Two American 30-somethings discover Paris
 

My husband and I returned on April 23 from a fantastic 6-day trip to Paris. It was an airfare-plus-hotel package deal, booked through Air France Holidays, that I found on Travelzoo.com.

A little background on us: We’re in our mid-30s, no kids, and had never been to Paris before. We both love to travel, although my passion is for far-flung international trips and DH prefers shorter trips around North America. After four years of marriage, I convinced DH that it was finally time for our first trip to Europe. Paris seemed like the perfect place – we both love visiting big cities, we love to eat and drink, and I speak some French. We found the Air France deal in January and decided to jump on it.

I did a fair amount of research (here and elsewhere) and we received tons of recommendations, but decided to make just a very general list of things to do and not plan a detailed itinerary. We really enjoy playing things by ear while on vacation and knew it wasn’t possible to do everything in 6 days anyway, so why drive ourselves crazy? Our main goals for the trip were to relax, consume lots of delicious food and wine, do lots of walking, and soak up as much Parisian culture as possible. We succeeded 100% at all of those things and couldn’t have asked for a more wonderful first time in Paris.

Day 1

We left Dulles Airport (outside Washington DC) at 10:00 p.m. on a Thursday and arrived at CDG at 11:30 the next morning. Typical overnight flight – felt pretty awful on arrival. But moved smoothly through customs and passport control, got our bags, and proceeded on the long walk through Terminal 2 to the train station. We had considered many transportation options and finally decided to take the RER into Paris and then cab from there to our hotel. Waited in a LONG line for RER tickets (didn’t have coins for the self-serve machines) but eventually got them, found the RER B platform, and hopped onto the train. Got off at Gare du Nord and were a bit bewildered by the station at first, but found our way outside and got a cab to our hotel – Hotel Jardin le Brea in the 6th arr.

I wanted to try out the train and it worked fine, but in hindsight it would have been a lot easier (and not much more expensive) to book an airport shuttle. That’s ultimately what we did for our trip back to CDG.

So, back to the hotel. Jardin le Brea is a small, intimate hotel at 14 Rue Brea, near to the intersection of Blvd. du Montparnasse and Blvd. Raspail. The hotel was perfect for us – it had quaint and comfortable rooms, helpful staff, breakfast was included as part of our trip (simple but adequate), and the hotel was located in a vibrant neighborhood with lots of restaurants, shops, etc. The room and bathroom were small but seemed recently remodeled, and we had a view of a little courtyard behind the hotel. I’m glad we didn’t face the street because although the neighborhood was generally quiet, there was an Irish bar across the street that got a little noisy on weekend evenings.

We checked in at around 2:00 p.m., unpacked briefly, and headed out for lunch. The hotel receptionist recommended a café called La Rotunde, about a block away at the intersection of Montparnasse and Raspail. It was the perfect place to start our trip. We got a table on the street (it was a bit cloudy and cool but nice enough to sit outside). DH ordered a glass of Côte du Rhone and I had a much-needed café crème. Then a beautiful bowl of onion soup for me, and puff pastry filled with roasted tomatoes and goat cheese, served over salad, for DH. And of course, our first basket of French baguette and delicious butter. Ate a very leisurely meal and watched the people, dogs, and cars go by. Ahhhhhhh. Even DH admitted the long journey was already worth it, and he HATES long flights.

We eventually finished and went back to the hotel to shower and finish unpacking. Relaxed for an hour or so, and then decided to head to the Eiffel Tower. What better way to spend our first evening in Paris?

The tower was a 20- or 30-minute walk from our hotel. We took our time, admiring the huge gold dome at Hotel Les Invalides along the way. Before we knew it, we were strolling through Parc du Champ de Mars and admiring the Tour Eiffel. Took many photos. We decided to skip the elevator to the top and just climb to the second level – tiring but fun. Stopped on the first level for a snack – DH had a beer and I had a pain au chocolat. Yum. Admired the views in all directions, which was a good way to get oriented on our first day.

When we got down we expected it to be getting dark, but it was still broad daylight. I had no idea that it doesn’t get dark until 9:00 pm in Paris at this time of year. What a bonus! So we decided to find a place close-by to eat dinner, so we could see the tower lit up before walking back to the hotel. We walked along the river for a block or two and eventually found our way to a brasserie called Le Royal Tour. It was nothing spectacular but a nice place for a reasonably-priced dinner. We had a pitcher of red wine, I had quiche Lorraine with salad, and DH had chicken with potatoes and caramel crepes for dessert. (Note: DH is in charge of receipts and I don’t have them handy as I write this, but feel free to ask if you want to know how much any of our meals cost.)

After dinner we walked back to the tower and got there just in time to see the light show at 10:00 p.m. Beautiful and romantic. Then headed back toward the hotel. After a few minutes of walking we discovered we were tired and needed a bathroom, so we stopped at a place called Bar Tourville. A very trendy bar where people seemed to go to “be seen.” We sat inside at the bar – DH had a beer and I had a raspberry Kir. Then continued on our walk home. By the time we got back, we were exhausted beyond belief. I’ll bet we walked 10 miles that day if you include the airport and the climbing. But it was a great first day, and we slept well.

