn't help.
Un billet for the sommet (top) is 12&euro;.

We wait again on the 2nd floor, but it isn't so bad... we are actually in the Tower so that itself is pretty exciting.

When we get to the top, it is breathtaking, as expected. My 3rd time here and it's as wonderful as my first time. My sister is busy taking pictures from all sides and angles... I find we are so far up everything looks tiny, I actually preferred the view from l'Arc de Triomphe.

There is someone selling champagne at 10&euro; per flute... If I'd been up here with a lover I'm sure I would have wanted some, it would have added to the romanticism. But I pass this time, since I'm not that big of a champagne drinker anyway.

I think we stay about an hour, then go down to the 2nd floor and explore there again. I go into the gift shop and buy a really nice Christmas tree ornament, 10&euro;. It'll last many many years longer than the champagne would have

It's probably about 8 pm by the time we leave... The queue is non-existent when we go out... if I were to come another time I'd come closer to closing for sure.

We're pretty hungry by now but don't want a sit-down dinner, so we stop at a restaurant that has an outdoor set-up for crepes, paninis and sandwiches. We each get a chicken and cheese panini to go and a drink, I think for around 5&euro;.

We eat dinner and dessert at the apartment, clean up and put away the dishes. I also have time to dry the clothes I washed in the morning. The dryer takes forever, but since this is just a load of underwear, within 2 hours it's dry!!

It's time to pack a small carry-on (as we'll just be gone 1 night) and put everything close to the door for when we get up in the morning.

5 am will be here sooner than we'd like!

Tomorrow: Train travel to Bruges!!

Really liking your report Ruby, well done. I also like the italic asides!!

Awaiting the next installment, don't delay!!

Schnauzer

Ruby99, where are you? and where is the rest of this fabulous report???

shake a leg!!!

Schnauzer

Enjoying Paris again through your report.

As a few others have mentioned, we also stayed in an apt. on Ile St. Louis in Sept.

Amorino was right across the street from our apt. and it stayed open until 11PM so it was a nice after dinner treat. Didn't you just love the way they made the cones in the shape of a flower?

Paris is our favorite place and this was our 6th trip there. I did take notes on some of your restaurants, etc. for next time. And there will be a next time as you can never get enough of Paris, at least IMO.

I'm here Just busy... I'll complete this by the end of the weekend, hopefully!

Ruby...

Great report. I didn't catch it when you first posted. I was in Paris in September and I'm enjoying reliving Paris through your report!

Hello from Shediac...

Nice to read your posts. Awesome job. C\est pas pire...Tu dois etre une acadienne.

How was the weather? What temps? How much were the tickets to Bruges?

Can't wait to read the rest and see the pics.

Where are you from?

Bookmarking.

I can't wait to read this all!

Can't wait for more...