1978 (July)
My first trip to Paris was in 1978. Mom went with friends on a 3-week bus tour of the British Isles, followed by a 3-week bus tour of the Continent. I was to meet them at their first continental stop in Paris.
After a long flight from Seattle to Paris, via a long lay-over in London because my connecting flight was cancelled, I flew standby (thus began my long distain of Heathrow), and arrived in Paris late afternoon. I took a bus into Paris. The bus driver was very friendly and pointed out some landmarks. The bus terminated in an underground transit center someplace in Paris, and from there I took a taxi to our hotel, which was somewhere in the suburbs. Coincidentally, Mom was out in front of the hotel when I arrived.
That's the thing about bus tours - you rarely know where you are. You are always somewhere in London, or Rome, or Paris, or Vienna, or Venice - usually out in the suburbs, away from all the action.
We were in Paris only two nights, so one full day. Our tour included a guided bus tour of the city, but Mom and I jumped ship at Notre Dame so we could go to Ste. Chappelle. There were very few people there, compared to the crowds that visit nowadays. We were overawed by the beauty of the stained glass windows. It was like being inside a jewel box. Another memory that sticks with me is having lunch on the top floor of the Samartine Department Store. It was just a cafeteria, but it seemed so special with its view overlooking the Seine to the Left Bank and the Eiffel Tower. The store closed many years ago, and the building has been undergoing extensive renovations, which should be complete soon. I believe the plan is for retail, a hotel, and apartments.
With that little taste of Paris, we left on the bus for Switzerland the next morning.
1994 (September)
Sixteen years later, Mom and I decided it was time to make another trip to Europe. I was able to take five weeks off from work, and at first we thought we would revist the countries we briefly visited in 1978, spending more time in each and using a Europe Train pass for transportation. We were inspired by Rick Steves, having watched his shows on PBS. Mom was the same age I am now, and had had a hip replacement, so it quickly became evident that the train wasn't going to work well for us. Once we decided to do a driving trip, it became evident that we were trying to do too much, so we settled on 2 weeks in England followed by 3 weeks in France.
Even though the "Chunnel" had just opened, we flew from Stansted airport to Paris. I think we probably flew into Orly because I wrote in my journal that the bus took us to Les Invalides (on the Left Bank south of the Seine), and we took a taxi from there to our hotel in the 9th Arrondissiment (on the Right Bank north of the Seine).
We chose our hotel (Hotel Opera Cadet) because it has a garden and atrium, which looked so inviting in the pictures, and we were looking forward to having breakfast there. Unfortunately, we were there during fashion week and the atrium was being used for other purposes, so had to have breakfast in our room.
We were in Paris four nights, and as I read my journal, I am amazed at all we crammed into three days. The first day upon arrival, we walked down to Place de la Opera so we could change our travelers checks for francs at the American Express office. We stopped someplace for coffee - I can picture the location and think it was Café des Paix, across from Opera Garnier. At the time, my French was very basic: bonjour, s'il vous plait, merci, au revoir, deux café. So we ordered "deux café" and the waiter, spotting us as tourists, asked if we wanted a crepe. "Oui!" A crepe would be great, then he asked if we wanted "sucre." I was tired and my ears were not tuned to French yet, so I thought we was asking if I wanted a cigar. "No, I don't want a cigar!" I exclaimed. Mom leaned over and said "Sugar, do you want sugar." "Oui, Oui!" Thus began a wonderful three days in Paris.
We bought a 3-day Metro pass, started out the next morning, and hit the day running.
Day 1: Opera Garnier - "Fabulous;" Musee d'Orsay - bought a museum pass; Ste. Chappell - "Crowded, but just as beautiful as 16 years ago;" Notre Dame; Deportation Memorial; Flower Market. It exhausts me now how we possibly did all that in one day, but still managed to squeeze in lunch at the d'Orsay restaurant and a coffee break between Ste. Chappelle and Notre Dame.
Day 2: Le Louvre - Mona Lisa, Venus da Milo, Winged Victory; Tuillerie Gardens; Orangerie - "breathtaking Monet Waterlilies;" Eiffel Tower - 2nd level - took a taxi from Place de la Concorde "best 31 francs we spent today." Skipped the Rodin Museum, too tired, so went back to the hotel.
Day 3: Montmartre, Sacre Coeur - "prettier on the outside than the inside;" Arc de Triomphe - to the top; Versailles - huge blister-causing cobblestones. While in Montmarte, we stopped at a café at Place Pigalle for coffee. While there a "lady, all painted up, came up to us, dropped her bags and burst into song." She was quite a character and had a very good voice.
Nowadays, I wouldn't suggest anyone try to do so much in such a short time, but everything we did was a priority, and while we didn't spend the recommended length of time at most of these sights, we enjoyed everything and still had time for café sitting and people watching.
The next day we went to CDG to pick up a car and spent our remaining time in France, visiting Normandy, Brittany, Loire Valley, Burgundy, and Champagne. It was a trip that provided memories for years to come.
2000 (September)
We decided it was time for another trip to France. This time we concluded the trip with three nights in Paris, following a driving trip through Alsace, Luxembourg, Belgium, Normandy, and the Loire. We dropped the car off at Chartres and took the train to Paris. Our hotel was the Relais Bosquet, a block off Rue Cler in the 7th Arrondissiment. The hotel was "very nice with a roomy elevator" and view of the top third of the Eiffel Tower (it sparkled for 5 minutes on the hour after dark). We mostly walked this trip and took taxis. I don't remember taking the Metro at all. Since we had been before, we didn't seem to be so frenzied to cram in as much as possible.
