Trip Report. Curse you Air France , Thank you Air France
Nov 6th, 2007, 09:38 AM
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Trip Report. Curse you Air France , Thank you Air France
This is my first trip report filed on Fodor’s. It is probably way too long. We used a lot of great information from the travelers that post on the site. So I thought I would post our experiences in case any info helps someone else.
Our original itinerary was to be Paris 5 nights, Asolo in Italy 3 nights then Venice 4 nights and back to Paris for 2 nights. The actual itinerary was Paris, Beaune, Paris.
We stayed at the Hotel Duc de Saint Simon in 7e. We splurged for a suite this time. Not really worth the extra $ as the bed was tiny, it seemed smaller than a double and we are not big people. Also the furniture in the sitting room although they may be real French antiques were useless to sit on they were so uncomfortable. Still one of the quietest locations in Paris and in our favorite area.
Paris was as beautiful as we remembered, glorious clear weather for 5 days. We have been to Paris 3 previous times and never had weather this nice so the extra walking due to Metro strike was a pleasure. Our favorite thing to do in Paris is just pick an area and wander semi aimlessly.We did quite a few museums big and small. The 4 day museum pass was worth it both in terms of money saved and lines avoided. It allows so much more freedom if you are wandering and near a museum you can just pop in. There were a few I might not have paid another fee for but we were walking by and since we had the pass we said, hey why not? You also can just stay a little while see what you want and not feel like you are wasting money.
We are big on food and wine so we did have many restaurants picked out in advance. If you are serious about where to eat in Paris the Pudlo guide is the best guide we have ever found. It is now printed in English so there is no excuse for eating a bad meal! No restaurants with food pictures out front please!
Our choices:
Violon d’Ingres 7e– fantastic modern gourmet bistro with great gourmet level food at pretty moderate prices. Multiple star food in a casual atmosphere without the stuffy formal service. One of our favorites this trip.
Le Dome 14e – Classic seafood at not very moderate prices, but the best sole munierre in Paris IMO. Oysters were some of the best I have had anywhere. Great old Paris atmosphere with photos of all the famous artists and writers that used to hang out there and pay for dinner by scribbling drawings on napkins.
Chez les Anges 7e - sleek modern décor, good food but a notch below Violon.
Georges 4e – Top of the Pompidou. No visit to this museum of modern - art? Is complete without lunch at Georges, To me the building is more interesting than the art inside and Georges is the best part of the building. We had a crystal clear day so the views were fantastic and the food is very good modern French cuisine with an Asian twist. Pricey but the views are spectacular. It’s in the movie Le Divorce where Kate Hudson is taken by the older Frenchman.
Le Meurice 1e- Michelin 3 star for lunch. Worth every penny for ultra luxurious surroundings and formal service but very comfortable and friendly. Food was very creative although I thought a few dishes had one too many ingredients. No need for some over the top garnishes. The lunch menu at 75 E was very good value for this level of food.
Taillevent 8e – Lunch again. Maybe not cutting edge but everything was prepared perfectly and more soul satisfying than Le Meurice. Service beyond reproach and very welcoming and warm inside. 70E for lunch menu with all the extras including complimentary armangnac a real deal. If this place was near where I live it would be my “go to” special occasion place, and I’d find more things to make a special occasion out of.
Les Cocottes 7e – This is the casual side of Violon d’Ingres . It is similar to a tapas bar. Small plates, hot dishes served in Staub cast iron cocottes, thus the name. Great walk in place. Food was very good. A real bargain for simple things like duck confit.
Au Petite Tonneaue 7e- Like going to a French grandmere’s for dinner. Good simple market based bistro classics.
Le Ferrandaise 6e – Great spot. Bistro food with a provencal influence. This one is worth seeking out.
Bofinger 4e – A classic brasserie my favorite of the genre. Great oysters and all the brasserie classics.
Le Boef Sur la Toit 8e – Another big brasserie with great Art Deco decor. I still like Bofinger better.
Mon Viel Ami 4e – Ile Saint Louis, hard to find. Modern Alsatian cuisine. Food was outstanding, huge portions with an emphasis on vegetables. Vegetarians take note. But the space is just too small for the number of tables. I know they need to maximize space but this was just too tight. Best single dish of trip though. If you don’t mind eating one handed so you are not poking the person at the next table go because the food was very good.