To be continued…

Great report. I stayed very close to your area last time I was in Paris, on Blvd. Raspail a couple blocks from the intersection of Blvd. Montparnasse and Raspail. I loved that area. You definitely had a full first day.

Great start.. cant wait for more..

More, more!

I will be staying in the 6th in May so I wrote the name of the cafe down for a nice relaxing lunch. How is the weather there now? Are you wearing light jackets, sweaters, etc...

We stayed nearby also and sat at La Rotonde and watched the world go by...sigh. More, please!

Thanks everyone. The highs were mostly in the mid- to upper 60s while we were there. We wore light jackets or sweaters in the morning and evening and short sleeves during the day when we were in the sun. It was just a little cold on the rainy days but otherwise perfect. I now understand why Parisians wear scarves all the time -- they are perfect for the weather there because they block the chilliness just enough.

Day 2 coming soon!

Great start! Looking forward to more. :)

Day 2

Woke up around 9 to menacing clouds. After breakfast downstairs (fresh croissants, coffee, juice, etc.), we came back up and it had started raining. I was in denial at first, thinking it would pass, but that was not to be. So much for my plan to shop for food and have a picnic in the Jardin du Luxembourg. We decided a museum visit was in order. Since it was a rainy Saturday we figured all the big museums would be packed, we settled on the Cluny Museum, which was just a short walk across the jardin du Lux. We took off, armed with umbrellas.

Even though it was drizzling steadily, we loved the garden and spent quite a bit of time wandering around and taking pictures of the many statues and tulips, which were in full bloom. The Senate building was very impressive, and I thought the guards looked hilarious in the upright glass boxes that they stood in to stay out of the rain. They looked like mannequins in there. We also found one of our favorite fountains in Paris – the Fontaine des Medici. It’s a little pond with a big statue at the end that might have been a Greek god – not sure. It was so peaceful and there is a family of ducks that lives behind the fountain in a little house.

After some wrong turns, we finally found the Museum of the Middle Ages at the Hotel de Cluny, off of Blvd. St. Michel. We were very wet by this time and glad to escape the rain. The Cluny was a perfect way to dry off and spend an hour or two. Not crowded at all. Very interesting medieval artifacts and the building itself is beautiful. I loved the big room with the beheaded statues from Notre Dame, the 2nd-century Roman baths (you can’t go in but you can see them through a window), and the room that used to be the Hotel de Cluny chapel, which has the most amazing vaulted ceiling. Also beautiful stained glass, tapestries, interesting medieval armor and chain mail, etc.

A note on our museum strategy. We decided to forego the museum pass, after much deliberation. It turned out to be the right decision for us. We never went to more than one or two museums in a day so the cost would have been a wash, and we never had to wait in any lines. It was nice not to feel “pressure” to visit lots of museums because of the pass. We visited mostly smaller museums, usually just an hour or two at a time. We don’t like to spend hours reading plaques or listening to guided tours. I did have a dated version of the Rick Steeves Paris book and used that for the self-guided museum tours. I think the museum pass is great for some travelers, just not for us on this particular trip.

After the Cluny, we walked up the street to the square at Place de la Sorbonne for lunch. We picked a place called Les Patios, mainly because of the floor-to-ceiling glass windows with a nice view of the square. We sat by the windows, shared a decent veggie pizza, and had some wine. Nothing special but a nice lunch.

Our next goal was to buy macaroons at Pierre Hermé, which I was eager to try after reading so much about them. We walked along Blvd. St Germain, stopping to buy a couple of scarves along the way. I had brought one scarf but needed another one for the Paris weather! The street was busy despite the rain. We stopped into the Eglise St. Germain des Pres, the oldest standing church in Paris (I think), which we thought was spectacular. The first of many beautiful Paris churches.

Finally got to Pierre Hermé and there was a line out the door, despite the rain. We soon learned why. We bought a box of 7 assorted macaroons (16€ and worth every penny) and DH got a cinnamon chocolate bar. We walked across the street, stood under a tree in front of Eglise St. Sulpice, and ate two macaroons each. Fantastic. I don’t even know how to describe them so I won’t try. DH was very skeptical because he never liked macaroons before, but as soon as he bit into one he was like, “Ohhhh, now I get it.”

We admired the fountain in front of St. Sulpice (the church exterior itself is being renovated and covered in scaffolding) and then went inside. Even more beautiful than St. Germain des Pres. Then walked along toward our hotel. Stopped in several small shops. Bought some antique French playing cards in a game shop, for our weekly poker games back home, bought some bars of soap at a soap shop for DH’s friends at work, and stopped for some clementines at a grocer on our street. Last stop was the wine shop across from the hotel, where we bought an inexpensive bottle of red to drink in the room. The nice saleswoman opened the bottle for us and lent us some glasses.

