Our Lovely Parisian Experience

 

We had originally planned a trip to Italy. Somewhere in our discussions, Paris became the center of our conversations. It felt right. ‘Oui, nous allons aller à Paris.’ (Yes, let’s go to Paris.)

 

What you will find here are our recommendations and experiences. Mark and I have both been to Paris before and this was our first trip to Paris together. We got to celebrate our 9-year anniversary and Mark’s upcoming ‘BIG’ birthday.

After a lot of research, and great recommendations from our friends and colleagues we both agreed that renting an apartment was going to give us a very authentic Parisian experience. There are two apartment rental companies that are highly rated and intrigued us: Cobblestone Paris – http://cobblestoneparis.com and Guest Apartment Services – https://www.guestapartment.com. We decided early not use rental sites such as VRBO or Airbnb because of the typical lack of oversight and issue resolution available. Both of these rental companies have property managers available, if needed.

We chose Cobblestone Paris because they had a large one bedroom available on our dates – Le Triomphe Elysees. The apartment was classic and located on the border of the 17^th and 8^th arrondissements, and the building had a lift too! Can you tell I was happy?

Everything we needed was within walking distance. And we walked everywhere; my fitbit was going crazy – at least 5-7 miles each and everyday!

Our plan was to stay in Paris for a week then rent a car and drive through the Loire for 5 more days while staying at a lovely château – http://www.tortiniere.com/uk/hotel-tortiniere-chateaux-loire.php

Four days into our stay, I woke up and turned to Mark and said ‘Let’s spend our entire time in Paris. There is so much to see.’ He agreed. So we cancelled ‘our’ château and car rental, and searched for a hotel for the balance of our stay as the apartment was rented. Mark found a wonderful hotel in the 16^{th –} http://www.accorhotels.com/gb/hotel-2789-hotel-baltimore-paris-champs-elysees-mgallery-collection/index.shtml for the rest of our stay.

During our apartment stay, I had problems with my right shoulder. I was in pain and unable to move my right arm. The rental company provided me with name of chiropractor that helped tremendously. If you are in Paris and need a chiropractor I have a name of a great one (trained in the US btw). There are millions of residents in Paris and one afternoon I was in a Nespresso shop and who do I see, my Parisian chiropractor! It truly is a small world.

There are no shortage of museums and galleries to visit. I suggest you get a multi day museum pass if you are planning to see a lot. The buildings themselves were as exquisite as the art. My intention, which I joyfully fulfilled, was to go to every museum that had Monet’s beautiful paintings. I have been a fan since college where I was a French minor.

Speaking of being a French minor, my language skills were terribly lacking. With all my studying beforehand and use of language apps, I relied on the following for every interaction – Bonjour, Je suis désolé , je parle seulement un peu français. S’il vous plaît excusez moi (Hello, I apologize I only speak a little French. Please excuse me.) People responded, ‘That’s ok, I only speak a little English.’ And off we went…

Museums and Galleries visited:

• Musée Marmottan Monet is located in the 16th arrondissement. It features a collection of over three hundred Impressionist and Post-Impressionist works including works by Cézanne, Monet, Manet, Matisse, Renoir, etc.
• The Musée de l’Orangerie is located in Jardin des Tuileries/Place de la Concorde. This is one of my favorite museums. It houses eight of Monet’s water lily canvases, which always brings me to tears. We were fortunate to see two other exhibits while visiting this museum:
  • The Jean Walter and Paul Guillaume collection that is one of the finest European collections of paintings collections by the masters including Picasso, Renoir, Matisse, Modigliani, Laurencin, Rousseau, and Derain.
  • The photographic exhibit, ‘Whose Afraid of Women Photographers?’ This vast exhibit examines the role of women in the male dominated field from 1839 – 1919. The second part of this important exhibit is presented at Musée d’Orsay.
• Musée d’Orsay is located on the banks of the Seine in an old railway station. In addition to seeing its permanent collections, we were delighted to see the second part of the photographic exhibit ‘Whose afraid of women photographers?’ from 1918 – 1945.
• The Musée Rodin – contains the largest collection of the sculptor’s works at two sites, in Paris, at the Hôtel Biron, and in Meudon, site of his former home, atelier, and reserve collection. In addition to the sculpture garden and the beautiful building, the roses were still in bloom.

• The Musée d’art et d’histoire du Judaïsme – housed in the Hôtel de Saint-Aignan. It presents the over 2000-year history of Jewish communities in France as well as the broader context ofJews in history.

• Memorial de la Shoah – The word “Holocaust” is commonly used in English speaking countries, whereas the Hebrew word “Shoah” which means “catastrophe” is used in France. The images of the children and teens were gut wrenching as well as the personal stories of loss and tragedy.

