~Our 2016 Paris Holiday~

Our 8th trip to Paris began in Orlando; taking Icelandair to Reykjavik, Iceland for a brief stop before continuing to Charles DeGaulle Airport (CDG) in Paris.

Our plane in Orlando

The airport in Reykjavik is very small and does not have enough gates or jetways yet to accommodate the increased traffic.  When we arrived, we had to de-plane on the tarmac and were then transported to the terminal by bus.   When we reboarded, we followed the same routine.  On arrival, it was cold and raining. Since Iceland was the first stop out of the country, we went through customs there.

We arrived in Paris at Terminal 1 which we hadn't done before. We found the taxi stand eventually.  It was quite a surprise to see that the fare to Paris was a set fee (55 euros). The result of Uber competition.

Our apartment was located on Avenue de La Bourdonnais, in the 7th arr. This was the view from our 6th  floor apt window; as you can see we were quite close to the Eiffel Tower.  We stayed in this same area the last time we were here, so everything was quite familiar.

We were so fortunate to find this apartment with a view of the Eiffel Tower.  Usually the apartments with a view of the ET are booked way in advance.

We have apt hunting down to a science now.  Having a set criteria is the most important aspect in the apartment search.  For us, #1 is an elevator.  The closer you are to the central part of the city, which is the oldest, the harder it is to find apartments with elevators.   Then we want to be close to transportation.  We no longer use the Metro because I have difficulty climbing stairs.  Using the buses is so easy; being in the vicinity of a larger correspondence makes traveling to various parts of the city convenient.

The first surprise when we arrived was finding the elevator landing between floors.  We try to avoid stairs.Christophe, the landlord, greeted us at the apt and showed us around and answered all of our questions.  He lives above us and was available if there were any problems. (There were a few.)The apartment was full of light.  The living room faced the street which was only a problem when the windows were open.  The double-paned windows really reduce the street noise.   The owner of this apartment probably lives here at times because it was filled with personal and family possessions.  The furniture was a bit 'tired' but certainly adequate.   I loved the small roll top desk.  I hooked up to WiFi right away.

The kitchen was narrow but well equipped with a full refrigerator and freezer, dishwasher (which we did not use), stove, oven and microwave.  It was well stocked with pots, dishes, glasses and utensils as well.

Woody spent more time in the kitchen than I did.  My job was to wash the dishes.

French bathrooms are not the same as American bathrooms.  This room which included, tub/shower, sink, bidet and washing machine was connected to the bedroom.  The toilet is in a separate room, the water closet (WC).  It was adjacent to the bedroom.

I'm not including a photo of the bedroom because it was a bit 'messy', but there was SO MUCH storage!  More than we've ever had in any previous apartment.  They are quite resourceful when creating storage space.  The bed was queen sized but the pillows were flat, hard and square; very awkward and uncomfortable.  I bring my own little memory foam pillow so I wasn't as uncomfortable as Woody.

View looking South towards the Champs de Mars

Walking along Avenue de La Bourdonnais.

You are going to see many photos of the Eiffel Tower, it seemed to be everywhere.  Even after 8 visits, I do not tire of looking at it.

After arrival, our first task was buying some staples (eggs, milk, bread, raspberry preserves,paper towels and Coke).  The Franprix, the local supermarche, was only 2 doors from the apt...very convenient.  Since it is on 2 floors, it seemed very roomy.  There was an elevator to the lower level, which I never saw.  My job was to get the items on the upper floor and Woody went down.   We have our own tote bags for carrying the groceries to the apt.

After Franprix, it was off to Rue Cler for the fruit and pastries.

I love the produce stands. Everything is arranged so creatively.  We got some fresh squeezed orange juice and bananas.  Then bought our pastries across the way at the boulangerie.  I eat Pain au Chocolat (flaky pastry with bits of chocolate inside) and Woody usually gets Chaussons aux pommes (an apple filled beignet).

Having our chores done, we rested a bit before going out for dinner. Our routine includes a walk after dinner, usually down to the river.

This is the view of the  Eiffel Tower from the promenade along Quai Branly; the perfect ending to our first day in Paris.

~Paris 7.0~ First Days Settling In

 The agency we used to find the apt was Lodgis.  They were very friendly and fast to respond to any of our questions.  The apt managers were friendly and quite helpful.  Benjamin spoke very good English.

 Our apartment building was located at 7, Ave de la Motte-Picquet in the 7th arr.  The little green door between Max's Restaurant and the auto repair shop is the entrance.
They were doing construction on the street; Woody watched the daily progress and was amazed at the efficiency of the workers.  It was completed before we left.

The building's elevator was certified for 3 persons.

This photo shows Woody and I in the elevator.  We were always coming up with scenarios for fitting in a 3rd person.   We could barely fit in if we had a bag                          of groceries.  

We were thankful for the elevator since our apt was on the 4th floor.

The apt was quite roomy.  There was a living room with a dining area and kitchen in the front facing the street.

