Post by redqueen on Aug 2, 2012 16:46:18 GMT -5
I've also put this trip report on the TA forum, so apologies if you've found yourself reading it twice!
We had originally planned to spend a week in Paris based on husband's retirement date and the final day of the Tour de France. However we reckoned without the travel difficulties caused by the end of the Tour and the start of the Olympic Games! Fortunately our landlord for the week, Olivier, was able to accommodate us for some extra nights and we had an 11 night break instead.
This was our 9th and longest trip and we stayed in a lovely studio rented through VRBO just off Rue Amelot in the 11th within easy walking distance of Bastille, Republique, the Marais and Oberkampf areas.
As we were staying so long we purchased Navigo Decouverte passes, and what a good decision this was! The weather was very hot, in the upper 80s fahrenheit, for much of the time, and it was so easy to just hop on the metro or bus, and on one occasion a tram, when we became too hot and tired to walk. The days either side of the Navigo week we used a carnet.
Having the Navigos and the weather being so good we spent a lot of time in parks and gardens that be haven't previously visited. We went north to Parc de la Villette and the Ile de la Jatte which features in several Seurat paintings, east to Parc Floral and the Bois de Vincennes, south to Parc Montsouris and west to Parc de Bagatelle in the Bois de Boulogne. We particularly liked Parc Montsouris and Parc de Bagatelle. We also spent time in the Tuileries, Jardin de Luxembourg and our favourite, Parc des Buttes Chaumont.
The highlight of the holiday was definitely being on the Rue de Rivoli and seeing Bradley Wiggins leading out Mark Cavendish on the last stage of the Tour for his win on the Champs Elysees. Our son came over from London to join us for this and we all agreed it was a brilliant day.
As for eating, we did a mixture of dining out, picnics, and eating in the apartment, the highlights being dinner at Au Vieux Chene on Rue Dahomey, dinner on our last night at the pizza/pasta restaurant that we always go to in the north end of the Marais, and for sheer good timing, the crepes and cold drinks from the kiosk we came across in the Parc de Bagatelle when we were drooping from the heat!
Paris in the heat of July can be a bit much, especially when getting on in years, so we will be reverting to our usual practice of visiting in the spring or autumn for the foreseeable future!
We had originally planned to spend a week in Paris based on husband's retirement date and the final day of the Tour de France. However we reckoned without the travel difficulties caused by the end of the Tour and the start of the Olympic Games! Fortunately our landlord for the week, Olivier, was able to accommodate us for some extra nights and we had an 11 night break instead.
This was our 9th and longest trip and we stayed in a lovely studio rented through VRBO just off Rue Amelot in the 11th within easy walking distance of Bastille, Republique, the Marais and Oberkampf areas.
As we were staying so long we purchased Navigo Decouverte passes, and what a good decision this was! The weather was very hot, in the upper 80s fahrenheit, for much of the time, and it was so easy to just hop on the metro or bus, and on one occasion a tram, when we became too hot and tired to walk. The days either side of the Navigo week we used a carnet.
Having the Navigos and the weather being so good we spent a lot of time in parks and gardens that be haven't previously visited. We went north to Parc de la Villette and the Ile de la Jatte which features in several Seurat paintings, east to Parc Floral and the Bois de Vincennes, south to Parc Montsouris and west to Parc de Bagatelle in the Bois de Boulogne. We particularly liked Parc Montsouris and Parc de Bagatelle. We also spent time in the Tuileries, Jardin de Luxembourg and our favourite, Parc des Buttes Chaumont.
The highlight of the holiday was definitely being on the Rue de Rivoli and seeing Bradley Wiggins leading out Mark Cavendish on the last stage of the Tour for his win on the Champs Elysees. Our son came over from London to join us for this and we all agreed it was a brilliant day.
As for eating, we did a mixture of dining out, picnics, and eating in the apartment, the highlights being dinner at Au Vieux Chene on Rue Dahomey, dinner on our last night at the pizza/pasta restaurant that we always go to in the north end of the Marais, and for sheer good timing, the crepes and cold drinks from the kiosk we came across in the Parc de Bagatelle when we were drooping from the heat!
Paris in the heat of July can be a bit much, especially when getting on in years, so we will be reverting to our usual practice of visiting in the spring or autumn for the foreseeable future!
Let the riot begin! LOL - 
hahahha