One year ago this month Ilise and I took a dream vacation to France. A week in Paris and three days in the Bourgogne wine region. Need I say … heavenly. This trip had been more than a dozen years in the making. Last time we thought we were Paris-bound we bought a house instead. Need I say … hello, home maintenance and bye bye, disposable income.
What an amazing adventure it was, never to be forgotten although it already seems long ago and far away. It’s been quite a year in the interim with events both good and bad filling the time, but when I stop and reflect on that magical, much-anticipated experience I recognize how lucky I was (and still am) to have had the opportunity. May I share some of it with you? We’ll start with Paris first, and the wine country experience will come in a follow-up post.
I’ll start with the Top Trois Takeaways from Paris and then work backwards into a more traditional travelogue. And photos … yes, there will be pix and plenty of them!
What an amazing adventure it was, never to be forgotten although it already seems long ago and far away. It’s been quite a year in the interim with events both good and bad filling the time, but when I stop and reflect on that magical, much-anticipated experience I recognize how lucky I was (and still am) to have had the opportunity. May I share some of it with you? We’ll start with Paris first, and the wine country experience will come in a follow-up post.
I’ll start with the Top Trois Takeaways from Paris and then work backwards into a more traditional travelogue. And photos … yes, there will be pix and plenty of them!
- Apartment rental vs hotel – totally worth it
- Don’t overschedule – allow time for people-watching and spur of the moment decisions
- Best food we had in Paris = deviled eggs. Yes. Quel surprise!
Let’s have a little mood music to accompany the travelogue. Please enjoy George Gershwin’s An American in Paris, performed by the New York Philharmonic with Leonard Bernstein conducting.
Ina and Ilise at the Comédie Francaise Known as the City of Love, Paris is a top pick for the world’s most romantic destination so of course we brought along my mother in law. Oh yes we did, and no, it was not in any way a problem.
Ina is a world traveler who likes to get up and go while she still can. And boy oh boy, can she!
Despite some hip pain and a cane, she was always up for our daily adventures which were planned around access to Metro lines, a leisurely pace of walking, and plenty of rest breaks.
Ina is a world traveler who likes to get up and go while she still can. And boy oh boy, can she!
Despite some hip pain and a cane, she was always up for our daily adventures which were planned around access to Metro lines, a leisurely pace of walking, and plenty of rest breaks.
Our travel strategy was to schedule a couple of activities each day and leave the rest up to chance, with time in between for unforeseen opportunities to present themselves. Although we certainly were tourists doing touristy things, we also wanted to live like the locals, at least a little bit.
To that end, we rented a flat for the week instead of staying in a hotel. Being in a neighborhood and having a home base with a little room to stretch out and un petit kitchen for coffee, wine and cheese was tres magnifique.
We selected a lovely flat in the Lower Marais (4th arrondissement), close to the main tourist attractions but not too close.
Located in a courtyard building in the Village St. Paul neighborhood, it was perfect for our needs: two blocks from the Seine River; steps from a Metro station; tranquil and ‘Old European’ within the courtyard yet bustling and boisterous in the streets, shops and cafes outside the gates.
To that end, we rented a flat for the week instead of staying in a hotel. Being in a neighborhood and having a home base with a little room to stretch out and un petit kitchen for coffee, wine and cheese was tres magnifique.
We selected a lovely flat in the Lower Marais (4th arrondissement), close to the main tourist attractions but not too close.
Located in a courtyard building in the Village St. Paul neighborhood, it was perfect for our needs: two blocks from the Seine River; steps from a Metro station; tranquil and ‘Old European’ within the courtyard yet bustling and boisterous in the streets, shops and cafes outside the gates.
This is a good time to tell you about the invaluable trip-planning assistance we received from Michele at Wanderlust Travel. As an independent travel consultant, she helped us find and rent lodging in Paris and Burgundy, booked a couple of tours, ordered Metro and Museum Passes in advance, arranged airport transfers and offered helpful advice whenever asked. Could we have done all that on our own? Sure, had we tons of time on our hands and an infinite amount of patience to weed through too many options and details. Michele heard our wish list, did the research, helped us winnow down the options, and handled a lot of the paperwork. Wonderful!
Without further ado I’ll share our itinerary, photos and a few must-do/don't-do recommendations.
Day 1: Arrival in Paris. Checked into the rental apartment and went exploring the neighborhood. Single-focus specialty shops are prevalent – the chocolatier, the cheese shop, the patisserie, the wine store, the foie gras shop. Yep, the foie gras shop. We bought provisions for what was to become a daily ritual – wine and cheese, bread and fruit at the flat while watching the late afternoon light change and preparing for the evening’s adventure. This was our morning ritual too, swapping coffee and juice for the wine.
Without further ado I’ll share our itinerary, photos and a few must-do/don't-do recommendations.