The bedroom which you could walk around, had a chest of drawers and closet space.  They really know how to utilize the limited space available.

The bathroom was also in the back of the apt.   It, too, could accommodate all of our 'paraphenalia" and had a spa tub.  When I saw the apt on-line I thought this was terrific~something that would be great for a sore body at the end of the day.   But in reality, I could not justify using the amount of water needed to fill it.

There was a large screen TV with several English speaking stations...mostly news.  Woody was able to watch Ohio State Football on the computer and I listened to the Federer/Djokavic final of the US Open tennis tournament.

The kitchen was laid out quite efficiently.  I loved working in the kitchen (though that was rare ).  We (Woody) used the coffee maker, orange juicer and microwave all the time.  Woody also figured out the cook top and made french toast for breakfast several times.   There was a washer in the kitchen, which we did not use. No dryer though.

                                                   The dining table became the 

                                     computer work station and general "catch-all"

If you stood in one exact spot in the living room, there was a view (glimpse) of the Eiffel Tower.  And, we were able to see it 'twinkle' on the hour.

The neighborhood was wonderful.  The pedestrian market street ~Rue Cler (there will be a blog post highlighting rue Cler)~ was 2 blocks away.  The apt was located between the Eiffel Tower and the Invalides.   These were the tourist areas.  (Rick Steve's loves Rue Cler.)

We had lots of choices of restaurants and each one that we chose was good.

There was access to about 6 bus lines and 2 Metro stops.  

 This is the large intersection at the Ecole Militaire Metro stop.  Lots of restaurants here and it's where most of the bus stops were located.

  At the other end of the street was this little park.  So quiet, relaxing and just beautiful.

This is the Invalides that houses the superb Musee de l'Armee.  We've been here twice.   The Medieval exhibits and World War I & II exhibits are great.

  Just past the Ecole Militaire intersection is the 

Champs du Mars and the Eiffel Tower.

Woody ,on Rue Cler, buying oranges for my fresh squeezed OJ.

Next time we'll take a closer look at Rue Cler.       ~a bientot.

Paris4 ~Planning~

Only 55 days until we leave for our 4th visit to Paris. This year's stay will be for 30 days.  We tried to get the same apartment as we had last year (it was so convenient) but, obviously, a lot of other people found out about this very affordable, comfortable apt....it was booked through October.

So the search was on again.  Apartment rentals have become a very competitive business in Paris.  It's not as easy to find "a deal" with particular amenities.  If  location or climbing 6 flights of stairs is not a problem, you can still find very affordable apartments in Paris....but I need an elevator and that narrows the field considerably.

The apartment I chose is on the rue du Bouloi (right around the block from last year's apt.) in the 1er arrondissement.  The rental agency is Rentals in Paris.

When I search for an apartment there are a few "must haves": elevator, washer/dryer, WiFi, proximity to a Metro station, preferably line #1, and room enough to walk completely around the bed.  I added this particular "need" after our first one month stay in an apt in which the bed was wedged against the wall.  Climbing over my husband to get in and out plus the difficulty of making the bed made this requirement a necessity. We also like to be within walking distance of the river.  Evening walks along the Seine are a wonderful way to end the day.

You can see that the apartment is right in the central part of Paris, especially close to the Lourve which we always enjoy and the Ile de la Cite.  It is also near Les Halles and the Marais, another very nice area with lots of sights to see.

 I like the #1 Metro line because it goes completely across the city and connects with most of the other major lines.  The less transfers and walking in metro stations the better.
Our flight is via Air France directly out of Orlando.  This direct service is new this year and makes our journey much easier.

The next stage of planning is deciding how to spend our days.  You would think there would not be much left on the list after 3 relatively long visits; my list of "to see and to do" has actually gotten longer.

In the next posts I will share some of my "must sees" for Paris 4, 2011

~a bientot

Our Apartment and Neighborhood

Our apt. building  15 rue du Louvre

For this trip I wanted to keep the itinerary simple.   I had a list of "must see" sights.  These are the ones we didn't get to on our first and second trips.
We chose an apt. close to the center of Paris near the Louvre and a couple blocks to the #1 Metro line. (The #1 is the main E-W line and connects to most of the N-S lines.)



Finding an apt. is easy.  Finding the right apt. takes very careful scrutiny of the websites.  You must decide what you absolutely must have in regard to living quarters and amenities and how much you are willing to spend.  It is very helpful to know which part of the city you'd like to be in and which areas you should probably steer clear of.  Of course, experience helps. Websites like Virtual Tourist or TripAdvisor are good because you can read reader reviews and comments.

Our apt criteria:

• near Metro #1
• near the Seine (1,4,6,7 arrondissements)
• must have elevator
• 1 bedroom (about 40m2)
• good sized TV (small say TV and they are little mini sets)
• living area with comfortable seating for 2
• roomy bathroom (with space for all your "stuff")
• washer/dryer

The rental site should have LOTS of photos; if it doesn't it's hiding something.  Ours was exceptional. The apt was exactly like the photos.  We were close to a pedestrian area:  rue Montorgueil and Forum des Halles.

directly across from our apt~avenue to Les Halles



same place showing the entry to the underground roadways by-passing Les Halles



walking further towards Les Halles

Les Halles shopping district

rue Montorgueil..we ate here alot!

