Post by paris...ahh on Dec 23, 2012 1:16:45 GMT -5
As I mentioned when I was planning my trip, my hubby wasn’t interested in traveling to France, so I invited a friend. After my last trip, in 2008, I had many people mention to me that if I ever went again, they were interested in traveling to Paris. I was pretty confident that someone would consider travel in the last week of November, but I was prepared to go alone if there were no takers. The first person I mentioned it to jumped at the chance and so the planning began.
I did not keep notes, so I will try to do a day by day report as best I can, but first a few things to put everything into context. There were a few snafus and lots of good moments, the best, of course, was seeing my adult son in person after almost 1 year (he had been working in another country before France). I had made a schedule of days and activities, trying to organize them in a logical manner to help with our decision making each day. This, of course, was very flexible so we could change it at any time depending on our whims. (and we did, flipping two days and making other minor changes) I’d like to say up front that though I enjoy food (a lot, lol), I am not a foodie nor am I a fussy eater. I had a list of restaurants with me, but did not make reservations anywhere, preferring to stop when the mood struck us (or our hunger), never knowing for sure which arrondissement we would actually be in. Of course, we were NEVER near any of the restaurants on the list when the hunger pangs set in. I enjoyed almost all of my meals with the exception of part of one, my traveling companion did not enjoy any of her meals with the exception of street food. We did not order the same thing at any time, and that may have had something to do with it as well. I did have plans to splurge on a restaurant at least one night, reservations and all, and plan it on a night my son was joining us, but after my friend’s disappointment with her food, those plans were scratched. Not a big deal, really. I was also concerned about my level of fitness getting around the city. After a knee injury two years ago, my level of fitness dropped dramatically from what it was in 2008 and I was concerned about stairs to the metro and was hoping to figure out the bus system. This didn’t happen…
Day 1
We flew out of Toronto on the evening of Saturday, November 24, 2012. We arrived in Paris at 9:45 am local time, which is 3:45 am body time. I am fortunate that I can sleep a bit (doze on and off) on the plane. My traveling companion is not that lucky. I get bad motion sickness, so the Gravol I take puts me to sleep. She loves flying (her husband flies small planes) and at least enjoyed our trouble free flight. Through Air Canada vacations, we had arranged for group pick up at the airport. It turned out that we were the only ones that morning, so as soon as we had our luggage, we were on our way directly to our hotel. Once there, even though we were much earlier than check in time and I could see that others had left their luggage, two rooms were ready and we were able to get rooms immediately. Yay, what a bonus! I let my friend choose which room she wanted, choice was between first floor (called second in North America) or third floor. She chose the third which turned out to be perfect for both of us. I loved being on the first floor, looking out over the street and opening my window (yes, in November). The street noise did not bother me and I kept the window open a crack even when I was sleeping. She had third floor (fourth to us) facing the court yard and it was very quiet and she loved it there. Our hotel was Des Nations St. Germain on Rue Monge approximately ½ way between the Place Monge metro and the Cardinal Lemoine metro. The location was great and we liked the hotel. It was clean, the beds were comfortable and the bathroom, although small, was nice (and clean). The shower stall, however, was VERY small. I think there are many men who would not fit into that stall (my husband included). Breakfast was included and they had scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage, cold cuts, cheeses, flavoured and unflavoured yogurts, cereals, granola, fruit salad, fruit, fruit cups, pain aux chocolat, croissants, crusty rolls, bread, butter, jam, jelly, nutella, coffee, tea, orange juice and grapefruit juice. I did not have eggs or bacon once (bacon tended to be undercooked for my taste, and for others’ judging by their plates), but felt I had a nice PD each day.
I made a bit of a mistake when planning this first day. I was sure that I had arrived in Paris on a Sunday the last time I went, four years ago. So I planned the same type of “easy” day. We walked to Notre Dame and then got on the Hop On Hop Off bus at the stop there, with the intention of ending up at Galleries Lafayette where we could shop a little and my son was going to meet us there for dinner. We took our time walking to Notre Dame, shopping a little, enjoying our surroundings a lot. We finally got on a bus (the stop had moved, no sign indicating it, due to the construction that is going on in front of Notre Dame). I thought this would be a good way for my friend to see a lot, and listen to the descriptions, since our visit was for only one week. We got off of the bus at Hop On offices and walked to Galleries Lafayette where we were to meet with him. We found out that Galleries is closed on Sunday! (an aside, when I returned home, I realized that my last vacation had been one day longer and we had arrived on a Saturday) It was 4 pm local by this time and I could see that my friend was exhausted. Surprisingly, I was not. I think it was excitement and the anticipation of seeing my son. I stood on a corner, facing three streets, waiting for a glimpse of him while my poor, cold, tired, friend leaned against the building. I finally spotted him and began waiving to get his attention. I’m sure I had a silly, ear to ear grin at this point.