Day 1: Les Invalides - Napoleon's Tomb; Rodin Museum; Batobus (hop-on-hop-off cruise on the Seine); evening concert at Ste. Chappelle - Bach. We bought some "original" water colors from the alleged daughter of the artist for about 50 francs each. When we got them to the hotel, we discovered they were prints that had been highlighted with gold and white paint. We got a good laugh out of it and they are framed and hung in our hallway.
Day 2: Musee Marmottan - "this is where to go if you can't get enough of Monet!"; Les Cars Rouges as far as Notre Dame; Ile St. Louis - "Ice Cream!"; Les Cars Rouges to Place de la Opera; Evening tour: Boat cruise, dinner on 1st floor of Eiffel Tower, city lights bus tour. Because of Y2K, there was a huge lit 2000 sign on the Eiffel Tower and the tower began to sparkle as we were walking under it after dinner It was magical.
This was a short visit, but we both felt like we had really been to Paris because we didn't pack so much in an could spend time savoring the city. The next day it was back to the airport and our flight home.
2005 (April)
This time our focus was on the South of France, specifically Languedoc. We began planning, we didn't realize that I would be laid off and have more than three weeks, so opted not to include a Paris stay. I always regretted that we skipped Paris on this trip.
2010 (September)
Ah, Retirement! We could go to France for 5+ weeks and did. By this time Mom was 87 years old, and had had two hip replacements, a knee replacement and shoulder replacement. She was using a rollator walker to get around, but was a real trooper. This time we stayed for three nights at Hotel Henri IV Rive Gauche in the 5th Arrondissiment, which is near Notre Dame. We decided that the best way to get around would be to make use of the Hop On Hop Off bus L'Open Tour, which has 4 routes with stops near our hotel. However, because of Mom's walker we didn't get on and off, just rode around to see the sights.
Day 1: Notre Dame; HOHO tour; dinner with friends who were also visiting Paris.
Day 2: HOHO tour; evening cooking class at Cookin' with Class - a delightful, hands-on class with delicious results.
Now, I don't recommend HOHO tours, especially for transportation, but it worked well for us. We were able to see many of the places where we had been before as well as see a lot of new things. Since it was a short trip, we felt like we did what we could and enjoyed our stay.
The next day we took a taxi to Orly to pick up our leased Peugot van and headed for Beaune for a couple of nights, followed by a week in Provence, two weeks in Languedoc, a week in the Dordogne, and ending with a couple of nights in Normandy.
2013 (September)
Rick Steves' new season with an episode in Paris inspired me to go back to Paris. This time for two weeks and alone. I decided to rent an apartment and found a cute but small studio in the 3rd Arrondissiment near the Pompidou Centre.
I loved being in Paris on my own and loved being in an apartment. Each morning I would start the coffee pot and then walk over to my local boulangerie to buy a "demi" baguette (half loaf) or a croissant. After breakfast, which also included fruit and excellent French yogurt, I would start out to explore Paris.
I made the decision that I would not waste time waiting in line to see something I had seen before. So concentrated on new sights. I rode the buses and everyday visited a new neighborhood. Paris was so much more crowded than I remembered from former trips. By this time, travel had become less expensive due to cheaper plane tickets and both Russia and China had an emerging middle class that could afford to travel. I was glad that my focus was on new places rather than the major sights that attract big crowds.
Being away from the big crowds also kept me away from the scammers. There are several scams being perpetrated toward tourists in Paris, including the "gold ring drop," "petition girls," and the "string bracelet guys." The first was attempted on me twice, coincidently, at the place on different days. I just shrugged and walked on. The second is a real annoyance, but they were easy to wave off, and I didn't see the third at all. At the same time, while violent crime is rare in Paris, pickpockets are a real problem and those who do not secure their valuables are at risk of losing them, especially in crowded Metro stations and trains. Being alert, securing valuables, and using street smarts is the best protection against these nuisances.
Please see my blog at www.cjtparis2013.blogspot.com for a detailed report of this trip.
2015 (May)
This time I met my friend Kathy, a former colleague who splits her time between Georgia and Palm Desert, in Paris. We rented a one-bedroom apartment, also in the 3rd and not far from where I stayed in 2013.
Since my trip 20 months previously, Paris had experienced a couple of terrorist attacks, the most noticeable difference was a much larger military presence. I had seen armed military in Paris before, but they seemed pretty relaxed and would often stop to talk with people. This time, though, they were serious and ready for business. It was also noticeable that the terrorist threats had little impact on the number of tourists or size of the crowds.
Other than a couple of "petition girls" I don't think Kathy and I saw any scammers. Again, we avoided large crowds as Kathy had been to Paris before and had seen the major sights. We rode both buses and the Metro, did a lot of shopping and café-sitting, and discovered that beer is cheaper than Coca-Cola. It was a fun trip and I enjoyed having a companion.
More detail on this trip can be found at www.cjtparis2015.blogspot.com
2017 (September)
Another 2-week trip, solo once again. I rented a very small studio apartment in the 4th near Metro Station St. Paul and just down the street from Place des Vosges. Even though this apartment was smaller than the one I had in 2013, it was well organized with lots of storage, which was severely lacking in the other apartment.
This trip was spent mostly visiting places I had not been before, including Chateau Malmaison, Josephine's home while Napoleon was off fighting wars; the Basilica of St. Denis where the kings and queens of France are entombed; and La Butte aux Cailles, a hill-top neighborhood in the 13th, quaint and historic without the tourists of Montmartre. I also did two out-of-town day trips with a tour company. The first to Giverny (Monet's Garden) and Auvers-sur-Oise (Van Gogh's home for the last few months of his life. The second to Chateau Vaux-le-Vicomte and Fontainebleau, both gorgeous and much less crowded than Versailles.
For more detail on this trip, see my blog at www.cjtparis2017.blogspot.com
This brings us to December 2018. Why would I want to go to Paris in the Winter? Well, keep reading to find out.
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