vanne

Day 7 We had a few hours in the morning before we had to leave, so we walked across the Pont des Arts to the Louvre and went to the underground shopping area there. I like to get a gold charm in cities we visit and I’d forgotten to get one; none of the shops there had anything, so we roamed around, but the only jewelry stores in the area were not open yet. We stopped in a perfume, small accessory shop where I found some cute cosmetics bags I thought my niece might like for a birthday present (as is often the case when I shop for others, I ended up keeping them for myself – in this case I knew it was a real possibility so I asked if they had two, but they didn’t). Then it was time to go back to the hotel and get a taxi to the Gare du Nord. We were taking the Eurostar to London, where my English friend’s husband would meet us at the train station and we’d take a commuter train to their home just outside London. We had a wonderful visit with them, but we both regretted having to leave Paris. We’d seen an awful lot, considering the condition of my feet, but there was so much more to see. We never got to Sacre Coeur, or made a day trip to Versailles or Vaux-le-Vicomte. All the more reason to go back again – which we are doing in September.

This was a special trip for us, as I had just completed chemotherapy and radiation following surgery for breast cancer. Mine was caught in the early stages, but no matter, it’s still quite a journey to go through, and this trip was a celebration for me and it was great to be in such a beautiful place, in a way seeing things through new eyes. I want to encourage women to have yearly mammograms (and men to remind them to do so) – it can save your life!

Sue4

Vanne, enjoyed your report, and I'm sure you were glad you went back to Paris with your husband. And what a great celebration after your experience with the radiation, etc. I went thru the same thing 6 years ago, and took a celebratory trip to London after that. Now I try to get to France and/or England (mostly France) as much as possible. I too had been to Paris many, many years ago as a teenager, and had no desire to go back. What a revelation when I finally did - now I can't get enough of it!

vanne

Thanks, Sue - It was great. I finished my treatment the first wk. in Feb. 2006 and waited till April for our trip -- wanted to get some hair back first. As it was,my hair looked a bit like Gertrude Stein's -- appropriate for Paris I guess. Between college and our Paris trip I'd been to England many times (probably 15) and had one trip to Belgium and the Netherlands, but I just never made it back to Paris. Now we can't wait to go back.

Joybird

Thank you so much for your journal. I am new to Fodor's and could spend hours on the site. We are headed to Paris on May 19 for a week and your info on the restaurants you visited (especially Le Grand Colbert) are very much appreciated. I know you are hearing this again, but I too, planned to go to Paris in November of 2005 and was diagnosed with breast cancer. We cancelled the trip then and I went through the chemo/radiation journey, finishing up on Aug. 3, 2006. Now, finally, we are headed to Paris with dear friends from the West Coast. Any additional recommendations you can make would be a great addition to our trip planning. We are staying on L'Universite in an apartment rented from ParisianFlat, not too far from Boulevard St. Germain. Thanks again for all your details.

vanne

Joybird - Life does seem to get in the way of our plans sometimes; we had a trip to Italy all planned in 2002 when I was laid off from my 29-year job and had to cancel. We still haven't taken that one. I tolerated the chemo and radiation very well, but still didn't get out very much during that time as I didn't want to risk catching some bug that might delay my treatments -- I just wanted to get it over with! Plus it was winter in Minneapolis. I think it's probably pretty typical once you've finished with that that you want to celebrate by getting out in the world and seeing it and walk as much as you can, because you never know what you'll find right around the corner!

Don't really have any more restaurant tips -- there are so many from others on this site who've been to Paris many times. The rest of the time we picked up sandwiches or other deli type food, plus we enjoyed the crepe stands you find around the city. None of the restaurants we went to were terribly expensive -- you'll find lots of tips for a big splurge on this site. Grand Colbert, Bofinger, and Le Petit Zinc were all under $100 for 2 (bearing in mind Bob had water and I just one glass of wine). My main advice is take time to really enjoy what you're seeing rather than rushing around to see everything.

DanM

Great report and congratulations on completing your treatments. I have volunteered with Komen here for five years and my son's birthday party this year, by his own choosing, is at our 5K Race for the Cure. He and his friends young and old (he will be eight) are running as a team in honor of a friend's grandmother who had a double masectomy yesterday.

Best wishes to you and your family,
DanM

betteb

Vanne, enjoyed your report. I've just started to plan a trip and all the reports on this site are so helpful.
Best wishes to you for good health!

vickyd

Thanks for your report -- some of your tips will come in useful, particularly the one about the public toilets by Notre Dame! I'm sure it'll come in handy.