Paris Paris Paris
May 29th, 2022, 07:29 AM
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Paris Paris Paris
Paris. Layers and layers of meaning, yearning, disappointment, history, and changes live in that word. The (literal) glittering image of the Eiffel Tower. The hope of astounding meals and cozy cafes. Visions of manicured and stately Haussmann buildings lining the streets. Those wide boulevards and those perfectly manicured gardens. The impossible beauty of the Sainte Chapelle and the impossible grandeur of the Opera Garnier.
When I'm planning, I love to read all the Paris trip reports, and I long to mimic each meal, each shopping stop, each step. Café Bonaparte!! Fondation Louis Vuitton! Musee Marmottan! Water Lillies!
Lol, and it never happens. Both the mimicked Paris and the idealized Paris elude me. I get tangled in time. I went to school in Paris 1977-78 when I was 22, and when I’m in Paris now, somehow I become again that weird, confused, serendipitidously lost almost-adult person. I go back to Gilbert Jeune on Quai St Michel, or the Cluny, or my old maid’s room on Rue Octave Feuillet, or the mansions on Ave. Henri Martin, or the old school in the 7th, and search for 1977.
I never travel in the summer. Or, very rarely. But I have a $2000 credit with an apartment in Paris that I took in 2020, and I have to use it by Nov 2022. I had to sandwich this trip between other personal plans and plans for travelling with my nephew in the fall, so…. It’s Paris in June in 2022.
…..and then I’m in a taxi, and I see the Obelisk at Concord….. and it’s Paris. And it doesn’t matter what form it takes this time. It’s Paris.
As soon as I dropped my bags, I grabbed my camera and raced to meet two internet friends at the Tuileries. Chatting and champagne and grocery shopping were about all I had time for today.
In the taxi
View from the apartment
Walking to Tuileries
When I'm planning, I love to read all the Paris trip reports, and I long to mimic each meal, each shopping stop, each step. Café Bonaparte!! Fondation Louis Vuitton! Musee Marmottan! Water Lillies!
Lol, and it never happens. Both the mimicked Paris and the idealized Paris elude me. I get tangled in time. I went to school in Paris 1977-78 when I was 22, and when I’m in Paris now, somehow I become again that weird, confused, serendipitidously lost almost-adult person. I go back to Gilbert Jeune on Quai St Michel, or the Cluny, or my old maid’s room on Rue Octave Feuillet, or the mansions on Ave. Henri Martin, or the old school in the 7th, and search for 1977.
I never travel in the summer. Or, very rarely. But I have a $2000 credit with an apartment in Paris that I took in 2020, and I have to use it by Nov 2022. I had to sandwich this trip between other personal plans and plans for travelling with my nephew in the fall, so…. It’s Paris in June in 2022.
…..and then I’m in a taxi, and I see the Obelisk at Concord….. and it’s Paris. And it doesn’t matter what form it takes this time. It’s Paris.
As soon as I dropped my bags, I grabbed my camera and raced to meet two internet friends at the Tuileries. Chatting and champagne and grocery shopping were about all I had time for today.
In the taxi
View from the apartment
Walking to Tuileries
May 29th, 2022, 07:35 AM
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Saturday 28 May, a day of false starts and full stops.
I realized last night while unpacking that I’d forgotten my hair gel – a serious problem for this head of thin and fine-as-frog’s-hair hair. So the first priority was finding something. There is a salon around the corner from me, and they had some “volumizing, firm-hold” mousse that was an easy fix. I walked to the bus stop, then realized I hadn’t brought the day’s plan with me, so I went back to the apartment and then back to the bus stop. And so I felt that I’d already gotten in my day’s steps.
The plan was to pick up tickets today for a Seine champagne cruise, walk around Place de l’Alma (where I changed busses going to & from school in 1977), then meet new friends for dinner, and then do the cruise.
