Kristina, I went to your website. It's great. Your pictures are wonderful. What kind of digital camera are you using? We leave for Paris on the 12th of the month and we are considering a new digital prior to our trip.

Thanks!
Jean

Pumpkin-
Thanks! The camera (for the Paris trip only) is an inexpensive Nikon coolpix with, I think, only 2MP resolution. But we brought it because it was much smaller and lighter than our other, higher res camera. I like the Nikon, it's easy to use. I'd buy another.

I know some of you are waiting for Lyon info. I just haven't gotten to it but will try later tonight.

Roamer-I know you leave tomorrow. Don't miss the Roman ruins and the the fantastic museum of Roman artifacts in Lyon. The museum is especially nice because they have Engligh translations on almost every description of every artifact. As for restaurants, you can't go wrong with any of the Jean Paul Lacombe places. Just go into one and pick up a card, it lists all of them. Or, go to www.leondelyon.com

More later...

I am enjoying your report as well. Ahhgggh.. I feel your pain, I got a bad oyster once-upon-a-time. What a good sport and trooper you are to ... move on!

Now, I'm off to your pictures and website.!

Thanks Kristina

Day 6:
This morning, still not feeling well, we tried to take it easy, but we also wanted to see some of Lyon. After breakfast, we walked with T over to the outdoor market that borders the Soane river on the Quai St. Antoine. Weekdays it's relatively small, only about 3 blocks long, but on weekends, it swells to at least double. T left us to go to work for a while and we walked across the river to check out some of the sights in the old town.

First we went inside the Cathedral St Jean. This church was built between the 12th and 14th centuries. The front faces away from the river and into a tiny, quiet plaza were we sat for a few minutes and contemplated the lovely facade. Inside, there's a fascinating astronomical clock which shows religious feast days until 2019. I've never seen anything like it, ever.

From the plaza in front of St. Jean, we walked about a block to our left the funicular that goes up the steep hill. There are two funiculars, one that goes up to the basilica, and one that goes up to the roman ruins. We were able to use our metro tickets from the carnet we'd purchased the day before and chose to visit the basilica first. The ride took one minute and let us off right in front, at the Plaza de Fourviere.

The Basilique Notre-Dame de Fourviere is considered by some to look like an upside down elephant. A lot of people think it's hideous, but I rather liked it. It was built around the same time as Sacre Couer in Paris (late 19th century) and shares a lot of similarities of architecture. My guidebook calls it "gaudy mock-Byzantine-a riot of turrets and crenelations, marble and mosaic". Yes, the inside is a sensory overload mass of gilded mosaics, but it's still fantastic. I don't think the exterior is as graceful as Sacre Couer however. The view from behind the church is phenomenal and looks out over Lyon for miles. You can really get a feel for how big the city is from up there (it's the second largest city in France).

From the church, we checked the map, and then walked about three blocks over to the Roman ruins, which consist of two amphitheaters, one large, one small, built around 15 BC. The big one sat about 30,000 people and is still used for performances today. Before exploring the ruins, we went into the Musee de la Civilisation Gallo-Romaine. This is a wonderful museum built right into the hillside next to the amphitheater. It's filled with Roman antiquities including jewelry, coins, statues, and a couple complete mosaic tile floors which reminded me of Pompeii. What's really nice is that all of the artifact descriptions are in both French and English. The museum is free on Thursdays, so we got lucky, but I think the normal entrance is only 3 euros or so. We were starting to get tired so we walked down through the ruins, down the hill, and back to the market which was just shutting down for the day. Unfortunately, neither one of us had an appetite, so we couldn't go to any of the restaurants for lunch I'd so carefully researched. Oh well, maybe next time. Instead, we bought some fruit from the vendors who were closing up and went back to the apartment.

I liked the Gallo-Roman Museum too.

The way they had the view over the ruins with a model next to the window of what it probably looked like was fascinating.

Ok, day 3 is now on my website; lots of pictures included!

Wonderful report, great descriptions of the restaurants. I'm going to keep them in my folder.

Bummer that you got sick. It sounds to me like you had the stomach flu instead of food poisoning. Food poisoning rarely lasts longer than 48hrs...usually only 24.

Looking forward to the rest of your report.

Jim-
Yes, it could have been a "flu" although my husband had it a bit as well, and he ate all the same things I did (meaning he usually finishes my meals). :-) So, who knows? Ultimately, it doesn't really matter, we still had a great time.

