I recently got a lot of good tips from this forum and I want to say thank you to everyone. For those who are interested, here is a long trip report (I was in Paris with my husband 10/8-10/18).
Airport
CDG was smaller than I thought it would be, which made things like immigration go faster than I thought. We arrived early for our flight back and couldn’t help but notice the food was terrible except for the pre-packaged baguettes. Bring your own from a bakery near your hotel/apartment if you can remember.
Transportation
We used the Blue Van shuttle. They were there when we arrived at the airport (we were the only ones in the van). They were about 15 minutes late picking us up at our hotel, but they called to let us know we would be late (there was one other passenger in the van). In Paris, we used our feet (our preference), the subway and cabs. The subways were clean and came about every 3 minutes - amazingly frequent. The cab drivers were all very nice and did not try to rip us off (one driver even told us to just give him 10 euros when the meter fare was 10.20 euros - I’ve never seen that in the U.S.!). It’s also fun when your cab is a high-end Mercedes or Audi.
Hotel
We stayed at the Hotel Saint Louis Bastille, near Place de la Republique. The room was clean and modern. The location was awesome - walking distance to a lot of places and near several subway lines. The staff was not very helpful. Biggest issue was the noise, which was only a problem because we like to sleep with the windows open. Lots of traffic noise. Very loud. Very annoying (how do the French handle this?!). The first day we asked for a quieter room in the back and instead on the third day got another front room on a higher floor which did not help. Good price, however. I would go back if guaranteed a room in the back or I was traveling in the winter when i want the windows closed.
Food
Definitely go to local bakeries, wine shops, grocery stores and markets. We made a habit of breakfast at our local bakery, followed by espresso at our local bar, followed by a big lunch, then wine/cheese/fruit picnic at about 4pm somewhere spectacular (foot of the Eiffel Tower, top steps of the Sacre-Coeur), and a late dinner. Yum. Food was great. Cheese was unbelievable. We had everything from fancy bistros to the corner brasseries to the neighborhood favorite (a French-Greek place that sang “Happy Birthday” to us to help celebrate our wedding anniversary!) to pizza (served with a raw egg on top?!) to a to a chain restaurant based in Belgium specializing in mussels (we called it “Red Mussels”) to street venders with baguettes and crepes. Also we got Asian fusion when we couldn’t take another rich French meal. Note that martinis are Really Expensive (25 euros) - at least that’s what we noticed when we went to the Ritz Hotel (we stuck with wine after that).
Sights
Centre Pompidou is spectacular if you like contemporary art (also has a great view %26amp; a fun gift shop!). Musee Rodin is filled with stunning sculpture inside %26amp; out, is small but not too crowded. Louvre was of course filled with incredible art, but was packed with people to the point I was pretty uncomfortable. Pere-Lachaise Cemetery was worthwhile - particularly considering the fact that it will probably be some time before visitors will feel comfortable in the cemeteries of New Orleans (which are similar). Notre Dame was great - don’t forget to walk around the back - and try to get there when there is an organ concert (we did just by chance - amazing!). Luxembourg Gardens were a nice place to stop and rest and watch the Parisians at leisure - really fun watching the kids play (we did not observe ONE Playstation during our visit - yea!). Ste. Chapelle is stunning - forget about taking photos like everyone else, just enjoy it. With 10 days in Paris, we thought we would have a few day trips, but there was so much to see and do in the City, we only ended up taking one day trip: to Fontainbleau - a nice village adjacent to the King’s “hunting lodge” - actually a large palace surrounded by some formal gardens and acres and acres of old-growth forested hunting grounds. It was a great mid-trip visit to a relatively rural area where we could stomp around in the woods. Also had pigeon (with wild cherry sauce - yum!) for the first time in Fontainbleau.
People
I cannot emphasize enough how nice the French were. I am relatively well-traveled (U.S., Canada, Mexico, Western Europe) and I have never been to a place where people are nicer. Several times people heard us speaking in English and struggling with a map or a menu and just walked up and asked if they could be of assistance. Everyone we met spoke at least some English, but we had much more satisfying interactions with people if we tried to speak French (and our French is pretty bad). They humored us for a minute and then started speaking English.
Dogs
Dogs go everywhere...restaurants, stores, you name it. When being walked on the streets they are stunningly well-behaved. The owners carry the leashes and don’t hook them to the dog - they don’t have to - the dogs stay within 10 yards of the owners and are very obedient. The only exception was dogs that are often problematic (Rottweilers, Pitt Bulls) always have muzzles and are on leashes.