My first stop was the Place de l’Alma, and as I was walking down the long ramp to the river, my feet began spazzing out, which they can do when I overdo walking. Then I walked slowly and surely down Ave Montaigne snapping photos and growing more and more weary. I suddenly wondered if getting up at 04.30 yesterday and riding the train for 7h, then meeting new friends for drinks, then walking almost 3 miles around the Tuileries and the Concorde might have been a bit too much. I headed to the nearest Bistro to sit and drink coffee and have a Croque Monseur. Then I walked back to the apartment, about 3 miles again. And thought I’d spend the rest of the day admiring the views I paid so much for….
Pretty street near the apartment
Zoave that measures the floods
Rue Montainge used to be a disreputable spot, but not any more! It is very pretty with Vhristmas lights.
Folks vying to soend thousands of Euros at Dior.
I realized last night while unpacking that I’d forgotten my hair gel – a serious problem for this head of thin and fine-as-frog’s-hair hair. So the first priority was finding something. There is a salon around the corner from me, and they had some “volumizing, firm-hold” mousse that was an easy fix. I walked to the bus stop, then realized I hadn’t brought the day’s plan with me, so I went back to the apartment and then back to the bus stop. And so I felt that I’d already gotten in my day’s steps.
The plan was to pick up tickets today for a Seine champagne cruise, walk around Place de l’Alma (where I changed busses going to & from school in 1977), then meet new friends for dinner, and then do the cruise.
My first stop was the Place de l’Alma, and as I was walking down the long ramp to the river, my feet began spazzing out, which they can do when I overdo walking. Then I walked slowly and surely down Ave Montaigne snapping photos and growing more and more weary. I suddenly wondered if getting up at 04.30 yesterday and riding the train for 7h, then meeting new friends for drinks, then walking almost 3 miles around the Tuileries and the Concorde might have been a bit too much. I headed to the nearest Bistro to sit and drink coffee and have a Croque Monseur. Then I walked back to the apartment, about 3 miles again. And thought I’d spend the rest of the day admiring the views I paid so much for….
Pretty street near the apartment
Zoave that measures the floods
Rue Montainge used to be a disreputable spot, but not any more! It is very pretty with Vhristmas lights.
Folks vying to soend thousands of Euros at Dior.
May 29th, 2022, 08:52 AM
#3
Ahhhhh Paris! Love the photos. They sort of make me feel like I am there on those familiar streets
Haven’t been in Paris since Oct. 2019. I am envious of your time there, but thankful that you are
posting and taking us along.
More please!
Haven’t been in Paris since Oct. 2019. I am envious of your time there, but thankful that you are
posting and taking us along.
More please!
May 29th, 2022, 11:44 AM
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Thanks for the fabulous pictures, Paris is so dear to my heart. Was there last in September 2019, though I transited CDG 4-5 times since last December. Will actually be in the city in August, can’t wait…
>>Nice to see your photos, but you won't be going to Gibert Jeune anymore. It no longer exists.<<
Oh no, can’t believe Gibert Jeune has shut down, when did this happen? I have so many memories of going there when I was a student at the Sorbonne in the early eighties.
>>Nice to see your photos, but you won't be going to Gibert Jeune anymore. It no longer exists.<<
Oh no, can’t believe Gibert Jeune has shut down, when did this happen? I have so many memories of going there when I was a student at the Sorbonne in the early eighties.
May 29th, 2022, 06:33 PM
#9
May 29th, 2022, 09:27 PM
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TPAYT -- thank you! I will do my best!
kerouac-- yes I saw that happened last year. I'll probably still go by the building and stare at it...like a sap, lol. Paris is always changing. I can accept the changes in my old body and soul easier than I can accept the changes in a place that is so iconic for me. Ah well.
danon -- Fantastic!! I bet I'll wish I'd done things you'll be doing!
geetika -- Thank you! And have a great time in August!
Paqngo -- Thank you!
kerouac-- yes I saw that happened last year. I'll probably still go by the building and stare at it...like a sap, lol. Paris is always changing. I can accept the changes in my old body and soul easier than I can accept the changes in a place that is so iconic for me. Ah well.
danon -- Fantastic!! I bet I'll wish I'd done things you'll be doing!
geetika -- Thank you! And have a great time in August!