((8)) ((8)) I love Paris in the springtime..........((8))

TTT

Kristina,

I'm very impressed with your website and travel adventures. I wish I have a life as fabulously jet-setting as yours.

May I ask, if it's not too personal of a question, what do you and your husband do for a living in order to afford the time and finances for this kind of adventure?

BTW, I live and work in NYC and I grew up in Malaysia. I'm glad you enjoyed KL & Penang (report on wired2theworld).

Ming-
Well, we make travel a priority. He's an elementary school teacher and I work in the restaurant business, so we aren't rich by any means. It's all about making choices. One of our cars is over 10 years old and our house is "affordable" as well. For the RTW trip we saved for a long time before we left and then traveled fairly "budget". Now we go on shorter trips (one to two weeks) and are more comfortable. I still make budget conscious choices however, like to stay in an apartment rather than a hotel in Paris (our cost was only a little over $100 per night, including the 2 nights we weren't even there).
Yes, we liked Malaysia and hope to be able to go back someday.

Hi Kristina.
I love your report, and your website. Your adventures and those reported by others on this site (Stu Dudley, Elaine, Etienne, Miss Daisy, Scarlett,dln & Marcy) have got me salivating in anticipation, as we will spend the first half of June in France, with a week in Paris and 10 days in Provence. My plans (and I'm a compulsive planner) have been enriched immeasurably by you and the others. I just booked tickets this morning for the TGV from Paris to Avignon and reserved a car for the Provence leg of the trip!
Did you return to Paris after Lyon? If so, I'm eager to read about

Hikerboy-
Thanks. Yes, we returned to Paris for a day and half after Lyon. Eventually, it will all get here and on the website.I just need to finish writing about Bocuse first.

Yes, yes, I know this trip report is taking me forever, but a girl's gotta work to pay for these trips. :-)

Day 5 (Lyon)is now posted on my website for those of you interested in the photos.

My Dinner with Bocuse:

Restaurant Paul Bocuse is in the book "1000 Places to See Before You Die". Hailing from a family which has been running restaurants since 1767, Bocuse has run his eponymous restaurant since 1965. According to the article about him on the back of his menu, the restaurant sits below the house belonging to his family. In fact, it is said he has slept in the same bed in that house since the day he was born. That's not to say he hasn't traveled all over the world, spreading the gospel of French cuisine. He's the first chef to ever be given the Legion of Honor and is considered a national treasure. He's considered to be one of the forefathers of nouvelle cuisine which he helped to pioneer in the early 1970's. Bocuse has maintained his Michelin 3 star status for over 30 years now, longer than anyone else. If Lyon is considered to be the gastronomic center of France, then Bocuse is at its' epicenter, along with his four other brassieres, radiating out from the star, appropriately titled, Le Nord (North), Le Sud (South), L'Est (East), and L'Ouest (West).

It's about a 20 minute drive from Lyon to Bocuse. It took us a bit longer due to one way roads and a little confusion, but we still arrived on time. The restaurant sits alongside the Soane river and it's impossible to miss; there's no shortage of signs pointing the way and bright lights illuminate an an even brighter red, green and gold painted building with "PAUL BOCUSE" in neon above. Lest this sound garish, let me say, it is, but it's somehow not insulting. We pulled into the parking lot and a red uniformed valet opened our doors and let us through the courtyard to the front entrance. The courtyard walls are covered in murals from Bocuse's life and family business (food!).

The interior of the restaurant is about as over-the-top as one would expect from a 3 star place. Edges are guilded, there are silver candelabras on every table, exquisite fine china and crystal, and everywhere, Bocuse's name and likeness. There's even a photo of him shaking hands with President Clinton near the ladies' room. I believe there were at least three people serving our table. At this point, I have to admit I still wasn't feeling well, and was a bit overwhelmed by the attention and the surroundings. We were given the menu, a huge, heavy papered thing, with an insert containing two of the three set menus and some "suggested" wines. I never saw a formal wine list. I really wanted to take some photos and I noticed that another guest had a camera so I took my camera out and set it on the table.