Most special moments
1) My husband (a professional jazz guitarist) brought his guitar with him. We went to a jam session (“Les Boeufs”) one night at a club in an area that was very “off the beaten track”. Even though my husband had an electric guitar and it was an acoustic Django Reinhart, gypsy-type jam (“Jazz Manouche”), the leader immediately asked him on stage and asked him to keep playing for 2 HOURS-just rotating the other players. The crowd applauded a lot, and several people in the bar came over at various times as I sat alone with my wine to ask “is he your husband? He is very good - he must be famous!” Very, very nice people. He had fun, I had fun, everyone had fun. At the end of the night the club owner came over and asked us to come back again before we left town.
2) At a Café in St Germain we noticed that someone from a large table next to us was getting us to take a photo of the table - we heard her speak English so we asked if we could take the photo for her so she could be in the picture. She said yes, then the gentleman at the head of the table (a local) started talking to us, invited us to the table for digestifs, ended up giving us a tour of his nearby art gallery and a few days later met us again for drinks and gave us a behind-the-scenes tour of the Ecole des Beaux-Arts. Wow! He expects to visit with us when he %26amp; his wife are in the U.S.
3) Romance: [I am self-editing this part - suffice it to say there was a lot of romance]
Regrets
Should have made reservations at a couple of high-end restaurants before we left - we couldn’t get in to a few places we wanted to go. Should have eaten more chocolate - the few pieces we had were stunning. Should have taken a photo of the artichokes in the market - they were HUGE - never seen anything like it.
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Wow, really a great report and you had such an amazing time in the Jazz Club!! I can%26#39;t believe it!! So good to read a nice trip report for a change (I mean it is a change from the posts about the riots in Paris).
Thank You!
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:) I love trip reports. glad you had a great time and thanks for sharing your trip info.
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I loved the jazz club entry. I would have loved to be there. When you come back, make sure you tell us where you plan to jam. GREAT trip report!
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What a great report. I%26#39;m going to be in Paris in 2 weeks.... my first visit...just put me more in the mood after reading your great review... Thank you for sharing!!
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What a great trip! I was hanging on every word!
I%26#39;m headed to Paris myself, but not until March, so these trip reports are what keep me sane while I%26#39;m waiting.
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Please please let us know... which jazz club was it?
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Queen,
Wonderful report, great stories!
May I ask what restaurants you tried to get into that you weren%26#39;t able to?
P.s. if you want, I%26#39;ll take a photo of the artichokes and send it to you!
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Loved Your Post. I didn%26#39;t think it was long at all. I loved the Jazz club story. We are heading to Rome in 10 Days (I can%26#39;t believe it) and We also will be hitting some Jazz and Blues Clubs. I told My Husband to bring a Suit (That Went over real well) Because WE WILL BE GOING TO THE OPERA. I informed Him With or Without Him. I also threw in %26quot;I heard the Italian Men Love American Women%26quot;. And My Husband is Italian. I%26#39;m sure He will be going along. I hope to have as much Romance as You all did.
Thanks again...Theresa from Detroit
PS Everyone in France Were so Nice to Me. I had some Amazing conversations with some People, and made a Lifetime Friend with a Tour Guide. Can%26#39;t wait to go back. The Riots? Hey I%26#39;m from Detroit...We%26#39;ve seen it all.
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The jazz club was called the Blue Note and I believe it was a few blocks from the Chateau Rouge stop on the #4 Metro line (we found it in the listings in a weekly paper/magazine we got at a newsstand). We were there on a Monday night (most of the jam sessions in Paris seem to be on Sunday, Monday or Tuesday). Not sure what happens at the Blue Note the rest of the week. Note also that on the plane back to the states I was reading an American magazine (Vanity Fair?) which informed me that jazz manouche is the current %26quot;hip%26quot; music (!!!). Most of the jazz clubs in Paris seem to have jazz manouche at least one night per week.
The restaurant I remember really wanting to try but not getting in was Chez L%26#39;ami Louis in the 3rd. We then started following the advice from the forum and went to the big places at lunch. We really had a good time as Brasserie Lipp in the 6th.
oiseau, I see you are from Chicago. Those artichokes are as big as a Chicago softball, my friend. Wild stuff. Definitely post a photo.
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Fabulous report about a fabulous sounding trip! Thanks!
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