Day 1: Arrival in Paris. Checked into the rental apartment and went exploring the neighborhood. Single-focus specialty shops are prevalent – the chocolatier, the cheese shop, the patisserie, the wine store, the foie gras shop. Yep, the foie gras shop. We bought provisions for what was to become a daily ritual – wine and cheese, bread and fruit at the flat while watching the late afternoon light change and preparing for the evening’s adventure. This was our morning ritual too, swapping coffee and juice for the wine.
That evening we went on a City of Light driving tour in a vintage Citroen with a handsome young Frenchman named Paul. It was a perfect way to get an overview of the city’s most famous landmarks, understand the distance and neighborhoods between them (one gets only so much from maps), and ooh/aah over the twinkly lights on the monuments. We sipped champagne (courtesy of Paul) while overlooking the city from the steps of Sacre Couer at the peak of Montmarte.
Day 2: The Louvre. Knowing we could never do it all, we narrowed our focus to a few selected galleries. Many visitors viewed the art only through a camera lens, which seemed odd at first but turned out to be quite common at all the museums we visited. We finally joined ‘em and took a few snaps of our favorite artworks as well. Had a simple yet tasty late lunch at a trendy wine bar nearby, Juveniles.
Our quest for jazz led us to a private club located near the Tuileries gardens that evening. I like to pretend that it took a password and a complicated secret handshake to gain entry but in fact it required only 10 euros and a polite ‘sil vous plait’ to snag a table in the shabby chic salon at Cercle Suedoise. A lively combo played American jazz standards, while the Parisian after-work crowd chatted and nibbled on 'Swedish tapas.' (Unless you’re a big fan of lingonberries and herring, just say Non.) This was fun but if/when we go back I’ll probably seek out a little hole in the wall jazz club on the Left Bank instead.
Day 3: The Latin Quarter. Ina had hoped to wander the bookstalls near the Sorbonne, but rain drove us indoors to the Musée de Cluny instead. A beautiful collection of medieval artifacts, including the famous series of six tapestries titled The Lady and the Unicorn. Afterwards we enjoyed a fine-dining lunch at Itineraires, an elegant but not stuffy restaurant nearby. Highly recommend both.
That evening we got schooled. Cooking school, that is. I signed us up for a hands-on class at La Cuisine, thinking that it would be something fun, different and experiential -- and it was, to a point. The chef/ instructor, a pleasant young woman with an adorable accent, guided our group of 10 American tourists through preparations for a dinner of chicken and asparagus (and other things that I don’t recall, not a good sign). It was fine, but in retrospect I should have picked a class in croissant-making or something else quintessential to French cuisine where we might have learned something. Our little group has had our chicken-cooking skills down pat for quite some time, thanks.
Day 4: Aligre Market tour in the 12th arrondissement with an ex-pat American cookbook author, Alisa Morov as our guide. The neighborhood farmers markets of Paris are a wonderful way to explore the culture, not to mention sampling delicious produce, cheese, charcuterie and baked goods. We could have done this on our own, but having a guide to narrate the experience and provide insider tips about produce selection and negotiating with the farmers and artisans made it extra-special.
Pro tip: Do not touch anything at any market or in any food shop ever. Ever. EVER. Let the vendor select items on your behalf after explaining what you want and when you want to eat it. There is a big difference between apples for today and apples for tomorrow. I learned this lesson the hard way on Day 1 of our trip. Despite having read in all the guide books about No Touching at markets, I somehow lapsed and picked up a wrapped chunk of cheese at the neighborhood fromagerie. A clerk who looked like Opie (little Ronnie Howard from The Andy Griffith Show) swooped down upon me outraged by my behavior, snatched back the cheese and said quite disdainfully, “Never touch! Never never touch!” I groveled my apology and purchased the now-tainted cheese but even so felt I couldn’t show my face in the store again; Ilise had to make all subsequent cheese purchases. So please, learn from this cautionary tale and spare yourself the wrath of French Opie. Never touch.
The afternoon of Day 4 was spent at the Centre Pompidou and its National Museum of Modern Art. This building caused quite a stir when it was built in the late 1970’s, embracing as it does next-wave modern architecture with flexible-use open spaces inside and all of the facility’s infrastructure (elevators, ducts and other engineering elements) located on the exterior of the building, coded in bright primary colors. These days the building, museum and lively public plaza surrounding it attract well over 16,000 daily visitors. City views from the top deck are amazing, even on the gray day when we were there. We strolled back to the flat by way of the Seine, past Notre Dame, and onward to Ile St. Louis and the famous ice cream shop, Berthillon. Long line, tiny portions, and absolutely worth it.
Dinner was at a sweet little bistro right next to our flat, Chez Mademoiselle. Simple, tasty food and charming staff who doted on us. This quickly became “our spot” to which we returned on our final night.
Day 5: A rainy, generally icky day. Shopping at the famed cookware stores and a Best Baguette contest that we stumbled upon occupied the daytime hours.