We decided to find a restaurant nearby before returning to our neighbourhood, so we could warm up, rest, and eat to renew our energy. We picked a direction and just began walking. We saw a creperie restaurant, but it was closed, as were a few others. We finally came to an open restaurant on rue Lafayette called Tivoli, and decided to go in. The wine was good We had a Kir to begin. My friend had lasagna which she thought was bland. My son had a small pizza followed by café gourmand and he enjoyed his meal. I ordered a charcuterie and left most of it uneaten as the cold cut type meat was way past its prime. Our waiter was wonderful and attentive, but somehow I angered the manager by not eating this dish and from that point on, he mocked us a bit. I don’t even remember what I had as my main dish, I only know I was fine with it. After the Kir, it was the manager who brought me my glass of wine while being a bit condescending. I made the effort to use all the French I remembered, which was quite a lot, I might say. Neither my friend, nor my son speak French, but both can read and/or understand a bit. When, at the end of our meal, I quietly asked our waiter for l’addition , the manager made grand gestures from halfway across the restaurant yelling “Cheque please!” Not looking us in the eye, just seeming to be nasty. Needless to say, I would never return there (nor would I to another restaurant we ate at a couple of days later). This was so different from my first experience in Paris, but you win some and you lose some, I guess. I was already beginning to wonder if this was going to be the norm, now that I didn’t have a 24 year old who looks like a model travelling with me this time.
Revived a bit, we walked back to the metro station closest to the Opera Garnier. We decided to take line 7 to the Place Monge station. When we got there, we arbitrarily chose an exit. We began climbing what seemed like an unlimited number of stairs. Every time I thought we had made it to the top, we rounded a corner to another set. I had to stop twice to catch my breath (friend and son did not have to do this –lol), but I couldn’t believe the torture I was going through on my first, most tired day, of the trip. I’d like to say here that the next time we arrived at this station, we took a different exit direction and lo and behold, an escalator! We had a good laugh over that. Son walked us back to our hotel and then he headed home on foot (he lives in the 12th), an approximate 35 minute walk for him.
I did not keep notes, so I will try to do a day by day report as best I can, but first a few things to put everything into context. There were a few snafus and lots of good moments, the best, of course, was seeing my adult son in person after almost 1 year (he had been working in another country before France). I had made a schedule of days and activities, trying to organize them in a logical manner to help with our decision making each day. This, of course, was very flexible so we could change it at any time depending on our whims. (and we did, flipping two days and making other minor changes) I’d like to say up front that though I enjoy food (a lot, lol), I am not a foodie nor am I a fussy eater. I had a list of restaurants with me, but did not make reservations anywhere, preferring to stop when the mood struck us (or our hunger), never knowing for sure which arrondissement we would actually be in. Of course, we were NEVER near any of the restaurants on the list when the hunger pangs set in. I enjoyed almost all of my meals with the exception of part of one, my traveling companion did not enjoy any of her meals with the exception of street food. We did not order the same thing at any time, and that may have had something to do with it as well. I did have plans to splurge on a restaurant at least one night, reservations and all, and plan it on a night my son was joining us, but after my friend’s disappointment with her food, those plans were scratched. Not a big deal, really. I was also concerned about my level of fitness getting around the city. After a knee injury two years ago, my level of fitness dropped dramatically from what it was in 2008 and I was concerned about stairs to the metro and was hoping to figure out the bus system. This didn’t happen…
Day 1
We flew out of Toronto on the evening of Saturday, November 24, 2012. We arrived in Paris at 9:45 am local time, which is 3:45 am body time. I am fortunate that I can sleep a bit (doze on and off) on the plane. My traveling companion is not that lucky. I get bad motion sickness, so the Gravol I take puts me to sleep. She loves flying (her husband flies small planes) and at least enjoyed our trouble free flight. Through Air Canada vacations, we had arranged for group pick up at the airport. It turned out that we were the only ones that morning, so as soon as we had our luggage, we were on our way directly to our hotel. Once there, even though we were much earlier than check in time and I could see that others had left their luggage, two rooms were ready and we were able to get rooms immediately. Yay, what a bonus! I let my friend choose which room she wanted, choice was between first floor (called second in North America) or third floor. She chose the third which turned out to be perfect for both of us. I loved being on the first floor, looking out over the street and opening my window (yes, in November). The street noise did not bother me and I kept the window open a crack even when I was sleeping. She had third floor (fourth to us) facing the court yard and it was very quiet and she loved it there. Our hotel was Des Nations St. Germain on Rue Monge approximately ½ way between the Place Monge metro and the Cardinal Lemoine metro. The location was great and we liked the hotel. It was clean, the beds were comfortable and the bathroom, although small, was nice (and clean). The shower stall, however, was VERY small. I think there are many men who would not fit into that stall (my husband included). Breakfast was included and they had scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage, cold cuts, cheeses, flavoured and unflavoured yogurts, cereals, granola, fruit salad, fruit, fruit cups, pain aux chocolat, croissants, crusty rolls, bread, butter, jam, jelly, nutella, coffee, tea, orange juice and grapefruit juice. I did not have eggs or bacon once (bacon tended to be undercooked for my taste, and for others’ judging by their plates), but felt I had a nice PD each day.
