The Naive Vermonter's Guide to Paris

Bon Jour mes amies et les etres qui nous sont chers!

I am writing after consuming a superb dinner at L’Gaigne Restaurant located on the edge of a section of Paris called

Le Marais.

We walked home, pass Hotel de’ Ville and then Notre Dame. It’s late so it’s unlikely that I will finish adding to our

vacation blog.

Ahhhhh Paris! City of light, love, fashion, art, architecture, beautiful women and doors, and truly great food.

It’s been fabulous so alas .....

I am submitting for you my short version of the “Naive Vermonter’s Guide to Paris”.

1. Your reserved accommodations.... If you cannot afford to rent an apartment or pay for a very expensive hotel room be prepared to stay in a postage size hotel room. This will require planning and skill on your part as the room only accommodates a bed. You will need to organize your luggage and bags around the perimeter of the room, and in such a way that you will not stumble and hurt yourself when you get up to pee in the night. If, at some point during your stay, your partner is stationed at the foot of the bed you will need to be in good enough physical shape that you can climb onto the bed and leap across in order to gain access to the bathroom.
2. Street Attire.... Pack your black! No kidding. They are serious about black clothing here. And it’s fine by me. I mostly watched women and what they wore....black pants or skirts or tights with mini-skirts and a black top, black boots, and often something red as an accessory accent like a scarf or very large handbag. Or, lots of blue jeans with black tops and jackets, and of course the very stylish black boots or high heels. Chic ponchos are also popular and truly perfect for the very mild fall weather.

2a. Pack all of your scarfs! Everyone, well most of the women and a large population of men wear very long scarfs wrapped around their necks. It doesn’t matter what the daytime temperature is outside....wear a scarf!

3. Shopping....Bring lots of money!!! When shopping for family, friends or yourself bolster yourself (and your wallets) with the knowledge that the good real stuff costs more than you can probably afford. Especially when the U.S. dollar is in the toilet as compared to the Euro. We LOVED looking and did splurge a bit on hats at A’ la Bonne Renomme (definitely worth checking out...the clothes and accessories are fabulous) but for the most part even the vintage shops pushed our wallets to the edge.

4. Pets.....Bring your dogs! Parisians love their dogs and take them everywhere. You will find them in restaurants, markets, fine clothing stores etc. We did not see any on the metro but I did see one riding on a scooter with it’s owner.

5.Transportation....If you are thinking about renting a car, scooter or bicycle during your stay in the city...DON”T! The traffic is amazingly dense and incredibly busy. Bicycles and scooters are very popular but one really needs to know his/her way around and be very confident and aggressive. Parking on the street is free and all of the cars are extremely small and cute!! (I believe the Smart Car is the most popular car in Paris) but more often than not cars are so tightly packed along the curbs that it probably takes a good 15 mins. to extricate oneself from a parking space. Or, have a few friendly bystanders help you lift it out.

AND - the mass transportation is excellent. We did not have an opportunity to try the city busses, but the Metro is fast, efficient and clean. Make sure you get a pass for however long you think you will be using the metro.

6. Bring lots of tissues...at least I needed them, for visits to very special places that were emotionally packed for me. I found myself weeping in the Louvre, esp. when viewing “the Death of the Virgin” by Caravaggio, or the painting “Saint Anne with Mary and John the Baptist” by da Vinci. Notre Dame and Sacre’ Cour Basicilla were other places that brought me to tears...the history and beauty were a bit overwhelming and my cultural background added to the emotional impact.

7. Taking photographs...Do not be shy. Take photos everywhere! Even in the museums. Ignore all the signs that say don’t take photos. You will find tourist throughout the Louvre and Orsay having pictures taken of themselves in front of every famous masterpiece. The Japanese have this down to an art. They carry around tripods, set them up in front of a monument or whatever, position the camera, set the automatic shutter, stand in front, smile and voila! their portrait is done without having to ask for help.