Paqngo -- Thank you!
May 29th, 2022, 09:38 PM
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Sunday 29 May
Passages
The plan today centered on meeting my new Fodorite friends for lunch at L’Ange 20, then the postponed Seine champagne cruise. So I thought doing the Passages would fit well before the lunch. The tour starts at the Cadet metro stop and ends at 59 rue de Rivoli, but as it happens, I only got to five of the Passages, which were fabulous. Galerie Colbert was closed, and I didn’t get to Passage du Grand Cerf, among a few others. Here’s info & a link to a map for this tour:
https://www.wanderlustingk.com/trave...s-walking-tour
I spent about 1h30 walking the tour, then at about 11.15 decided to start heading for the restaurant.
Note: my blasted photo app always mixes up the order of the photos when I transfer from my camera to my tablet. I will try my best to get the right shots in the right Passage..... feel free to make corrections for others who want to see the right stuff in the right Passage....
Pont des Arts, walking between busses
Passages
The plan today centered on meeting my new Fodorite friends for lunch at L’Ange 20, then the postponed Seine champagne cruise. So I thought doing the Passages would fit well before the lunch. The tour starts at the Cadet metro stop and ends at 59 rue de Rivoli, but as it happens, I only got to five of the Passages, which were fabulous. Galerie Colbert was closed, and I didn’t get to Passage du Grand Cerf, among a few others. Here’s info & a link to a map for this tour:
https://www.wanderlustingk.com/trave...s-walking-tour
I spent about 1h30 walking the tour, then at about 11.15 decided to start heading for the restaurant.
Note: my blasted photo app always mixes up the order of the photos when I transfer from my camera to my tablet. I will try my best to get the right shots in the right Passage..... feel free to make corrections for others who want to see the right stuff in the right Passage....
Pont des Arts, walking between busses
May 29th, 2022, 09:44 PM
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Sunday 29 May
Seine Cruise
After doing the tour of the Passages, I sat and waited for the bus to meet my new Fodorite friends, which the display said would arrive in 27 minutes. Five minutes later, it said the bus would arrive in 33 minutes, so I took the metro.
Enjoyed great company and a good lunch and good prosecco. Lots of stories, lots of laughs. We ended up getting the check for 240€ for the three of us, which was the funniest part of the day – evidently, they charged us for 2 bottles of champagne instead of 1 glass of champagne and 1 glass of prosecco. The server corrected his error, then we were on our merry way.
The “champagne cruise” consisted of picking up a small bottle as we boarded the ship (except we neglected to do that and had to go back to collect it), and each of us decided to enjoy the champagne later at our respective rooms. The cruise was good. Have to admit I still enjoy the cheesy tourist stuff.
After the cruise, we headed off with hugs all around.
Seine Cruise
After doing the tour of the Passages, I sat and waited for the bus to meet my new Fodorite friends, which the display said would arrive in 27 minutes. Five minutes later, it said the bus would arrive in 33 minutes, so I took the metro.
Enjoyed great company and a good lunch and good prosecco. Lots of stories, lots of laughs. We ended up getting the check for 240€ for the three of us, which was the funniest part of the day – evidently, they charged us for 2 bottles of champagne instead of 1 glass of champagne and 1 glass of prosecco. The server corrected his error, then we were on our merry way.
The “champagne cruise” consisted of picking up a small bottle as we boarded the ship (except we neglected to do that and had to go back to collect it), and each of us decided to enjoy the champagne later at our respective rooms. The cruise was good. Have to admit I still enjoy the cheesy tourist stuff.
After the cruise, we headed off with hugs all around.