So first 5 days in Paris fantastic. On to Venice. Best laid plans can go haywire, and when life hands you citrons you make citronade. What can I say, we hit all the strikes in France dead on. First the train and Metro strike which caused a very long expensive taxi ride from CDG to Paris and a little more walking than expected but not a big deal. The Air France strike was what changed our trip. Our flight to Venice was cancelled on the first day of the surprise strike by flight attendants. The terminal became absolute chaos and rebooking to another flight was iffy at best as no one knew what flights would fly the next day and would there be any seats even available. We decided to accept our losses and just stay in France stroll along the Seine and not spend vacation days in the overcrowded super tense atmosphere of the airport terminal. It proved to be a good decision as the strike lasted another 5 days and took longer than that to get back to normal. Could we have gotten to Venice? Maybe, but the hassle did not seem worth it we had been to Venice before we can go again. So Back to Paris and on to plan B.
We went back to Paris and were able to get a room for 1 night at Pavillion de la Reine in Place des Vosges. This was the hotel we planned to stay at our last 2 nights. I can not say enough good things about the the staff here. The took us in helped us find another hotel since they were booked soild the next few nights. Made the train reservations to go to Beaune. Called Air France to find our missing bag. Oh I forgot to mention the lost bag with all our warm coats and 1/2 our other clothes. It only took 6 days to get it back. There were over 5000 lost bags due to the strike. I now know how little to pack next time. You really don’t need all the stuff. All the carry on only people feel free to pile on.
3 more days of Paris doing some of the things we did not have time for the first 5 days. Stayed 2 nights at Hotel Square in 16e. Very modern not a square line to be seen, all curves. A 16 room W hotel with much better service. Seemed like a place that would be in Milan or Barcelona. A real change from all the traditional French décor.
Still had 4 days so decided to go to Beaune in Burgundy. This is one of the great small towns in France. Medieval walls surrounding a very quaint picturesque village. Great food even better wine at prices you can’t touch here in the states if you can even find the wines here. Rented a car toured the wine country. Lots of picnics along the small lanes of Grand Cru vineyards. Just pull over, open a bottle of Cote de Beaune pull out the fromage, baguette and pastries and enjoy one of the best meals in France. Great choice to quiet down after the hectic pace of Paris. Special restaurant mention in Beaune; Le Part des Anges a young couple pushing the creative envelope for tradition bound Burgundy. Wish I could go there once a week. Very hip décor and food that would be at ease in New York or San Francisco but is still recognizable as rooted in the Burgundy classics. Think escargot ravioli in garlic saffron foam, wild duck confit with hoisin glaze. YUM! I could not get over the prices on the wines at his place in a good way! I would pay more here for retail.
Back to Paris for last 2 days. Pavillion de la Rein in the Place des Vosges. Did I mention how great the staff are at this hotel? Maybe I did but they deserve it again. Explored the Marais falafels at the famous place in the old Jewish quarter. Big night at the Opera. Tosca at Bastille Opera House. This place is pretty ugly on the outside but I thought it was very cool on the inside and all the seats have a good view and good acoustics. I know Garnier is like going back in time but if you want to see and hear the opera the Bastille is great.
The return flight on American was all on time and no lost bags.
Bottom line; Great trip. Air France messed us up but we were flexible and saw more of Paris and experienced one of a great small towns in France.
THE END
Our original itinerary was to be Paris 5 nights, Asolo in Italy 3 nights then Venice 4 nights and back to Paris for 2 nights. The actual itinerary was Paris, Beaune, Paris.
We stayed at the Hotel Duc de Saint Simon in 7e. We splurged for a suite this time. Not really worth the extra $ as the bed was tiny, it seemed smaller than a double and we are not big people. Also the furniture in the sitting room although they may be real French antiques were useless to sit on they were so uncomfortable. Still one of the quietest locations in Paris and in our favorite area.
Paris was as beautiful as we remembered, glorious clear weather for 5 days. We have been to Paris 3 previous times and never had weather this nice so the extra walking due to Metro strike was a pleasure. Our favorite thing to do in Paris is just pick an area and wander semi aimlessly.We did quite a few museums big and small. The 4 day museum pass was worth it both in terms of money saved and lines avoided. It allows so much more freedom if you are wandering and near a museum you can just pop in. There were a few I might not have paid another fee for but we were walking by and since we had the pass we said, hey why not? You also can just stay a little while see what you want and not feel like you are wasting money.
We are big on food and wine so we did have many restaurants picked out in advance. If you are serious about where to eat in Paris the Pudlo guide is the best guide we have ever found. It is now printed in English so there is no excuse for eating a bad meal! No restaurants with food pictures out front please!