Went upstairs, enjoyed the wine and got ready for dinner. Still raining! At around 7 we went out and walked up the street to the Gare Montparnasse area, which reminded me of a mini Times Square. Very busy on Sat. evening. We went into the Galleries Lafayette and browsed around before they closed. I bought a pair of sandals. Then walked back to the restaurant we had selected earlier from a recommendation in my Lonely Planet book – Le Dome seafood restaurant on Blvd. Montparnasse. This tuned out to be a mistake – in my wine-induced stupor, I forgot to look at the menu outside. Once we sat down, we discovered the menu was WAY too expensive and not what we were looking for. We didn’t feel like spending 100€ each! So, this was very embarrassing, but I told the waiter as politely as possible in my broken French that the menu was “un peu plus cher” for us and we would be leaving. He was very gracious, thank goodness, but I was super-embarrassed. Oh well. Lesson learned.

We went a few doors down to La Coupole, also a Lonely Planet rec. This is a huge old brasserie where Sartre reportedly liked to hang out. It was very busy and had big columns with crazy murals painted on them. We waited quite some time for a table, and once we sat down, the service wasn’t very good. We had wine (of course), escargots for a starter (very good), DH had salmon, and I had the lamb curry, which is one of their specialties. Two Indian men dressed in turbans actually come and serve it to you tableside. This was cool, but unfortunately the curry came about 10 minutes after DH’s salmon. Oh well, it was an experience. Not a bad dinner but I wouldn’t recommend the restaurant. We decided to forego Lonely Planet recs from then on and choose the restaurants ourselves.

It was after 11 by the time we finished, and we were tired. Went back to the room, had another macaroon for dessert, and hit the sack. End of Day 2!

Keep on reporting! I am soaking it up!
RosieCaro

Day 3

This was Sunday, and we had plans to meet a friend of a friend for lunch in the Marais at 1:30. We decided to visit the Picasso Museum in the morning. It was still raining when we got up but I had checked the weather online and knew that the sun was on its way that afternoon. We had breakfast and headed out.

Walked through the jardin again, then down Blvd. St. Michel to the Seine. The Fontaine de St. Michel at the end of that street is beautiful – built right into the wall of a building. So many amazing fountains in Paris!

We crossed over the river (first time so we took some pics) into the Marais and the first thing we saw was the Tour St. Jacques – a beautiful tower built by one of the King Louis, can’t remember which. We loved just stumbling upon amazing buildings like that. We later learned that the tower was just recently unveiled after a multi-year renovation so I’m glad we got to see it. Proceeded down Rue de Rivoli and stopped to admire the Hotel de Ville. Yet another amazing building, covered with intricate carvings and statues. Magnifique.

Twisted and turned through the Marais narrow streets and, after some struggles with the map, eventually found the Picasso Museum. It’s rather hidden away, which is kind of cool. We had about an hour and a half before lunch and this was the perfect amount of time for us to tour the museum. It’s unbelievable that there are that many Picassos in one place – usually seeing just one is a big event. It’s a lovely building with great light and it wasn’t too crowded. We really liked the room full of photos of Picasso painting as an older man. He was clearly quite a character – seemed to enjoy painting in his underwear and dancing around a lot.

A friend of one of my coworkers lives in Paris, and we thought it would be fun to meet a fellow American who could give us some insight on the city. She suggested we meet at Le Loire dans la Theire, a very popular restaurant on Rue des Rosiers in the Jewish quarter. They seemed to specialize in Sunday brunch and there was a line out the door when we got there. Our new friend arrived soon after we did and we waited for maybe 20 minutes. It was a great restaurant – very funky interior with crazy photos and posters covering every wall. DH and I had goat cheese omelets with salad and Heather (the friend) had a yummy-looking vegetable tart. We loved the chevre (goat cheese) in Paris and ate it almost every day. We had a nice chat, and by the time we left the restaurant the weather was starting to clear. Yay!

We walked down to Places des Vosges, which was a very nice garden, and said au revoir to Heather. We headed to Ile St. Louis, strolled around, and each had a single scoop of chocolate Berthillon ice cream. It was delicious, of course – DH called it “frozen fudge.” The ice cream was great but it didn’t blow me away like the macaroons did the day before. We also bought some chocolates from a small shop.

We crossed over to Ile de la Cite and walked around Notre Dame, starting from the back. We like the views from the back best. When we got around to the front, the line to get in was ridiculously long, so we continued on to St. Chappelle. Almost no line there and we went right in. It was perfect timing – as soon as we got upstairs, the sun came out and began to shine through the windows. Spectacular, as expected. We probably spent 20-30 minutes up there and then came out. It was around 4:00 or 4:30. Finally – GORGEOUS weather! We were so happy. Took our time walking back across the bridge and went down into the Latin Quarter. We looked for the perfect café and found it – Café St. Severin, facing Eglise St. Severin. We sat in the sun, drank two glasses of wine each, and watched the pigeons courting each other in front of the church. We had a very endearing waiter who was excited to learn that we live in Washington DC, the land of Barack Obama. This café visit, along with our first meal at La Rotunde, was one of our top 5 experiences of the trip. We really loved the Paris café culture.

Headed home through the Jardin du Lux. again. It was transformed in the sunshine, sparkling and filled with people. We took our time walking through and eventually returned to the hotel to freshen up.

