Oui, oui from Paris
We arrived in Paris a few days before our tour started, groggy-eyed and ready to get settled into our hotel. First, we had to pick up our pre-ordered Paris Passes, which gave us free and reduced cost access to museums and sites, as well as the ability to pass up long lines. I had printed off detailed directions on how to get from place to place because I knew we'd be exhausted and not thinking clearly from jet lag.
We only had to stop to ask directions to our hotel once, and the people at the little chocolate shop we stopped at were very polite and patient with my fledgling college French. We checked in at a hotel we had found through Rick Steve's Paris guidebook, Hotel L'Esperance.
I can't say enough words of praise for Hotel L'Esperance. Conveniently located near a metro stop, it met and exceeded our expectations. The decor was decidedly feminine, but both my husband and I found it quite charming. The rooms were small, but for the price, it was a great value. When we sat down to breakfast the first morning, I was skeptical that the basket of pastries in front of me would be enough to keep me going until lunch, what with all the walking and sight seeing we had scheduled. Fortunately hunger was not a problem; I think there was enough butter in those heavenly croissants to last me until dinner - not that that stopped us from eating lunch!
We only had to stop to ask directions to our hotel once, and the people at the little chocolate shop we stopped at were very polite and patient with my fledgling college French. We checked in at a hotel we had found through Rick Steve's Paris guidebook, Hotel L'Esperance.
I can't say enough words of praise for Hotel L'Esperance. Conveniently located near a metro stop, it met and exceeded our expectations. The decor was decidedly feminine, but both my husband and I found it quite charming. The rooms were small, but for the price, it was a great value. When we sat down to breakfast the first morning, I was skeptical that the basket of pastries in front of me would be enough to keep me going until lunch, what with all the walking and sight seeing we had scheduled. Fortunately hunger was not a problem; I think there was enough butter in those heavenly croissants to last me until dinner - not that that stopped us from eating lunch!
Comment dit on "I lost my credit card" en francaise?
After realizing immediately upon arrival at our hotel that I had lost my debit card, our first stop in Paris was the tabac, the French version of a convenience store. There, I bought a long-distance calling card so I could call my bank at home and cancel the card. But we didn't let this initial set-back stop us from having a good afternoon.
We did Rick Steve's Historic Paris Walk, a self-guided tour detailed in our guidebook. The tour started at Notre-Dame and took us all around historic Ile de la Cite. We brought our cell phones along so we could listen to the audio tour, available free of cost on Rick's website, as we meandered the streets of old Pah-ree. We cut the tour a bit short at the Deportation Memorial and stopped for dinner at a nearby Alsatian restaurant featured in our guidebook, La Brasserie de l'Ile St. Louis. I had the Coq au Riesling, and Roland couldn't resist the plate of sausages.
While we were at the tourist information center earlier that day, the clerk had informed us that it was "museum night" in Paris, which meant that many of the museums had free admission and features such as live music. After dinner, we made an unplanned detour to the Orangerie, where we were treated to Monet's expansive waterlilies in a circular room that seemed built for the masterpieces it housed. Just as we were leaving the museum, we were delighted to see the Eiffel Tower sparkling with light in the distance.
We did Rick Steve's Historic Paris Walk, a self-guided tour detailed in our guidebook. The tour started at Notre-Dame and took us all around historic Ile de la Cite. We brought our cell phones along so we could listen to the audio tour, available free of cost on Rick's website, as we meandered the streets of old Pah-ree. We cut the tour a bit short at the Deportation Memorial and stopped for dinner at a nearby Alsatian restaurant featured in our guidebook, La Brasserie de l'Ile St. Louis. I had the Coq au Riesling, and Roland couldn't resist the plate of sausages.
While we were at the tourist information center earlier that day, the clerk had informed us that it was "museum night" in Paris, which meant that many of the museums had free admission and features such as live music. After dinner, we made an unplanned detour to the Orangerie, where we were treated to Monet's expansive waterlilies in a circular room that seemed built for the masterpieces it housed. Just as we were leaving the museum, we were delighted to see the Eiffel Tower sparkling with light in the distance.
Paris, City of Lights...or is it Poodles?
On Sunday, we did another Rick Steve's self-guided tour of Champs-Elysee. Starting at the Arc de Triomphe, we made our way down the venerable avenue. Of course, we had to stop at Lauduree for some macarons! I chose pistachio and chocolate. In the afternoon, we made our way to the Musee d'Orsay, which houses many works of the great impressionists, among numerous other masterpieces. We used both the Rick Steve's audio tour and the written tour in our sight-seeing supplement book provided to us when signed up for the tour. We broke for a lunch of baguettes in the museum, and then made our way to Napoleon's tomb. The sun finally broke through the clouds, and Parisians were taking advantage of every minute. Everywhere, people were playing soccer, picnicking in the grass, or walking their poodles (it sounds stereotypical, but there really were a lot of this breed in Paris!). We even managed to squeeze in some time at the Eiffel Tower. As we were walking up to the world-famous monument, there was a bride and her groom being photographed in front of the tower. I let out a sigh...Paris is so beautiful! Even the way the hedges are trimmed, tout c'est tres charmant!
We ate dinner at restaurant recommended by Rick: Le Petit Cler. We noticed the couple next to us had a Rick Steve's book on their table and we struck up a conversation. We traded travel tips over glasses of wine. As I am beginning to realize, my favorite meals are not dictated only by the quality of the food, but by the people that accompany it. I had a dish that consisted of a large piece of toast covered with a type of deli meat, an egg, and cheese that had been broiled so that it developed a browned crunch on top. We had creme brulee and a tarte tatin for dessert. It was probably the least expensive and most enjoyable dinner of the trip. Lastly on this jam-packed day, we returned to the Eiffel Tower, this time from the other side of the Seine, and got drenched by a downpour as we eagerly awaited another round of nighttime sparkling light.
We ate dinner at restaurant recommended by Rick: Le Petit Cler. We noticed the couple next to us had a Rick Steve's book on their table and we struck up a conversation. We traded travel tips over glasses of wine. As I am beginning to realize, my favorite meals are not dictated only by the quality of the food, but by the people that accompany it. I had a dish that consisted of a large piece of toast covered with a type of deli meat, an egg, and cheese that had been broiled so that it developed a browned crunch on top. We had creme brulee and a tarte tatin for dessert. It was probably the least expensive and most enjoyable dinner of the trip. Lastly on this jam-packed day, we returned to the Eiffel Tower, this time from the other side of the Seine, and got drenched by a downpour as we eagerly awaited another round of nighttime sparkling light.
Lovin' the Louvre
On our third day, we decided to spend most of the day in the Louvre. Doing a self-guided tour allowed my husband and I the freedom to make indulgent choices like this. Having done it, I would recommend not trying to see everything in the Louvre in one day, which I knew would be impossible, but we still tried to do anyways! We were exhausted by the end of the day, and glad to have a cheese and cracker break at our new hotel when we met up with our tour guide and the other people from our tour. We were surprised to find there was another couple from Oklahoma there! We met Margaret and we introduced ourselves to the other tour group members. Right away, we could that Rick was true to his word - this was definitely a group with "no grumps"! Another great advantage of doing the Rick Steves tour was that we benefited from group rates; we were able to stay in hotels with the tour group that we never could have afforded to stay in on our own. Next: Versailles.