The first step is admitting it, n%26#39;est pas? ;-)
Merci beaucoup to all of you for your input and help! We went to Paris for 5 days in late October and had the most memorable trip. We%26#39;re in love with Paris! It was my second time there, but felt I was able to get a better bite of it (the city and the food), no doubt thanks to the advice I got here.
There are really no highlights because everything as far as I%26#39;m concerned was a highlight (three times over in flourescent yellow), however, if I have to chose--these would be it:
*Our hotel stay--Paris Le Grand Intercontinental (it IS Grand)
*Musee Rodin, and the croque monsieur we had at Cafe du Musee around the corner
*A walk through 7eme (Motte Piquet, Invalides, etc)., then dinner at Le 7eme Vin (little bistro with great food and wine)
*La Tour Eiffel (of course) at any hour, but esp. at sunset and when it lights up
*Bateaux Parisiens after sunset (the bridges, la Seine, you know you%26#39;ve arrived!)
*Jardin de Tuileries (stroll through a perfect garden, ah...)
*The best hot chocolate and fab atmosphere: Angelina!
*Musee d%26#39;Orsay and their cafe
*St. Germain de Pres
*Sacre Coeur and walk through Montmartre
*Opera and Place de la Madeleine areas, and Fauchon (feast for the senses)
*Le Grand Colbert (classic brasserie we loved)
Myths: There are two things I%26#39;ve read here or heard that mystify me...
Paris is dirty? It%26#39;s the cleanest, most well-kept/renovated city I%26#39;ve ever visited, and for a city so incredibly rich with history, people, and tourists--that says a lot. Maybe we were lucky, but we couldn%26#39;t even find one dirty public bathroom! I love how the toilets flush for half a minute... I even liked the toilets? I do need help.
And this idea of the French being rude? We visited Paris, Bordeaux, Saint Emilion... and experienced the total opposite. Could it be that this comes from not realizing that it%26#39;s customary to greet (bonjour o bonsoir) and thank (merci) when you enter or leave a place? I loved that. It%26#39;s actually quite nice when human beings acknowledge each other. So to les Parisienne/the French out there, I apologize on behalf of others because it%26#39;s actually rude to be told you%26#39;re rude when you%26#39;re not. Thanks for not minding when I butchered your language, and/or speaking English when I needed help.
Vive la France!
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Pinky,
Welcome to the club.
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We loved Bordeaux and St. Emillion as well... I love going outside Paris also!!!!! Did you post a report there too?
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We just came back from our 7th Paris Thanksgiving. It was not our favorite trip because our luggage did not join us for 5 days. One of my co-workers remarked upon hearing about the luggage %26quot;So you won%26#39;t be going back.%26quot;. I replied %26quot;Of Course I%26#39;ll be there again next year.%26quot;
Welcome to the club.
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Suzanne,
I find that so strange that your coworker would make the jump from you not getting your luggage (I take it from the flight) to you not going back to Paris. How did they ever jump to such a bizarre conclusion?
Les
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Paris was the best initiation! Yes Discover, I posted a smaller version of my enthusiasm on the Bordeaux forum (and also the hotel I stayed in there--Sources de Caudalie--amazing). I would go back to France (and will) even if my luggage was lost too. Glad my obsession is mutual and then some.
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Welcome to the dark side. ;) Glad you had fun....
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I became addicted to Paris after my second trip. Of course I fell in love with the city during my first visit (a week long), and I came home with a wonderful feeling that I had had a marvellous trip, which kept me satisfied for quite a while. Less than two years later, as I began planning our second trip (again I was going to accompany my husband for work purposes) I became more and more excited as I anticipated seeing many of those splendid attractions again and while I was planning which new sights and areas I would see. I found Paris even more-breathtaking this past June, and this time I was left with the feeling that I would HAVE TO return again and again. Once I was home and my one blister had healed, I was ready to go back.
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I first went to Paris in the late %26#39;90s on my honeymoon with one of my wives. The wife is long gone but I return to Paris now 3 or 4 times a year. Am I obsessed with Paris? Besides traveling to Paris, I publish a guidebook to Paris, I%26#39;ve taken French lessons at NYU, I do presentations to local civic groups on traveling to Paris, I%26#39;ve made some very good friends in Paris, I post on this silly board at least once a day, and I just got hired by a tour company and my first Paris tour is this summer.
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Hi Pixfield! Good luck with your first Paris tour group. Are you going to take them to dine in L.C.C.? One more thing...........who%26#39;s %26quot;silly%26quot;?
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Lifeinpink,
Your report is lovely. And thanks for saying the French are not rude. I personnally do my best to change this cliché, and help lost or overwhelmed tourists whenever I can.
And, wow, you stayed at %26quot;les sources de caudalie%26quot; in Bordeaux ? I dream of staying there, their spa looks terrific ! Did you enjoy caudalie products? I love them !
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