We had no plan for dinner and decided to just walk out and find a place. We exited the hotel, walked across the street, and saw a little ethnic-looking place on an adjacent side street, which I unfortunately did not write down the name of. The street was so small that it is not on my map. But the restaurant was literally about 30 steps from our hotel. It was called La Charrette Creole, and was described on the window as “Indian Ocean Creole” or something along those lines. Upon closer inspection, it was cuisine from Madagascar, Mauritius, and Reunion Island (?), and the menu had lots of curry. The price was right. DH was craving spicy food and I’m always up for a culinary adventure, so in we went.

Great choice! The interior was small and cheery, complete with posters of the Indian Ocean and plastic palm trees. I enjoyed the upbeat African music. We had wine and ordered an appetizer sampler. Not sure what it all was – yummy bundles of seafood (shrimp, calamari) and meat surrounded by a tasty fried coating, little samosa-like things, and other surprises that I can’t remember now, all with a selection of dipping sauces, one of which was fiery-hot. Then I had fish curry and DH had beef curry. We didn’t order dessert but the server/owner brought us each a mysterious shot of some very potent alcohol, on the house. I asked what it was but didn’t understand his answer. We sipped a little of it and left, in a very good mood. Took a brief stroll around the neighborhood and went to bed early.

End of day 3, my favorite day thus far.

hi grommet,

don't be embarrassed about walking out of the restaurant -if their menu is €100 pp, they're probably used to it! your french phrase was " le mot just" too. [yes, I know that's singular, but let's not be picky.] funny isn't it how service can affect a dinner? - it can lift a so-so meal and ruin a good one. I started a thread recently about walking out of restaurants and the response I got was amazing!

you certainly know how to fill a day - if you keep up this rate, we'll all be exhausted.

looknig forward to more,

regards, ann

I usually only eat in cafes or brasseries when I'm in Paris. I don't like having reservations because I don't like to be committed someplace, and although I love good food, I'm not a "foodie" and I find the cafes etc. work very well for me, I've had some great meals and the price is right.

This report is very enjoyable. I need a Paris fix badly. LOL

Great trip report! Thanks for the wonderful details. I'm taking notes for my upcoming trip in mid-May.

TR

Day 4

Day 4, Monday, was a walking marathon and a perfect day for it – spectacular sunny weather all day. Our first stop was the Grande Epicerie at the Bon Marche – we were excited to buy some specialty foods to bring home and also buy food for our first picnic lunch in Paris. Took our time getting there, got a little lost in the Bon Marche, and eventually found the epicierie out back. We were overwhelmed at first – wandered around not knowing what to look at. I tried to take some photos and was reprimanded by a guard while trying to photograph a bread sculpture by the bakery – oops!

Bought a sampler of chevre, two different kinds of bread, sliced ham, spicy olives, Dijon mustard, a small bottle of wine, and some macaroons and mini-beignets for dessert. Also bought some take-home items and invested in a Grande Epicierie shopping bag for 10€ -- I wanted one for a souvenir and it came in very handy for the rest of the trip. In the end, I think we spent as much for our picnic lunch as we would have in a restaurant – oh well!

Walked from there to the Place de la Concorde, which was very crowded with cars and people. Took pics of the fountains, etc., and walked to the Tuileries. We found two chairs along the main promenade and sat down for our feast. It was all heavenly. I don’t know which item was my favorite, but perhaps the beignets – one was filled with chocolate and one with caramel. Fed some leftovers to the pigeons, sat around feeling blissful, and continued on.

Spent quite a while walking through the gardens and the outside of the Louvre, admiring the flowering trees, the arch, the pyramid, etc. Didn’t go in the Louvre though – not willing to invest that much time fighting crowds inside on a day like this. Sorry, Mona Lisa! Maybe next trip.

On our way back through the gardens, we did make a stop at L’Orangerie – our one museum visit of the day. I was happy to skip the Louvre but didn’t want to miss Monet’s water lilies. Once again, there were no crowds and it was just the right size museum for us. Enjoyed all the impressionist art and discovered some great artists I’d never heard of before. Saved the water lilies for last and enjoyed them immensely (DH isn’t as gung-ho on impressionism as I am but he was a great sport). Nice lighting -- I loved watching the paintings change as the lighting in the room changed when clouds moved overhead.

Left the museum – it was mid-afternoon sometime. Proceeded up the Champs Elysees toward l’Arc de Triomphe. We liked the first part of the Champs with all the gardens, but didn’t enjoy the crowded shopping part. Too many people and boring chain stores. We eventually got off the main street and walked up Rue Vernet to the Arc.

We wound up on Ave. Marceau on the south side of the Arc. There was an inviting-looking café/restaurant right there – a modern Italian place called Casa Luca. We stopped in for a café crème (me) and a glass of wine (DH) and rested for a while – sat inside by a huge window with a view of the Arc through the trees. Then walked up to the Arc, paid our 9€ each (ouch) and climbed to the top. Enjoyed the views of all the avenues and the Eiffel Tower. Eventually came down and proceeded down Ave. Marceau to Pont d’Alma.

Our trip package included two tickets for a ride on the Bateaux Mouche. We had planned to do it some evening, but time was running short and we hadn’t gotten to it yet. So we decided to do it now while we were in the neighborhood.