• Mémorial des Martyrs de la Déportation – a memorial to the 200,000 people who were deported from Vichy France to the Nazi concentration camps during World War II. It is located in Paris, France on the site of a former morgue, underground behind Notre Dame on Île de la Cité. Visiting this memorial, like the Memorial de la Shoah evoked strong emotions, memories of anguish, and tears.

• Musee du Louvre – Mark visited this vast and epic space. I plan to visit on our next trip

Neighborhoods/Shopping:

Here are some websites that provided some great information:

• http://www.parisperfect.com/blog/2015/09/shopping-dining-montmartre/
• http://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/26/t-magazine/paris-shops-rue-des-martyrs.html?emc=eta1&_r=0
• http://www.parisperfect.com/blog/2015/08/beaugrenelle-mall-paris/
• http://www.parisperfect.com/blog/2009/12/the-biggest-luxury-discount-store-in-paris/
• http://www.wsj.com/articles/the-day-trips-parisians-take-themselves-1441824677
• http://www.timeout.com/paris/en/things-to-do/attractions/place-des-vosges
• http://www.theguardian.com/travel/2012/mar/02/paris-hidden-passages-shopping-shops

Paris is a city made for shopping. The grand magasins or department stores are wonderful and very crowded. I visited the Galeries Lafayette with its beautiful stained glass ceiling, The Bon Marché Rive Gauche with a mouth watering in house food store and Printemps-du-Louvre, a high-end store much less crowded than the Louvre itself.

I found a store for all things Parisian skin and hair care at Citypharma (in the 6^th) http://www.pharmacie-paris-citypharma.fr. I was in heaven. Venture inside and you’ll find women rushing about clutching their dermatologist-endorsed shopping lists and having a standoff over the last bottle of Nuxe Dry Oil. This store is a must visit for anyone interested in purchasing skin and hair care at a significant discount. I learned about Embryolisse Lait-Crème Concentré and NUXE skincare. I visited twice as I needed to go back and after doing a bit more research. Now this was fun (not for Mark).

There are outdoor food markets all over Paris. One of the local chains is called Monoprix, think mega Target. Mark and I walked by twice before we realized there is a grocery store inside. Remember to bring your own bags or they will charge you for them.

Since we had an apartment, some nights we purchased a roasted chicken and salad or charcuterie and cheese for dinner. We purchased baguettes from the highly rated Eric Kayser, pain au chocolate from Blé Sucré (WSJ article on finding the best croissants – http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052702304756104579453282749757044) and espresso from local roasters. I learned that espresso with a little cream is called ‘noisette’ and it quickly became my  favorite. I am thinking about purchasing a Nespresso for our home.

Eating:

For restaurant recommendations we relied on our friend’s recommendations and consulted the following: www.parisbymouth.com, www.lafourchette.com www.thepariskitchen.com, http://glutenfreemom.com/travel_gluten_free/paris/#.VhqVZtbtkfm,http://www.goodcoffeeinparis.com

I have compiled this list of restaurants we had the pleasure of experiencing. Paris is not a city known for great coffee, however good espresso was easy to find. I have a much larger list of recommendations available if you are planning a visit.

16^th arrondissement

• La Petite Tour – Delicious and fresh food. Local and very friendly staff.
• Carette – our go to place for breakfast when we moved to the hotel as well as delicious pastries and croissants
• Schwartz’s Deli – known to have the best hamburgers in Paris. We chose pastrami sandwiches instead. Interesting to watch Parisians eat hamburgers, they all use a knife and fork.

8^th arrondissement

• Bread and Roses – a lovely place for ladies who lunch

6^th arrondissement

• Cafe Les Deux Magots – a very busy place to people watch, lunch and drinks. The place has a rich history of arts, literature and politics. We went twice.

4^th arrondissement

• L’As Du Fallafel – highly rated, very crowded and the best falafel in Paris. Eat in or take and walk through the Marais
• Boulangerie Murciano, Sacha Finkelsztajn and Florence Finkelstzajn – delicious Jewish bakeries from a time gone by
• Café Saint-Régis – another lovely French bistro for lunch on the Île Saint-Louis
• Berthillon – the famed ice cream shop that left us both a little disappointed; a little too sweet for us. Even though I don’t eat much diary anymore, I guess I am a Ben and Jerry’s gal.

3^rd arrondissement

• BREIZH Café – CRÊPERIE BRETONNE known for authentic buckwheat crepes

1^st arrondissement

• Poulette – We found this lovely and delicious restaurant after reading an article in the NYT http://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/27/travel/what-to-do-in-36-hours-paris-right-bank.html?_r=0 The food was delicious and we got to enjoy the restaurant in the company of other travelling Americans.

Paris is a city for living and enjoying. Yes it is crowded and yes the weather is not always sunny, but its Paris, so “Amusez-vous bien à Paris”

Nous espérons y retourner!