May 30th, 2022, 05:36 AM
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swandav2000, loving your pictures, please keep it coming…
QUOTE=kerouac;17367335]Gibert Jeune closed in March 2021. It didn't exactly go out of business, but the Gibert family finally reconciled and Gibert Jeune was bought by Gibert Joseph, which decided to close the Gibert Jeune stores since they were in difficulty anyway. Gibert Joseph is still going strong.[/QUOTE]
kerouc, I seem to remember your mentioning this sometime last year, but I obviously it didn’t register. Any idea what’s coming in place of Gibert Jeune, that was a huge store.
QUOTE=kerouac;17367335]Gibert Jeune closed in March 2021. It didn't exactly go out of business, but the Gibert family finally reconciled and Gibert Jeune was bought by Gibert Joseph, which decided to close the Gibert Jeune stores since they were in difficulty anyway. Gibert Joseph is still going strong.[/QUOTE]
kerouc, I seem to remember your mentioning this sometime last year, but I obviously it didn’t register. Any idea what’s coming in place of Gibert Jeune, that was a huge store.
May 30th, 2022, 12:56 PM
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What a wonderful time you’re having, and the photos are so evocative. How lovely that you met with some Fodors friends. We leave in 34 days (….not that we’re counting). Looking forward to reading more!
May 30th, 2022, 02:17 PM
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Swandav,
Your time in Paris looks to be fantastic. I want to do a passages tour next trip so thanks for the link. Cafe Bonaparte is my go to.
Are you staying at a Paris Perfect apartment? Location and view looks very familiar!
Your time in Paris looks to be fantastic. I want to do a passages tour next trip so thanks for the link. Cafe Bonaparte is my go to.
Are you staying at a Paris Perfect apartment? Location and view looks very familiar!
May 30th, 2022, 08:54 PM
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Hallo All,
Thanks, Adelaidean!
Thank you, geetka!
Thank you, dfrostnh!! Glad you enjoyed it!
Thank you, Iwan2go! Ahhhh, how nice!! I know you'll have a great time!
Thanks Weekender! I haven't made it to the Bonaparte yet, as I tend to putter around the 7th so much. It's on the list, though! Yes, I'm staying at one of the PP apartments from a credit from 2020. When I reserved this apartment for Nov 2020, it was such a good deal that I was going to stay here for 2 weeks. In May 2022, however, the same amount of money got me only 5 nights. So I am moving tomorrow to another apartment, one that is a pure business, also in the 7th. I'm not loving the move!
Thanks, Adelaidean!
Thank you, geetka!
Thank you, dfrostnh!! Glad you enjoyed it!
Thank you, Iwan2go! Ahhhh, how nice!! I know you'll have a great time!
Thanks Weekender! I haven't made it to the Bonaparte yet, as I tend to putter around the 7th so much. It's on the list, though! Yes, I'm staying at one of the PP apartments from a credit from 2020. When I reserved this apartment for Nov 2020, it was such a good deal that I was going to stay here for 2 weeks. In May 2022, however, the same amount of money got me only 5 nights. So I am moving tomorrow to another apartment, one that is a pure business, also in the 7th. I'm not loving the move!
Jun 1st, 2022, 05:28 PM
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Wonderful to see this Paris TR. Been missing my favorite city. One of my stays was at The Hotel Chopin in the Passage Jouffroy, a quirky and fun budget stay. I remember fondly watching that breakfast room antique orange juice machine chugging away. Touring the many passages has been a favorite Paris activity. So good to see your fabulous photos. Keep them coming please!
Jun 1st, 2022, 08:48 PM
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Thank you, Travelchat! Unfortunately, I haven't been able to load any more pictures. I have used two different browsers, I have used the mobile site and the full site, and I have tried loading photos in batches of 10, 6, and single photos. I have cleared my cookies, and I have used my phone for the connection. I still get an "Alert," and photos stop loading.
I have posted the problem at the Forum Support, so hopefully they will have a solution for me. Otherwise, I may have to continue the report after I get home...
s
I have posted the problem at the Forum Support, so hopefully they will have a solution for me. Otherwise, I may have to continue the report after I get home...
s