We were just in time for the 6 pm departure. The ride was pleasant and it was nice to see the city from a different perspective. It was funny listening to all the sites being described in so many languages – French, English, Spanish, Italian, and Chinese – although after a while I wished the speakers would just shut up so we could enjoy our sightseeing in peace. All in all, a nice experience.

After the cruise, we started the long walk home. We soon realized that we were: 1) too tired to walk the whole way back at once; and 2) too hungry to go back to the hotel, shower, and then go back out for dinner. So we stopped for dinner at a brasserie in the 7th – Au Gros Caillon on Rue de Grenelle. Had a pitcher of red wine. For entrees, DH had gazpacho (it was supposed to have chevre in it but he couldn’t find any, which was disappointing) and I had escargots (good until the last snail, which was bad). We fared better with our next course: DH had a salmon club (okay, not a traditional French plat but it’s what he wanted and he loved it) and I had a huge salad that was described as an antipasto. It was a big bunch of lettuce covered by a mountain of tasty grilled veggies – very good. A decent meal.

Then, the long walk back to Rue Brea. Tired! Ate some of our cinnamon-almond chocolate bar from Pierre Herme (fantastic) and relaxed before going to bed.

End of Day 4. Two-and-a-half days left.

Love your report, but might I nit pick? It makes me wince when folks misspell the word for that most delicious of French treats, the "Macaron". When you spell it "Macaroon", most Americans picture you eating those chewy coconut cookies we grew up with. Different beasts entirely!

I like macaroons, but LOVE macarons.

:-)

Hi nukesafe,

Yes, while writing this report, I have struggled about whether to use the English or French spellings of various words. I'm a writer/editor by trade and I like to be consistent, but haven't done a very good job. But I will use "macaron" from now on :)

I also just noticed that I misspelled the name of our president ("Barack" instead of "Barak"). How embarrassing! I do have an excuse though -- I have a friend named "Barack" and I'm constantly confusing the spelling of his name with the president's.

I'm late for my evening plans -- will continue this tomorrow!

<I><< I also just noticed that I misspelled the name of our president ("Barack" instead of "Barak"). How embarrassing! I do have an excuse though -- I have a friend named "Barack" and I'm constantly confusing the spelling of his name with the president's. >></i>

I think you let nukesafe's comment unsettle you. It IS "Barack" Obama!

Enjoying your trip report, by the way. Brings back memories of our trip just about a year ago.

Hi grommet19 - Love your report. You had me at La Rotunde. Went and opened a rose I bought in Nice while I read it. We were not planning on going to Paris this summer as the euro/cdn is not so good but we will have to rethink. Interesting to read about macaron/macaroon. I didn't think I would like macaron as I really don't like those macaroon coconut cookies so now I really must try one. We stayed at 18 rue des Rosiers two years ago but don't know Le Loire dans la Theire. I like your writing style. I've been to most of the places you mention and I feel I'm back there.

Great report & taking notes. Loved the "land of Barack Obama " comment. Hopefully, the Europeans are happier now with our current President. Last time I was in Paris staying in the Marais,- several young Parisians were out in the street making "George Bush" comments in the glow of the moonlight. We had our windows open. We told them we were American and that started it! (I had forgotten that until you mentioned BO.)
Hope you had a chance to visit the Rodin Museum. It is lovely. I have put the Picasso on my list.

grommet19, great trip report. You sound like you were reasonable what you could manage to see on this trip. We are always saying we will save that for next time.

Really enjoying your reports,we are leaving for Paris May 10th,can't wait..it's our 5 trip
Elaine

You've made me hungry to go back soon.

I agree with crefloors---I need a Paris fix!

Our first tip to Paris we also stayed in the Montparnasse-Raspail neighborhood. The restaurants were wonderful, and now every time we are in Paris we do wander back to that area.

Your report is written with beautiful details. Can't wait for more.

Enjoying your report and making notes for our return trip in September.

No matter how you spell it, a delightful report!

Ha ha. You'd think I'd have my two Bara(c)k spellings straight by now!

Thanks for all the nice comments. My husband can't believe I'm spending so much time writing this report but I really enjoy it. I get to have my dream job of travel writer for a few days.

I need to prepare for company this afternoon but will hopefully have some time to continue this later on. A bientot!

Day 5

Tuesday. Yet another beautiful day. We were glad it rained for a couple of days at the beginning of our trip – it made every sunny day that followed that much better.

Decided to go to Monmartre, making a stop at Notre Dame along the way (we had skipped the inside of ND a couple of days before because it was too crowded). Walked along Blvd. St. Michel again and bought a couple more scarves. We decided scarves make the perfect gift to bring back from Paris.

Got to ND around mid-morning and there was hardly any line to get in. Still pretty crowded inside but we enjoyed looking at everything. I’m glad we made a point of going back to see it. We weren’t in the mood to wait in line to climb the tower though, so we skipped that.

Walked to the St. Michel station and set off for Monmartre. Amazingly, this was our first and only metro ride of the week. We were a little confused about what route to take at first, but finally settled on the RER C to Invalides and switched to line 13 to Place de Clichy.

