After lurking on these boards for months, my boyfriend and I left Chicago Wednesday, 4/22 and landed in Paris on 4/23 (10am). After getting Euros at teh ATM, we got in line for a taxi and headed to our hotel. Taylor Hotel in the 10eme. We spent 3 nights there and 3 nights in the 6eme at the Aviatic Saint Germain.
Our room wasn%26#39;t ready, so we dropped off our luggage and walked to the Marais. On my list was finding the famous falafel joint on Rosiers, and we found it on accident. I swear, if we had been looking for it, we would have never found it. Yes, it was the best falafal I have ever had. Down a couple doors was a beautiful purse shop. I bought Felix, a beautiful orange leather bag. I love him.
After wandering around, we walked back to our hotel, got to our room and took a two hour nap. I made sure that we didn%26#39;t sleep any longer than that. We got up and walked to Montemarte. A lively place in the early evening. I had my first crepe with nutella. Fell in love with nutella. Walked up the stairs and went in Sacre Coeur. Loved the artists in the area and the whole vibe. BF had another crepe for the walk home.
Friday: Walked to Notre Dame. The line to get in wasn%26#39;t long, so we went in. Took pictures inside (you can%26#39;t in Sacre Coeur). Then, came out and had a snack across the street. Then, waited in a long line to climb to the top of Notre Dame. Worth the wait. Got some great pictures of the gargoyle close up and the Eiffel Tower and Paris in the background. Walked to the Louvre and through the Tuleries, up the Champ Elyees, and climbed the Arc de Triomphe (yes, my feet are KILLING me by now). The Notre Dame tower was much better than the Arc de Triomphe. Took the metro back home. (bought a carnet). Had a lovely dinner near our hotel.
Sidenote: I did not plan on taking the metro, I was nervous about it even though I take the %26quot;L%26quot; all the time in Chicago. I bought the carnet, and it was simple. There is a metro stop every two blocks. It%26#39;s great.
Saturday: we had booked a tour with Fat Tire bike tours to Giverny. Met at Gare St. Lazare, an hour long train ride, a walk to the best farmer%26#39;s market I have ever seen to buy our picnic goods, and then we got on our bikes for a short ride to our picnic on the Seine. Wonderful! Then, back on our bikes to see Monet%26#39;s gardens. Beautiful.
Sidenote: we ate breakfast in our hotel every morning. I know people say you can go down the block and get whatever you want, but I like helping myself to as many croissants and the best damn jelly as I want. Same goes for the juice and pain au chocolate.
Sunday: we got up and changed hotels. We took the Metro to the 6eme early in the morning and arrived at our hotel. The room wasn%26#39;t ready, so we dropped off our bags and headed out. We just went where our feet took us. We ended up at Napeleon%26#39;s Tomb by accident, and my BF loved it. It was pretty cool.
Went back and got to our room. A beautiful hotel, and great room! We rested up a bit, then we headed out to the Eiffel Tower. We had reservations for Le Jules Verne at 7:30. It was great, but REALLY expensive. We got seated at daylight, saw a beautiful sunset, and then saw the sparkling lights on the tower while we had dessert. After 3.5 hours or more, it was time to take the metro back to our room.
Monday: BF had to get another falafel at L%26#39;as de falafel (i know that not exactly right, but I don%26#39;t have my notes with me). We went back to the Marais after walking along the Seine and enjoying the sites. A few doors down I got a great army-like jacket at a resale shop for 15 euro. Then, I had to go back to the purse store and buy Antoine, a beautiful brown leather bag. Damn you Paris!
My BF fell asleep by 6pm, so I ate peanut m%26amp;ms and other snacks from the mini bar for dinner. :)
Tuesday: our last day in Paris. We went to the L%26#39;Opera and walked around inside, wow is it grand!
Walked around Luxembourg gardens too. Had a lovely dinner near our hotel.
My BF now want to open a creperie in Chicago. :)
We got lost.... A LOT. We never worried or panicked though. If you have an IPHONE, one APP that is the BEST is: the Paris Metro app. It is a program so you don%26#39;t need a signal or the internet, it%26#39;s just on there. You tap on your starting and ending points, and it tells you exactly what metro lines to take. It is worth $100, even though I%26#39;m sure it was super cheap if not free. The GPS on my IPHONE helped out a lot too. You know, I am just used to the grid system in Chicago and not all of these angled and curved streets in Paris.
A great trip. Great people, great food, great everything.
I got to use the most French on the taxi ride back to the airport. YAY!!
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oh yeah, I forgot about the tax refund... if you spend over a certain amount of money, the store fills out a form so you can get a tax refund. You need to have your passport number to put on the form. You can either get Euros back at the airport, or have your credit card refunded. When you go to the airport, there are stands/cashiers where you get your forms stamped and cash back.
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Thanks for taking the time to share your fun report. My wife came home from Paris, and like your BF, said there should be a crepe stand in every mall food court in the country. lol
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What a great report! Thanks for that. :)
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i live in the twin cities and there is a crepe place in the mall of america (fyi its just a big mall people...not a destination)....and its nothing like ones in paris.
I think its like pastries or croissants....you get that first fix...and our whole lives after that are spent chasing the dragon :-)
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Great report!
I totally get you about the crepe with Nutella. I%26#39;m partial to Nutella and coconut - if you like coconut, you%26#39;ll be in heaven because it%26#39;s a fantastic mix. And I don%26#39;t even bother with the Nutella sold in the States, it%26#39;s too sweet - I buy it in Paris and bring it home.
And the iPhone Metro application is a must - I love it.
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Natalie-thanks for the great trip report. I appreciate that you enjoyed everything from dinner at JV to shopping resale.
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Natalie -
You mentioned that the GPS on your iPhone helped... did you have data roaming turned on and use Google maps? I%26#39;m tempted to buy one of the two %26quot;no internet needed%26quot; map applications (TapMap is one) but there are zero reviews for them. I can%26#39;t imagine the data roaming bill after bopping around Paris for a week using Google...
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I%26#39;m glad you had such a good time in Paris. Yes. L%26#39;As du Falafel is wonderful, isn%26#39;t it!
I%26#39;m so glad you toured the Opera Garnier. It is drop dead gorgeous!
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Nice report! It sounds like we were there at the same time...
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SMG- I only turned my data roaming on to use the GPS when I was desperate. Other than that, a map was fine.
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