OK, I had really enjoyed reading the trip reports on this forum prior to our leaving for Paris, so I will do my bit and offer one of my own. We were in Paris form sept 2nd-10th 2009
The aiport experience-
Flight over was completely booked and was not fun, good thing I had Paris to look forward to! Got through airport with no problems. We had hired a driver to pick us up, service was well worth the 76 euro, picked us up in a large Mercedes, felt like royalty.
The accomodations
Used %26quot;Guest Apartment%26quot; services, they did everything exactly as they said they would. We checked in early, were given a tour etc. Apartment was a bit %26quot;shabby%26quot; for what we had paid, didn%26#39;t upset us, just felt as though it could have used a little %26quot;sprucing%26quot; up. It was centerally located on Ile st louis and was a good base of operations for our adventures to come.
The food
We ate the majority of our food from the numerous boulongerie, patisserie, charcuterie, cheese shops, foie gras shops, escargot, wine etc. For two chefs in Paris, we felt as if we had found heaven on earth.
I used sseveral books to guide me through the many choices in parisien street food. The best book was %26quot;Pudlo paris%26quot;, Giles Pudlowski has been publishing a restaurant/food guide on paris for many years, just recently in english. He rates restaurants,food shops etc in each district.
Our favorite bread-
we tried a new bolongerie every day, but kept coming back(at lunch) to our favorite. Boulongerie Martin on Ile st. louis, his %26quot;pave%26quot; was stunning as were his almond croissants.
Our favorite Patisserie-
Pain de sucre, in the marais, run by former pastry chef from Pierre Gagnaire, it was simultaniously intense and sublime.
Favorite cheese shop
All of them, didn%26#39;t find a bad one.
Favorite charcuterie
cant remember the name, but it is on Rue Cler, Middle of the market street with black awning, impressive pate and such.
Favorite market
sunday at the bastille, don%26#39;t miss it.
favorite restaurant
Le peit prine de Paris, in latin quarter, very inexpensive (for paris) creative food with a great atmosphere. they have many choices, everything we ate was well presented and delicious. Having eaten the previous night at Lassere(two star michelin) for $750.00, we ate better for $75.00 at %26quot;little prince%26quot;
Overall we ate better on our picnics, in cafes, at markets than anywhere else. We spent much less money on food than I had anticipated, in fact we had spent much more money on previous trips to London and New York. So many great choices in Paris.
Bread, wine, pastry, cheese, pate, all less expensive than you would pay in the US for a pale imitation. (wine was very affordable)
Stuff we did
Our goal was to %26quot;live like parisiens%26quot; and take in some sights as well. We did not feel compelled to accomplish too much. We did not go up the Notre Dame towers, see the arc de triomphe or many other %26quot;must do%26quot;. We decided to save those for our next trip.
Favorite things we did-
Orsay-stunning
Louvre-overwhelming
Amry museum-heartbreaking
bike about tours-fun and informative
pinic in many stunning venues, luxembourg
garden, place vosges, eiffle tower, etc.
Use the Velib! finally figured it out by our third day, good news AMEX works!!!
Pere lachaise cemetery-better than expected
Overall-
We had the perfect Paris experience for us. We fell into a routine of waking up and discovering a new boulongerie, seeing a sight in the morning, picnic in the afternoon followed by a nap, then hanging out in the evening. Paris is a wonderful city with magic around every corner, we are already planning next years trip, we may even bring the kids.
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Sounds blissful!
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For our trip earlier this Summer, we pretty much experienced everything you guys did by trying to live like a local. I have to admit it was a great experience and well worth the effort.
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Great trip report - food took up most of the report - sounds like my kind of trip!
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Ethan - regarding the AmEx card for the Velib, did you have to use a PIN code?
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Coldcerveza-
regarding the use of amex for velib. It did not ask for a pin number. I was really suprised when it worked, my amex did not seem to have a %26quot;chip%26quot; in it.
I had actually tried my other credit cards first because my amex is my company card. I wish I had tried the velib earlier in my trip, it was a great way to see the city and my wife could not stop at every shop she saw along the way (bonus!)
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Ethan,
I will be staying in an apartment right above Martin%26#39;s, thanks for the report.
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Thank you for taking the time to report. Sounds like you had a wonderful time. The market at Bastille is great, isn%26#39;t it?
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Just curious, which Guest Apartment did you stay in? We will be staying in %26quot;Rose%26quot; in October. I thought we would arrange for the airport pick up also. Did you have them make any dinner reservations for you? Thanks.
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Diane-
The car service was quite welcome after a tiring flight. Vincent was right there past customs at the airport and on-time at our apartment when we had to leave. It was a luxury that was well worth it!
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Diane-
also, we stayed in the %26quot;lily%26quot; apartment. We tried to book the %26quot;rose%26quot;, it was unavailable. Have a great trip!!
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