It was nice to get away from central Paris and explore another neighborhood. We walked up Rue Caulincourt over the Cimetiere Monmartre. I got a little confused reading the map but we figured if we just walked east we would find the Sacre Coeur eventually. We wound up in a nice neighborhood near the Abbesses metro and decided to have a quick lunch. We stopped at a boulangerie and bought sandwiches – a croq monsieur (a simple ham and cheese sandwich, but the cheese is melted on TOP of the sandwich rather than in it – yum!) for me, and ham with cheese and veggies on a baguette for DH. I also bought a box of strawberries at the grocer next door. Strawberries are in season now and delicious – every single berry is perfect without a single bruise. I don’t know how they do that! We found a small park right off Rue des Abbesses, sat on a bench and enjoyed our lunch. Watched a cute toddler chasing pigeons.

Continued on to the Sacre Coeur, which was just a couple of blocks further. Climbed up the hill and successfully fought off the pushy bracelet salesmen. The sky was perfectly blue behind the dome – couldn’t have been more beautiful. Hung around in front of the church for a while and took pics. Didn’t go inside though.

After we’d had our fill of the views, we walked around the church, through Place de Tertre, and enjoyed the views looking down the very steep, narrow streets on the other side. It reminded me a little of San Francisco. Then we stopped at the picturesque Maison Rose, a café that Renoir used to frequent. We sat outside – I had my afternoon café crème and DH had his afternoon glass of red. Then walked on down the hill, passing the Moulin de la Gallettes along the way. We picked up some pastries for dessert – I had two mini macarons (one lemon and one café – not bad) and DH had a caramel éclair. Eclairs became DH’s favorite dessert.

We took a detour though the cemetery on our way back to the Place de Clichy station and admired the amazing tombs and gravestones. Not like the cemeteries I’m used to back home! Then we metroed back to Invalides and took the RER to Gare Austerlitz, because we wanted to check out the Jardin des Plantes. We decided to go the menagerie while we were there, as we are huge animal lovers. I know it’s not a main attraction but we have trouble passing up a zoo on a beautiful spring afternoon. Not as impressive as the National Zoo, of course, and there were a lot of screaming kids, but we enjoyed several of the exhibits. They have a snow leopard there, which was amazing to me – it’s one of the rarest cats on the planet! Also a very active family of North China jaguars – mom, dad and baby. The visit was worth it just for that.

After leaving the zoo we wandered through the gardens. The orange, white and red poppies in front of the natural history museum were gorgeous. Then we exited the garden and wandered through the 5th Arr. toward home. This neighborhood had a unique feel that I really loved. When we reached the covered outdoor market on Rue Mouffetard, we found the perfect place for a late afternoon stop – the Restaurant de Mouffetard.

We sat outside and ordered wine (white for me, red for DH). We noticed that the first item on their slate was “Oeffs cocotte au fois gras” (hen eggs with fois gras). We decided that we HAD to have this. I think the waitress thought we were a bit odd to order this dish at 5:30 in the evening, but we asked politely and she complied. Thank goodness! It was the most delicious thing we’d eaten all week. Two perfect fried eggs floating in cream, with just enough fois gras to flavor it. Add some fresh herbs and a baguette to mop it up, and you have heaven on a plate. DH said he was glad to be sitting down when he tasted it, or he might have passed out.

We ordered two more glasses of wine and basked in the afterglow of this culinary wonder. Watched people shopping for produce across the street and nibbling baguettes from the busy boulanger as they walked past. Listened to neighbors chatting with each other in French as they shopped. If I had to pick a favorite moment of the whole trip, this was it. Regretfully, we eventually had to get up and head back to the hotel.

We changed and got ready for dinner, and walked right down the street to Vavin Café. We’d passed it several times during the week and finally decided to try it. It always seemed busy outside so we figured it must be good. We sat inside – the restaurant was kind of sleek and cozy at the same time. Had a very nice meal. A bottle of red wine, and DH had chicken kebab with some tasty eggroll-type things on the side. I had sesame-crusted salmon over mushroom risotto. Once we finished our meal, we took the rest of our bottle of wine to a table outside and watched the nightlife on the street. Our waiter was very nice. I would recommend this restaurant if you’re staying near Rue Vavin.

Went back to the hotel and had some chocolate and salted caramels from the Grande Epicierie for dessert. Realized we had only one full day left – c’est dommage! Watched some soccer on TV before going to sleep.

End of a wonderful Day 5.

grommet- I'm really enjoying your trip report. I'm betting that after this trip, your DH might be more inclined to try another. Rome? (my fave). :)

I've never had foie gras - and never had any interest in trying it, but now you've picqued my curiousity! Perhaps while in Paris I'll get the urge to try it...

Sherhatfield, I had never had fois gras before either and like you, had never wanted to try it before. I'm not a big fan of the way it's made but figured I'd make an exception for Paris. I'm glad I did!

Sarge56 - Yes, Rome is high on my list! We need to recover financially from this trip first though :)

Day 6

I’d been wanting to check out the Rue Cler market, a pedestrian-only shopping street near Hotel des Invalides, all week. So we headed there first on Wednesday. It wasn’t quite as lively as I expected. It’s probably got more happening on weekends – we’d originally intended to go on Sat. morning but were foiled by the rain.