Our choices:
Violon d’Ingres 7e– fantastic modern gourmet bistro with great gourmet level food at pretty moderate prices. Multiple star food in a casual atmosphere without the stuffy formal service. One of our favorites this trip.
Le Dome 14e – Classic seafood at not very moderate prices, but the best sole munierre in Paris IMO. Oysters were some of the best I have had anywhere. Great old Paris atmosphere with photos of all the famous artists and writers that used to hang out there and pay for dinner by scribbling drawings on napkins.
Chez les Anges 7e - sleek modern décor, good food but a notch below Violon.
Georges 4e – Top of the Pompidou. No visit to this museum of modern - art? Is complete without lunch at Georges, To me the building is more interesting than the art inside and Georges is the best part of the building. We had a crystal clear day so the views were fantastic and the food is very good modern French cuisine with an Asian twist. Pricey but the views are spectacular. It’s in the movie Le Divorce where Kate Hudson is taken by the older Frenchman.
Le Meurice 1e- Michelin 3 star for lunch. Worth every penny for ultra luxurious surroundings and formal service but very comfortable and friendly. Food was very creative although I thought a few dishes had one too many ingredients. No need for some over the top garnishes. The lunch menu at 75 E was very good value for this level of food.
Taillevent 8e – Lunch again. Maybe not cutting edge but everything was prepared perfectly and more soul satisfying than Le Meurice. Service beyond reproach and very welcoming and warm inside. 70E for lunch menu with all the extras including complimentary armangnac a real deal. If this place was near where I live it would be my “go to” special occasion place, and I’d find more things to make a special occasion out of.
Les Cocottes 7e – This is the casual side of Violon d’Ingres . It is similar to a tapas bar. Small plates, hot dishes served in Staub cast iron cocottes, thus the name. Great walk in place. Food was very good. A real bargain for simple things like duck confit.
Au Petite Tonneaue 7e- Like going to a French grandmere’s for dinner. Good simple market based bistro classics.
Le Ferrandaise 6e – Great spot. Bistro food with a provencal influence. This one is worth seeking out.
Bofinger 4e – A classic brasserie my favorite of the genre. Great oysters and all the brasserie classics.
Le Boef Sur la Toit 8e – Another big brasserie with great Art Deco decor. I still like Bofinger better.
Mon Viel Ami 4e – Ile Saint Louis, hard to find. Modern Alsatian cuisine. Food was outstanding, huge portions with an emphasis on vegetables. Vegetarians take note. But the space is just too small for the number of tables. I know they need to maximize space but this was just too tight. Best single dish of trip though. If you don’t mind eating one handed so you are not poking the person at the next table go because the food was very good.
So first 5 days in Paris fantastic. On to Venice. Best laid plans can go haywire, and when life hands you citrons you make citronade. What can I say, we hit all the strikes in France dead on. First the train and Metro strike which caused a very long expensive taxi ride from CDG to Paris and a little more walking than expected but not a big deal. The Air France strike was what changed our trip. Our flight to Venice was cancelled on the first day of the surprise strike by flight attendants. The terminal became absolute chaos and rebooking to another flight was iffy at best as no one knew what flights would fly the next day and would there be any seats even available. We decided to accept our losses and just stay in France stroll along the Seine and not spend vacation days in the overcrowded super tense atmosphere of the airport terminal. It proved to be a good decision as the strike lasted another 5 days and took longer than that to get back to normal. Could we have gotten to Venice? Maybe, but the hassle did not seem worth it we had been to Venice before we can go again. So Back to Paris and on to plan B.
We went back to Paris and were able to get a room for 1 night at Pavillion de la Reine in Place des Vosges. This was the hotel we planned to stay at our last 2 nights. I can not say enough good things about the the staff here. The took us in helped us find another hotel since they were booked soild the next few nights. Made the train reservations to go to Beaune. Called Air France to find our missing bag. Oh I forgot to mention the lost bag with all our warm coats and 1/2 our other clothes. It only took 6 days to get it back. There were over 5000 lost bags due to the strike. I now know how little to pack next time. You really don’t need all the stuff. All the carry on only people feel free to pile on.
3 more days of Paris doing some of the things we did not have time for the first 5 days. Stayed 2 nights at Hotel Square in 16e. Very modern not a square line to be seen, all curves. A 16 room W hotel with much better service. Seemed like a place that would be in Milan or Barcelona. A real change from all the traditional French décor.
