I don%26#39;t have my (somewhat feeble) notes in front of me, so I%26#39;m going to try to go off of memory! I%26#39;ll start with a synopsis so that you don%26#39;t have to read the whole thing:
Favorite things:
-Pere lachaise cemetary - cool, breezy day %26amp; it was beautiful
-Orsay - what a great building, not to mention the art
-Eiffel tower at night - which it doesn%26#39;t get dark until 10:30 pm, so it doesn%26#39;t twinkle until 11! I wish we could have gone up it at night.
-Lady %26amp; the Unicorn tapestries at the Cluny
-World War II exhibit at Les Invalides - and also the sheer size of Napoleon%26#39;s tomb. The thing was ginormous! Picture don%26#39;t do it justice because there is no reference for size.
-Sorbet - I loved all of the sorbet I had - absolutely fabulous in every place I ate - esp the black currant at one restaurant
-Paris at night
-Sacre Coeur
-The smart car - I think they are adorable. I wish I could pick one up, put it in my pocket %26amp; take it home with me.
Not so favorite:
-Versailles - now it was HOT the day I went %26amp; so I had no interest in walking the grounds. There were tons of people %26amp; it was Friday - I hear it%26#39;s even more crowded on Sat/Sun. I think Napoleon%26#39;s apartments in the Louvre would have satisfied my need to see intricately decorated space.
-Brugge on a saturday. Now I really liked Brugge, but it was crowded by 1pm. I think during the week would be better, but they didn%26#39;t have any Smilys rates for the TGV during the week.
Different:
-Arrows that point down on signs mean that you should go straight ahead, whereas in the US it would mean downstairs %26amp; an up arrow would mean straight ahead.
-I often got only 1 glass even if I ordered two different types of fluids - like orange juice and water. I guess people drink things sequentially. This probably saves on dishes, although they would usually bring the OJ %26amp; water each in it%26#39;s own carafe %26amp; the glass started out empty, so I guess they%26#39;re always washing carafes rather than glasses!
-You weigh your own fruit at the grocery store (the keypad has little drawings of the fuit if you don%26#39;t know the name) %26amp; put the sticker on the bag for the check out person.
Glad I brought:
-Travel umbrella that fit in my purse
-Streetwise Paris - great map
-Menu reader - came in handy - should have had it the night I ended up eating chicken gizzard on my salad
-A range of clothes (probably had 60-90 degree weather during the week)
-Multiple pairs of shoes so that I didn%26#39;t develop blisters.
-Digital camera - I%26#39;m the worst photographer so I ended up with 300 decent pics rather than a whole bunch of crappy one on film
Now onto more details:
Day 1:
Flew out of PHL into CDG. Took RER to Cluny-Sorbonne %26amp; switched to 10 line to Cardinal Lemoine. Not too bad, some steps, but not a big deal. Walked up the hill to Hotel Des Grandes Ecoles %26amp; checked in. Room was smallish (standard room - 105 euros a night), but had a little table %26amp; chairs %26amp; looked out onto the courtyard. Very nice %26amp; lots of blue toile. Walked down to the cafe at the corner %26amp; had lunch %26amp; then walked to Notre Dame %26amp; wandered around. Stopped in a little pet store along the Siene %26amp; they had chipmunks! Too cute %26amp; what an odd pet. At least that%26#39;s what I think they were. They also had ducks. Hmm. Went back to hotel, took a nap %26amp; ate a Greek restaurant on Rue Mouffetard since it was the only menu I could understand (I had left the menu reader in the hotel room). I had chicken kabobs %26amp; they were tasty. I used a mix of french %26amp; greek since I wasn%26#39;t completely comfortable with using french yet (although I was by the end of the trip). Made the mistake of having coffee after dinner %26amp; I didn%26#39;t fall asleep until 3 am!
Now memories of Day 2 are eluding me, so I%26#39;ll continue this tomorrow, when I have my notes!
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I like the way you have wriitten your report in different sections.Don%26#39;t keep us waiting too long for Day 2.The Smart Car is available in Canada---perhaps you can buy one here and drive it home!
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Do you know how much the cost? I think it would be a dangerous car to have in the US though since I%26#39;d get killed by someone%26#39;s suburban. Speaking of which, we saw a suburban in Paris! I can%26#39;t imagine why anyone would want one there - imagine parking it!
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When we were in Santa Rosa, CA last year, I saw a parking lot full of Smart cars without tags. I believe there was a local dealer getting set up to sell them in the US thru Volkswagen (I am not sure if that part is right...going from memory). Try a google!
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Meddam, Smart cars are already available in the U.S. The two-seater that you saw in Paris is only available from a dealer in Los Angeles (www.zapworld.com). DaimlerChrysler (yes those cute little cars are made by the same company that makes Mercedes) will be selling a Smart SUV starting this fall. They will be sold directly through a handful of Mercedes dealerships. There are currently no plans for Smart to sell their small car directly through their own distribution network in the US.
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Day 2 (wed):
Got out at the crack of 12pm %26amp; bought 2 carnets of tickets %26amp; headed over to the Cluny. Purchased 2 3day passes. I really liked the Cluny - it was nice %26amp; quiet. Went over to Saint Chappelle %26amp; La Conciegerie. Had lunch at an italian place nearby (I%26#39;m warning you now that I never remember the names of the restaurants!). Took a cruise on the Seine %26amp; then went to the Louvre for their late opening. I can%26#39;t even remember where we ate dinner (my notes just say %26quot;dinner%26quot; - I%26#39;m so specific!)