Just then, I looked up, and there was the man himself, coming to personally greet each table. He was much shorter and older then I expected (he must be close to 80 by now), but he still maintains a grand presence. However, as intimidated as I was by his legacy, I found him to be very warm, almost "granderfatherly". T spoke to him (in French) and told him I was a chef. Bocuse brightened, took my hand and then noticed the camera. He asked if we wanted to take a photo with him. Of course! And with the practiced ease of one who does this a lot, he called over the captain and had him take not one, but three photos of us, all together and just him and me. And then just as fast, he was gone. A few minutes later, the server came back and asked me to print my name so Bocuse could sign a menu for me. When he returned with the menu, he asked if I'd like to see the kitchen. In a flash, I was back in the kitchen, and they were clearing off the counter where the food goes out. Bocuse introduced me to his head chef, we all moved behind the counter, they took photos as if I was a visiting dignitary, and then I was whisked back to my table. I had barely a moment to look around the kitchen, but here's what I noticed; it's so clean you could eat off the floor, it's quiet, there were maybe 10 cooks for the 40 or so dinners they would do that evening, there was very little food out and visible (no mis en place), and finally, I think the cooks were as curious about me as I was of them. Perhaps they don't see to many female chefs there still? As far as I could tell, I was the only guest honored that evening with a kitchen visit.

In the restaurant, the menus are in French, but the staff is multi-lingual and will assist with translation. The menus are also available in English on his web site. If you want to see exactly what we ordered, you'll need to look at my web site.

I was immensely impressed with the service. Everything was done table side, from the mixing of drinks to filleting the lamb and veal, to an immense cheese and desert selection. The service was attentive, but not overbearing. I watched them serve the sea bass en croute to our neighboring table in a seamless effort that had the fish deboned and sauced, still steaming on the plate along with a piece of the beautiful pastry all within 2 minutes. It was a well practiced dance.

As for the food, I think I could sum it up in one word; perfection. The kitchen seems to strive for the best of everything. There was an aspic served with my fois gras that contained peas. These peas were perfectly cooked, five seconds either way and they would have been wrong. My lamb was just as I asked, a beautiful medium rare and was juicy and tender. The portion sizes were larger than I expected (or hoped, given how I was feeling). Fortunately, D has a bottomless pit for a stomach, so he was able to finish what I could not. The cheese tray was truly huge, and I wished for a second stomach so I could taste more. By the time I got to the dessert course, I could barely fathom of eating more, so I just had some fresh fruit. But again, those had to be the most perfect raspberries I've ever had. Unfortunately, I can't remember the names of the cheeses, or the deserts David and Tracy selected, but suffice it to say, they were all wonderful.

Before we left, I walked back to the ladies' room and past the kitchen entrance. It was only 10 PM, but the kitchen was spotless, and empty, all the cooks had long since left. All in all, it was a wonderful experience. My only regret was not being able to eat more, and thus, enjoy the food portion of the experience more. Just another reason to go back, I guess.

Kristina, all I can say is WOW!

Thanks! I really procrastinated writing that portion, there was just so much to cover.
Now I still have to get the photos ready to go online!

Topping for the weekday crowd.

Day 7:
In the morning, D and T went for walk to see a series of passages between buildings in Lyon. I rested and then get ready to go. We took our luggage with us so we could have lunch before going to the train station. We ended up at Le Gailleton (5, place Gailleton), another Jean Paul Lacombe restaurant. I had a decent roast chicken and David had the same steak tartare the Tracy had at Le Comptoir des Marronniers. He liked it, but raw beef just doesn't appeal to me.

We caught the 1:30 train back to Paris, this time in 1st class. The seating in first was 1x2 instead of 2x2 and very comfortable. I was glad we bought our tickets in advance because the train was packed, and there were people looking for seats. A girl across from us got fined for not having a ticket, so I guess you can't just hop on the train and hope to buy one there.

Hold your little dogs in your arms...

Back in Paris, we went back to the apartment and had to resist the temptation to stay and relax. Instead, we took the metro to the Trocadero. At the Etoille metro stop, where we had to change trains, I heard an announcement come over the loudspeaker. I asked D what it said, concerned that our train wasn't running. He translated, saying the train was coming and that passengers should "Hold your little dogs in your arms. Merci!" For some reason this struck me as absurdly funny. Could you imagine that in a New York subway?

We arrived at the Trocadero just in time for sunset. It was one of those picture-postcard moments and the view was really stunning. We rarely take pictures of ourselves while on vacation, but in this case we couldn't resist and had our picture taken by some tourists from Columbia.

After admiring the view for a while, we walked across the bridge to walk under the tower. Just as we crossed the lights began to twinkle (it was 7 PM) and it really was a magical sight.

