I learned so much from reading other posts that I had to write my own. However, my husband and I are in our 70%26#39;s and not in the best of health in terms of long walks, so this may not be as useful as others.
Day 1 - A good flight over, but the van driver was not there to meet us. Fortunately, my husband had kept his old Cingular phone, and they gave him a new chip to use overseas and a $5/month service (which we cancelled as soon as we returned). We think it will cost $1/minute, but haven%26#39;t gotten the bill yet. Anyway, he called the hotel, which had arranged the transport, and we finally made contact with the driver. The hotel room wasn%26#39;t ready so we walked around the neighborhood. The Opera Cadet (I will post separately about the hotel) is on a walking street, so we checked out all the shops and restaurants around it. After lunch and unpacking we walked to Gare du Nord to buy train tickets to Lille where we were going to meet his long-lost relatives. Early to bed that night after the all night trip!
Day 2 - We walked around the Louvre area (had been inside before and it was hectic on a Saturday) and then walked through the Tuilleries garden to the Orangerie (our goal for the Paris trip). After seeing Monet%26#39;s water lilies, we went downstairs to a marvelous surprise. A French art dealer had donated his collection of Impressionist paintings -- hundreds of them, it seemed. I had never seen so many before.
It was after 3 by the time we left and I was freezing and starving. We stopped at one of the little restaurants in the gardens and had crepes and hot chocolate. Do not eat there unless you are starving. Then we toured the shops under the Louvre for gifts and picked up dinner on our street to eat in the hotel. Wonderful to get into a robe and slippers when you are wet, cold and tired!
Day 3 - Trip to Lille. A tour by car, and then a real French family Sunday dinner: entree (appetizer), main course, salad, pastries, cheese tray. Since we knew all the shops would be closed Sunday night, we picked up sandwiches at the train station and finished our bottle of wine from the previous night.
Day 4- Started to use the Carte Orange (which we had purchased on Saturday) and went to the Cluny - Musee Moyen Age. Spent two hours there. Then we went looking for an internet cafe in the neighborhood (I had looked up addresses before we left on the trip). Then we walked around the Latin Quarter. Had real crepes from a street stand. What a difference from the ones on Saturday. Great fun to watch them being made in front of your eyes.
Walked across Ile de la Cite and over the Seine to see Les Halles, but didn%26#39;t go inside. Then took the metro back to the hotel.
Day 5- Went to the D%26#39;Orsay. We had been there before, but I can never get my fill of the Impressionists. My husband wanted to see the artisan craftmens%26#39; shops under the viaduct. Interesting, very modern furniture and home furnishings. To get back to the hotel we took the newest metro line 14 - fully automated - and another experience, part of the way. We stopped off to see the Opera Garnier and then walked to Galleries LaFayette to see the buiding decorations and the animations of toys and dolls in the windows, set up for the holidays.
Day 6- Went to the Maritime Museum. Fascinating models of ships and dioramas. Unfortunately, nothing in English and I have no French. Also an exhibit of hundred of paintings by Andre Hambourg. He was a world traveler and official artist for the French Navy. Paintings from all over, especially the Middle East and Africa.
Then we went to the Jardin des Plantes. Picked up crepes at a street stand near the metro station. Again, yummy! We were going to see the Menagerie, but our credit card didn%26#39;t work (only time during the trip) and we took that as a sign! So we walked around the gardens. Used one of the outside toilettes. Another experience! I wanted to see a real street market to we went to the Marche Moffetard. Oh, how I wish we had something like that where we live. Blocks of fruit and vegetable stands, meat, fish, cheese stands.
Day 7- We thought about taking a boat ride up the Canal St. Martin, so the first thing we did was go over to the Bastille station to find out where the board was leaving. Incredible area. Found the location and thought about coming back for the 2:30pm ride. My husband wanted to see the Villages St. Paul, so we took the metro there. Interesting artisans%26#39; shops. Then we walked to the Jewish Quarter. Finally found the restaurant L%26#39;Aus du Falafal (sp.?). Another great and very filling experience. Walked around the area; an unexpected mixture of high end shops and old buildings. Never made it back to the Canal St. Martin. Instead we went to the Petit Palace, hoping to see the Monet paintings there. Unfortunately, that wing was closed, as often happens at museums all over. It is a very interesting museum, though. On the way there we passed the BHV department store. Went inside and had delicious desserts and view of the rooftops of Paris. By the time we got back to the hotel it was raining, so we picked up wine, cheese and baguette and dessert for dinner to with fruit in room.
