Paris - May 10-20

Paris - May 10-20, 2007

Last June, our friend Stacey suggested we enroll in a French class at Alliance Francaise. So we've been taking beginner classes. When she and her husband Jody decided to go to Paris in May, we made reservations to join them. Here's our trip. Click on the dates at the beginning of each day's narrative in order to see that day's photos. Clicking on any photo enlarges it and allows you to continue browsing in full size. The label on each photo describes what you're looking at. We've added several hyperlinks for our own reference, but you can use them to see more about a restaurant or museum. Most of those have English links somewhere on their pages. Our many thanks to Stacey who researched and found most of the restaurants that we experienced. (This was written by Cheryl and edited by Tom.)

May 9 & 10 (Wed/Thu) - Our flight was late leaving Tampa, so we had to run in Miami for our connection to Paris. We were faster than our bags - they didn't arrive in Paris with us. While Tom was filling out forms for the bags, I went out to talk to what was supposed to be our English-speaking driver. She spoke only French, so within minutes of arrival, I was trotting out my "debutant" (beginner) French to explain that the bags had not arrived and my husband was still behind security. After an hour's drive, we arrived at our apartment on rue La Borde in Paris' 8th arrondissement (neighborhood) near St-Augustin church. This private apartment has two bedrooms, two baths, living room and kitchen, with a view of Boulevard Hausmann and a partial view of the Eiffel Tower. (See photo 00 - we're on the top floor of the center building - all four sets of windows.) We found the apartment through VRBO.com, which we can now highly recommend to find vacation apartments or homes. Just steps away from the apartment was a local boulangerie (bakery), good for breakfast or lunch. It was there that we started to get a clue of the weakness of the dollar. In photo 07 (our boulangerie), do you see the eclairs? They're E1.80 (euros) each or $2.50. We then took a nap for a few hours and then headed out. The sun was shining all afternoon and the temperature was very pleasant. Unfortunately, my walking shoes and Tom's hat were in the lost bags, so we had to go shopping. One of the largest department stores, Printemps, was just a few minutes away. Then we took the Metro to the Left Bank near St. Michel. That's where the art galleries are supposed to be open late. A friend had suggested that we eat at Les Bouquinistes, a Guy Savoy (guysavoy.com) restaurant. We weren't very hungry, so only had an appetizer and dessert, but the dishes (avocado soup, mushrooms and escargot, and chocolate dessert) were outstanding! The service was superb as well. We tried the gallery area, but think that they must start later (like 10 pm or so), so we wandered around the St. Germain des Pres district (south of Notre Dame) looking at all of the restaurants, a few stores, and the many creperies. A taxi home, a short session on the Internet (city-wide free wireless!), and we were ready for bed (10:30 pm here - but only 4:30 pm EST). The weather was perfect for walking - high 60s with clouds. Another plus for traveling - it stayed light until 9:30 pm. Notice the tiny car in the last photo - there are hundreds of these in Paris. Also notice how close it's parked to the car behind it. The Parisians park using the push and shove method. If a parking space isn't large enough, they simply nudge the bumpers on the adjacent cars until it is big enough. We saw one car moved over a foot.

May 11 (Fri) - Went out for breakfast and a stroll around our neighborhood in the morning, then returned for a nap (again!) and to wait for our bags. After the bags arrived at 3 pm, we walked north to the Musee Cernuschi. It's one of the two main Oriental museums in Paris, but we were somewhat disappointed in it due to their paucity of paintings. The museum, however, overlooks Parc Monceau, a really lovely, large park that was filled with spring flowers and Parisians enjoying a sunny day. Springtime in Paris! We then decided to walk to the Louvre because it was open until 9 pm. Notice the two posters in photos 12a and 12b. France held presidential elections the weekend before we arrived. The one with the drawn-on Hitler mustache was the winner, conservative Sarkozy. The next was his liberal opponent. The Parisians really seem to like graffiti. We crisscrossed the Champs-Elysees a couple of times and saw the Arc de Triomphe at one end and the Obelisque at the other end. Along the way, we saw the Grand Palais, the Place de la Concorde, and the Jardin (Garden) Tuilleries. We love the pyramid entrance to the Louvre (designed by I. M. Pei), although many of the French can't stand it. We entered only to find that the Asian section was closed in the evening. Dang! Frommer's had suggested eating at the Cafe Marly, which overlooks the Louvre pyramid, so we did. We can't second Frommer's recommendation - it was over-priced, the food uninteresting (lamb and risotto), and the service was lacking. A taxi home saved our feet which were unused to so much walking. And jet lag was taking its toll.