I'd read a number of favorable reviews of a restaurant called Au Bon Accueil which is right near the tower, so we thought we'd go over and check out the menu. It seemed fairly expensive for the choices, so we moved on and walked down the Seine for a bit. We crossed the river at the Louvre and took the metro to Chatelet where we proceeded to do our usual; walk in circles looking for a place to eat dinner. Somehow we ended up back on the rue Montorgueil, and after walking the entire street looking at every menu, we found Aux Tonneaux des Halles (28 rue Montorgueil) and settled in at an outside table. I had an extremely good entrecote served with a bordelaise sauce and a marrow filled bone. My steak also came with the best tasting, thick cut fries I have ever had. They must have been cooked in lard or duck fat, but I don't care, they were fantastic. David had rumsteak with haricot verte, and along with a beer and 25 cl of red wine the total was 47 euro.

Your report is fantastic. I loved the Bocuse stuff - what an amazing experience!

Also, glad you liked your Let's Paris apartment - it looks super cute and the Clichy area is really fun. The property manager, Lauren, manages our studio apartment, too! She's great!

ttt

Lutece-
Which apartment is yours? I loved working with Lauren, she was great! Unfortunately, our schedules didn't mesh, so we never got to meet face to face.

More to come, one last day in Paris...

Hey Kristina - Our apartment is the Douai studio. It's the budget option of the group. ;-) Some of the Let's Paris apartments look pretty darn fabulous! Maybe Lauren will let us take a peek at a few next trip (in May) if they're not booked!

Again, thanks for your trip report! I've made note of several restos that you mentioned in Paris because they're in our neighborhood! We're only just getting to know it, so we're always happy to explore and try someplace new.

Paris-Day 8:
This was out last full day in Paris and we wanted to make the most of it. There were still things we wanted to see and do before we left. First among them was a visit to the Georges Pompidou center (aka the Beaubourg museum) which is Paris' large modern art museum. Years back we had come here, late one evening about an hour before it closed, only to discover that was the last night it would be open for 3 years. Somehow, we had arrived right before a long planned renovation. We ran through the museum, vowing to return someday.

Today was the day. When we arrived, the line stretched about a block long into the plaza in front of the musuem. But that was just the line to go through security, and it moved fairly quickly as did the ticket purchase line. The actual museum galleries are located on the 4th,5th and 6th floors of the building , accessable by an exterior escalator encased in a giant plastic tube. The views from the top are fantastic and we stood up there for quite a few minutes. I really enjoyed the exhibits, especially much of the interesting sculptures and photography. We glanced at the rooftop restaurant, but the prices were very high, and I'd read negative reviews.

After a couple of hours in the museum, we left and walked across the plaza to get a bite to eat at one of the outdoor cafes across from the entrance. I had a mediocre omlette and D had knockwust which he said he enjoyed.

As we sat there, watching the rain clouds roll in, we looked at some paintings by a street artist stationed across the walkway from us. After our meal, D asked me if I liked any of them. I did, and so did he, but we each liked a different piece. While we've never purchased original artwork of any sort before, we decided to go talk to the artist and find out how much he wanted for the paintings.

It turns out he's Algerian, and spends most of the year living in Sevilla Spain where he only sells his art in galleries. For three months of the year, he comes to Paris to sell his work on the street. The paintings are mixed-medium; acrylic paint, tempura, pieces of newsprint, on heavy paper, not canvas. Some were impressions of nudes, and some fictional Paris street scenes.
We asked how much he wanted for the paintings, and he replied, "Not so much, they are very inexpensive. Forty Five euro each." We talked some more, debated the merits of each piece, and he offered to sell us two for 80 euro. Then he said, because the rain was coming, and he would have to stop selling for the day, he would give us two for 60, and after some hesitation, two for 50 euro was his final offer. As D and I were deciding on two very different paintings, a group of three other American tourists came up, and in about 3 minutes, bought two of his paintings for 80 euro, with no bargaining. After they left, he turned to D and said, in French, "so, two for sixty?" D replied, "no, you said 50 euro" and he smiled and agreed. So, we each got our favorite, and while they aren't exactly a "matching pair", we like them and will certainly enjoy them and the memory of the experience.

Since drops were indeed beginning to fall, we took the metro back to the apartment to drop off our new purchase.

After that, we walked back up to Montmartre in search of some inexpensive souvineers to bring back to coworkers. I swear, we must have looked in every souvineer shop, and finally settled on some cute tiny Eiffel tower keychains.
On the way back down the hill, we walked on the rue des Martyrs, where we stopped in little shop selling all sorts of Chinese imports, mostly clothing, and I bought some cute purses embellished with Chinese silk. We also went into a variety of markets and wine shops, looking at wine, but decided it wasn't worth the cost and hassle to bring any home.
Finally, I really wanted to buy some scarves to take home. We walked back over to Printemps, where out front there are street vendors selling a beautiful assortment of scarves (and ties for men) for 5 euro each. I bought 4 more scarves and D bought a few more silk ties.