Day 3:
Sacre Coeur - climbing out of Abessess (sp?) metro station is tiring - take the elevator! Took funicular up. The church was lovely. I%26#39;m not a huge fan of high city views during the day, so I was more interested in the church than the view. Walked around Monmartre %26amp; sat at a cafe for a bit. Lots of street artists trying to do your portrait. We just had to keep saying no thanks! If you like beer, but not huge amounts of it, try a panache (sp?) - it%26#39;s beer %26amp; lemonade (or maybe a lemony soda) mixed together. Very tasty - like a shandy in Ireland. Headed over to the Louvre %26amp; then went to the Orsay for their late opening - I really liked this museum as well. Had dinner near the Orsay - it might have been Le Saint Germain - on a corner - very tasty salmon %26amp; fabulous sorbet - although this is also where I had the gizzard. Wandered around at night. I love Paris at night with everything lit up!
Day 4 (Fri):
Versailles- although we had a museum pass, we still had to stand on line to have our bags scanned, then you end up inside of the building (this was line B) and can buy tickets there if you need them. Lots of confused tourists with all of the different entry points (A, B, C, D). Get there early - we got there around 10 %26amp; it was crowded. It was also HOT. Inside it was cool %26amp; the coolest place was the Petite Trianon - I could have sat on a bench in there all day. I think I%26#39;d rather go to a different chateau next time. Back to the hotel around 4 or 5 %26amp; took showers then ate near the Pantheon at a cafe on the corner across from the gardens (also near McDonalds). Very tasty %26amp; fun people watching.
Day 5:
Got up early %26amp; went to Gare du Nord to catch the TGV up to Brugge, Belgium. After some confusion %26amp; asking for help, I found the ticketing area for the TGV (the kiosks wouldn%26#39;t recognize the cc I had used to buy the Smilys tickets online). No problem with getting them from a person %26amp; we found our train %26amp; were off. Very smooth %26amp; senic countryside. Went through Brussels %26amp; 2 1/2 hrs later we were at Brugge. Walked into town. Went to the Diamond Museum - they had tiny diamonds shaped into letters to spell Brugge %26amp; shaped like people%26#39;s heads %26amp; other shapes. To see the heads you had to look through a magnifying glass - very tiny %26amp; cool. Took a cruise on the canals %26amp; then had some lunch at a cafe %26amp; sat around for a while. Wandered around %26amp; bought some chocolate %26amp; lace. Watched a parade go by %26amp; went to the church of the holy blood, but only part of it was open. Sat at a cafe for a while %26amp; then headed home on the TGV. Lots of shopping available in Brugge in terms of regular clothes %26amp; stuff - that surprised me for some reason. Ate at Terra Nova near the Pantheon - had a tasty shrimp %26amp; pasta dish with lots of garlic %26amp; then went out for drinks.
Day 6:
Went to church at Notre Dame for the gregorian chant mass at 10am. Very nice. Ate crepes for breakfast at a nearby cafe. Check out Napoleon%26#39;s tomb %26amp; Les Invalides then had a sanwich for lunch by the seine. Wandered by the American church %26amp; went back to the hotel to read for a while. Ate dinner in nearby %26amp; then headed over to the eiffel tower to see it at night.
Day 7:
Had breakfast at a cafe down on the corner near Cardinal Lemoine metro - 6euro for cafe, croissant, bread w/butter %26amp; jam. Headed over to Pere Lachaise cemetary %26amp; visited Jim Morrison %26amp; Gay-Lussac (we%26#39;re scientists). Some really interesting %26amp; creepy graves. some had metal arms (one male, one female) reaching out from the stone %26amp; holding hands as if they were the arms of the dead. EEK! Then went to Galleries Lafayette to do some shopping. Had lunch in the rooftop cafe at Samaritaine. Oh- there%26#39;s a great little herb shop on the street behind Samaritaine - I got big bags of herbs de provence for only 2,50 euros. Went back to the hotel %26amp; read in the courtyard then went to the eiffel tower around 7 - line moved pretty fast - went to the top %26amp; walked over to St Germain for dinner in a cafe.
Day 8:
Got up %26amp; finished packing. picked up some pasteries while SO was showering for breakfast %26amp; the plane. Headed over to Luxemborg metro station to catch the RER B3 straight off so that we wouldn%26#39;t have to climb up stairs with our luggage in the cluny-st. michael metro station (going down stairs was bad enough!). Caught the short train to CDG so it only took maybe a half hour, 40 minutes? Took the shuttle to terminal 1 %26amp; finally found US airways. Checked in, did some duty free shopping, had a cafe au lait %26amp; we were on our way back home.
Conclusion:
We had a great time on our first trip to Paris. It was my first time to a foreign speaking country (other than Mexico, but most people speak English there %26amp; I was so young I didn%26#39;t know spanish at the time anyway). It was my SO%26#39;s first time out of the country. Next time I%26#39;d try a different chateau %26amp; visit some of the gardens in Paris more. Everyone was nice %26amp; people were helpful when I asked for help. No one spoke English to us if we spoke French - unless I asked if they spoke English. No one was rude. I was even mistaken for a Native when a woman started asking me for some kind of directions or help or something - she spoke to fast for me to catch it - I had to tell her I don%26#39;t speak French (unless I%26#39;m ordering in a cafe or getting my own directions!). It wasn%26#39;t too smokey, although we usually ate outside %26amp; often at around 10pm. Metro was easy to use. Hotel was great - although I don%26#39;t think I%26#39;d stay there in august since it doesn%26#39;t have air conditioning. Anyway, I can%26#39;t wait to go back! Hope this wasn%26#39;t too long %26amp; thanks if you stuck through the whole thing!
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I drove around in a SmartCar. It is great for parking in Paris. The gas mileage is exceptional. It does not handle those high speed highways that well. I was surprised how expensive they were. As I recall, they go for about 13,000 - 15,000 euro.
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