May 12 (Sat) - Back to our local bakery for breakfast, then to the pharmacy. We had forgotten one of our prescriptions, but the pharmacist took pity on us and filled it without a local doctor's okay. Then we walked to the Guimet museum (Musee National des Arts Asiatiques Guimet) - this is where 45,000 works of Asian art can be found (not all at once). It was a wonderful museum, and had a sumptuous library. The next stop was the Palais de Tokyo, built for the 1937 World's Fair. The main part of the Palais was having some installation art installed when we arrived. So we headed for another section of the Palais that houses the Musee d'Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris, a great collection of 20th & 21st century art. Lunch first and then looking at art, including some great Modiglianis. Another long walk to the Grand Palais, which was supposed to have a late opening of an Indian exhibit. We passed the Petis Palais and arrived to find a large red carpet in front of the Grand Palais. There were security guards and a huge welcoming delegation with photographers and people with rose petals. Tom asked one of the guards who was coming. His answer: Sarkozy. He was kidding. The reception was really for a big 50th anniversary celebration of Manpower, and the CEO and about 4000 of Manpower's employees (almost all women) started arriving. It provided some great people watching. The Indian Exhibit was right around the corner of the big event, so we were able to attend that. It's a very nice exhibit (Empire of the Guptas) if it comes your way. A final long walk home to a nearby sushi bar (Yaki Kochi) for dinner. It wasn't great sushi, but had a great atmosphere (and was very quiet - a nice break from the museum crowds).

May 13 (Sun) - More museums today after a long, long, walk along rue Matignon and Ave Montaigne. The first eleven photos show buildings and sights along the way. Our first stop was the Musee du Quai Branly, the newest museum in Paris and the second largest (second only to the Louvre). The architecture is both beautiful and unusual. Instead of clear windows, you see windows of photos of plants and greenery. The interior doesn't have any straight lines - it's all contoured walls, ridges, insets, etc. and as interesting an architecture inside as outside. The theme is the cultural background of most countries. Photos weren't allowed inside, but take a look at the museum's web site (click on the museum name above, then select 'English'). It's a great new museum and well worth the visit. Hint - get a museum pass before you go in order to bypass the very large lines. We hid away in the gift store during a heavy rainfall, and Tom was able to find many international CDs that he wanted. As we were leaving, we stopped for a cup of coffee at their cafe and then passed by the 'Living Wall' that they use on the exterior. Living walls are a new method of architecture where they landscape the side of a building with different types of plants and flowers. It's quite beautiful. The Branly is close to the Eiffel Tower, so we thought we'd take a ride to the top. Ha! The lines were horrendous. It was a beautiful sunny Sunday, so we weren't alone in our thought process. Aha, we said, let's go to the Louvre again! The easiest way was to use the Batobus (not quite like the Batmobile). It's a boat that makes a circuit up and down the Seine from the Eiffel Tower to Notre Dame and back. Photos 30 to 55 were taken from the Batobus. We then headed to St. Chapelle, an especially beautiful church (built 1240) near Notre Dame. It's known for its stained glass windows and haunting acoustics. Unfortunately, some renovation was going on inside and the view wasn't as impressive as usual. We then walked to the Centres Georges Pompidou, a museum of modern art. The view of Paris from the 5th floor is impressive. We had a drink at the Georges Restaurant, but the music drove us out. It was also fun to see work from the artists of the 60s that we're familiar with, as well as art from the newer artists (although some of it was mighty weird!). We had dinner at Le 404, a nearby Moroccan restaurant. The food was delicious, a pattern that we quickly got accustomed to in Paris.

