Paris, France (Country #7)

Chunnel

After a minor bit of confusion (I took us to the wrong train station– no I am not kidding), we made it onto our train. Well, it was the slightly later train, but the bottom line was that we made it courtesy of a very nice woman at the Eurostar desk who helped us out….… So with the weekend-ruining tragedy averted, we hopped on the Eurostar and traveled under the English Channel to France. That train hauls, see the photo of Dave's GPS application showing our speed - 181 mph. I am definitely booking another tip on that train soon!

Lodging

We rented a flat, as usual, here: http://www.chambredhotesparisruedebretagne.com/englishversion.html. That is the only way to go in Paris – or any other city where you can/want to be more independent. We stayed in the Marias this time (3rd Arrondissement - Marias). I love the Marais because it is so incredibly historic, hipster-ish without douchiness, and easily accessible from the train stations and Metro. So our apartment rocked! It was small but very comfortable and had everything you could need – I highly recommend it. Our host, Christophe Bonvin, met us at the apartment, gave us a quick tour, left us coffee and breakfast items, and left us on our own to enjoy the city.

Walking

We once again did the usual…….walked about 8 million miles exploring the city enjoying the unseasonable warm October weather. We chatted, enjoyed the changing leaves and colors, stopped for coffees and cocktails, and generally just effed around. Thank god we had been there before and didn’t feel the need to go to museums or the big attractions this visit (Notre Dame, Sacre Coeur, San Chappel, Eiffel Tower, Louvre, etc.) because the city was MOBBED. The tourist attractions were REALLY crowded, WTF it is the end of October. Turns out it was the “mid-term break” all over Europe and families travel during this week or two their kids have off of school. Seriously, it made me realize how lucky we have been in the past having NEVER waited in line for anything in Paris (except the Louvre but that was only for five minutes until another American told us we could buy museum tickets at the Metro station and walk right in). The Sacre Coeur and Eiffel Tower were the worst, see Dave’s sad face below.

Kill me now.

Eating

Here is just a summary of where we ate. I would recommend all three for sure! We will definitely go back to all of these places at some point.

Bacteria Alley: This is an assortment of generally trashy and cheap restaurants in a touristy area near the Notre Dame on the Left Bank. We always have to go to Maison De Gyros (we are so classy) and get a Gyro and frites for lunch at least once during our visit. It is a kitchy ritual and freakin tasty goodness and worth any food poisoning risk!

Restaurant Astier: (http://restaurant-astier.com/) I found this place in a magazine. It was really reasonable, $35 per person for 4 courses. The food was quite good, but the best part was the choose-your-own dessert from the most beautiful cheese plate I have ever seen!

Chez Paul: (http://www.chezpaul.com/) This was a very crowded locals-only type of place, and not a lick of English anywhere......which means it is probably going to be damn good. They have a sense of humor at least, I made a reservation that afternoon over the phone for two and the restaurant thought I said ten, shit ("deux" versus "dix" probably sound the same on a cell phone with my crap American accent). Luckily, a guy came in RIGHT after us and asked for a table for nine. I had my ass saved and his large group got a table at an overflowing restaurant.

Gaspard De La Nuit: (http://www.legaspard.com/) This was a great place to finish the weekend. The restaurant had just a few tables and was very cozy. Our servers were so sweet and friendly, they even humored my French efforts and brought us a French menu and an English menu. Dave finally got his seared fois gras with an obscenely tasty Sauterne and was very happy.They had lovely cheeses also. My fingernails are going to grew 2 inches after this trip with all that cheese.

Look how happy he look with all that cholesterol coursing through his veins.

Best dessert ever, fromages!

On another note, knowing even my sad bit of French allows for such a different travel experience. Instead of being worried about messing up or looking stupid because you are doing the wrong thing, you can just ask what to do! I Those simple questions from folks around you are no longer intimidating: what would you like to drink, how do you want your lamb cooked, please open your bag (before going into the museums), simple crap like that is so much easier to deal with. This was a very timely lesson for me given our upcoming trips to Portugal and Austria. I am ordering my Pimsleur language lessons in Portuguese (I SWEAR by Pimsleur) and am signing up for an evening German class this week!