Still had 4 days so decided to go to Beaune in Burgundy. This is one of the great small towns in France. Medieval walls surrounding a very quaint picturesque village. Great food even better wine at prices you can’t touch here in the states if you can even find the wines here. Rented a car toured the wine country. Lots of picnics along the small lanes of Grand Cru vineyards. Just pull over, open a bottle of Cote de Beaune pull out the fromage, baguette and pastries and enjoy one of the best meals in France. Great choice to quiet down after the hectic pace of Paris. Special restaurant mention in Beaune; Le Part des Anges a young couple pushing the creative envelope for tradition bound Burgundy. Wish I could go there once a week. Very hip décor and food that would be at ease in New York or San Francisco but is still recognizable as rooted in the Burgundy classics. Think escargot ravioli in garlic saffron foam, wild duck confit with hoisin glaze. YUM! I could not get over the prices on the wines at his place in a good way! I would pay more here for retail.
Back to Paris for last 2 days. Pavillion de la Rein in the Place des Vosges. Did I mention how great the staff are at this hotel? Maybe I did but they deserve it again. Explored the Marais falafels at the famous place in the old Jewish quarter. Big night at the Opera. Tosca at Bastille Opera House. This place is pretty ugly on the outside but I thought it was very cool on the inside and all the seats have a good view and good acoustics. I know Garnier is like going back in time but if you want to see and hear the opera the Bastille is great.
The return flight on American was all on time and no lost bags.
Bottom line; Great trip. Air France messed us up but we were flexible and saw more of Paris and experienced one of a great small towns in France.
THE END
Nov 6th, 2007, 09:54 AM
#2
hi, scfphoto,
loved the report. shows that you don't need to panic if you haven't got every minute planned 6 months in advance!
Where are you gonig next - let us know so that we don't get hit by the strikes too!
regards, ann
loved the report. shows that you don't need to panic if you haven't got every minute planned 6 months in advance!
Where are you gonig next - let us know so that we don't get hit by the strikes too!
regards, ann
Nov 6th, 2007, 10:15 AM
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The dish was lievre. Or wild hare stuffed with its kidneys and liver cooked in a sauce of red wine and its own blood, with loads of trumpet mushrooms not a dish for the squeamish! What depth of flavour though. I love that kind of food.
Nov 6th, 2007, 10:19 AM
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Wonderful! Is that Lievre a la Royale?
I spent a week on the Ile last fall and walked by Mon Viel Ami many times, but just did not have time to sample...next time, in game season, I will put it on my list!
Really good report..cut right to the chase! Thanks!
I spent a week on the Ile last fall and walked by Mon Viel Ami many times, but just did not have time to sample...next time, in game season, I will put it on my list!
Really good report..cut right to the chase! Thanks!
Nov 6th, 2007, 10:30 AM
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Yes Lievre al a Royal. Could not remember the whole name. Not something served here in California. Watch out for the buckshot! Can anyone explain why France can have such a supply of wild mushrooms? Do they cultivate or is it all forraged?
Nov 6th, 2007, 02:35 PM
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Not really, We can use a credit for an equivalent amount on another Air France flight within a year I think. We are trying to find out if we can use it on a code share as we have no plans for a trip back to France. So I think we are going to end up writing this one off to just bad luck. We did get an e-mail apology from the CEO of Air France. I felt much better.
Nov 6th, 2007, 05:19 PM
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Thanks for some great recs, scfphoto. Your report illustrates why we almost always fly Air France to Europe. We figure that if we are going to be stuck somewhere because of strikes, we couldn’t find a better place than Paris!
But why not use your AF credit to fly somewhere else in Europe, since AF goes almost everywhere from CDG?
But why not use your AF credit to fly somewhere else in Europe, since AF goes almost everywhere from CDG?
Nov 7th, 2007, 06:30 AM
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Answers to the two questions. First we do not have plans to travel to Europe in the next year and the credit is only $400 for both tickets. So would not get us much. We are hoping we can use them on United here in the states but not holding our breath. The Hotel in Beaune was Hotel Cedre it was very nice not luxurious but we were very comfortable. It is in a nwere building so it had pretty modern up to date rooms. It is just outside the walls but a very easy 5 minute walk into the main part of town. Good restaurant and very nice bar/lobby with cozy fireplace. The other hotel that looks very nice and gets a lot more hype in the guide books is Hotel Cep. It is right in town in old buildings on a narrow street.I heard some rooms are great and others very tiny and dark. Which is the case many times when a hotel is put in old historic buildings.