8.Eating out....Bring your appetites!! Large ones at that. First; make sure you eat a croissant every morning. You will never have croissants like the ones in Paris and the fruit confiture (jam) you spread on it can be one of your food basics! Second; seek out as many chocolatiers as you possibly can during your stay. The Parisian chocolate is, as the cliche goes, “to die for”. And...I love cheese, all kinds of cheese and French excel in this area of cuisine...breakfast, lunch, dinner and dessert! This was heaven for me. Every meal has been a wonderful experience...esp. the dinners. And how can I not mention the wine. It’s cheap (i.e. less than drinking water) so drink lots, plus it’s good for you. Bon Appetit!!!

9. Language....I advise you have a few pat French phrases memorized. The residents of this fair city truly appreciate our awkward attempts to communicate with them in their own language. It’s good to know when to switch from “Bon Jour” to “Bon Soir”. We figured 5 p.m. was safe.

10. Our favorite places/areas to hang out...

Le Marais...we both loved this area of Paris; the fashion, flair and fallafel (notably the best in the world!), the Memorial de la Shoah and “Cacao et Chocolat” a great chocolate shop.

Montmartre... wonderful highlights are Musee Halle Saint Pierre (outsider art), the Moulin Rouge, and “Denise Acabo”, a really great chocolate shop. This area is where the 19th century artists used to hang out and drink “absinth”.

Jardin du Luxembourg....a beautiful place to rest/relax/nap, suitable for lovers (esp.), players of bocce, the whole family...and your dogs!

Musee Louvre, Musee d’Orsay...both incredibly beautiful...but - a note of caution...when you visit the Louvre you might want to go on the sunniest, mildest day of the year. We went on a gray, rainy morning along with about 10,000 other visitors.

...and of course we really enjoyed just walking the gorgeous old cobbled, winding streets crammed with picturesque shops and restaurants and wonderful architecture, people watching and, finding more!!! great chocolate shops.

Please don’t miss the Eiffel Tower. It’s beautiful and the atmosphere reminded us of one huge happy party.

Au Revoir et A’ Votre Sante!

And lots of amour,

Marie

P.S. Oh, and yes, there is a longer version...

Thursday AM

Had a very hard time sleeping last night until Marie woke and rubbed my back.  I was up for 2 1/2 hours, thinking about today and tomorrow, despite no espresso after dinner and a very full day.  Maybe my body is preparing for the time shift again?  Cloudy but no rain this morning.  We'll get going on our day soon.  The plan is Musee d'Orsay and Luxembourg Gardens, with a stop at 27 rue Fluerus to pay homage to Gertrude Stein.  We saved some of our entree Camembert roti du pain for breakfast this morning.  So we'll only purchase un petit petit dejeuner to complement that.  At least I won't overeat one meal today!

Wednesday - Marais Day

Wednesday we had a big breakfast and headed north to the Seine. Being at Shakespeare and Co was fun.   I felt like an ex-pat, as though I belonged there. Picked up a used copy of a Emma Donoghue novel and a new copy of George Orwell's memoir of Paris and London. From there we crossed the river to Notre Dame. For me it is an architectural and historical wonder. For Marie, all that and more. Better I let her explain. From there we walked over bridges to Isle St. Louis and then the Marais on the right bank. We went through heavy security into the Shoah Memorial museum. Interesting to note the French use the Hebrew term, Shoah, rather than the English Holocaust. There were only a few people in this amazing FREE museum as opposed to thousands at Notre Dame. We spent two and a half hours trying to take as much in as possible. I continue to learn my own history. We left feeling moved, drained really. But our walk through the neighborhood- the stores, galleries, restaurants (inc lunch at L'As du Fallafel) revived us! Bought ourselves great hats at one shop and had the best chocolate yet at Cacao et Chocolate. Walked home a new way and found all the Hallel restaurants on the right bank between the Seine and St Michel. Lunch on Thurs? Rested before dinner and then ate at a new restaurant near our hotel. Haven't had a bad meal yet! Got caught in a thunderstorm running home. But all is well.