Coming up, The Last Supper....
Dinner at Bofinger, the oldest brasserie in Paris....

For our last meal in Paris, we chose Bofinger (www.bofingerparis.com), supposedly the oldest brasserie in Paris, first opened in 1864. It's now owned by the Brasserie Flo group, the same company that owns Terminus Nord. While there are some similarities in the menus, Bofinger seems to have retained it's own individual charm. The restaurant is lovely, with stained glass, gilded mirrors, original murals, and leather banquettes.

The Bastille metro stop is quite large, and we exited in the rain, only to discover we had no clue as to which way to go. So, we wandered about a bit, getting wet, trying to find the street. Finally we found it (at 5-7 rue de Bastille, 75004), even though there was no sign.

We arrived without reservations and asked to be seated under the stained glass dome in the center of the restaurant (also the non-smoking section). It was a busy night, so we needed to wait a while at the bar. This time, David got his martini without having to instruct the bartender on how to make it. It was already on their drink list, and as it turns out, Luigi made a perfect dry martini. Instead of taking our name and adding it to a wait list, we were handed a little card with the name of a famous composer on it; we were Chopin. They just ran through the list, alphabetically calling the composers names on the cards. Once again, we noticed a couple of Parisians with their little dogs with them in the restaurant.

After about half an hour, we heard "Chopin!" and were sat under the stained glass cupola. I won't say it was all tourists, but there were quite a few different languages being spoken on all sides. My guess is that "non-smoking" and "tourist" can go hand in hand.

We both selected from the 33.50 euro menu, though they had a nice a la carte menu as well with tons of shellfish platters. Next time, I vow to order one of those mountains of seafood. Our wine was a 2003 Marquis des Tours Bordeaux. D's appetizer was foie gras (last night, last foie) and a glass of Gwerztiminer (7 euro supplement) and mine was bouillabaisse served with croutons and rouille. Both were very good. We both had a roasted duck breast for our main course which was excellent and came with a crispy skin, a demi glace sauce and tasty mashed potatoes with hazelnuts, garlic, and chanterelle mushrooms. My dessert was a wonderful chocolate cake with crème anglaise and D's was vanilla ice cream with a cassis coulis. In total the meal was 80 euro.

Hi Everyone!

Day 6 photos, including the dinner at Paul Bocuse, are now online at my website.
http://www.wired2theworld.com

Kristina, this is flat-out marvelous! It's definitely required reading for all Paris lovers.

I looked at your website and had to laugh at all the clothing spread out (photo 1) and then everything packed (photo 2). I took a very similar picture myself...at midnight, when I was tearing my hair out wondering if I'd ever get packed and out the door!

I see you visited the beautiful toilets at the Madeleine. When I went to Paris last September with my husband, we walked blocks and blocks out of our way to see this fabulous rest room because I'd read about them on Fodors (my husband dubbed our walk the 'toilet trek.':D) They were closed! Luckily, when Marcy and I went to Paris in January, they were open. I'm glad you took photos because we didn't.

Mermaid- Merci! Merci!
Yes, I loved the toilets at the Place de Madeline. Worth the trek. I love seeking out "unusual" things like that. :-)
As for the clothing photo, I did that because I wanted to show people that it is possible to travel light. There were even a couple of items I never wore (should have never brought scarves since I bought so many while there). And D survived just fine with his single pair of shoes!

Photos and my journals from Day 7 are now posted on my website.
http://www.wired2theworld.com
Just one day to go...

Kristina, thank you for the information you have provided. I am leaving tomorrow for 2 weeks in Lyon, and my friend will be far too busy to show us around and help us decide what to do. Much appreciated!

This is a wonderful trip report. I especially liked the description of your dinner at Bocuse--someday we'll get there. I always enjoy watching him on the Bocuse d'Or finals.

Since you're a chef and have been to Lyon, might I recommend a very good book by Katharine Hall Page? The protaganist is a caterer, and the book is set in Lyon. The title is "The Body in the Vestibule," and one of the best bits involves the traboules.

Dougferret-Have a great time in Lyon. With 2 weeks you sould be able to see a lot and still have time to relax. Make sure you check out the weekend farmer's market.

Underhill-Thanks! I'll look for that book!