At any rate, we’d come there to shop and so we did. I bought some more perfect strawberries at the greengrocer. We found a lovely and affordable chocolate shop and bought a bunch of chocolates to take home. The chocolates were delicious – the best we’d had other than Pierre Herme. I can’t remember the name of the shop offhand but I can find it for anyone who wants it.

We went to another shop that sold all kinds of food made with honey – it was very touristy but the sales lady was nice. I bought a bottle of honey and some honey mustard. My old Rick Steeves book said there was a nice epicierie on Rue Cler but we couldn’t find it. I guess it closed. Oh well. Our last stop was the bakery, where we bought our lunch. I got a goat cheese quiche and DH got a salmon sandwich with egg. I chose a chocolate meringue for dessert and DH got another éclair.

We walked from Rue Cler to the Rodin Museum. Bought tickets and took our lunch out to the garden. Lovely and everything was delicious. After eating, we strolled through the gardens and then the inside of the museum. Like all the museums we visited on the trip, it wasn’t too crowded. The building itself is a beautiful house and I loved the feel of it. I was amazed at the shear number of sculptures – Rodin was a busy man. Also enjoyed the sculptures by Rodin’s protégé and mistress, Camille Claudel.

We left the museum and went in search of a café. Wandered for quite some time and finally found a small place on Rue St. Dominique, which was crowded with people on their lunch breaks. I can’t remember the name of the café. We sat outside – the sidewalk was narrow and there was barely room to sit but we made it work. Kind of a hectic place for a drink, and I was feeling irritable thinking about our trip ending soon. But once I’d had my afternoon café crème, all was well. We watched a busy patisserie across the street. There was an elderly homeless man sitting outside, and the longer we sat there, the more I empathized with him. When we got up, I went and gave him a coin and the remainder of my strawberries from lunch. He seemed very happy and it made me happy to help him.

Time for our last museum visit of the trip – the Musee de l’Armee and Napoleon’s tomb. DH is interested in military history and we seemed due for a non-art museum anyway. The Invalides complex itself is very impressive. We walked through the huge gate and bought our tickets from a self-serve machine. Took some photos in the big cobblestone square, which was virtually empty. We went inside the chapel, which was very pretty – much brighter than the other churches we’d seen, probably because there is less stained glass. Then we toured the WWI and WWII exhibits of the museum. I’m not big on military stuff but there were some interesting things to see. I especially liked all the photos and film clips from WWII – very powerful. We made no attempt to see and read everything. I think there was another whole wing that we missed, but no big deal. It was too much for one visit.

We loved the dome where Napoleon is buried. It’s hard to describe the grandeur of it. We stared up in awe at the paintings covering the inside of the dome. We were nearly blinded by all the gold leaf everywhere, and all the light and colors. Not exactly subtle beauty, but that’s not what Napoleon was about, I guess. I personally think the dome is a must-see. A fitting way to end our sight-seeing in Paris.

We walked slowly back to the hotel, enjoying the Esplanade des Invalides along the way. We stopped at the “tabac” on Blvd. Montparnasse and DH bought cigars (which may or may not have been Cuban) for his friends back home. We also bought several boxes of matches – the matches from this tabac have very funny pictures on them and cost 20 cents each. Great souvenirs. We walked along Rue Vavin and DH bought himself some more fancy chocolates – he’s a chocaholic. Finally, stopped at the wine shop across the street from the hotel and bought a small bottle of red. Drank it at the little table outside the wine shop, savored the evening, and then went up to get ready for dinner.

Our 4th wedding anniversary was April 23, the final day of our trip. So we saved our “big” dinner for the night before (April 22). We went to Le Florimond in the 7th Arr. – highly recommended by a good friend of ours and also in the Rick Steeves guide and here on Fodors. We had 8:00 pm reservations and took our time walking there.

The restaurant was as quaint and wonderful as everyone says. Great, friendly service. Very busy though (mostly with Americans, probably because of the Rick Steeves rec.) – I think they need another waiter! We had a nice bottle of Bordeaux and we both got the 36€ prix fixe menu. I had cream of smoked eggplant soup as a starter and fillet of turbot (white fish) with vegetables for my main course. DH had fois gras (he really wanted regular paté but it wasn’t on the menu) and fillet of beef with frites. For dessert, we ordered a strawberry Napoleon and a delicious chocolate pastry thing that I can’t remember the name of. Most of these items were from the slate. A word of warning – we couldn’t read the slate very well from across the room and didn’t realize that several of the things we ordered cost extra, above and beyond the 36€. The fillet of beef was an extra 10.50€! That came as a bit of a shock.

I loved everything I had but DH was slightly disappointed in his plat – he ordered the beef medium-rare and it was barely pink inside. DH also wasn’t in love with the desserts. That meant more for me! I didn’t let them go to waste. All in all though, a great anniversary dinner experience. DH forgave the meal imperfections simply because the meal was so pleasant. I did take special note of the check since it was our most expensive dinner -- 115€.

We considered taking a taxi back to the hotel for the first time all week, but then thought better of it and walked. We had gotten to know the route very well and we were champion walkers by that time.