May 14 (Mon) - Today started the first of six morning guided walking tours presented by Paris Walks, a sister organization to London Walks. We were never disappointed. We had arranged to meet Stacey and Jody (they arrived yesterday) for our first walk through the Ile de la Cite, the island that was the original site of the city of Paris and is the location of Notre Dame. We met at Metro Cite, and Iris was our guide around the island. The walk ended at the front of Notre Dame with the scenes depicting heaven and hell. After the tour, we went inside Notre Dame (see the photos of windows), and then back over to Les Bouquinistes for lunch. It was even better than the first time. For our second visit there, we were treated like royalty and given free champagne. (We must have tipped well the first time.) Another walk across the Seine and we were on St. Honore street - the street of chocolate. Michel Cluizel was the first of many chocolate shops we saw (and of course, bought from). Photos 43 and 44 show an interesting phenomenon. When each of us visited Paris years ago, we noticed that many cars parked on the sidewalks. In order to stop this behavior, most streets how have posts on the sidewalks. Notice how they park when no posts are around. Heading back to the apartment, we passed Place de la Madeleine, near the La Madeleine church. Stacey had made reservations at the Gaya Rive Gauche Restaurant for the evening, but Tom had to go without me (I had an upset stomach and I didn't even eat the chocolates!). To show our typical confusion with these meals, try reading the menu at http://www.pierre-gagnaire.com/francais/restaurant/AvrilGaya.pdf. (Or go to their home page above and select 'La Carte'.) The presentation of the food was very unique (see photo) and each dish was a showpiece. The highlight of the evening, however, was sitting a few feet away from Catherine Denueve, a famous French actress.

May 15 (Tue) - Our second Paris Walk was a chocolate tour starting at Metro Louvre-Rivoli with the same guide, Iris. Our first stop was at what Iris called the "best boulangerie in Paris" - Boulangerie Julien. She picked up some chocolate tartelettes, which she carried to a park to cut and distribute. It's too bad that I don't like dark chocolate. Tom had to eat twice as many samples during the day as anyone else. We then walked through the Jardin de Palais Royal, part of which was decorated with strange black and white cylinders, but it also contained a beautiful fountain. Then it was back the St. Honore for more chocolate shops. The first was Cote de France, where we first saw a real cocoa pod that has thousands of seeds, and tasted some great samples. The next stop was Michel Cluizel for more samples (where we had stopped the day before). The last chocolate stop (and more samples) was Jean-Paul Hevin, which has only one store in Paris and one in Japan. As if we could eat more, we stopped at Willi's Wine Bar for an excellent lunch (but we didn't try any of their 250 wines). A long walk home and we met back for dinner at Stella Maris, a Michelin 1-star with a Japanese chef, Tateru Yoshino. The food was both beautiful and delicious. Instead of describing each meal, we've posted photos on May 17 for a typical meal. Dinner usually started at 7:30 pm (which is early for the French) and lasted two to three hours at the better restaurants. In addition to the meal that you order, you also receive small tasting dishes throughout the meal. The meals are expensive, but delicious and a real treat.

May 16 (Wed) - The third Paris Walk was around Montmartre with guide Malcom. We were to meet at the Metro Abbesses. Tom didn't think that the elevator was working, so we had to climb up at least ten long flights of stairs to reach the street. I ached for the rest of the day. Montmartre is known for the Sacre Coeur, a very beautiful church, but was also home to many of the French artists and writers of the past. It also has two of the remaining windmills (moulins) - Moulin de la Galette and Moulin Radet. When we reached the end of the tour at Sacre Coeur, we discovered a street market of food from the Perigord region. Their specialties were wine, cheese, foie gras, jams, bread, and the best tasting strawberries ever. We decided to have lunch at a restaurant called Moulin de la Galette, which is located at the base of Moulin Radet. (Go figure! From a guidebook - "To confuse things, the names of the Moulin Radet and Moulin de la Galette are often reversed or used interchangably." After lunch, we headed to Parc Monceau and Musee Jacquemart-Andre, a restored home and museum. The current exhibit was one of dozens of Chinese masks. Unfortunately, we couldn't take any photos. A quick change and we headed to dinner at Carre Des Feuillants, a 2-star restaurant. This was another incredible meal. Although it doesn't look good in the photo, the last photo shows one of the desserts that was delicious (berry coulis, sorbets, apple strudel, etc.). This was the second most expensive meal we've ever had in our life - but it WAS delicious. Did you happen to notice the gas station in one of the photos (showing Euros per liter)? Gas there is about $7.30 a gallon, so we can't complain yet.

