December 15, 2024
After a few delays at the Eurostar train station, we left London and arrived at our Paris hotel by early afternoon. As I noted in the London blog, it took about 2 hours and 15 minutes to travel over 300 miles.
The Hotel Pas de Calais is just off Boulevard Saint Germaine, around the corner from Ralph Lauren and Yves Saint Laurant, in the 6th Arrondissement. This charming 38-room hotel has been owned by the same family since 1922 and over four generations. It’s quite lovely and our little slice of Paris, though the elevator was so small that only I could fit in it with our luggage, so Ellen had to hoof up one flight of stairs.
As with London, we’ve seen most of the major attractions of Paris in previous trips, so we’re only going to a few galleries and museums this time.
We walked around the neighborhood in a light rain, but that warmed up the temperatures just a bit. We finally found Le Boudoir around the corner and in the 7th Arr. for a dinner of French Onion soup for Ellen and an omelet for Gil, plus we were obligated to order a warm Nutella crepe to top off our meal.
Total: 3.6 miles; 8,400 steps.
December 16: Sara In Paris
We enjoy watching “Emily in Paris” on Netflix for the haut couture, romance, soap opera romances, and, of course, views of Paris. But our most favorite thing is to spend time with our daughter, Sara, an amazing woman and an excellent attorney. Although recently married, she flew solo from Washington, D.C on a redeye.
She’s joining us for five days to celebrate Ellen’s birthday, but my lower back went out of alignment, so I’m resting today. (That’s why you see me with a cane in most Paris photos.) The silver lining in this black cloud over my head is that I discovered a TV channel offering “Baywatch” –– in French!
First, Ellen and Sara walked over to Galerie Vivienne, one of the older passageways, built in 1823 and listed as a historic monument since 1974. Situated in the quiet 2nd Arrondissement of Paris and very close to the Palais Royal, it’s characterized by its neo-classical Pompeian décor.
On its floor, there are colorful mosaics created by the famous artist, Giandomenico Facchina, and a beautiful glass roof that lets in the sunlight. Then, they met our friends Deb and Jim at Auberge Bressane for a true Parisian lunch, including champagne and chocolate soufflé. They did bring me a bagel with lox and cream cheese. While it did not compare to what they had, it was, as Larry David would say “Pretty… pretty…, pretty good.”
Later that evening, they walked to Ippudo, a ramen place that is part of a chain. They had ramen and gyoza and brought me back ramen as well. All were quite good.
Total: 5.6 miles; 13,220 steps.
December 17: The Paris Opera House and “The Red Coats Are Coming”
We still haven’t taken the Metro because of my back, so we hailed a Bolt (similar to Uber and Lyft) to shuttle us over to The Palais Garnier (The Paris Opera House) for a tour of this 350-year-old building’s interiors and its fabulous costumes, including the grand chandelier above the main floor made famous by the Gaston Leroux book, “The Phantom of the Opera”.
This jewel of French architecture features the main staircase featuring wrought iron railings and mirrors, marble balconies, gilded ornaments, the auditorium, and its spectacular ceilings, painted by none other than Marc Chagall. The Palais Garnier hosts over 400 performances per year. Along with the Bastille Opera House, it welcomes 900,000 spectators for opera, ballet, and concerts.
We ate lunch at our favorite and oldest (since 1615) covered food market in Paris –– Marché des Enfants Rouges in the 3rd Arrondissement. This “Market of The Red Children” was so named because kids attending a nearby orphanage dressed in red coats and capes.
Today, it’s a hub for produce, cheese, and flower stalls, plus eclectic street food. A sandwich shop (Chez Alain Maim Maim) where we dined 20 years ago was closed, so we went to a small bistro called The Bouillon of Paris. Each of us ordered typical French fare: onion soup for Sara, Beef Bourguignon for Gil, and Chicken with Potatoes and Carrots for Ellen. All were simple and excellent.
We then walked to the Museum Carnavalet, which is dedicated to the history of Paris and occupies two neighboring mansions. They had a fascinating exhibit about the French Revolution, detailing exact locations that were symbolic in the city. I was feeling well enough to walk, so we strolled back towards our hotel, passing Notre Dame, which just re-opened. Sadly, we weren’t able to get tickets in advance.
By the way, though I’m an internationally known travel writer, I’ve never received the key to a city. However, the City of Paris has honored me by carving my initials into every manhole cover in town. Aren’t they amazing?!
It was still quite chilly, so we walked to a little café closer to our hotel, which served pastries plus a range of hot beverages, which hit the spot.,
For dinner, we walked about a mile to a very popular local bistro called Café Varenne where we had another amazing, but light meal. We shared vegetable soup, onion soup, Caesar salad, chicken paillard, and pot a crème for dessert.
Total: 6.1 miles; 14,300 steps.
December 18: Les Invalides, War Museum, and Gayettes
The Tomb of Napoleon, also known as the Hôtel National des Invalides, is an enormous complex. Built in 1670 by Louis XIV as a hospital for wounded soldiers, it now houses several museums, including the Musée de l’Armée (the Military Museum of the Army of France), and most famously, Napoleon’s Tomb, and an entire gallery dedicated to Charles de Gaulle’s decades of contributions to the French nation.
They had a special exhibit which featured a short film composed of still images of both the Nazi occupation of Paris during WW II and the liberation by the Allies, all brought to life with A.I.
Because of its vast size, we spent about
three hours, including lunch in its in-house café.
Tonight was Ellen’s turn to take a sick day, so Sara and I braved the evening chill to eat at a place called Breizh Café. It featured traditional French crepes (gayettes), including a warm chocolate one for dessert.
Total: 6.3 miles; 15,700 steps.