I made a bit of a mistake when planning this first day. I was sure that I had arrived in Paris on a Sunday the last time I went, four years ago. So I planned the same type of “easy” day. We walked to Notre Dame and then got on the Hop On Hop Off bus at the stop there, with the intention of ending up at Galleries Lafayette where we could shop a little and my son was going to meet us there for dinner. We took our time walking to Notre Dame, shopping a little, enjoying our surroundings a lot. We finally got on a bus (the stop had moved, no sign indicating it, due to the construction that is going on in front of Notre Dame). I thought this would be a good way for my friend to see a lot, and listen to the descriptions, since our visit was for only one week. We got off of the bus at Hop On offices and walked to Galleries Lafayette where we were to meet with him. We found out that Galleries is closed on Sunday! (an aside, when I returned home, I realized that my last vacation had been one day longer and we had arrived on a Saturday) It was 4 pm local by this time and I could see that my friend was exhausted. Surprisingly, I was not. I think it was excitement and the anticipation of seeing my son. I stood on a corner, facing three streets, waiting for a glimpse of him while my poor, cold, tired, friend leaned against the building. I finally spotted him and began waiving to get his attention. I’m sure I had a silly, ear to ear grin at this point.
We decided to find a restaurant nearby before returning to our neighbourhood, so we could warm up, rest, and eat to renew our energy. We picked a direction and just began walking. We saw a creperie restaurant, but it was closed, as were a few others. We finally came to an open restaurant on rue Lafayette called Tivoli, and decided to go in. The wine was good We had a Kir to begin. My friend had lasagna which she thought was bland. My son had a small pizza followed by café gourmand and he enjoyed his meal. I ordered a charcuterie and left most of it uneaten as the cold cut type meat was way past its prime. Our waiter was wonderful and attentive, but somehow I angered the manager by not eating this dish and from that point on, he mocked us a bit. I don’t even remember what I had as my main dish, I only know I was fine with it. After the Kir, it was the manager who brought me my glass of wine while being a bit condescending. I made the effort to use all the French I remembered, which was quite a lot, I might say. Neither my friend, nor my son speak French, but both can read and/or understand a bit. When, at the end of our meal, I quietly asked our waiter for l’addition , the manager made grand gestures from halfway across the restaurant yelling “Cheque please!” Not looking us in the eye, just seeming to be nasty. Needless to say, I would never return there (nor would I to another restaurant we ate at a couple of days later). This was so different from my first experience in Paris, but you win some and you lose some, I guess. I was already beginning to wonder if this was going to be the norm, now that I didn’t have a 24 year old who looks like a model travelling with me this time.
Revived a bit, we walked back to the metro station closest to the Opera Garnier. We decided to take line 7 to the Place Monge station. When we got there, we arbitrarily chose an exit. We began climbing what seemed like an unlimited number of stairs. Every time I thought we had made it to the top, we rounded a corner to another set. I had to stop twice to catch my breath (friend and son did not have to do this –lol), but I couldn’t believe the torture I was going through on my first, most tired day, of the trip. I’d like to say here that the next time we arrived at this station, we took a different exit direction and lo and behold, an escalator! We had a good laugh over that. Son walked us back to our hotel and then he headed home on foot (he lives in the 12th), an approximate 35 minute walk for him.