Also in the area is St. Eustache.  I beautiful cathedral with a large place adjacent to it.  On Sunday evenings there are free organ concerts~of course you must check the posters for dates.  I showed up and there was not a concert that night.  Then the following week when I knew there was one, I slept through it.   Having been to an organ concert at Notre Dame the last time, I was really looking forward to this one.  There is nothing like the Toccata in Fugue played in a cavernous cathedral!

St. Eustache from Les Halles

St. Eustache

The large place in front of St. Eustache.  Bourse in the background

"the Head" in the place in front of St. Eustache.

All in all I would say that the location choice was not a bad one.  Rue Montorgueil is lined with restaurants and 2 ice cream shops.  Our favorite restaurant, La Perla (italian) was very close and we went there at least 3 times.
During the day, Les Halles is a mass of people. At night it is not the best area.  The one downside of this particular area was the number of homeless persons.  Frederic told us that there were many homeless due to the "economic crisis".  We weren't approached but it was disconcerting and at times the smell was not pleasant either.   If we had been one block further west we would have never noticed this.

As you walk through Les Halles you come to The Pompidou Center, our next stop.

September 6, 2010~Bon Voyage

Labor Day.  We drove to Tampa where we caught our connecting flight to Atlanta.  We had about a four hour wait before our Air France flight would depart for Paris.

There were lots of displays throughout the concourse to keep us occupied.  One was of items confiscated from customs; these included an elephant's foot and a whole case full of various ivory items,  very large carvings down to small delicate carved earrings.

Another display was of Kid's Art.  I loved this particular collage project.  There were about a dozen of collaged lions...all so very cute.

If the WiFi had worked in the airport, the waiting time would have flown by...there were some very disgruntled people sitting around.

The flight was great.  The plane was a 747 and our seats were up front in the upper part that used to be a lounge area.  Each seat had it's own screen and there were many audio-video choices.  I watched a wonderful documentary titled "Les Bebes" (Babies).  It followed the 1st year of life of 4 babies from very different parts of the world; USA, Japan, Africa and Mongolia.  At one year old, it was surprising to see the developmental differences in these 4 babies. (It's available on Netflix.)

I managed to sleep through a good part of the flight and we arrived in Paris at 8:10am September 7th.  The shuttle driver arranged by PariStay was waiting for us and we were soon on our way into Paris.....though not as quickly as usual because there was a general strike going on.  Most public transportation was not running, so the roads were packed.  The ride that usually takes 45 minutes, took well over an hour.  Our driver called Frederic, our PariStay agent, and he arrived quickly to greet us and show us to the apartment.

 OUR APARTMENT   15 rue du Louvre

 The apartment was exactly as it appeared on the website and it did have a phone which we were concerned about not having.  Frederic showed us how to use everything and it was during the demostration that we found that the TV did not work.  He said he would contact the owner about that.  After getting all the "business" taken care, and a bit disconcerted that we had no TV, we rested before heading out to find the nearest supermarche and explore.

Our apt building on rue du Louvre

Our apartment building is the largest one on the left side of the street.  There were businesses, medical offices located on the first couple floors.  We were on the 6th floor!

This the G 20  supermarche one block from the apt.

This is where we did most of our shopping.  Very convenient!  Just a block from the apartment.

More views of and from our apartment...



Looking out the living room window which faces the courtyard.

 

Looking down into the courtyard.



The fountain in the center of the courtyard.

 

Our apt is the top floor 3rd window from the right.

 We called Dick and Judy (Woody's brother and sister-in-law) and arranged to meet for lunch near the Embassy the next day.  Then went to the G 20 for provisions; brioche bread, milk, eggs, crackers, cheese, salami, kleenex (mouchoirs), diet Coke, water, raspberry jam (confiture framboise) and a bag of Werthers candies.  These are our staples~all the makings for French Toast and snacks.

Monsieur Sitbon (the owner) came by at about 7pm.  He checked out the TV, called the cable company and arranged to get a replacement cable box.  He was young, spoke excellent English (he is a trader at Credit Agricole) and very congenial.  I am so glad we had the opportunity to meet him.

For dinner, I checked my trusty itinerary trip guide and selected one of the restaurants very close to the apt. called Hippotamus.  It was touted to have the best hamburgers in town.  It was close to the apt., just a block from the G 20 and Woody's burger was very good.

I don't know what kind of onions they
  were but they sure were tastey

 I had the beef brochette with vegetables and it too was tender and tastey.  (Usually beef isn't the meat of choice in France.) The restaurant was a good choice.  We were quite satisfied (and I was pleased that my research paid off.)

We then returned to unpack and crash for the night.