Paris Trip Report - day 3, part 1

Started off day 3 with another lovely petit dejeuner. It was a cool morning, so we sat in a cafe that had heaters. Just lovely.

We walked to the Arc de Triomphe.
It's a long walk to the top.


I made it!



worth it for the views!



Traffic!

Strolled the Champs Elysees
Are you tired of my purple scarf yet? I am!

We strolled and shopped. Popped into Mont Blanc and Petite Bateau, among others. Picked up a toy train for Liam on the street for about 3E that spelled his name. On the recommendation of the fodors.com message boards, we stopped in at Laduree for some macaroons.



These are not ordinary macaroons, nor is there any coconut involved. They come in many flavors and the only word that can describe them is heavenly. Nathan took a few shots before being admonished by the salesperson. Who knew?!

We also stopped in at Angelina's Cafe for what can only be described as the best hot chocolate on earth. Angelina's is a traditional tea house - quite fancy, but it appears to also be quite touristy. I ordered the regular hot chocolate and Nathan got the white hot chocolate and a pastry. On this cool afternoon, it was the perfect snack to warm our bellies. So rich, I couldn't even take a bite of Nathan's pastry. We each had our little pot of hot chocolate and then an additional little pot of fresh whipped cream. This was definitely the day of sweets.

We walked all the way down to the Tuileries where the flowers were in bloom.


The spot where all the beheadings took place via the guillotine!






More to come on Day 3... the D'Orsay and best falafels in the world...

Paris Trip Report - Day 2

After getting some rest and bathing (did I mention our hotel did not have a stand up shower, only a bath tub?) we were ready to hit the pavement for Day 2 in Paris. We started the day with petit dejeneur which quickly became my favorite meal of the day - croissant, baguette w/ butter and jam, fresh orange juice and a nice steaming mug of cafe au lait. I still miss it. Nathan and I keep trying to re-create it, but alas it does not quite hit the mark. The French women are all so thin and gorgeous I cannot see how this is a typical breakfast!

The plan for Day 2 was to take the metro to near the Marmottan Museum - this is dedicated mainly to Monet. We'd thankfully been given some metro tickets in advance, but still had to buy more - took about 4 attempts to finally get it right. Ugh, it is sometimes so difficult to be in a place where you don't speak the language. Definitely out of our comfort zones, but we persevered. We got a little lost on the way to the museum, but really didn't care because we got to see more of Paris!



It was worth all of the walking to get there - takes you through Monet's career. Really beautiful. We also walked through some great Parisian neighborhoods, which I would equate to Manhattan's upper East side. Lots of kids, nannies, parks, bugaboos, etc.

Tired feet already!

We then walked to the Eiffel Tower. Finally, the first glimpse of this city's famous symbol:







Jules Verne Restaurant - need to make a reservation 6 mos. in advance!

It was mobbed there, we decided to come back in the evening to make the trek up the tower.
We took a break at the park next to the tower to regroup. Yes, I am reading Rick Steves.




On Rick's recommendation, I was very excited to visit Rue Cler, but it ended up being a major disappointment. I think we were off in the timing, it just didn't seem "alive". We had lunch at Cafe PTT - the only thing that was memorable was our waitress, who was annoyed with us because we didn't speak French.

En route to the next stop, we had a chocolate break...


Went to Napoleon's tomb at the Hotel des Invalides...








Went to the Rodin - absolutely beautiful museum and gardens. This is where Rodin lived and it just blew me away. He used to move his sculptures around his gardens - the first lawn ornaments?



My favorite - not by Rodin but his mistress Camille



The roses were out in full bloom.


We went back to the hotel to clean up for dinner at Le Grand Colbert. This is the French bistro from the movie "Something's Gotta Give" with Diane Keaton and Jack Nicholson. I know, I'm kind of a dork for seeking it out, right? I did have the roast chicken and it was a great experience - loved the food and the service again great. Very handsome and attentive waiters! We should have a picture of us here, but the ladies sitting next to us were lacking in camera skills. And day 2 comes to a close...

Paris Trip Report - Day 1

I guess I need to change the name of my blog since the race is over, although I will continue to run throughout 2007 (and beyond)!

About 10 days after the Charlottesville race, Nathan and I headed to Paris without Liam for an urban adventure. With all of the time I spent training for the race, I hadn't left myself much time to plan Paris to the nth degree like I had done for our Italy trip in 2004. Oh well, that's what the plane ride is for, right?

The flights and transfers went smoothly. By the time we arrived, I was in desperate need of a shower and a couple more hours of sleep, but alas, it was not meant to be. We took a cab to the Hotel de la Bretonerrie in the Marais district where the front desk told us our room would be ready by 1 pm. Huh? It was about 8:30 am Paris time. We were tired and dirty and ... oh well, we rolled with it, because really, what else could we do?

In need of a shower!

Like my kicks?

We quickly re-grouped the "bag situation" and headed out to explore the closest sights.

Thankfully, it was a beautiful morning. We headed to Notre Dame on the island - free entry and very beautiful.







Next we headed to the Pompidou Centre where we got to view some modern art...



We headed back to the hotel to check in and get some rest. I was in severe need of a nap, so Nathan headed to the Louvre w/o me.



After resting, we headed to the Bastille area for dinner at Brasserie Bofinger. We were unsure if our reservation was good, as the reply email translated to "we are happy to receive your reservation" but no confirmation. It ended up being no problem and we happily sat down to dinner. We got the three courses - Nathan had oysters, lamb, and ?. Tina had a salmon terrine, duck, and "floating island" - a meringue type of dessert. It was a really wonderful meal, impeccable service, etc. I loved how we were there for a couple of hours and the place really came alive. Watching other people and the French customs was a lot of fun. And so our first day in Paris came to a close.