May 17 (Thu) - The fourth Paris Walk was to St Germain des Pres and started outside the Church of St. Sulpice (referenced in the Da Vinci Code). Our tour guide was Peter Caine (he and his wife run Paris Walks), and he (like all of the guides) was full of great stories. He's also the author of "Paris Then and Now" and "Walking the Da Vinci Code in Paris". We started at St. Suplice, a church that has never been completed, although is currently being restored to where it had been completed. Overlooking the church is Catherine Deneuve's apartment. Peter described a lot of the buildings, where writers lived and died, but it's somewhat of a blur. Most of the photos are simply photos of the neighborhood. I can't remember where we had lunch, but it was probably as good as always. We headed back to the Louvre to see the Asian section and discovered their Asian collection doesn't include China and Japan, which are housed in the Musee Guimet, which we had already seen. So off to the Musee D'Orsay to see their contemporary collection and the beautiful building that it's housed in. Dinner was at L'Angle du Faubourg, part of the Taillevent group. Another fabulous meal. We've included photos of each of the meals that we ordered, but not all of the food we were served. They started us out with an appetizer of their choice, then we had 'entrees' (not the main meal as in the US, but the entry to the dinner - our appetizer or salad course), then they gave use something to cleanse our palette, the came the main meals (or 'plats'). After the main course, you can order cheese if you'd like (but we bypassed that course). The desserts were great as usual. After, not before, dessert, we had coffee and the usual complimentary chocolates. We wallowed home.

May 18 (Fri) - We started the day by joining Stacey & Jody at the George V hotel for breakfast. The hotel is famous for the flower arrangements in their lobby (and you can see why from the photos). They're designed each week by the California floral designer Jeff Leatham. Then we were off to meet the Paris Walk guide, Brad, at the Metro Cardinal Lemoine. This walk was called "Hemingway's Paris" and we saw many of his apartments and hangouts in the Latin Quarter. This was where he wrote "A Moveable Feast." In addition, we saw the historic church of St. Etienne-du-Mont with the only remaining "rood screen", which kept the public from seeing the priests during the ceremony. Across the street was the Pantheon, built in 1764 and converted to public buildings in 1885. We wandered along Rue du Pot de Fer and Rue Mouffetard, two streets devoted to restaurants, markets, and food, so at the end of the tour we stopped for lunch. We then walked over to Ile St. Louis, where Stacey & Jody said we'd find the best ice cream - Glacier Berthillon. Yum. Heading back home, we came across a fair of boulangeries and patisseries in front of Notre Dame. After a few samples, we all headed home. Tom and I picked an Indian restaurant, Annapurna, for our dinner spot as a treat for my upcoming birthday and because they had a sitar player, Anand Kumar. The food was terrific, although a bit over-priced (are you surprised?). For example, a plate of lamb byriani was over $40.

May 19 (Sat) - Our last day and last Paris Walk started at the Metro St. Paul. This walk was called 'Marais Circuit 1' and was led by Chris. We mainly looked at the architecture from both medieval times to 19th century. We explored the Place des Vosges, a very large square surrounded by galleries and restaurants, and visited Victor Hugo's home (now a museum). Dinner was at Zen Garden. The meals were delicious and very attractive, as seen in the last three photos. Ordering is always fun. For example, we think that the three photos are dishes that Tom ordered and were called "Chair de crabe aux légumes croustillants façon zen (oignon, citronnelle, carotte, courgette)" and "Bouchées de saint-jacques et de crevettes au sésame noir, brocoli farci aux oeufs de caille." The rest of the night was spent packing - our driver was due the next morning at 8:15 am to take us to the airport and away from this beautiful city.

Au Revoir...