Alas, our last night in Paris had come to an end. But we still had half a day before leaving the next afternoon! We planned to make the most of it.

End of Day 6.

This is great. I hope to have a romantic trip to Paris one day but I'm going to enjoy it in 2 weeks either way!!!

Thanks for taking the time to write this; I know what you mean about living the fantasy of being a travel writer.

I'm wondering whether when you went to Le Dome restaurant you were actually headed to the Bistrot du Dome across the street, which is the less expensive sibling of Le Dome.

Lovely trip report. Isn't Rodin Museum beautiful, what a perfect spot for a picnic. I laughed reading about your trip to Bon Marche, I was practically accosted by a security guard whilst I was taking a photo of that bread scupture, but I got it!

Nikki, you may be right about Bistrot du Dome. Wish we had figured that out!

Alas Toni, I didn't get the bread sculpture shot.

I am really enjoying your report. We are heading back in October. It will be our 8th trip to Paris together. I had to laugh about your macaron/eclair thing. My husband and I do taste comparisons; I go for the macarons and he likes the eclairs. His favorite eclair is the chocolate cream. I had so many favorite flavors of macaron I have to go back and try them all again. Keep writing. It's a great read.

Day 7

We had a 4:30 p.m. flight and had scheduled an airport shuttle pickup for 1:00 – we like to be early. So for our last morning Paris (which was also our anniversary!), we decided to splurge on breakfast outside the hotel (we were sick of the hotel breakfast room in the basement), then walk back to the Grande Epicierie to buy a few more things to take home.

We packed up, checked out of the hotel, and put our bags in a storage room downstairs. I wanted to have crepes for breakfast because, amazingly, I had not had any crepes the whole trip! DH got them for dessert on our first night but that was it. There was a little creperie right across the street from the hotel, but it was closed. Rather than go off in search of an open one, we decided to go to a patisserie at the corner of Montparnasse and Raspail, which also served coffee and had a few small tables.

DH had OJ and a delicious pain au chocolate with almonds. I had café au lait and decided to choose the craziest-looking pastry that they had. It was called a Brioche Suisse – covered in candied fruit these huge pieces of sugar. Hard to describe but I loved it. Good final breakfast.

One last stroll up Blvd. Raspail to the Bon Marche. We had plenty of time so we walked through the department store. Everything in there is so beautiful – every lamp in the lamp section looks like a work of art. Browsed through the furniture and kitchen appliances, etc. It’s certainly looks nothing like Macys in DC!

The Grande Epicerie was less overwhelming this time as we knew where to find things. We got more Dijon mustard and spicy olives, fruit preserves, fleur de sel, crazy banana candies in a banana-shaped tin, and some other unique items, as well as another Grande Epicierie shopping bag to give to a friend. (I had an interesting time explaining in French to the cashier that one of the shopping bags we were holding had been purchased two days before, while the other one was new and we wished to buy it today. Possibly my most involved French conversation of the week. DH was impressed.)

I also bought two more mini-macarons to enjoy on our walk back – one chocolate and one caramel. We stopped in the little adjacent park as soon as we came out, and I ate them.

We still had a couple of hours to kill, so we took a longer route back, browsing shop windows and stopping in a bookstore to buy some postcards. Wound our way to the Jardin du Luxembourg and strolled through one last time. Our final stop in Paris was a patisserie on Rue Vavin that I had been wanting to go to all week but never had the chance. I believe it was called Le Petit Gourmand. It had a beautiful window display with gigantic mountains of meringues.

I didn’t try the meringues, but took a chance and bought a box of macarons (there were 8 or 10 of them in the box, which cost 9€) to take home to my coworkers. It turned out to be a good choice – I opened them up the next morning at my office in DC and they were fantastic. Everyone loved them. Not quite like Pierre Herme but pretty close, even a day later.

We had just enough time to go back to the hotel and pack our purchases into our luggage before the shuttle came. I can’t remember the name of the shuttle service but it was recommended by the hotel. It cost 34€ for the two of us and was so worth it. Much more relaxing than taking the train and it allowed us to really enjoy our last morning in Paris without feeling stressed out about getting to the airport. We picked up a couple more people on the way to CDG, but that was fine as we had plenty of time. Had one more nice view of l’Arc de Triomphe on our way out of town.

We had an uneventful flight home. I must give kudos to Air France – their airline food is pretty darn good!

Now that I’ve been back for a few days, I have to say that my favorite memories are of our time sitting outside at cafés, and the food and drink we enjoyed at those cafés. The beautiful gardens were also a highlight, along with the fountains and statues. I can’t wait to go back and am already thinking about what neighborhood I want to stay in next. I want to try an apartment so we can cook some of that beautiful produce from the outdoor markets! It might be 10 years from now but it WILL happen eventually.

C’est tous! Thanks to everyone who hung in through this extremely long report. I’m sad to be finishing it because it makes the trip feel that much more “over.” But I’m sure I will revisit this report many times in the coming years to relive the experience. And I’ve still got photos to edit!

Questions, comments, and additional spelling corrections are welcome :)

Terrific report and sounds like a terrific trip! Thanks for bringing us along :-)