May 1 (Tuesday this year) is a holiday here in Italy and the office chose to shut down for Monday as well. So Queen Bee and I found ourselves with a late April four day weekend to leverage. After some pondering our choices, Paris became the destination.
Queen Bee did her usual research on hotels, restaurants, and museums and made a plan. With the time taken to travel back and forth, we were really only left with two full days in Paris but we made the most of it.
Day One: Arrived in Paris airpot about noon. Lots of confusion on the logistics for the train into town (should have just taken a taxi!). Ticket machine for the train only took coins, which we didn't have, the change machine ran out of coins when it got to be our turn, we struggled to find the right platform, dragging the luggage around the train station was harder than we expected... for about 2 hours it seemed like the "Out of Towners" But we finally arrived in our hotels and things got much better.
We stayed in the Galileo, a block up from the Champs Elysees, very near the Arc De Triomphe. We had a very nice room on the 5th floor which had a little sun room/sitting room adjacent to the bedroom. It was small, by American hotel standards, but reasonable. Staff was friendly and English was not a problem. Actually English was never really an issue the entire weekend. The old stereotype of the French only speaking French to tourists seems to be changing. Nearly everyone spoke English and seems willing to do so.
We were fried by the time we got to the hotel at about 4:00 pm, but we needed "lunch" so we went to a handy Italian place nearby on the Champs Elysees, we both got Goat Cheese salad and some wine. We were sitting next to a young American couple that told us about their ten days of travel in France. (A lot of Americans in Paris... should only allow people with appropriate EU residency....). Then it was nap time to recover from the travel before our biggest evening of the trip.
Some weeks before, Queen Bee had found a jazz club that had an event for our first evening. So she had arrangements to see the Didier Lockwood Trio. The group is led by a well known (but not to us) French jazz violinist, and includes a bass, and a jazz guitarist. The club was small, very cool and very tightly packed. Drinks and snacks were available but a little pricey. We each had one drink and watched the show. It was very good! Different from the jazz we typically listen to. They mixed things up a lot so each tune was significantly different than the next. Both the Didier, the violinist, and the guitar player were very good. Actually Didier was amazing with what he could do with his violin. I probably should look them up on I-Tunes sometime. We had a great time and spending an evening in a Paris jazz club has been something I have wanted to do since we arrived in Europe. A very cool experience.
Diner was a winner as well. Queen Bee had reserved at Philippe & Jean-Pierre ( www.philippeetjeanpierre.fr/uk/index.php ). It was very nice. The staff was very friendly and the owner was all over the room making sure everything was right for the guests. We both had snapper. We finished up with a great selection of French cheeses that the owner picked out for us from their cheese tray.
So even with some struggles on the day's travel, we ended with a great first evening in Paris.
Day Two: was focused on the Musee D'Orsay. This is the primary Paris museum for 19th century and Impressionist art. So it holds a lot of the work that appeals to Queen Bee and I. Really too much to describe on this visit. All the familiar names from the period and a lot of artists that were new to us. We spent hours there and it was really wonderful.
Following the D'Orsay we headed out for a late lunch in the Latin Qurter, and found a restaurant noted in our tour book, Cafe' Pre' aux Clercs. Apparently it was one of Hemingway's hangouts back in the day. Smoked salmon salad for both of us on this stop. Expensive but we got a really huge piece of smoked salmon on our plates, so at least the portions were reasonably consistent with the price.
After lunch Queen Bee stopped in Laduree, a very nice sweets shop (see photo) for some after lunch treats and we headed for the Luxenbourg Gardens to tour and nibble our goodies. The gardens are enormous and wonderful. There are many chairs and benches positioned throughout the gardens for people to relax and spend an afternoon chatting or sitting in the sun. A large pond provides a place for children to play with small sailboats that can be rented by the hour. It makes the pond seem like a small lake filled with boats.
On way back to the hotel, at one of the metro stations, Queen Bee had a little altercation with some youths that were after her purse. She handled it cagily and they left empty handed. Five years in Torino have trained her to be aware and careful for this kind of thing.
A bit fried again after a long day walking around the museum and the Latin Quarter, we took a brief break at the hotel before heading out for dinner at the L'Obe', one of the restaurants within the Crillon Hotel (apparently very up scale). It was very good, but somehow not as satisfying as diner on Saturday evening. The service was great but it was quite expensive and it just seemed like a hotel restaurant rather than something interesting or particularly Parisian. But we had a good time in any case. Queen Bee had a very nice lobster and avocado salad for her first course, followed by a cheese plate (cheese plates became a reoccurring theme for our evenings... but the first was the best). I had a set meal that included asparagus soup, a fish course and a small steak.
Day 3: Our plan was to see as many of the interesting Paris neighborhoods as we could in our last day in the city. We managed to see the Sacre' Coeur church that overlooks Paris from high above. The Montmartre neighborhood which is home to a large continuous artist market, the Moulin Rouge, and the source of inspiration to many of the Impressionist artists of the 19th century. Next was the The Marais which is known as the historic Jewish quarter. Followed by a quick stop on the Ile De La Cite to see Notre Dame again (we had gone to Easter Mass with daughter bee a few years ago). And finally, a second go at the Latin Quarter which included a stop for a Nutela crepe.
After a brief stop at the hotel to clean up, we went to the restaurant De La Tour for our best meal of the trip. It is a cute place, not far from the Eiffel Tower. Queen Bee had Orata (fish) with Basil sauce and I had a Boeuf Bourguignonne for a nice traditional conclusion to our various Paris dinners.
Finally back to the hotel for a goodnight's sleep and a flight to Torino this morning.
Musee d'Orsay, converted from a train station
Cafe' Pre' aux Clercs on the "Hemingway" tour
The window is compelling at the Laduree sweet shop.
Customer wait for their sweets at Laduree
Luxembourg Gardens seems a great place to relax
on a sunny afternoon.
One of many statues within the Garden
People watch the children sail toy sail boats on a Sunday afternoon
Boats in action.
The Sacre' Coeur church that overlooks Paris
A double decker carousel in the Montmartre neighborhood.
Street musicians in Montmartre
In side one of the churches of Montmartre.
A very nice MGB (197?) seen during our walk.
Artist at work in Montmartre
Food (sweets in the case) seemed to be particularly
interesting in the Marais...
An interesting looking Cafe in Marais
A very popular Falafel shop in the Marais. Need to
arrive hungry next time we come to this neighborhood!
... and Deli's as well
The Paris Pantheon
Observatory rises above La Sorbonne university
Notre-Dame from across the river
A church near our hotel.
An early 80's Yamaha XT250 (noteworthy because I
had one myself nearly thirty years ago. I'm amazed how
many of these I see around over here. Still being used as
daily drivers! Should have never sold mine :(
Another church near our hotel
People relaxing in the garden in front of Notre-Dame
If we ever win the Lottery (this was for sale)
Te Eiffel Tower from our taxi the last evening in Paris