That evening we went to the ballet -- opening night for a Balanchine/Millepied program at the Operá Bastille, a beautiful modern building designed by Carlos Ott and inaugurated in 1989. Ilise managed not to hear several announcements prohibiting photography and snapped a few shots during the curtain calls. I’m glad she did, because these provide a good reminder of how different the pieces were – one classical, flowy and refined, one modern and rich with saturated color. Both excellent. I highly recommend partaking of the local arts scene while on vacation.
That evening we went to the ballet -- opening night for a Balanchine/Millepied program at the Operá Bastille, a beautiful modern building designed by Carlos Ott and inaugurated in 1989. Ilise managed not to hear several announcements prohibiting photography and snapped a few shots during the curtain calls. I’m glad she did, because these provide a good reminder of how different the pieces were – one classical, flowy and refined, one modern and rich with saturated color. Both excellent. I highly recommend partaking of the local arts scene while on vacation.
Day 6: Musée d’Orsay and a boat cruise on Canal St.-Martin. The museum, which features a large collection of Impressionist and post-Impressionist art, was fantastic. The building that houses it, a former train station, is a work of art in itself and the public art outdoors is delightful too. Highly recommended.
The canal tour was a good idea on paper but in actuality not so much. Seine river cruises are popular with tourists and I thought we'd add a twist by taking a tour that started on the Seine but then turned into Canal St. Martin, passing through eight locks on the way to Parc de la Villette in the 19th arrondissement -- another opportunity to experience something different and see more of the city than just the downtown tourist attractions. Well, I don't know what romantic image I had in my head, but the reality included long waits for the locks' water level to rise and whatnot, diesel fumes, and in our case a school group of children from Madagascar running up and down the aisles while their chaperones avoided making eye contact with us.
So overall that’s a Not Recommended. Touring by boat can be delightful for sure, and Canal St.-Martin winds through some interesting neighborhoods that would be fun to explore on foot. But despite catching some cool photos, this was not a highlight of our trip.
So overall that’s a Not Recommended. Touring by boat can be delightful for sure, and Canal St.-Martin winds through some interesting neighborhoods that would be fun to explore on foot. But despite catching some cool photos, this was not a highlight of our trip.
However what came next really was a major highlight of the trip. We hopped a cab to a trendy but low-key neighborhood bar in the Upper Marais called Le Mary Celeste. I read about it on David Lebovitz’s wonderful blog and was determined to make a stop. I had a feeling about it, you see, and thankfully we trusted and acted upon it. The bar is known for pioneering Paris's craft cocktail “movement” over the past few years, it's relatively new there. (In the States we've been sucking down the house-made bitters since the early aughts. Um, yay us?) My drink - the Marquee Moon - was selected entirely due to my love for the post-punk 70s band Television; it packed a powerful punch with gin, pear liqueur, other ingredients and a splash of absinthe.
But the real showstopper was the food. There’s a modest menu of bar snacks which changes seasonally, an odd assortment of small plates – pork tacos, hummus, something with anchovies, and the best deviled eggs the world has ever known. I’ve always thought of deviled eggs being American picnic food, but these guys have added a whole new level to the dish with distinctly French culinary flair in the form of fresh ginger, green onions, and deep-fried wild rice. It sounds nutty but OMG, so good! We had one of everything on the limited menu and, I think, three orders of the eggs. My mouth is watering even now. So yes – the very best food we had in Paris was at a bar, it was eggs, and did I mention, the chef does it all from a hot plate in the basement!
But the real showstopper was the food. There’s a modest menu of bar snacks which changes seasonally, an odd assortment of small plates – pork tacos, hummus, something with anchovies, and the best deviled eggs the world has ever known. I’ve always thought of deviled eggs being American picnic food, but these guys have added a whole new level to the dish with distinctly French culinary flair in the form of fresh ginger, green onions, and deep-fried wild rice. It sounds nutty but OMG, so good! We had one of everything on the limited menu and, I think, three orders of the eggs. My mouth is watering even now. So yes – the very best food we had in Paris was at a bar, it was eggs, and did I mention, the chef does it all from a hot plate in the basement!
Day 7: On our final day in Paris, Ilise and I walked around Luxembourg Gardens in the St. Germain des Pres neighborhood, ate crepes for lunch, and strolled a few more neighborhoods.
Although we had planned to dine at a nice restaurant near the Eiffel Tower, we opted instead to go back to “our place,” the bistro next door, and then pack and rest up for travelling the next day. It was sad to see our perfect week of Parisian experiences come to a close, but what a delight to have gone and been and done it all together. I’m already thinking ahead about our next visit to the City of Light – hopefully much sooner than another 12 years!
Ina, Ann and Ilise at Chez Mademoiselle on our final night in Paris
Stay tuned for Part 2 of our Adventures in France: the Burgundy wine region -- coming soon. Also some travel-planning tips and resources.
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