Day 8- Went to the Musee Guimet. Absolutely fascinating Asian art museum. But the Afghanistan art exhibit wasn%26#39;t there. Had lunch in their restaurant to break up the visit. Looked in at the Palais de Tokyo. Then had to head back for an afternoon tour, courtesy of American Airlines. Sat in the metro waiting for a train, when it finally came it was so full no one could get on. Ditto second train. We had missed the tour and realized we could be sitting there for the rest of the day. So we left the station and took a bus that crossed to the Left Bank and went past the Jardin de Luxenbourg, which we had passed earlier in the week. After we walked around, we took a bus back across to the Right Bank and the Gare d%26#39;Est. From there we could take a metro back to the hotel. If you are cold and tired, as I was, this is another way to do some sight seeing. Turns out there was a strike, but only on that particular metro line. This is the one time that it was unfortunate we didn%26#39;t have enough French to understand the messages on the loudspeaker in the metro.
Day 9- Our transport to the airport wasn%26#39;t until 2pm. Since we were all packed and ready to go, we left our luggage in the hotel storage room and went to the Musee Monet Marmotton. We had been there before, but most of the rooms were being used for a reception. This time we hit the jackpot. Not only did we get to see all the Monet paintings, but there was an exhibit of Japanese art. Just an absolutely wonderful way to end our visit. And it was warm enough for us to sit in the park outside the museum for a little snack.
We got back to the hotel just in time to pick up a sandwich (our last taste of the great French bread which we%26#39;ve never been able to find in the US) and dessert to take with us. Having read all the posts, I wasn%26#39;t sure how long it would take us to get through security,etc. at the airport and didn%26#39;t know if we would have time to eat there.
The van driver gave us a tour as we left the city, and we were through security in no time. We bought drinks and had our last French meal -- for now.
Looking back, it was a wonderful trip - relaxed, not rushed. We will have to wait until next time to see more.
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Thank you for sharing your Paris experience with us. You managed to see a lot, and it seems to me that you actually did quite a lot of walking.
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Hi Shoesy -
Yes we did a lot of walking. Once you start, it%26#39;s hard to stop. There is always something new around the next corner.
There was a minibar in our hotel room and I brought a mini-pack with me. I was able to ice both legs every evening after we returned to the hotel. That saved me!
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Thanks THM8,
We will be there next month and are in our mid 50%26#39;s. I think we would have a hard time keeping up with you!
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I hope we are as active when we are in our 70%26#39;s. Great report and very helpful.
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Hi janesatelier! I think you%26#39;ll find that once you get to Paris you automatically become more active than ever thought you could be. Everything is so lovely there and there%26#39;s so much to see, so people tend to keep going. However, there are advantages to seeing the city at a very relaxed pace, which means you end up seeing less, but whatever works best for you will be an experience you cherish. I have no regrets about missing such-and-such a sight because I have something (lots of things) to look forward to on a future visit.
Enjoy your trip.
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Your trip report on Paris sounds lovely, I always lose so much weight when I%26#39;m in Paris..just from all the walking.....but i love it, there is always something interesting to see around every corner..
Did you get to experience the Buddha Bar ??
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%26gt;%26gt;%26gt; my husband and I are in our 70%26#39;s and not in the best of health in terms of long walks%26lt;%26lt;%26lt;%26lt;
No, we can clearly tell from you tripreport that you certainly didn%26#39;t get around much !!!
LOL !!!
Agree with the others - if I can be as fit in my 70%26#39;s as you obviously are then I would consider myself lucky.
And it is pure nonsense that your report is not %26quot;useful%26quot; - I find it really fascinating to read reports from someone who is so much into art museums as you.
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Hi TarHeelMom,
I enjoyed reading your report very much. You packed your time with such interesting choices that must have taken lots of stamina!
I haven%26#39;t been to Viaduc des Arts since it first opened, when there were only a few shops. Has it evolved into a livelier scene -- lots of artisans with interesting wares? The Villages St. Paul has also been on my list, but I%26#39;ve never made it there. I%26#39;d love to hear your impressions of those places, and whether you think they%26#39;re worth a visit.
You must be a Paris veteran because your itinerary was quite different from the usual report. Thanks so much for sharing!
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Hello Aude,
Sorry i haven%26#39;t been back to the forums for a while to answer your questions. My husband was interested in the Viaducts and Villages St. Paul. They were my most difficult walks, because of distance and colder weather. The former had many shops, but almost all of them just showed very large pieces of modern furniture. Not interesting window shopping for me. The latter didn%26#39;t have many shops open. But they were more interesting.
We had been to Paris six years ago. The only museum we visited again was the D%26#39;Orsay. We each had a list of special places we wanted to visit, and we took turns. My husband really enjoyed the Maritime Museum. After a while, I sat and did sudoku and crossword puzzles I had cut out of the newspapers for days before we left. When I felt rested, I got up again, and found him. If we return to Paris, he has put the airforce museum at La Bourget at the top of his list!
Fortunately for me, he enjoys the Impressionists as much as I do. And we both enjoy just walking around and finding new areas.
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Hi Tarheemom8, as the previous posters have said, your trip report was really enjoyable to read and you and your husband certainly walked a lot each day. Thank you for reporting on your holiday.
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