Wednesday before bkfst

Today we are going to walk to the Marais (the 4th arrondisement).  Along the way we will stop at Shakespeare & Co, since I've nearly finished Stegner's Crossing to Safety and am in need of another good read.  I've loved this one.  I'm thinking of buying a small book in both English and French since I've enjoyed re-learning my high school French this trip.  I think I might prefer to work on grammer, and verb conjugations again in the context of a novel rather than taking up a language primer.  We'll see.  After the bookstore we'll see Notre Dame, and then go over to the Shoah Memorial.  Hoping to eat falafel on rue Rosiers, and just enjoy people watching at Pic CLOP, per Mike Bosia's recommendation!  The Jewish Museum is a possibility there too.  Still not expecting great weather (we had all that France could give in Provence, I guess!) but it's not raining now and it has only drizzled, no pouring rain since we've been in Paris.  Though we haven't thought much about home, I saw a gorgeous photo of autumn trees posted by a Hardwick friend on Facebook this morning and I had a stab of homesickness.  As much as I love to travel...and this has been a wonderful trip... I will be happy to be home too. 

Tuesday in Paris - apres matin

We had a great day, despite another morning of drizzle.  A nice breakfast including an omelet and croissants, then a metro ride to Montmartre where we went to the Musee d'Art Naif - a totally different experience than the Louvre yesterday.  It was small and intimate and we had almost the entire museum to ourselves for a few hours.  Saw a great show by Marie Morel who we will look into further.  We were so taken with her work.  We had an inexpensive Thai lunch before leaving the nighborhood and then took Metro to Champs Elysees to see L'Arc de Triomphe.  By then the sun was out, so after snapping pictures and taking in the spectacle of thousands of tourists from all over the world and many roads with many lanes of traffic converging, we walked down to Tour Eiffel.  At that point, the skies clouded over again, but it didn't rain.  We did our best to avoid the trinket sellers and con artists, and enjoyed a man feeding pigeons.  Back at the hotel right now resting up before dinner.  We are loving this city and finding it very manageable.  My French is improving!

Tuesday in Paris

I haven't slept as well in Paris as I did in Provence, though Marie says it was noisier there than here.  No matter.  We're up and beginning to think about getting ready for our day.  We made our plans last night for the next three days.  Today is Montmarte and some sight seeing - L'Arc de Triomphe and Eiffel Tour before heading back to the 5th for a nap and then dinner.  Today is our "learn how the Metro works" day.  Everything else we want to do is really within walking distance and we see so much of the city walking that it is our preferred method of transportation. 

Last night we had Mexican food in Paris.  It was a really cute restaurant, just a few tables, and the food was great - even if my chimichanga was open-faced rather than wrapped!  Marie had a Tamal Azteca, which I didn't recognize, until I had a bite, as a tamale - and delicious.  There was another anomaly - ratatouille on my plate, which I'm pretty sure is not a Mexican dish, but that too was yummy.  She had some guacamole on hers, which she said was garlicky and terrific. 

Weather started out rainy yesterday, but by the time we left the Louvre, the streets were drying and blue sky was sneaking out between clouds.  We woke to rain again this morning but it has stopped now.  We'll take rain jackets and umbrellas and be prepared for whatever comes today. 

Monday in Paris

We got up late today and went out to have petit dejeuner at about 10 AM.  We were at the Louvres by 11:00 and after a few false starts - trying to decide whether to get a Paris museum pass or not (we didn't) - we were inside and exploring about 11:30.  Marie walked me all over - of course, we barely scratched the surface - but we saw Italian and French painters including Delacroix, Gericault, Ingres, David, Da Vinci, Watteau, Giotto, Vermeer, and Elizabeth Vigee LeBrun.    We were in the section that highlighted the WInged Victory of Samothrace.  By 4:30 I was beat and ready to take a rest before dinner.  On the way home we took Rue Dauphine and found a half dozen places to have dinner this evening.  We'll see how far we get when we head back out.