December 19: A Magical Birthday –– Le Galerie Dior, Historic Chocolate, and Tower Eiffel
We hoped the weather gods would grace Ellen’s big day with blue skies and a warming sun, but that was not to be. So, we bundled up once again and took a Metro to the Le Galerie Dior, which is a fabulous museum dedicated to Christian Dior’s vision of haut couture. It consists of 13 rooms that tell the history –– through Dior fashion –– from the late 1940s to the current day. Watch a Video of Le Galerie Dior.
Here, he created “The New Look”, which was the title and subject of a recent Apple+ mini-series about the rise of Dior and the dethroning of Coco Chanel during the Nazi Occupation in Paris.
Saving room for a big dinner, we lunched at a small bistro, then walked to Rue Montorgueil, one of the oldest streets in Paris. This is a pedestrian-only street known for its specialty shops including cafés, bakeries, fish stores, cheese shops, flower and produce stands.
One major attraction is Strohrer, the oldest patisserie in Paris, which was founded in 1730 by King Louie XV’s pastry chef. Its website says, “Still located on Rue Montorgueil, this establishment has taken on mythical qualities over time. Now listed as a historical site, its lavish décor was designed by a student of Paul Baudry, who decorated the Opera Garnier.”
We dined at Le Florimond, a recommendation by a friend of Sara who’s been visiting here annually for a decade. It was a lovely neighborhood bistro which was empty when we arrived at 7:00 pm, but SRO when we left after 9:00 pm. The food, service, and atmosphere were perfect for the evening’s activities and a proper place to celebrate Ellen’s birthday with a dessert soufflé.
To top it all off, we walked near the always magical, majestic, and magnificent Eiffel Tower for our obligatory tourist photos. Surprisingly, no one was around the base of the world’s most famous tower on this cold, wintry night.
Total: 4.9 miles; 11,300 steps.
December 20: Musée Picasso, Famous Sandwiches, Notre Dame, and Chocolate Mousse
For our last full day, we took a Metro to the Musée Nacional de Picasso, which is dedicated to the Spanish artist who lived in France for nearly 70 years of his life.
This huge art gallery includes more than 5,000 paintings, sculptures, drawings, ceramic, prints, engravings, and notebooks by Picasso, including his photographic archive, personal papers, correspondence, and manuscripts. He once said, “Painting is stronger than me, it makes me do its bidding.”
We were lucky to be able to view a “Jackson Pollock: The Early Years” exhibit (1934-1947) which showcased the influence that Picasso had on Jackson and his older brother, Charles.
We then walked back the Marché des Enchants Rouges to eat lunch at Chez Alain Miam Miam, a sandwich place with seating for about 30 and a long line of hungry locals. While they were good and hardy, they were not what we remembered. (BTW, “Miam Miam” means “Yum Yum” in French.)
Next, we took a stroll through time to Ile Sainte-Louis –– a 27-acre island in the Seine with hotels, apartments, and shops where we stayed 20 years ago. We stopped again Berthillon for an ice cream. It’s a family tradition as you can see by these pictures of Sara now and when she was only 10.
From the front of this famous glaces and sorbets shop, we could see the backside of Notre Dame Cathedral, which is still surrounded by scaffolding for renovations from the 2019 fire; it will remain there for several more years.
We were not surprised by the hundreds of people with tickets who were waiting to enter the church, or those standing in lines and hoping to gain admission. We asked some Yanks to take our photos, then decided to head back to the hotel to rest up for dinner.
But wait, there’s more! We still hadn’t made our way to the world-famous chocolate shop, Chocolate Chapon which specializes in three kinds of chocolate mousse and was close to our hotel. It was so rich; we shared one small cup between the three of us. Mmmm-mmmm good!
A few hours later we made our way to Le Florentine Brasserie, in the 1st Arrondissement for a light dinner after huge sandwiches, ice cream, and chocolate mousse.
We then walked around the area which was beautifully and tastefully decorated in brightly lit holiday merriment. We reached the Place Vendôme, “a grandiose setting built on the orders of Louis XIV that would embody absolute power in the heart of Paris”.
Today, it’s known for its luxury goods and architecture, including one of the most famous The Ritz Hotel. The exorbitantly expensive Hemingway Bar was so named because in 1944, Papa Hemingway, who was then a war correspondent, “liberated” the hotel bar by ordering champagne for everyone.
Coco Chanel and other celebrities also lived there during the war. It was a popular spot for German spies and rumor has it, where the plot to assassinate Hitler was first discussed. More prophetically, the Nazis established their headquarters in The Ritz in 1940.
We tried to buy a drink at the bar, but the line was at least an hour long, maybe longer. So, we left as rain and sleet started to fall.
Total: 9.5 miles; 22,300 steps.
December 21: Sadly Heading Home
We awoke at 4:30 a.m. to grab a 5:00 a.m. cab for Charles de Gaulle Airport.
We reflected on London and all the experiences we had, as well as the magic of Paris during the holidays. The latter was especially wonderful for Ellen’s birthday because Sara was able to join us, Unfortunately, we missed having her husband, Joshua, there.
Despite freezing weather and bustling streets filled with people, these two cities never disappoint and are still among the world’s most incredible places to visit. We mentioned the weather almost daily in this blog because of how it affected our ability to stay warm during our long walks.
It was a looooong flight of about 11.5 hours because of a slight headwind, but we arrived safely and were home by 2:00 p.m. We stayed awake until 9:00 p.m. to help avoid jet lag. It worked and we adjusted well after just a few days. Until our next trip, thank you for reading this edition of our slow-ish travel blog.
Total: 0.5 miles; 1,300 steps.
Trip totals: 70.2 miles; 163,310 steps.
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